Through the 17th and 18th Century “Rosicrucianism” became a paranoid phenomenon in European society. Secret “Rosicrucian” societies supposedly flourished and threatened the political and social stability of Europe. Rosicrucian thinking has always been associated with hermeticism, Cabbalah and Catharism. Some prominent Rosicrucians were Robert Fludd, Johan Valentin Andrea, and Frederick of the Palatinate. It is impossible to know the real extent to the influence of the Rosicrucians, who they were, or what their aims were. It is worthwhile noting, however, that their device, the “Rosy Cross” distinctly echoes the flanged red cross of the Templars.