“This underworld, or as the Egyptians called it "rostau" was the real origin behind the "rose cross", as Templars learned of it and transliterated it into Latin: ros tau.” - Tim Hogan
The Tau Cross in Egypt
The Tau (Τ) is one of the oldest sacred forms in human history.
In Egypt, the Ankh (☥) is the dominant life symbol. Structurally, the ankh is composed of:
- a Tau cross (vertical and horizontal beam)
- crowned with a loop or oval
The lower part of the ankh is literally a Tau. The loop represents life, breath, or eternity; the Tau represents manifestation, embodiment, and the axis of the world.
Egyptian gods are routinely depicted handing the ankh to the lips of kings and initiates. This is the transmission of divine life, breath, and authority. It is a ritual object of initiation and kingship.
The Tau is already a royal, initiatory, salvific sign in Egypt thousands of years before Christianity.
The Tau Cross in Hebrew and Early Christianity
In Hebrew, Tau (ת) is the final letter of the alphabet. It signifies completion, seal, fulfillment.
In Ezekiel 9:4, a Tau is marked on the foreheads of the righteous to protect them from destruction. Early Jewish commentators understood this mark as a sign of divine protection and election.
Early Christians quickly identified this Tau with the cross of Christ, especially because early crucifixion forms were not the later Latin cross but T-shaped.
Church Fathers such as Tertullian and Origen explicitly identify the Tau as a proto-cross and a sign of salvation.
The Tau Cross in Monastic and Templar Tradition
The Tau Cross becomes central in:
- Egyptian Coptic Christianity
- Early desert monasticism
- The Rule of St. Anthony (deeply Egyptian in spirit)
- Later Franciscan symbolism
- Templar iconography (in simplified or disguised form)
The Tau is especially associated with renunciation, initiation, and transformation—the death of the old self and rebirth into divine service. Rosicrucianism explicitly positions itself as the inner continuation of monastic, knightly, and hermetic streams.
Where the Rose Enters
The rose is not originally Christian. It is ancient.
In Egypt, floral symbolism is tied to:
- rebirth
- resurrection
- solar cycles
- secrecy (the phrase sub rosa is later, but the principle is ancient)
Egyptian funerary rites often included flowers placed on the chest of the deceased—directly over the heart.
The rose later becomes associated with:
- Venus (love, beauty, desire)
- secrecy (initiatory silence)
- unfolding consciousness (many-petaled form)
The rose represents the soul, the heart, hidden wisdom, and interior blossoming.
The Rosicrucian Cross as a Reassembly of Ancient Forms
The Rose Cross does not appear fully formed in Egypt, but all its components do.
The Rosicrucian Cross unites:
- the Tau / Cross = incarnation, suffering, embodiment, initiation
- the Rose = soul, heart, hidden wisdom, resurrection
- the Center point = the initiate, the Philosopher’s Stone, Christ within
This is functionally identical to Egyptian initiatory theology:
- death → descent → purification → rebirth → kingship
- Osiris dismembered → reassembled → crowned
- the initiate passes through death like Osiris
Rosicrucians simply re-coded this myth using Christian and alchemical language.
symbolic-initiatic continuity, supported by:
- Egyptian funerary and royal iconography
- Hermetic texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (Egyptian-Greek synthesis)
- Early Christian Gnosticism in Egypt
- Templar contact with Eastern Christian and Islamic esotericism
- Rosicrucian texts explicitly describing Egyptian origins of wisdom
The Deeper Initiatory Meaning
At the initiatory level, the Rose Cross means:
The Cross = the body, the world, incarnation, suffering, ordeal
The Rose = the awakened heart, the redeemed soul
The Union = the perfected human being
This is exactly the same structure as:
- the ankh (Tau + life)
- the Philosopher’s Stone
- the Christ principle
- the perfected Ashlar
- the Royal Secret
Egypt provided the grammar. Christianity provided the narrative. Alchemy provided the process. Rosicrucianism provided the synthesis.
The Secret Underworld of Giza and the Ros Tau
