Christoph Gottlieb von Murr on the True Origin of the Rosicrucians and the Order of Freemasons: Together with an Appendix on the History of the Knights Templar

and astronomy*) put him in the position
to market the then-so-popular
astrological whims to advantage,
and to occupy himself with casting nativities. His writings, in particular the Magna Alchymia Great Alchemy and Quinta
Essentia Fifth Essence, are full of astrological absurdities,
just as the explanation of his Archidoxa
is full of alchemical nonsense. One of his
most intimate friends was Magister Georg
Cäsar in Stettin.

From the times of this man, the
secret science of the Paracelsians
took a different direction. Specifically, to the theosophical, astrological, and
magical nonsense, the kabbalistic was
also woven in. This was done primarily by
Heinrich Khunrath of Leipzig, whose
first book known to me, Confessio de Chao
physico-chemicorum catholico Confession concerning the physical-chemical chaos of the Catholics, Magdeburg 1596
is in duodecimo format, and appeared in German in the same place the following year: Confession of...

*) He also applied himself to calendar-making, and calculated astronomical tables from the year 1580 to 1590.