The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail, the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Gary Osborn (Author) "If you have bought this book, you are doubtless already intrigued by the Holy Grail and the many myths that surround it..." (more)
Key Phrases: ancient serpent cult, serpent grail, three cosmic zones, Elixir of Life, World Mother, Shining Ones (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The truth has been buried for hundreds of years beneath myth, symbolism, and propaganda—but it finally comes to light in these pages and can no longer be denied. This is the story of an extraordinary journey of discovery that uncovers the existence of a serpent-worshipping cult that thrived throughout the world in ancient times and whose influences have permeated all the major religions. The cult’s central rite involved mixing together snake blood and venom in a ceremonial bowl, forging a powerful healing elixir—and the evidence shows that this ritual holds the key to solving such enigmatic mysteries as the Holy Grail, Elixir of Life, Philosopher’s Stone, and the lost city of Atlantis. It’s nothing less than a radical reinterpretation of world history.
 

About the Author

Philip Gardiner believes that much of orthodox history is based upon propaganda in one form or another. His search for the truth has led him to uncover historical evidence which previously had been unseen for what it is. He is the author of The Shining Ones - the world's most powerful secret society revealed. And Proof - Does God Exist? - is there any evidence for the existence of god? Gary Osborn has written widely on mysticism, esoteric traditions and the nature of human consciousness. He describes himself as an 'initiate into the mysteries'.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Watkins (December 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842931296
• ISBN-13: 978-1842931295
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #434,649 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rambling Lack of Scholarship, June 1, 2006

By	CR Masterson (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

The authors ignore respected sources that apply very directly to their work, and the various observations regarding the serpent icon, meaning and myth.
By not including Marija Gimbutas various archeolgical books ("The Language of the Goddess: Unearthing the Hidden Symbols of Western Civilization" for one), nor Barbara G. Walker's "The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects" as well as "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" Serpent Grail authors rob their arguments of strong investigators of relevant subject matter. Further, they do not seem to know of Jeremy Narby's "Cosmic Serpent" which offers much insight into an intriguing indigenous and shamanic interpretaion of serpent, life force, and what we call DNA.
Worse, in my opinion all too often the authors ramble on and in sudden "deus ex machina" fashion include "And so it is obvious that...."
What follows is a conclusion unsupported by reasoned presentation based on facts. Rather, a string of events, and suppositions are offered, and quickly summed up as clearly proving whatever the authors are selling.
I wanted this book to be so much better than it is. I think it a shame Gimbutas and Walker are not included as their work is so very relevant to this book and its premises. Further, with more rigorous scholarship and intellectual discipline the case the authors are making would be much better served.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evaluation of The Serpent Grail by Osborn and Gardiner, August 5, 2007

By	Al S. Morrison - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Throughout recorded history, human males have had trouble using their sexuality to benefit themselves and others. Sexual energy and territorial rights have continually been the basis for most wars and human problems, individually and collectively. This book deals with the societies that have learned special ways to sublimate sexual energy.

Little boys always have to learn how, what and when to deal with their penis when sexual energy begins to arise and throughout life this is a problem and has always been a problem with all human males--and consequently females.

This book is easy to read with few technical terms and the terms are explained. Well written, plain and simple with explanations of events following in logical order. Both writers are personally interested in the topic from a layman's approach. I suspect that both authors at some point in their research, perhaps before then, and joined some branch of one of the secret societies. The authors do not deal with the dark side of secret societies nor do they hint of this anywhere in the book.

The Shining Ones refers to those that have gone through an initiation process in which they have learned how to deal with their sexual energies: how to sublimate these energies for social purposes--usually. If the methods are successful, the initiate then becomes an "enlightened or illuminated one"--a Shining One. The Shining One refers mostly to the initiate's inner feeling of energy and enlightenment--a new way of life that was spoken of by Christ and others. The initiate then feels illuminated with new energy; Shining inside, often referred to as the inner light or illumination.

Both writers collaborated also on another book, The Shining Ones, which is about some of the members of these secret societies. This book is about how humans have dealt with their sexual energies: how they have sublimated these energies via special, secret methods. The serpent or snake became a model for the human penis and how special methods allowed these initiates to use their sexual energies to help themselves and others.

Both of these books are well written and present the concepts that are the origins of all secret societies: how humans, particularly men, learn to harness their sexual energy for social purposes (usually social).

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice research surrounding a weak thesis, February 9, 2008

By	Mark Gibbs (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Choc-a-bloc with esoteric tidbits. There's something for everyone here.
The problem lies within the book's central premise - that the gigantic serpent phenomena is all about snakes. So the cosmic ramifications of serpent symbolism, rites and mythology can be reduced to ancient man's appreciation of the medicinal or healing qualities of snake venom and snakeskin. If one can get past this notion, there really is some excellent research here.