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Secret Symbols and Sacred Art
Destiny Books 1993, 2005 ISBN #159477088-3 Paraphrased from the back cover: "James Wasserman is author of several works, including "Templars and Assassins: The Militia of Heaven" and "The Slaves Shall Serve: Meditations on Liberty". He is responsible for the restoration of the Papyrus of Ani, which was published in full color in "The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day", and has played a key role in presenting the works of Aleister Crowley, including the "Thoth Tarot" cards, "The Holy Books of Thelema", as well as his own book, "Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary"." With these credentials, the reader would not be wrong with having high expectations. These expectations are met and exceeded - in through text, and through the full color presentation of some of the most stunning works of art that I have ever seen. In his introduction, Wasserman gives thanks to several esoteric organizations, as well as to private individuals, for sharing their wisdom and their sacred art. My heartfelt thanks go to these same individuals - your act of sharing will bring the Western Mystery Tradition into many peoples lives in a very unique way. The first edition of this book came out in 1993, under the title "Art and Symbols of the Occult". The 2005 expanded edition includes a new chapter on Secret Societies, societies that are all around us, but which most of us know little about. In his preface, Wasserman indicates that through this book the reader has the ability to ascend the sacred ladder of initiation in the West. This initiation acts to develop our awareness of the infinite nature of the soul through personal experience, and participating in an intimate union with that which is Holy. Wasserman notes that for many people the natural path to this initiation is through the auspices of secret societies. The thread that holds the web of this book together is that of correspondences. Everything is inter-dependent on all other things. The story of correspondences is told through the use of symbols and images. The Egyptian religious tradition is referenced by Wasserman as the source for many of the disciplines discussed in this book (i.e. Alchemy, Astrology, Kabbalah and the Tarot). The book is broken down into sections on Astrology, Kabbalah, Initiation, Magic and the Gods, Secret Societies, Sexuality, Alchemy, Tarot and Symbolist and Visionary Art. Each section contains an explanation of the basic principles for that discipline, as well as a wealth of art relating to it. Under Astrology Wasserman discuses its roots in astronomy, and the basic structure of planets, signs and houses. The illustrations in this chapter includes a graphic entitled the "Zodiacal Figure", a manuscript illumination by the Limbourg Brothers from early 15th century France; "Planetary Seals", manuscript illuminations, De Sphaera, 15th century Italy; "Copernican Planisphere", engraving by Andreas Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, 1708; "Atlas Bearing the Heavens", Coelifer Atlas, Woodcut, 1559; and "Stonehenge", an idealized painting of a historical ceremony by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick and Charles Hamilton Smith, London, 1815. In the section on Kabbalah, Wasserman discusses the four worlds, the Tree of Life, the ten numbers and the twenty-two letters. Illustrations include "Grand Man of Zohar", by J.A. Knapp; "Alchemical Tree", a manuscript illumination from Alchemical Treatsies, attributed to Raymond Lull; the "Tree of Cosmos", illustration by Dionysius Freher, The Works of Jacob Behmen; the "Tree of Life With Attributions", computer generated diagram by Hymenaeus Beta of Ordo Templi Orientis, 1992; and the "Tree of Life and Death", miniature by Berthold Furtmeyer, Missal of the Archbishop of Salzburg, 1481. The section on initiation is a schooling all on its own. A well done section that includes discussions on Invisible Guides and Higher Intelligence, The Quest and the Spiritual Battle, and Western Secret Societies. The section starts out with a stunning "Masonic Seal of the Doubleheaded Eagle", by J.A. Knapp, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manley Hall, 1925; and also includes the well known illustration "The Proportions of the Human Figure According To Vitrivius", by Leonardo da Vinci ca. 1510; "Consecration of Horus and Set of Seti I", tracing of papyrus, Thebes, 19th Dynasty, in The Gods of the Egyptians, by E. A. Wallis-Budge, 1904; and the "Vision of the Holy Grail", tapestry by William Morris to the design of Burne Jones, ca. 1890. There is so much more to this book - a high concentration of high quality art, along with photographs of such luminaries as Eliphas Levi, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, Aleister Crowley, Helena Patrovna Blavatsky, Dr. Israel Regardie and Freida Lady Harris. The section on Alchemy includes manuscript illuminations for the 22 Alchemical Stages, as well as "The First Stage of the Great Work", an engraving designed by Heinrich Kuhnrath, Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom, 1604. The section on Tarot includes illustrations from the Visconti Tarot (1450), the Marseilles Tarot (1748), and the Crowley Tarot (1944). Within this book, in vivid color, are the sacred colors, shapes and symbols of the Western Mystery Tradition. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the wisdom contained herein is infinite. As a reference book for symbols and sacred art, as a gateway into the Western Mystery Tradition, or simply as a pleasant read, this book is well worth adding to your library. You will turn to it again and again, and walk away pleased each and every time.
Bonnie Cehovet
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