The writings of Jean Valentin Andreae (1589–1674) relating the stories of one Christian Rosenkreuz and his dabblings in alchemy, astrology, and the kabbala, were not meant to be taken seriously. But secret societies devoted to the occult found them a useful stimulus to their imaginations. Philosophers and scientists who may have had Rosicrucian connections include Francis Bacon, Leibniz, and Newton.