Secret Tradition in Freemasonry [Facsimile] [Paperback]

Arthur Edward Waite (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 1992

This was Waite's last book and is THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK EVER WRITTEN ON THE ESOTERIC ASPECTS OF FREEMASONRY. "I am not offering in this book a revised edition of two volumes which appeared under the same title so far back as 1911. It is so altered, extended and transformed that it may claim to be a new undertaking and to supersede in fact that which it preserves in name." Waite not only reedited and radically restructured the two volume edition, but he incorporated much of his Emblematic Freemasonry (1925) that it might, as he said, supersede the previous work. This was Waite's last and (in his opinion) most important work on Freemasonry. Contents: Creative and Emblematic Freemasonry; Craft Degrees and Their Connections; Second Holy House; New Alliance in Freemasonry; Quest in Christian Ritual; Masonic Orders of Chivalry Apart from Templar Grades; Templar Grades of Freemasonry; Of Alchemy in Masonry; Of Magical and Kabbalistical Degrees; The Growth of Masonic Tradition; Freemasonry and the French Revolution; Mysteries on their Mystical Side. Extremely important. A masonic classic.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 724 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC; Facsimile edition edition (December 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564593053
• ISBN-13: 978-1564593054
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,787,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swept me along at a mind-bending pace!, October 3, 2005

By 

Queen of Cups (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Tradition in Freemasonry (Paperback)

Finally a book that helped me understand what the whole big deal behind Freemasonry is all about. The rituals, once understood in their symbolic significance are quite astonishingly profound and beautiful. It is a piece of very ancient history kept alive and significant. I swear, I wanted to go out and join a temple after I read this book. I think all the negativity surrounding Freemasonry is due to ignorance, fear, and prejudice. Masons have definitely helped to raise the frequency of mankind everywhere. Thanks to this remarkable book, I now understand how and why they were and are able to do so.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very meticulous and useful but restricted, June 27, 2006

By 

xul "xul010" (milky way galaxy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Tradition in Freemasonry (Paperback)

Some readers have issues with A. E. Waite's style. Although it takes some getting used to, it reflects the erudition and precision of an author who knew several languages including German, French, Latin and Hebrew. The book is often tedious reading but the subject matter is quite complex in itself due for example to several Traditions having chosen FM as a vehicle for transmission.

On the other hand, the personal dedication, warmth and devotion to the subject matter permeate his work. The reader often feels that an intimate conversation between himself and the author occurs.

As another reader has pointed out, it is regrettable that Mr Waite so much restricted his symbolic view of FM to the Christian esoteric Tradition (en passant formally rejected by the corresponding exoteric Tradition) to the exclusion of other entirely valid symbolic perspectives. In particular, Mr Waite ignores the third member of the triad of Abrahamic tradtions, namely the Islamic one, both in its exoteric and esoteric components, notwithstanding the fact that 18th century FM underwent a providential transformation towards a world-embracing initiatic order. In this context the question is apropos by whom esoteric knowledge was transmitted to the Knights Templars in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the East.

As Mr Waite termed himself someone devoted to Christian mystical experience, he himself thus explained the restriction of his perspective. Not all of his contemporaries, e.g. René Guénon, shared this viewpoint, the latter author taking great care to distinguish between "mysticism and initiation" and "religion and metaphysic" (my use of the singular is intended).

Nevertheless, Arthur Edward Waite is an author I love. His diligent, considerate, empathetic research and analysis of continental European FM shines in contrast to some other Anglo-Saxon authors. Even when criticising apparent follies of certain rituals, this occurs on a background of brotherly love.