10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valuable documents and documentation, February 27, 2006
This review is from: The Story Of The Hermetic Brotherhood Of Light (Paperback)
Despite the pans of other reviewers, objectively, this book is very interesting on several levels.
One wonders if most of the other reviewers even bothered to read the book, or merely panned it on sight due to their personal hostilties with the author, admittedly a sometimes controversial figure in UFOlogy and the Occult.
This book concerns itself with the Georgia mystic society, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light. It speculates quite successfully its possible connection with the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, briefly biographs its somewhat enigmatic founder, and prints several documents of the Brotherhood of Light, showing their derivation and indebtedness to from the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor and Dr. Paschal Beverly Randolph. Furthermore, it reprints Dr. P.B. Randolph's rarely seen "Ansairetic Mysteries", allowing the reader to contrast and compare them to the Brotherhood of Light's monographs. Such comparison is quite fascinating: one could hardly otherwise believe that the secrets of sexual magick taught by a mid-19th century mulatto were later promulgated (in a milder form) by a white rural Georgia secret society.
It also, interestingly, shows correspondence between Dr. Randolph's widow, and R. Swineburn Clymer, showing how little Clymer's claimed authorities from her actually amounted to, and that neither Clymer or Mrs. Randolph were in possession of Dr. Randolph's "word", the utterance of which caused him to be recognized as "Master of the Dome" during a European Roscicrucian Conference in 1852. While this document, probably due to its importance, has been transcribed, there are also several pages of handwritten letters and instructions reproduced in miniature that one wishes had been similarly transcribed. This is the *only* flaw in this otherwise fascinating history of this otherwise little-known secret society.
While his own editorializing and actual authorship in this book is fairly minimal, Bishop Greenfield is to be congratulated for introducing the world to the history and teachings of this society. One can only hope that further documents concerning its teachings may surface, and the origins, history and dogma of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light be further and more completely illuminated for posterity.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The first history of the Georgia HBL, March 18, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Story Of The Hermetic Brotherhood Of Light (Paperback)
An interesting look at the local history of the Hermetic Brotherhood in Georgia, well investigated and with some of the organs publications reprinted therein. It appears to be a quite well done book that breaks new ground in its coverage of this little known aspect of Georgia history.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Delightful Book Plagued With Bad Review(s), June 14, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Story Of The Hermetic Brotherhood Of Light (Paperback)
To my surprise, I found this HB of L history to be quite interesting and well written. The previous bad reviews appear to be the same person from the terminology they have used, and with more an axe to grind with the author than any real reading or comprehension skills on their part. That would handily explain why the reviewer(s) found this tome to be "boring".
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