Appendix
p. 271 NOTE A, page 12.--In some Lodges the Tyler takes the sword from the altar. NOTE B, page 18.--Some Masters repeat the words, "O Lord my God," three times. NOTE C, page 19--Masters differ about the proper manner of placing the three lights around the altar. In...
Title Page
THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES by Manly P. Hall [1928, copyright not renewed] Start Reading For once, a book which really lives up to its title. Hall self-published this massive tome in 1928, consisting of about 200 legal-sized pages in 8 point type; it is literally...
Dedication
THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES AN ENCYCLOPEDIC OUTLINE OF MASONIC, HERMETIC, QABBALISTIC AND ROSICRUCIAN SYMBOLICAL PHILOSOPHY Being an Interpretation of the Secret Teachings concealed within the Rituals, Allegories, and Mysteries of all Ages By Manly P. Hall SAN...
Preface
p. 5 NUMEROUS volumes have been written as commentaries upon the secret systems of philosophy existing in the ancient world, but the ageless truths of life, like many of the earth's greatest thinkers, have usually been clothed in shabby garments. The present work is...
Table of Contents
p. 7 DEDICATION 3 PREFACE 5 COLOR PLATES 9 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT 11 INTRODUCTION 12 THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES AND SECRET SOCIETIES WHICH HAVE INFLUENCED MODERN MASONIC SYMBOLISM Ancient systems of education--Celsus concerning the Christians--Knowledge necessary to...
Introduction
p. 12 p. 13 PHILOSOPHY is the science of estimating values. The superiority of any state or substance over another is determined by philosophy. By assigning a position of primary importance to what remains when all that is secondary has been removed, philosophy thus...
The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolism | Chapter 1
p. 21 WHEN confronted with a problem involving the use of the reasoning faculties, individuals of strong intellect keep their poise, and seek to reach a solution by obtaining facts bearing upon the question. Those of immature mentality, on the other hand, when...
The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Part Two | Chapter 2
p. 25 THE entire history of Christian and pagan Gnosticism is shrouded in the deepest mystery and obscurity; for, while the Gnostics were undoubtedly prolific writers, little of their literature has survived. They brought down upon themselves the animosity of the...
The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Part Three | Chapter 3
p. 29 THE most famous of the ancient religious Mysteries were the Eleusinian, whose rites were celebrated every five years in the city of Eleusis to honor Ceres (Demeter, Rhea, or Isis) and her daughter, Persephone. The initiates of the Eleusinian School were famous...
Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity | Chapter 4
p. 33 ATLANTIS is the subject of a short but important article appearing in the Annual Report of the Board of Regents of The Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30th, 1915. The author, M. Pierre Termier, a member of the Academy of Sciences and Director of...
The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus | Chapter 5
p. 37 THUNDER rolled, lightning flashed, the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom. The venerable initiator, in his robes of blue and gold, slowly raised his jeweled wand and pointed with it into the darkness revealed by the tearing of the silken curtain:...
The Initiation of the Pyramid | Chapter 6
p. 41 SUPREME among the wonders of antiquity, unrivaled by the achievements of later architects and builders, the Great Pyramid of Gizeh bears mute witness to an unknown civilization which, having completed its predestined span, passed into oblivion. Eloquent in its...
Isis, the Virgin of the World | Chapter 7
p. 45 IT is especially fitting that a study of Hermetic symbolism should begin with a discussion of the symbols and attributes of the Saitic Isis. This is the Isis of Sais, famous for the inscription concerning her which appeared on the front of her temple in that...
The Sun, A Universal Deity | Chapter 8
p. 49 THE adoration of the sun was one of the earliest and most natural forms of religious expression. Complex modern theologies are merely involvements and amplifications of this simple aboriginal belief. The primitive mind, recognizing the beneficent power of the...
The Zodiac and Its Signs | Chapter 9
p. 53 IT is difficult for this age to estimate correctly the profound effect produced upon the religions, philosophies, and sciences of antiquity by the study of the planets, luminaries, and constellations. Not without adequate reason were the Magi of Persia called...
The Bembine Table of Isis | Chapter 10
p. 57 THE BEMBINE TABLE OF ISIS. Concerning the theurgic or magic sense in which the Egyptian priests exhibited in the Bembine Table of Isis the philosophy of sacrifice, rites, and ceremonies by a system of occult symbols, Athanasius Kircher writes: "The early priests...
Wonders of Antiquity | Chapter 11
p. 61 IT was a common practice among the early Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans to seal lighted lamps in the sepulchers of their dead as offerings to the God of Death. Possibly it was also believed that the deceased could use these lights in finding his way through the...
The Life and Philosophy of Pythagoras | Chapter 12
p. 65 WHILE Mnesarchus, the father of Pythagoras, was in the city of Delphi on matters pertaining to his business as a merchant, he and his wife, Parthenis, decided to consult the oracle of Delphi as to whether the Fates were favorable for their return voyage to...
Pythagorean Mathematics | Chapter 13
p. 69 CONCERNING the secret significance of numbers there has been much speculation. Though many interesting discoveries have been made, it may be safely said that with the death of Pythagoras the great key to this science was lost. For nearly 2500 years philosophers...
The Human Body in Symbolism | Chapter 14
p. 73 THE oldest, the most profound, the most universal of all symbols is the human body. The Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, and Hindus considered a philosophical analysis of man's triune nature to be an indispensable part of ethical and religious training. The...
The Hiramic Legend | Chapter 15
p. 77 WHEN Solomon--the beloved of God, builder of the Everlasting House, and Grand Master of the Lodge of Jerusalem--ascended the throne of his father David he consecrated his life to the erection of a temple to God and a palace for the kings of Israel. David's...
The Pythagorean Theory of Music and Color | Chapter 16
p. 81 HARMONY is a state recognized by great philosophers as the immediate prerequisite of beauty. A compound is termed beautiful only when its parts are in harmonious combination. The world is called beautiful and its Creator is designated the Good because good...
Fishes, Insects, Animals, Reptiles and Birds Part One | Chapter 17
p. 85 THE creatures inhabiting the water, air, and earth were held in veneration by all races of antiquity. Realizing that visible bodies are only symbols of invisible forces, the ancients worshiped the Divine Power through the lower kingdoms of Nature, because those...
Fishes, Insects, Animals, Reptiles and Birds (Part Two) | Chapter 18
p. 89 AS appropriate emblems of various human and divine attributes birds were included in religious and philosophic symbolism that of pagans and of Christians alike. Cruelty was signified by the buzzard; courage by the eagle; self-sacrifice by the pelican; and pride...
Flowers, Plants, Fruits, and Trees | Chapter 19
p. 93 THE yoni and phallus were worshiped by nearly all ancient peoples as appropriate symbols of God's creative power. The Garden of Eden, the Ark, the Gate of the Temple, the Veil of the Mysteries, the vesica piscis or oval nimbus, and the Holy Grail are important...
Stones, Metals and Gems | Chapter 20
p. 97 EACH of the four primary elements as taught by the early philosophers has its analogue in the quaternary terrestrial constitution of man. The rocks and earth correspond to the bones and flesh; the water to the various fluids; the air to the gases; and the fire...
Ceremonial Magic and Sorcery | Chapter 21
CEREMONIAL magic is the ancient art of invoking and controlling spirits by a scientific application of certain formulæ. A magician, enveloped in sanctified vestments and carrying a wand inscribed with hieroglyphic figures, could by the power vested in certain words...
The Elements and Their Inhabitants | Chapter 22
p. 105 FOR the most comprehensive and lucid exposition of occult pneumatology (the branch of philosophy dealing with spiritual substances) extant, mankind is indebted to Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), prince of alchemists and...
Hermetic Pharmacology, Chemistry, and Therapeutics | Chapter 23
p. 109 THE art of healing was originally one of the secret sciences of the priestcraft, and the mystery of its source is obscured by the same veil which hides the genesis of religious belief. All higher forms of knowledge were originally in the possession of the...
The Qabbalah, the Secret Doctrine of Israel | Chapter 24
p. 113 ALBERT PIKE, quoting from Transcendental Magic, thus sums up the importance of Qabbalism as a key to Masonic esotericism: "One is filled with admiration, on penetrating into the Sanctuary of the Kabalah, at seeing a doctrine so logical, so simple, and at the...