28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant work, September 13, 2000
This review is from: The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The Esoteric Wisdom Revealed (Paperback)
Two hundred years ago, Egypt seized our interest in its great mysteries and the unbelievably long civilization they created when Champollion, the young French genius, discovered the key to translating the Rosetta Stone bearing inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic characters (a simplified form of ancient Egyptian writing), and ancient Greek.
Egyptian texts present the translator with greater technical problems than most ancient tongues. The Egyptians left behind none of the usual and invaluable aids to translation. Like modern Hebrew and Arabic, Egyptian was written without vowels, so that only the consonantal structure is left. Its vital organs are gone, leaving behind dry bones. Much of the poetry and word play is lost forever. Much eludes us.
Merely translating the hieroglyphics was truly not enough, however, since the hieroglyphs are not only pictures (such as an owl), but also picture-signs used to convey the sound and meaning just as our alphabet does for us. An owl, for example, also stands for the letter "m," just in case you're curious. It does not end there, because there is also an inner meaning to the pictures, so that it was not so much the cat, dog, or snake that was worshipped, but the principle it represented; and that principle was, in turn, as aspect of the greater creation or ultimate spirit. Our modern quest for the wisdom of ancient Egypt centers on the true meaning of the symbolism, temples, tombs, and pyramids of this enigmatic motherland. We know many Egyptian words that express some degree of fear or happiness, but which one of these expresses dread, anxiety or worry? How do we distinguish between ecstasy, delight, joy, and jubilation?
Egyptologist Rosemary Clark, who reads Egyptian hieroglyphics firsthand, examines the esoteric tradition of Egypt in remarkable detail. She explores dimensions of the language, cosmology, and temple life to show that a sacred mandate--the transformation of the human condition into its original cosmic substance--formed the foundation of Egypt's endeavors and still has relevance today.
As founder of the Temple Harakhite, a group devoted to the experiential religious practices of Egypt's Old Kingdom. She is well versed in hieroglyphic script, its transliteration, and the translation of ancient texts, and in the subtleties of Hermetic philosophy and Sacred Science. I especially enjoyed the history of the initiatory schools and the Mystery Tradition recorded in ancient times and their methods of clairvoyance, prophecy and healing.
Clark quotes R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz from "Esotericism & Symbol." He said, "Initiation does not reside in any text whatsoever, but in the cultivation of intelligence of the heart. Then there is no longer anything occult or secret, because the intention of the enlightened, the prophets, and the "messengers from above" is never to conceal--quite the contrary."
This is the time of revelation of all occult secrets.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving beyond a mere intellectual approach, February 23, 2003
This review is from: The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The Esoteric Wisdom Revealed (Paperback)
Rosemary Clark has written a stunning work which not only addresses the elements of the ancient Egyptian religion on an intellectual level, but shows how it holistically integrated with their culture and way of life. The chronological development of the different Egyptian schools of thought is covered, as well as a thorough understanding of the "symbolist" approach to interpreting these different schools of thought. Rather than having conflicting world views, Ms. Clark explains that the Egyptians were simply using different symbols to explain spiritual truths.
As I am interested in comparing the religion of ancient Egypt with that of Sumer and Babylon, this book was incredibly useful for its explanation of the various creation myths and its intelligibility to those who have a "Western" mindset. I've read a number of books on the Egyptian religion that use so much New Age lingo that they are practically useless, and fortunately Ms. Clark does not do so.
For anyone who wants to move beyond a simplistic, intellectual understanding of Egyptian kings and monuments, this book is a must-read.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive Book On Egyptian Religion, Magic & Symbolism, October 18, 2000
This review is from: The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The Esoteric Wisdom Revealed (Paperback)
"Do you not know, Asclepius, that Egypt is an image of heaven, or, to speak more exactly, in Egypt all the operations of the powers which rule and work in heaven have been transferred to earth below? Nay, it should rather be said that the whole Kosmos dwells in this our land as in its sanctuary." Hermetica: Asclepius III,24b
Reading Rosemary Clark's wonderful new book is like being Shelley's "traveller in an ancient land" and being greeted by a temple priest (or, in this instance, a priestess), prepared to take one on a guided tour of the Mysteries of Egypt.
Seemingly, there is nothing Ms. Clark does not know about the religion of the realm of the Pharaohs, its centers of worship and the deities to which they were dedicated. Indeed, her book might have been written thousands of years ago by an astrologer/priest ("Sacred-Scribe, as they were called)who knew how to communicate his wisdom in the most elegant yet lucid terms.
"The Sacred Tradition" is a "must have" for every Egyptological library, being essentially the only volume one would ever require on all aspects of the theology and metaphysics. Although scholars would appreciate this work, it is perfectly accessible, in its format and style, to amateur enthusiasts of ancient Egypt and observers of the heavens which it was said to have mirrored.
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