‘New edition of Secret Teachings due soon’

    

I’ve lost count of how many editions of The Secret Teachings of All Ages the Philosophical Research Society has published during the past twenty-four months, but a new printing of the famous 1977 Diamond Jubilee 50th anniversary book is forthcoming, and advance orders are being accepted. From the publicity:

The Secret Teachings of All Ages

Deluxe Edition Now Available

For Pre-Order!

Pre-order discount of $25 off! (Only during pre-order period.)

First published in 1928, Manly P. Hall’s mammoth encyclopedia of esoteric symbols and traditions, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, has influenced and inspired generations of readers, scholars, and seekers with its interpretations of the themes underlying the ancient mythology, philosophy, religion, rituals, and arcane mysteries of all ages. The breathtaking illustrations by artist John Augustus Knapp–gorgeous visions of Atlantean temples, Delphic oracles and Mithraic gods, swirling with color and arcane symbols–are among the most admired and widely imitated works in esoteric art in the 20th century.

For nearly a century, The Secret Teachings of All Ages has been treasured and studied as one of the most influential texts on esoteric and metaphysical traditions ever written. This deluxe new hardcover edition, based on the 1977 Diamond Jubilee 50th anniversary edition, features greatly improved reproductions of fifty-four full-color plates by illustrator John August Knapp, taken from the rare original copies of the artworks in the PRS Library collection, along with new cover art by Nikoo Bafti incorporating Knapp’s original artwork.

This item is expected to ship late January 2025.

“The book is like unto a door–a gate, in some old sanctuary, containing within it a wealth of imagery; a wealth of mysteries, designs and figures. When you have wandered therein you might say to yourself: ‘I wish I had a guide to tell me what these things mean.’ And you will find your guide to be your own rational soul.”

Manly P. Hall,

Lecture on Esotericism and Exotericism

1928

More information and ordering here.

     

‘Learn the Secret Teachings in the Reading Room’

    

Manly P. Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages covers many subjects, but one of the passages on Freemasonry will be the topic of discussion in the Reading Room, a feature of Craftsmen Online, this spring. At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, the panel will look into “Freemasonic Symbolism.” A taste:

The sanctum sanctorum of Freemasonry is ornamented with the gnostic jewels of a thousand ages; its rituals ring with the divinely inspired words of seers and sages. A hundred religions have brought their gifts of wisdom to its altar; arts and sciences unnumbered have contributed to its symbolism. Freemasonry is a world-wide university, teaching the liberal arts and sciences of the soul to all who will hearken to its words. Its chairs are seats of learning and its pillars uphold an arch of universal education. Its trestleboards are inscribed with the eternal verities of all ages and upon those who comprehend its sacred depths has dawned the realization that within the Freemasonic Mysteries lie hidden the long-lost arcana sought by all peoples since the genesis of human reason.

Click here for the text. Click here to join this meeting via Zoom when the time comes.

     

‘Find the “Lost Keys” in the Reading Room’

    

Craftsmen Online

I’ve organized a few book clubs over the years, and the second reading every time was Manly P. Hall’s The Lost Keys of Freemasonry for its brevity and the author’s enticing prose. And, because Hall wrote it about thirty years before he was initiated into the Craft, the book is kind of a curio. So I was delighted to learn today that the Reading Room at Craftsmen Online has chosen Chapter Five as the focus of its next discussion. From the publicity:

The Craftsmen Online Reading Room will re-open on Sunday, October 29 at 7 p.m. Our panel for the evening will be R∴W∴ Clifford T. Jacobs, Bro. Jason W. Short, R∴W∴ Bill Edwards, and V∴W∴ Michael LaRocco.

This meeting is open to the public, as all persons with an interest in the Ancient and Gentle Craft of Freemasonry are welcome. Our reading selection for October is from Bro. Manly P. Hall’s The Lost Keys of Freemasonry. We will be focusing on Chapter Five, “The Qualifications of a True Mason.” This will allow us to have a lively philosophical discussion without getting into any of the ritual work in a non-tiled setting.

Click here for a copy of this material. To join us, click here.

No RSVP is required to attended this event. Please save the date and Zoom link on your calendar.

     

‘Knapp-Hall tarot returns!’

     

PRS

It is time for a follow-up to last October’s post about the purported return of the Knapp-Hall tarot deck from the Philosophical Research Society. The PRS now advises there is a delay in shipping, but the decks are available. This is a limited run of 1,500 in a design consistent with the original 1929 printing. Price: $100. From the publicity:

PRS

The Revised New Art Tarot aka the “Knapp-Hall Tarot” was originally published in 1929, a collaboration between illustrator & artist John Augustus Knapp (1853-1938) and writer, sage & teacher Manly P. Hall (1901-1990). It was released the year after Hall’s monumental encyclopedia of esoteric traditions and symbols, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, illustrated by Knapp, and over the years this exceedingly rare and beautiful Tarot has come to be known as the Knapp-Hall deck–with original examples selling for thousands of dollars, when they can be found.

It initially was issued with 78 cards, a two-piece, plum fabric-covered box, and a 48-page booklet containing “An Essay on the Book of Thoth” written by Hall. The Knapp-Hall Tarot Deck has been re-printed several times over the years but always with different dimensions and new designs for the reverse of the cards. For this Limited Edition of 1,500, we have replicated the graphics, texture, feel and dimensions of the original 1929 Revised New Art Tarot as closely as possible given modern printing methods. Card images were taken from scans of an original 1929 deck with only minimal corrections for wear and tear. The sepia tone of the card stock, due to aging, has been preserved to reflect what a 1929 deck would look like today.

Please note that this beautiful Tarot is smaller and more delicate than most modern decks, so treat it with care in handling. Any imperfections in the cards (for example, the Knight/Warrior of Pentacles has a smaller border than the other cards) are present in the original 1929 deck scanned for this edition.

     

‘Reprints of Secret Teachings coming to market’

    

Taschen

I hope you are enjoying this unique time with the people and in the traditions that are most important to you.

Speaking of people and traditions, new editions of Manly Palmer Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages are hitting the market courtesy of both the Philosophical Research Society and Taschen. There’s something for everyone.

PRS

From the PRS come reprints of the classic hardcover and paperback versions you know well. This is the 1977 Diamond Jubilee edition as reprinted this year. The hardcover is available for $110, and the reduced size paperback is yours for $95.

What’s new—well, not exactly new, but newly made available to us—is A Study Guide to The Secret Teachings of All Ages. $25 per copy.

Originally simple mimeographed pages shared with students at the PRS in Los Angeles, the text now is in book form for your edification as you approach the daunting and dense volume from 1928.

Taschen

From Taschen comes a Secret Teachings in a lavish format that you would expect from this publisher in a run of 5,000 copies at $500 each. Actually, this isn’t due out until next month, but orders are being taken now. What you get for the money is the hardcover (356 pages) inside a slipcase and with foldout art; a companion book (256 pages); and four prints in a folio.

The companion book contains summaries of the chapters in the main text, plus art you’ve never seen, photos taken by Hall, and essays by Mitch Horowitz and Jessica Hundley. Those four special edition prints are based on art created by J. Augustus Knapp and M.K. Serailian, Hall’s collaborators, and come from the PRS archives. Read all about that here.

     

‘Knapp-Hall tarot to return again’

    

No details were given, but a brief remark on social media Thursday promises the return of the elusive Knapp-Hall tarot deck.

As in J. Augustus Knapp and Manly P. Hall.

Out of stock at the Philosophical Research Society, the historic cards have been wait-listed for a long while. Looks like the wait is nearly over.

Some background info here and here.

     

‘Chess: Geometry is the key’

 

Magpie file photo

Remnants of Albert Pike’s chess set are displayed in the House of the Temple. They look to predate the standardization of chess pieces in the nineteenth century by chess master Howard Staunton.

Of course every day is a chess day, but today is International Chess Day. Have a great, or Magnus, day!

The closing paragraph of the “An Analysis of the Tarot Cards” chapter in Manly Palmer Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Page CXXXII) reads:

In its symbolism chess is the most significant of all games. It has been called “the royal game”—the pastime of kings. Like the Tarot cards, the chessmen represent the elements of life and philosophy. The game was played in India and China long before its introduction into Europe. East Indian princes were wont to sit on the balconies of their palaces and play chess with living men standing upon a checkerboard pavement of black and white marble in the courtyard below. It is popularly believed that the Egyptian Pharaohs played chess, but an examination of their sculpture and illuminations has led to the conclusion that the Egyptian game was a form of draughts. In China, chessmen are often carved to represent warring dynasties, as the Manchu and the Ming. The chessboard consists of 64 squares alternately black and white and symbolizes the floor of the House of the Mysteries. Upon this field of existence or thought move a number of strangely carved figures, each according to fixed law. The white king is Ormuzd; the black king, Ahriman; and upon the plains of Cosmos the great war between Light and Darkness is fought through all the ages. Of the philosophical constitution of man, the kings represent the spirit; the queens the mind; the bishops the emotions; the knights the vitality; the castles, or rooks, the physical body. The pieces upon the king’s side are positive; those upon the queen’s side, negative. The pawns are sensory impulses and perceptive faculties—the eight parts of the soul. The white king and his suite symbolize the Self and its vehicles; the black king and his retinue, the not-self—the false Ego and its legion. The game of chess thus sets forth the eternal struggle of each part of man’s compound nature against the shadow of itself. The nature of each of the chessmen is revealed by the way in which it moves; geometry is the key to their interpretation. For example: The castle (the body) moves on the square; the bishop (the emotions) moves on the slant; the king, being the spirit, cannot become captured, but loses the battle when so surrounded that it cannot escape.

If I win the lottery, I’m going to open a chess retail and playing parlor on Thompson, between West Third and Bleecker, and name it The Pawn Shop. In the meantime, “Make Evans Great Again!”

THIS JUST IN: Grand Master Magnus Carlsen announced on his podcast today that he will not compete next year to defend his world championship, which he has held since 2013. While not retiring from chess, he says he has no motivation to continue playing at the FIDE top stratum. The end of an era.

     

‘Filmmaker now directs PRS’

    

Dennis Bartok

The Philosophical Research Society, the center for study of hidden wisdom established by Manly P. Hall in Los Angeles in 1934, has a new Executive Director. Dennis Bartok is a longtime veteran of non-profit management who also has a background in making films.

Bartok, 57, is an alumnus of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts who worked in film as an actor, writer, director, and producer. He also is the author of A Thousand Cuts: The Bizarre Underground World of Collectors and Dealers Who Saved the Movies.

In the not-for-profit field, Bartok worked many years for American Cinematheque in L.A.

“I’m tremendously excited to be joining the Philosophical Research Society, an organization I’ve admired and enjoyed since I first wandered into the marvelous PRS bookshop in the early 1990s when I moved to Los Angeles,” Bartok says in the Society’s announcement from yesterday. “I’m hoping my experience engaging with the general public, artists, scholars, longtime supporters, and volunteers will help PRS expand its programs, exhibits, and outreach.”

See the full statement here.

     

‘Rules for better living’

    

The Philosophical Research Society has published anew another Manly P. Hall text in its Signature Editions series. Practical Philosophy: Ten Basic Rules for Better Living is “written in an accessible and direct style for clear application to daily life,” says the PRS website. “This book will guide you through most of life’s quandaries by drawing upon ancient wisdom and applying it to the unique challenges of contemporary life.”

     

‘New Manly Hall book’

    

The Philosophical Research Society released a new book today featuring previously unpublished writings of Manly Palmer Hall.

The Meanings of Christmas: Reflections on the Advent of Light combines updated Hall works, plus the hitherto unknown material. It is available now here.

From the publicity:

Manly Hall was at his best when he was bringing the esoteric to light, from ancient mythologies and rituals to contemporary expressions of them that are “hidden” or unknown to most. For the first time in print, here is the full spectrum of Mr. Hall’s reflections on the advent of the light commonly referred to as Christmas. This anthology contains material from throughout Mr. Hall’s productive life and reveals a remarkable consistency in his profound insights on the history, context, and meanings of Christmas. Readers will be surprised by joy at the many meanings of Christmas and how the ancient holiday reveals our deepest longings for enlightenment.

     

‘Two Sages: Hall and Jung’

     

The Philosophical Research Society offers an online discussion that will address two thinkers who contributed mightily to the twentieth century refinement of esoteric thought. From the publicity:

Manly Palmer Hall

and Carl Gustav Jung:

the Story and Message

of Two Sages

Presented by Stephan A. Hoeller

of the PRS

Thursday, April 29

10 p.m. Eastern Time

Reservations here

Philosopher Manly Palmer Hall and visionary psychologist Carl Gustav Jung both revived the Esoteric Tradition. The future republication of Hall’s work The Secret Teachings of All Ages, and the recent publication of Jung’s Black Books (amplifying his Red Book) call attention to the contributions of these two sages.

Stephan A. Hoeller was Manly P. Hall’s principal lecturing associate at PRS for more than twenty years. He is a noted scholar and lecturer on Gnosticism and the message of C.G. Jung. He is the author of five books, and is president of Besant Lodge of the Theosophical Society in Hollywood.

     

‘Esoteric Wisdom in a Time of Crisis’

     
Next Saturday will be the 30th anniversary of the death of Manly Palmer Hall. The Philosophical Research Society will present an on-line lecture made for these times. From the publicity:

Courtesy PRS

Esoteric Wisdom

in a Time of Crisis:

The Spiritual Legacy

of Manly P. Hall

Saturday, August 29

10:30 p.m. Eastern

Tickets here.

Join us for the premiere of this recently recorded lecture from Dr. Stephan Hoeller on “meeting the current health crisis and cultural turmoil with the aid of Manly P. Hall’s spiritual legacy.” Hoeller was Mr. Hall’s principal lecturing associate at PRS for more than 20 years. He is a noted scholar and lecturer on Gnosticism and the message of C.G. Jung. He is the author of five books and is president of Besant Lodge of the Theosophical Society on Beachwood Drive in Hollywood.

The mission of the Philosophical Research Society is the same as it was at its founding in 1934: to provide resources for seekers to find meaning and wisdom. To do this we seek out wisdom wherever it can be found, from any area of the world, any era in history, any way of knowing that has shown itself to be worthy by praxis. As a non-profit, on-campus, and on-line society dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom, our vision is of a community of seekers who are continually discovering, applying, cultivating, and rediscovering practical and profound wisdom in the 21st century. Guiding us as we guide seekers are the following values that we apply daily:

• Inclusiveness: PRS looks to include wisdom from its every source and to make it accessible to all who value it.
• Objectivity: PRS transcends any particular tradition, philosophy or personality.
• Freedom: PRS supports free and open inquiry into ways of knowing and being that are at the same time open to critique and dialogue.
• Community: PRS fosters a learning community characterized by stimulating and good-faith interaction.

     

‘A Digital Evening with Mitch Horowitz’

     

And, speaking of Manly P. Hall (see post below), the North Carolina Masonic Research Society plans “A Digital Evening with Mitch Horowitz” for next month. From the publicity:

Manly P. Hall

and The Secret Teachings

of All Ages

A Digital Evening

with Mitch Horowitz

Tuesday, August 11

8 p.m. (Eastern)

Tickets here

One of the most extraordinary works ever written on the esoteric mysteries of the ancient world came from a young man who was himself a riddle: Manly P. Hall.

The self-taught occult scholar had few visible signs of education following a lonely childhood in Canada and the American West during the early 20th century, yet in 1928, at age 27, Hall produced a monumental record of the hidden symbols and most carefully shrouded belief systems across human history. He called it The Secret Teachings of All Ages.

In this special digital evening, occult scholar Mitch Horowitz (“Solid Gold” - David Lynch) probes the most significant teachings of Hall’s mysterious masterpiece—and considers the life of the unusual man who produced it. Topics include:

• The mystery of how Manly P. Hall created such an epic work with no apparent schooling at a remarkably young age.
• Hall’s surprising influence on figures ranging from actor Bela Lugosi to President Ronald Reagan (who actually quoted from Hall in speeches).
• The controversial circumstances surrounding Hall’s death in 1990, and the lessons that can be found–both cautionary and inspiring–in the life of an esoteric master.
• The enduring value The Secret Teachings of All Ages, a book so unsurpassed in probing the inner workings of the world that it leaves no reader unchanged who approaches it.

Mitch also previews his forthcoming book, The Seeker’s Guide to the Secret Teachings of All Ages (coming in October) and takes your live questions. Do not miss this vibrant and revealing evening. (The presentation will not be live-streamed via Facebook.)

Mitch Horowitz is a historian of alternative spirituality, and is one of today’s most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult.

Mitch illuminates outsider history, explains its relevance to contemporary life, and reveals the longstanding quest to bring empowerment and agency to the human condition.

He is widely credited with returning the term “New Age” to respectable use, and is among the few occult writers whose work touches the bases of academic scholarship, national journalism, and subculture cred.

Mitch is a 2020 writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, lecturer-in-residence at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, and the PEN Award-winning author of books including Occult America, One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life, and The Miracle Club.

He has discussed alternative spirituality on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, Vox/Netflix’s Explained, and AMC Shudder’s Cursed Films, an official selection of SXSW 2020. Mitch is collaborating with director Ronni Thomas (Tribeca Film Festival) on a feature documentary about the occult classic The Kybalion, shot on location in Egypt and releasing in Fall 2020.

Mitch received the 2019 Walden Award for Interfaith/Intercultural Understanding. The Chinese government has censored his work.
     

‘New release of Manly Hall lectures’

     
Best to just let the publicity speak for itself:

The Philosophical Research Society is pleased to make available to the public for the first time a series of special edition audio recordings from Manly P. Hall. With more than 52 illuminating themes, ranging from “Buddha’s Great Discourse on Love, to “Transformation Mystery: The Alchemy of Attitudes” and his last recorded lecture, “Mental Stress,” you are sure to find a sense of profound inspiration in Hall’s words. Available online for shipping or curbside pickup.

Manly Palmer Hall (1901-90) was a Canadian-born scholar and philosopher. He is perhaps most famous for his 1928 book The Secret Teachings of All Ages.

Hall was the Philosophical Research Society’s first president, a seeker and lover of wisdom, and the very definition of a philosopher. He had the courage and the raw intellectual energy to look for wisdom in places that most people had long since forgotten about or never knew existed. He lived in an era when other cultures were valued only for their exoticism, if at all, but in them he found ancient and profound wisdom.

He began his public career in the related fields of philosophy and comparative religion at age 19, and devoted his life to teaching, writing, and lecturing without interruption for more than half a century. Uniquely endowed for the task to which he dedicated his life, he attained an amazing degree of scholarship in the beliefs, ideals, and convictions of humanity.

Hall gave nearly 7000 different lectures and talks, and appeared on numerous radio and television stations throughout the United States. All of his lectures, many lasting two hours, were given extemporaneously and without notes. His versatility was remarkable. He could discuss the Bill of Rights at the dedication of a public school, explain Socratic philosophy on the campus of a university, take the pulpit of a denominational church, give a sermon on Buddhism in a Buddhist temple, address the congregation of a synagogue, give the graduation talk for a medical college, or analyze the implications of space conquest before a chamber of commerce. In 1940 he received the Award of Merit for lectures given at the New York World’s Fair.

In addition to these activities, Manly P. Hall traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Central America, and assembled a magnificent library that he presented to the Society. With countless calls upon his time and energy he was able to write more than 35 books, scores of essays, and hundreds of articles. The Society continues to receive visitors and letters of appreciation from all over the world for the inspiration and guidance he shared over the course of his extraordinary life, and we continue his mission to provide practical and profound wisdom to seekers at all stages of life.
     

‘Rosicrucian readings’

     
Rosicrucian reading and discussion abound! Here is some news of local and virtual group studies:

A new printing.

First, Master Masons from lodges under the Grand Lodge of New Jersey are always welcome at the Second Masonic District Book Club’s meetings. The club will get together Tuesday, February 24 to discuss Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins by Manly P. Hall.

First published in 1929, thirty-five years before Hall was made a Mason, Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins followed by a year Hall’s masterpiece The Secret Teachings of All Ages, from which Origins sprang as an exposition of several Secret Teachings chapters. Excerpted:

“Preston, Gould, Mackey, Oliver, and Pike—in fact, nearly every great historian of Freemasonry—have all admitted the possibility of the modern society being connected, indirectly at least, with the ancient Mysteries, and their descriptions of the modern society are prefaced by excerpts from ancient writings descriptive of primitive ceremonials. These eminent Masonic scholars have all recognized in the legend of Hiram Abiff an adaptation of the Osiris myth; nor do they deny that the major part of the symbolism of the craft is derived from the pagan institutions of antiquity when the gods were venerated in secret places with strange figures and appropriate rituals. Though cognizant of the exalted origin of their order, these historians—either through fear or uncertainty—have failed, however, to drive home the one point necessary to establish the true purpose of Freemasonry: They did not realize that the Mysteries whose rituals Freemasonry perpetuates were the custodians of a secret philosophy of life of such transcendent nature that it can only be entrusted to an individual tested and proved beyond all peradventure of human frailty. The secret schools of Greece and Egypt were neither fraternal nor political fundamentally, nor were their ideals similar to those of the modern Craft. They were essentially philosophic and religious institutions, and all admitted into them were consecrated to the service of the sovereign good. Modern Freemasons, however, regard their Craft primarily as neither philosophic nor religious, but rather as ethical. Strange as it may seem, the majority openly ridicule the very supernatural powers and agencies for which their symbols stand.”

The Second Masonic District Book Club meets at Fidelity Lodge No. 113, located at 99 South Maple Avenue in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Discussion group will meet at 7:15 p.m. Attire: casual.

▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼

Meanwhile in cyberspace, the Rosicrucian Order itself offers its recommended reading lists, separately, for members and the public.

Members have access to their list via the private website’s Community Reading Room. Titles include Rosicrucian Code of Life for February, and Master of the Rose Cross: A Collection of Essays By and About H. Spencer Lewis for next month. “On the first of each month we will be posting discussion questions to get everyone started and you are also welcome to post your own questions and reflections.” Concurrently in a Facebook public group, those interested in Rosicrucianism may participate in this syllabus through the coming twelve months:

February: Kybalion by Three Initiates
March: With the Adepts: An Adventure among the Rosicrucians by Franz Hartman
April: Initiates of the Flame by Manly P. Hall
May: Awakening of the Psychic Heart by John Palo
June: Mansions of the Soul by H. Spencer Lewis
July: Mental Poisoning by H. Spencer Lewis
August: Rosicrucian Principles for Home and Business by H. Spencer Lewis
September: Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life by H. Spencer Lewis
October: Fama Fraternitatis
November: Confessio Fraternitatis
December: Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
January 2016: Positio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis
February 2016: Appellatio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis
     

‘The Return of the Knapp-Hall Tarot’

     
The University of Philosophical Research, the higher education arm of the Philosophical Research Society founded by Manly P. Hall in 1934, announces the publication of The Revised New Art Tarot. Originally published in 1929 by J. Augustus Knapp, who famously painted the art in Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages, this deck is considered one of the great modern tarots to come out of the early twentieth century. (Hall’s name would be added to the deck’s copyright in subsequent printings.) Read more about that here.

This deck has been out of print, I think, since the 1980s. Used and new old inventory copies fetch several hundred dollars each today.

For ordering information, send an e-mail to inquiries(at)uprs.edu

     

Master of the Mysteries

     
Through the kind offices of Paul Hardacre, editor and publisher of Alchemy Journal, my review of the new Manly Hall biography published in this month's issue appears here also.


Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall
By Louis Sahagun
Process Media, 2008, 295 pp., US$19.95
ISBN 978-1-934170-02-1

This biography wonderfully demystifies its subject and educates its reader. If you read much about Freemasonry, by now you surely have encountered some of the writings of Manly Hall, who wrote brilliantly and poetically about the Craft as a young man, several decades before he actually was initiated into the fraternity.

Our author is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times where he won a Pulitzer Prize for a series on Latinos in southern California, and where he writes on subjects varying from religion to crime to the environment to politics. Sahagun uses reportage from the archives of his newspaper to sketch the socio-economic landscape of California at the very moment the Golden State began to blossom into, as Woody Guthrie would later call it, the Garden of Eden. That, plus the numerous personal interviews and countless facts, large and small, culled from Hall’s and others’ writings, enables Sahagun to show the reader the early twentieth century wonderland of endless opportunity where a Canadian teenager with a sixth-grade education was able to transform himself into a world-renowned authority on timeless teachings and founder of a school of esoteric higher education whose writings appeared on President Harry Truman’s bookshelf.

And there is no mistaking this book is a biography written by a newspaperman, and not a work of hagiography penned by a fan. Hall’s writings are well known to several generations of Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Alchemists, Hermeticists, and others who delve into occult knowledge and who may be naturally disposed to romantic idealization, but the details of Hall’s life have not been disseminated as widely as his works. Sahagun performs the valuable service of not only rendering a portrait of a man, but also of revealing the inconsistencies – perhaps hypocrisies – of a man who personally touched thousands and reached many thousands more the world over with his messages of discovery and self-improvement. Even the narrative of the book lends itself to consideration of duality as Master of the Mysteries begins with an improbable Horatio Alger-like tale of a teenager arriving in Los Angeles, and concludes with an unexpected murder mystery worthy of a Hollywood film noir.

Late in 1919, Hall arrives in the City of Angels seeking a reunion with his mother, who had abandoned him in infancy. In his exploration, Hall meets Civil War veteran Sydney J. Brownson, who occupied a part of southern California’s occult culture as a phrenologist. Recognizing potential in the teenager’s intellect, personality and physical appearance (this book’s front cover depicts the Barrymore-like visage of the young Hall), and thinking he found in Hall a younger version of himself, Brownson plays mentor to Hall’s apprentice, imparting an education in religions and ancient histories. Less than a year later, Hall would appear before his first audience – a group of half a dozen gathered to hear about reincarnation – beginning the career that would define the rest of his life.

Hall’s message in this embryonic phase incorporated knowledge from ancient Egypt and Classical Greece to medieval Christianity and the modern mysticism of Helena Blavatsky. He spoke of the importance of self-control and the necessity of right thinking and right action to achieving harmony with the laws of the universe. The ideas he espoused “impel the believer to remake his own life, correct his faults, strengthen his character, and deepen his knowledge.” In time, Hall’s repertoire would enable him to speak extemporaneously for 90 minutes, a format he would never abandon, promptly concluding his every lecture at that hour-and-a-half mark with the sign-off: “Well, that’s about all for today, folks.” He made it look so easy that his fame began to spread among fringe religion and hidden wisdom circles, and he became a peer among those who led the various fellowships and congregations of diverse seekers that always seemed to be looking for leaders. His audiences grew in size, and his appearances increased in frequency during this period of unusual spiritual exploration. Another trademark Hall adopted at this time was the one dollar admission fee paid by each audience member, not an insignificant sum at the time. Also commenced was the building of Hall’s collection of “rare and unusual” books that eventually would total 30,000 volumes and would serve as the research library of what would become the Philosophical Research Society. And it also was during this period when Hall first explored his potential as a leader of an organization – in this case, the Church of the People, with 600 congregants. “Hall had no experience whatsoever in running a church – or anything else. But the 19-year-old was naïve and enthusiastic enough to take on the duties, which included counseling in a small office people old enough to be his grandparents.” For this role, Hall “began boning up on comparative religion, philosophy, sociology and psychology,” which enabled him to answer questions with “warm, reassuring words and admonishments of Confucius or some other sage. Seemingly overnight, Hall became a one-stop source of an astonishing range of eclectic spiritual material that resonated with the intellect, and the subconscious.”

The Manly Palmer Hall the occult world cherishes to this day was born.

For comedians, timing is everything, and for salesmen, it’s “location, location, location.” For young Manly Hall, success involved both time and space. One of the most useful aspects of this book is its author’s description of the spiritual scenery of southern California in the 1910s. “It was a time when many civic and business leaders, judges, architects, physicians, engineers and entertainment industry figures were members of Masonic lodges, whose neoclassical temples were among the most imposing buildings on the southern California landscape” at a time when Hollywood consisted of only a “sparse mix of buildings and citrus groves.”

“In those days,” Sahagun continues, “the city attorney, city marshal, city treasurer and first mayor, George Dunlop, all were Masons,” as were Hollywood’s first newspaper publisher and other prominent entrepreneurs. “Hall hoped to catch their attention.” And he wasn’t alone. Newspaper advertisements for other occult organizers were abundant, and Hall kept track of them: Dr. Nephi Cottam and his craniopathy; Manneck of India; Institute for Metaphysics founder Edwin Dingle; astrologer Charles Robert Wilson; the National Academy of Metaphysics’ courses on ancient teachings; Princess Zoraida, the crystal gazer; Pneumandros, who offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who could prove that his healing powers were bogus; and Professor J.W. Parker, who claimed the Great Pyramid in Egypt was “the Bible in stone”; Prince of Destiny George Terry; Katherine “Purple Mother” Tingley; and of course H. Spencer Lewis, founder of AMORC, were among those who made California an interesting place for those outside of mainstream religions, to say nothing of the many yogis, swamis and dealers of occult books.

Yet Hall prospered where most of the others failed. By cultivating the right connections and indulging his penchant for publicity, Hall managed to ensure a steady stream of revenue and an aura of inspired confidence always characterized his endeavors. His panache is perhaps best memorialized in a single book that has captured imaginations all over the world. Nicknamed "The Big Book," Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages was as grand as the decade dubbed The Roaring Twenties itself. Seven years in the making, with a production cost of $150,000, much of it raised through advance sales, The Big Book’s publisher accepted the project on the condition that the book be designed by John Henry Nash, a veteran of Vatican publishing. The result is the iconic 13 by 19-inch massive tome laden with 54 full-color plates depicting ancient and medieval symbols; hundreds of black-and-white illustrations copied from rare books; and of course the hundreds of pages of Hall’s essays on Masonic, Hermetic, Rosicrucian, Pythagorean, Native American, Qabbalistic, and other esoteric topics, mostly dictated in four-hour sessions day after day. The book’s first two print runs totaled 1,100 copies, and were sold out in advance at the price of $100 each. That’s $1,261 in today’s money. “It is a living human document pulsating with mental and spiritual vibrations of a profound thinker,” said George Barron, curator of M.H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. “It takes all knowledge for its province, and reduces whole libraries to the compass of a single tome.” It has sold more than one million copies in more than 80 years. Sahagun writes:

"Hall’s life would never be the same. Overnight he went from being just another earnest young preacher in the City of Angels to becoming an icon in the increasingly influential metaphysical movement sweeping the country in the 1920s. His book challenged assumptions about society’s spiritual roots and made people look at them in new ways. His presence at a dinner gathering or civic event inspired awe."

This biography spans the coming decades of Hall’s life interspersing its major events with its even more revealing private moments, and therein is found the man many readers are meeting for the first time. There is his first marriage, to his longtime secretary, which was practically a secret, the extant mementos of which evidently are merely some “census data, a wedding certificate, a few photographs” and the coroner’s report of her suicide. We have the details of the founding and construction of his Philosophical Research Society, his famous travels around the world, his relationships with various admirers and supporters, and his eventual admission into Freemasonry, which marked the end of his writing on that subject.

Also remarkable are his many interactions with famous personalities; with almost Gump-like precision, Manly Hall appears in the most unusual company. Or maybe it’s not unusual at all that he influenced and befriended a future leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, a Nobel laureate in physics, the governor of California, and the mayor of Los Angeles. That he saw one of his writings adapted to the screen by Warner Brothers which promoted the movie with a séance at Hall’s home; that he wrote a screenplay for Boris Karloff; or that he hypnotized Bela Lugosi in a film trailer promoting the movie Black Friday. And that one of his admirers was Elvis Presley; or how his mentoring in the 1950s of a young L.A. policeman, who had a partner named Roddenberry, would result a decade later in the Star Trek episode ‘Mirror, Mirror’ concerning parallel universes. That he was friends with Harry Houdini, Aldous Huxley and Helen Keller, with whom he shared a love of Swedenborg’s occult writings. Or that on October 27, 1963 he lectured on President Kennedy’s horoscope, predicting danger for JFK; or how one of his books was found among the possessions of a young Rosicrucian student who had just murdered Robert Kennedy.

There also are stumbles, the kind inherent in any human existence, and it is without unkindness that Sahagun shares various incongruities:

"Living in the spotlight was not easy for Hall, who struggled to apply his teachings to his own life. His home life was a catastrophe of marital strife, physical ailments, alternative health regimens, and overeating all the while he tried to live up to his image as a “maestro” of practical esoteric philosophy."

Hall believed in the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of deity, but authored an essay in 1942 titled ‘The Jew Does Not Fit In’ which echoes a view not unfamiliar to Nazism. He wrote of good will toward men, but supported using birth control to limit reproduction of the “mentally and physically unfit.” He never claimed to have received a formal education, yet he also failed to correct those who addressed him as “Doctor Hall.” He lectured on fostering harmony in marriage, but the domestic Hall was the hen-pecked husband of a domineering and often irrational second wife. He resolutely believed a healthy body was fundamentally necessary to a sound mind, but he bloated himself into obesity and its inherent health risks by overindulging his addiction to sweets, and spoiled his matinee idol looks with an enormous midsection that he tried to conceal with cleverly tailored dark suits. Hall was endlessly generous in loaning priceless books and artifacts for public display, but he governed PRS with an autocrat’s manner. He made a career out of distilling the words of the ancients, but publicly belittled an employee who attempted the same in his own way. Hall devoted his life to preserving ages-old wisdom, and yet told one of his top aides that PRS was built only for his own needs, and that he didn’t care if the school endured after his death.

Of course the cruelest dichotomy comes at the end of life. Where a man of such accomplishments had every right to set aside his working tools and peacefully depart for “the undiscovered country” at the end of long, illustrious labors, Hall died in circumstances that only the most generous and hopeful souls could call “uncertain.” Hall confidantes, private detectives, Los Angeles police and others suspect Hall was murdered by a seemingly opportunistic and manipulative aide who sought to gain control of the master’s notable wealth. The details of the body’s discovery are upsetting and need not be revealed here, and even more shameful is the ineptitude of the original autopsy performed by the county coroner, a performance that Sahagun suggests foreshadows its dismal performance in the post mortem examinations four years later of O.J. Simpson’s alleged victims. The district attorney never was satisfied that enough evidence had been amassed to proceed with murder charges. “I hated to see that guy get away,” said one LAPD detective. “We worked that case 12 hours a day. The problem was we couldn’t do that forever. We only have so many Hollywood detectives.” Because the accused was a leader in PRS, the organization wound up paying his legal fees; he died in 2001 of adrenal cancer. In 1995, five years after his death, and after repeated exhumations and examinations, Manly Palmer Hall’s body was at last cremated.

Master of the Mysteries is a very well written book, and the reader can see it is the work of a newspaper reporter, as nearly every paragraph consists of no more than three sentences, allowing for easy comprehension of the fluid prose. The writer’s own words and those of his many sources are woven together in seamless narrative unblemished by either jarring errors or obvious omissions (although researcher/publisher Jay Kinney is misnamed, twice, as “Jay Kenny,” a personal peeve of mine). The book’s illustrations were chosen wisely. This useful collection of photos, pamphlets, book covers and frontispieces, personal notes, archival records, newsletters and newspaper ads serve up history in the manner of a time capsule. This life of Many Hall is meticulously annotated with hundreds of endnotes, with an average of 53 citations per chapter. Hall’s Masonic maxim “To learn is to live, to study is to grow, and growth is the measurement of life” is revealed as his genuine way of life, but there is no mistaking this biography as anything other than a chronicle of one mortal’s existence. With the gamut of manly strengths and weaknesses, Hall is defined here in a way that recalls the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, in which Solomon himself admonishes “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not…. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Anyone who feels indebted to Hall for sharing the Secrets should read this biography to attain greater appreciation for the man, foibles and all.