It came to the attention of the public early in the 17th century through the publication of an inspired document, "The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz."This work, written out of an intuitive state of consciousness by the 17-year old Johann Valentin Andreae, is a vivid description of an initiation experienced entirely within, through the faculties of the soul. "The Chymical Wedding" describes the results of pursuing a scientific path to spiritual knowledge: a path we can call spiritual alchemy if we clearly distinguish it from any mercenary efforts to transmute metals.
The difficult training this requires brings about the entrance of one's full consciousness into the processes of the soul. This training is unlike both the "mystical union of yoga and monasticism wherein the practitioner has an experience of the soul replacing one's full consciousness.