Manly Palmer Hall wrote this book at a very young age and self-published it later in his mid twenties. The book is pure conceptual truth without bogging ourselves down with the details. Great read for anyone who likes Joseph Campbell and wishes to follow up on the Power of Myth and get into the right-hand occult.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
In 1928, a 20-something Renaissance man named Manly Hall self-published a vast encyclopedia of the occult, believing that "modern" ideas of progress and materialism were displacing more important and ancient modes of knowledge. Hall's text has become a classic reference, dizzying in its breadth: various chapters explore Rosicrucianism, Kabbalah, alchemy, cryptology, Tarot, pyramids, the Zodiac, Pythagorean philosophy, Masonry and gemology, among other topics. This affordably priced edition would be vastly improved by a new foreword, placing the work in some kind of historical and critical context and introducing readers to the basic contours of Hall's sweeping corpus. Instead, we have a disciple's adulatory 1975 foreword, which merely parrots the same themes of mystery and esoterica that are espoused in the book. Readers who are unfamiliar with Hall's work will be at a loss in ferreting out which chapters have stood the test of time and which have been vigorously debunked (like the one on Islam, which actually uses novelist Washington Irving as a primary source on the prophet Muhammad).... -- From Publishers Weekly
Into this volume has been compressed the quintessence of a colossal learning. It is a living human document, pulsating with the mental and spiritual vibrations of a profound thinker who takes knowledge for his province and reduces whole libraries to a single tome. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. -- George Barron, Curator of the De Young Museum of San Francisco, in his tribute to this remarkable work.
Simply put, this is the most beautiful and complete occult book ever published. It represents a lifetime of research into the mythology, symbolism, and magical practices of countless cultures. From the secrets of Isis to the teachings of mystic Christianity, nearly every occult dogma imaginable is represented here. The book is full of giant illustrations. This is the definitive guide to secret societies, famous figures, and more a must for every personal library. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. -- Llewellyn New Times
Into this volume has been compressed the quintessence of a colossal learning. It is a living human document, pulsating with the mental and spiritual vibrations of a profound thinker who takes knowledge for his province and reduces whole libraries to a single tome. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. -- George Barron, Curator of the De Young Museum of San Francisco, in his tribute to this remarkable work.
Simply put, this is the most beautiful and complete occult book ever published. It represents a lifetime of research into the mythology, symbolism, and magical practices of countless cultures. From the secrets of Isis to the teachings of mystic Christianity, nearly every occult dogma imaginable is represented here. The book is full of giant illustrations. This is the definitive guide to secret societies, famous figures, and more a must for every personal library. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. -- Llewellyn New Times
From the Author
Mystical speculations about God, the world, and man occupied the minds of many medieval scholars and theologians. They conceived creation itself to be a symbol or figure through which the Divine Will manifested its purposes and intentions-thus by analogy, the world revealed God, and man revealed the world. The human being himself was a microcosm-a miniature of the cosmos. After the collapse of the pagan cultural institutions, it was unlawful to teach classical learning or to advance scientific knowledge contrary to the prevailing scholasticism. To avoid persecution and at the same time perpetuate for the benefit of qualified disciples the more advanced formulas of the ancient wisdom, the sacred truths were presented symbolically through the beautiful engraved devices of the emblem writers.
The seventeenth century restoration of learning gradually brought about a Universal Reformation as proclaimed in the Fama of the Rosicrucians. A careful study of the emblem books of that period reveals that most of the figures and designs were based upon Egyptian or Greek mythology, and like the alchemical symbols, perpetuated the secret teachings of esoteric fraternities. Today, those well informed in the Orphic Mysteries and the mystical speculations of the Neoplatonists can interpret the design with little difficulty. It appears that the emblem books were, in many cases, actual extensions of Pythagorean and Platonic metaphysics. Paracelsus said that the first hieroglyphic book is nature, published in folio, and the second hieroglyphic book is man, published in duodecimo.
To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books. It has always seemed to me that symbolism should be restored to the structure of world education. The young are no longer invited to seek the hidden truths, dynamic and eternal, locked within the shapes and behavior of living beings.
The present volume is itself a symbol made up of many symbols gathered from rare sources. It invites the thoughtful reader to explore the meanings of these emblems and devices with his own insight. Because spiritual growth is the goal of all human aspiration, symbols that help us to grow are precious things for they open the doors to life everlasting.
I wish to express my deep indebtedness to those faithful artists and engravers whose remarkable meditation pictures have guided my labors for so many years. This book is dedicated to the truths they served and the wonderful designs which they have bestowed as a priceless heritage upon the truth seekers of the future. It is my sincere hope that this memorial may continue to serve and inspire new generations of kindly and dedicated people.
Manly P. Hall Los Angeles, California October 1, 1975. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cheap and nasty,
This review is from: The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Paperback)
This is a budget computer print out of a once beautiful encyclopedia, the pictures are much lower in resolution and many of the explanatory captions are missing under pictures and all of the full page illustrations contained in earlier prints are completely missing. Do not buy this version of this book, it is no good apart from some of the content which is set out badly and therefore hard to read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is a budget book but the concepts in the book are priceless,
By Andras M. Nagy "author, publisher and blogger" (Woodland, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Paperback)
This is not a collector's copy but a book for everyday use ready for coffee stains and sticky notes. I usually buy books to read them not to show off and display them on the coffee tables. Yet I have two(2) copies of Many Palmer's magnum opus - one (nice oversided hard-copy) to show off and this one from Murine Press to actually read and study from.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Secrets of All Ages,
This review is from: The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Paperback)
Thank you the book was in great shape for a great price!
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