Hidden Wisdom

Contemporary seekers on the hunt for an overview of the Western mystery traditions often face a small selection of dense, out-of-date tomes. Alternatively, Hidden Wisdom is a fresh, coherent, and accessible work that expounds many of the teachings of Western esotericism, examining its key figures and movements.

“The best book about the secret tradition I’ve read for many years. Tim Wallace-Murphy writes with style, passion and truth. A magnificent achievement.” —Graham Hancock, New York Times–bestselling author of Fingerprints of the Gods From Egyptian mythology to Jewish mysticism, Rome and Greece to the druids and the gnostics, Tim Wallace-Murphy exposes a fascinating lineage of hidden mysteries and secret societies, continuing through the Templars, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons to our modern visionaries. This hidden stream of spirituality and that of sacred knowledge are inseparably entwined to form the single most important continuous strand in the entire Western esoteric tradition. This tradition exerted a seminal influence on the thinking of the builders of the great cathedrals/ leading teachers in ecclesiastical schools/ philosophers/ playwrights/ poets such as Shakespeare, Goethe, Blake, and W. B. Yeats/ and on artists and Renaissance giants such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It is also the root from which sprang alchemy and modern science. Now, as more people are looking to find information on the alternatives to dominant religions and dogmas that have told us what to think and how to behave, as faith has been questioned by religious scandals, economic meltdowns, and an increasingly sick planet Earth, Wallace-Murphy reveals the secrets of the masters, including invaluable spiritual insights into everyday life that have been hidden throughout the ages. He shows us who kept this spiritual tradition alive despite appalling persecution, so that we in the twenty-first century might benefit from its accumulated fruits and ennoble our lives. Hidden Wisdom will be of immense interest to readers of the number-one bestseller The Lost Symbol as it explains much of Dan Brown’s focus on the ancient mysteries.

Secret Wisdom is a profusely illustrated exploration of the Western Mystery tradition and its development through the centuries. Aspects of the tradition can be seen to have influenced the growth of Christianity, the culture of the Renaissance and even the great discoveries of astronomy and experimental science. The book explains this hidden cur...

In this insightful interpretation of the Holy Bible, the profound spiritual and power-bestowing truths of the sacred language of such Old Testament stories as the Creation, the Flood and Tower, the Life of Joseph as a Mystery Drama, and Moses and the Exodus are liberated from their cryptic enclosure. The second of a two-part abridgement, published in 1994.

This book investigates the problem of esoteric traditions in early Christianity, their origin and their transformation in Patristic hermeneutics, in the West as well as in the East. It argues that these traditions eventually formed the basis of nascent Christian mysticism in Late Antiquity. These esoteric traditions do not reflect the influence of Greek Mystery religions, as has often been claimed, but rather seem to stem from the Jewish background of Christianity. They were adopted by various Gnostic teachings, a fact which helps explaining their eventual disappearance from Patristic literature. The eleven chapters study each a different aspect of the problem, including the questions of Gnostic and Manichaean esotericism. This book will be of interest to all students of religious history in Late Antiquity. Revised and extended paperback edition. Originally published in 1996. Please click here for details.

"Everyone fascinated by The DaVinci Code could not find a better overview of the mystical riches indigenous to the West than this one. Authors Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney speak with objectivity, covering the strengths and weaknesses as well as the history and ideas of each tradition. They also end each chapter with a wealth of resources for further exploration. Whether you are just beginning to seek a spiritual practice or want to know more about a particular teaching, Hidden Wisdom is a resource for finding the path that is right for you."--BOOK JACKET.

In this insightful interpretation of the Holy Bible, the profound spiritual and power-bestowing truths of the sacred language of such Old Testament stories as 'the Creation', 'the Flood and Tower', 'the Life of Joseph as a Mystery Drama', and 'Moses and the Exodus' are liberated from their cryptic enclosure. The second of a two-part abridgement, published in 1994.