Travis Simpkins: "Hidden Wisdom: Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition" by Tim Wallace-Murphy

Sunday, August 14, 2016

"Hidden Wisdom: Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition" by Tim Wallace-Murphy

Hidden Wisdom

Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition

by Tim Wallace-Murphy

Disinformation, 2010

Brief Review by Travis Simpkins

Dr. Tim Wallace-Murphy's ambitious work, Hidden Wisdom: Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition, skillfully examines material that could've comprised several books and condenses it into a useful 300-page volume. A fresh look at the hidden mysteries and undercurrents that permeate history's mystic ties are covered in topics ranging from Ancient Egypt to Jewish Mysticism, from Ancient Greece to Ancient Rome, from the Druids to the Gnostics and Cathars, from the Knights Templar to the Rosicrucians and on to the Freemasons. This secret tradition Wallace-Murphy speaks of "exerted a seminal influence on the thinking of the builders of the great cathedrals, leading teachers in ecclesiastical schools, on philosophers, playwrights and poets… on artists and Renaissance giants such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It is also the the root from which sprang alchemy and modern science."

Fascinating and well-composed, Tim Wallace-Murphy's gift for prose shines through in the book's eloquent and passionate delivery. By revealing and discussing the spiritual secrets of the Ancients, this work inspires the modern reader to look at the Western esoteric field in alternate ways and to apply that newfound light to their own life experiences.