It has been said that Rosicrucians possess the secrets of Man, God, and Nature, that they can turn lead into gold, that they govern Europe in secret, that they enjoy the elixir of life, that theirs is the true philosophy of Freemasonry, and that they can save or destroy the world. Most amazing of all perhaps is the Rosicrucian vision of an invisible, inviolable, and utterly secret body, the Hidden Guardians of the planet. Only they, it is alleged, possess the true key to understanding the spiritual and material essence of all religion. The story of how a young German nobleman, Christian Rosycross, escaped his boring cloister and sped to the east in search of wisdom about a century before Columbus sailed west, has been told many times since it first appeared in a booklet in 1614. The Fama Fraternitatis, the document in which the story first appeared, has been taken for historical fact. Never was there a story more controversial or more mysterious to tell.