'Dijon Roses'

In 1614, an anonymous pamphlet appeared in Germany: the Fama Fraternitatis, announcing the existence of a secret brotherhood calling themselves the Rosicrucians — the Brethren of the Rosy Cross. They claimed possession of ancient Hermetic knowledge, the secrets of nature, and the ability to heal the sick. They invited worthy seekers to make themselves known. They gave no address. No member was ever named.

The European intellectual world erupted. Descartes searched for them in Paris. Leibniz claimed contact. Whether they existed as a formal body or were an elaborate philosophical experiment has never been settled. What they left behind was the symbol: a cross covered in roses. And sub rosa — the ancient tradition of the rose meaning: what is spoken here, stays here. Truth kept safe by concealment.

This is for the woman who has always known things she wasn't supposed to know.