Marie Russak

Who was Marie Russak?

Marie Russak was born on October 7, 1865 in the small city of Four Corners, Butte County in northern California.

She studied music at Mills College in Oakland. She became a renowned singer, performing in several European cities. In 1899, she married the opera producer Frank Russak. She was deeply interested in Theosophy and became active in the Theosophical Society.

Between 1906 and 1910 she lived in Adyar, India, where she deepened her study of esoterism. She participated actively in Co-Masonry, and in 1912 she co-founded the Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross with Annie Besant. She worked actively with the Rosicrucians until the group was dissolved in 1918.

Russak continued to work in the Theosophical Society and was contacted in California by Harvey Spencer Lewis, who in 1915 had founded AMORC. She transmitted much of the esoteric knowledge that she had acquired, and she collaborated with the elaboration of some rituals, which were similar to those made of the OTRC.

Marie Russak was also involved in architectural design, and her work can still be seen in Krotona, California. Some of her designs were inspired by Moorish and Mission styles.