On the 11th April 1907 Dr. R.W. Felkin
M.D. of Mary Chapel Lodge Edinburgh was admitted into thr grade of
Zelator in the Metropolitan College of the Societas Rosicruciana in
Anglia.
The officiating Celebrant was M.W.
Fra. Dr. W, Wyn Westcott IXº M.D. and
Supreme Magus of the Society
Dr. Felkin was
received along with three other brethren and is recorded as being the
740th member .
He chose as his
motto ' Finem Respice" meaning 'Look to the end' or 'Have regard to the
end' and has been fittingly adopted as the motto of this College
Dr. Felkin's
admission to the Society must have been very soon after his initiation
into freemasonry which is recorded as being in January 8th and passed to
the Fellow Craft degree on the 12th February and finally raised on 26th
February to the Third Degree.
There are
indications that his interest in Freemasonry was on the lower scale of
activity. He never became a Master of a Lodge or joined the Royal Arch.
It is questionable whether or not he became a Rose Croix mason or Knight
Templar
Assertions that
he was buried in Knight Templar Regalia are erroneous. He was interred
wearing the cloak, mantle and purple cross of a Knight of the Ordo
Tabulae Rotundae.
One of the
motives for joining Freemasonry was to gain more credibility with
continental esotericists and oculists to enable him to make contact with
the 'real Rosicrucians', which he believed still to be in
existence as well as to locate C.R.C.'s tomb supposedly in southern
Germany, in a hidden location. Dr. Felkin made many visits to
Europe where he met Dr. Rudolf Steiner and came to value his
contributions to Homeopathy, much of which he incorporated in his own
practice
He and Mrs.
Felkin were caught in Germany at the outbreak of hostilities in 1914.
Their eventual release he contributed to his 'Masonic connections'.
Initially Dr.
Felkin's contribution to the Society was slight. Then he was
advanced to the grade of Theoricus IIº, Practicus IIIº and Philosophus
IVº all on the same day on the 16th September 1911
The first of
several papers that were given to the Metropolitan College and its Study
Group was in 1912. This was titled "Occult Experiences in Central
Africa" and was followed by "Folklore in Central Africa" and "Psychic
Experiences in Egypt" was presented to the Study Group.
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