The Secret History of Lucifer: The ancient path to knowledge and the real Da Vinci Code [Hardcover]

Lynn Picknett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2005

Who is Lucifer? For many of us Lucifer and Satan are alternative names for the embodiment of pure evil. The orthodox Christian view tells us that Prince Lucifer challenged God, fell from Heaven, tempted Eve, and created death and suffering. Then he became Satan, horned king of Hell, whose hatred for God’s creation motivated his mission to drag the rest of us down with him.

In this highly readable and well-researched account, Lynn Picknett explains that the horned Devil is merely a new incarnation of the old woodland deity Pan, while Lucifer was once a personification of the Morning Star, the planet Venus and its goddess. "He" was therefore originally "she," and a divine representation of love, beauty, and human warmth. Indeed, many ancient goddesses were known as Lucifera, or "Light-bringer." While thousands follow Lucifer in order to achieve earthly wealth and power, Picknett explains that such misguided behavior is far from true Luciferan principles. Picknett draws together ancient heretical Christian and Egyptological texts, the implications of abnormal psychology, and the "extreme possibilities" of certain barely understood human attributes to ask if humans actually created God and Lucifer, not merely as icons or metaphors but in a terrifying, literal way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though dense with research, readers interested in religious conspiracies, particularly those for which Christianity is held responsible, will find Picknett's redemption of Lucifer as "Light-bringer" and "enlightener" fascinating. Picknett, author of many conspiracy-oriented books about topics like the Turin shroud, the Templars and most recently Mary Magdalene, sets out to correct misconceptions about Lucifer, who she claims is not synonymous with the devil or Satan. Lucifer, she writes, "is emphatically not the Evil One, but the spirit of human progress, the fight to learn and grow, to be independent and proud." Divided into two parts, the first is dedicated to Lucifer's relationship with the feminine and his subsequent "fall" from morning star to bringer of hell as a result of his feminization, while the second traces Lucifer's emergence in history as Satan. Filled with ironic undertones, Picknett's exploration of Lucifer's association with womanhood is the more interesting of the two sections, offering well-researched interpretations of the Judeo-Christian creation myth, ancient goddess traditions, and pagan rituals. Picknett's depth and range of knowledge is impressive and if readers can forgive the annoying and repeated self-references to her many other works, they will encounter a thick, interesting and alternative view of an intriguing topic. (Aug.)
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Review

" 'A thought-provoking book that considers many issues, not least the role and image of women in Christianity.' Good Book Guide 'Lynn Picknett... presents the Magdalene in a fresh and disconcerting way.' Washington Post Book World 'Picknett's book... puts Mary Magdalene back on top of her pedestal.' Nexus" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; 1ST edition (June 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671560X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786715602
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,739,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative Tangents, January 5, 2006

By 

Tad J. Miller "jstatad" (McLean, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret History of Lucifer: The ancient path to knowledge and the real Da Vinci Code (Hardcover)

Fan's of Lynn Picknett's work will appreciate this book. Her main thesis is that Lucifer and Satan are not one in the same. The first half of the book illustrates this idea quite nicely and gets into the Gnostic bent of the idea of Lucifer being the "light bringer". But the back half of the book seems to go more into the history of Satanism and witch craft, which is interesting, but in my mind strays from what she is trying to prove and loses focus on the real topic of the book.

The most interesting part of the book is its linkage of Gnostic belief and Luciferinism. It is suprisingly erotic and a bit sensational with some of its theories and history.

There are also some facinating ideas about the alleged "feud" between Jesus and John the Babtist, that definitely paints Jesus outside of the "love one another" philosophy.

As popular as Picknett is with Dan Brown virtually relying on all of her material, I'm suprised this book hasn't got more attention.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good, October 25, 2005

By 

R. Allen (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret History of Lucifer: The ancient path to knowledge and the real Da Vinci Code (Hardcover)

Overall, this book is a very interesting read. However, it does require one to have an open mind and at times to suspend judgment in order to consider possibilities other than what is generally accepted in the popular culture. She does use well-documented source material throughout the book, but there are moments when Lynn Picknett makes serious leaps in logic and does not actually have anything factual to back up her claims (conspiracy church theories and assertions about Jesus's life in particular). The bias in her writing is obvious, and this leads her to make assertions that at times feel like they just came out of left field. It is not her theories that bother me I found some of them quite intriguing, especially as a person who is interested in the way mythology describes the public culture. But I am used to reading well-researched material by competent historians, and there are times when Lynn Picknett's book feels more like a sensational novel than a serious work. It would be delightful to see more hard evidence for what she asserts, but until that time, I have to take what she is saying with a grain of salt. As long as you read this book with the idea that it is largely theoretical, you'll be fine.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars WIshing to be impressed, but rather not., May 31, 2007

By 

Greenwick - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret History of Lucifer: The ancient path to knowledge and the real Da Vinci Code (Hardcover)

I did enjoy this book at first, though by the end I was very annoyed by it. Picknett makes many assumptions which require the reader to automatically accept what she says as fact. Furthermore, rather than being objective, the author actively pursues the idea that Luciferanism is the only way to go. While this is a point of view one does not hear very often, it uses the same poor debating skills as any Christian proselytiser. The book even devolves in the final chapter into a chapter on how the age of Lucifer is upon us, which should bring enlightenment and understanding. This is fine for a religious text to do, but this book purports to be a book of history and facts.

I read this book when I was still a Satanist (I'm not anymore), and most definitely did not find it useful. If you are looking for actual history written by real historians, I would highly suggest reading, "The Origin of Satan" by Helen Pagels either instead of or along with this book. That one is fact based. While it does digress into talk about early Christian and Jewish sects, the whole thing is coherent and engaging - and will help you to be a better Satanist by understanding the history of humankind's perception of Satan.