The House Of The Hidden Places and The Book Of The Master author: W. Marsham Adams editor: R. A. Gilbert IBIS Press/NicolasHays, Inc. distributed by Red Wheel/Weiser 2004 ISBN #0-89254-092-3 Ibis Press (an imprint of Nicolas-Hays, Inc.) is well known for publishing top rated material relating to the Western Mystery Tradition - especially material that has been long out of print. Combined in this single volume, they present two of Egyptologist W. Marsham Adams works: The House Of The Hidden Places (originally published in 1895), and The Book Of The Master (originally published in 1898. Adams was born in 1837, and was a Fellow of New College, Oxford. Amongst his other writing can be found two historical works, a history of fisheries and a play. Little more than this is known about him, except that he visited Egypt before writing The House Of The Hidden Places, and returned there to study Egyptian astronomy before writing The Book Of The Master. These two books were both published by the firm of John Murray, a highly credible publishing house. In his forward, R. A. Gilbert shows that while not necessarily well received at the time they were first published, Adams work was somewhat substantiated by later works on Egyptology, specifically The Pyramids of Egypt (Iorwerth Edwards, revised edition 1972) and work done by Egyptologist J. H. Breasted. It is interesting to read Gilbert's synopsis of the reviews (and reviewers) of Adams work, and of Adams responses to said reviewers (which was not always in the best vein). The one very major point that was made by reviewer F. W. Read - and that was that there were no references supplied for Adams quotes from The Book Of The Dead. From the forward: Adams explained that his thesis involved "collating the masonic secret of the monument with the doctrinal secret contained in the mysterious Books of Thoth" (p.6), and his early critics stressed the masonic component of his work, even if they did not fully understand it. Thus Bertram Knightly noted that Adams"... hints at an esoteric doctrine in Masonry, and speaks often enough of the progress of the soul on the Path of Light towards ultimate union with the Divine." This material is very interconnected, in that The House Of Hidden Places presents Adams' hypothesis that the architecture of the Great Pyramid at Giza corresponds in physical form to the initiation ritual which is detailed in The Egyptian Book Of The Dead, while The Book Of The Master presents a detailed discussion of the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. Adams presents the following excerpt from a letter sent to him by an unnamed Roman Catholic professor of theology on the subject of the origins of the roots of Christianity in relation to Adams work: "Many thanks for sending me a copy of the "Freemason's" review of your attractive and remarkable book. I, of course, know nothing of Freemasonry (though I have followed what you say easily enough), but I have been greatly struck with the notice in question. For whereas the reviewer, writing evidently as an expert in that subject, strongly commends your book as containing matter of deep interest to his fellow Masons, I, on the other hand, as one whose special avocation is the study of Catholic theology, have been surprised beyond measure at the profound doctrines of our own Scriptures, which seem to me, in reading your book, to have been foreshadowed beneath the symbols of that most mysterious religion, almost as though we had in it the very "Word of God" of which the Apostle speaks, the "mystery which has been hidden from ages and generations." This double significance would be extraordinary enough if your views on the subject were derived either from the teaching of Catholicity or from the secrets of Masonry, but the singularity is enhanced a hundred-fold when one reflects that they come neither from one source nor the other, but from the records of ancient Egypt." The House Of The Hidden Places is a true occult labyrinth - filled with esoteric meaning, wonderful descriptions of the Great Pyramid and both its inner and outer form, and wonderful sketches that show the correlation between the specific layout of the Great Pyramid and the descriptions of the Initiation Rituals in the Book of the Dead. Herein lies one of the alleged problems with Adams theories: the copy of the Book of the Dead that Adams used was the "Papyrus of Turin" - which, while clearly written and well preserved, is dated from the 7th century BC at the earliest. Because of the difference in this copy and earlier copies, reviewers such as F. W. Read expressed the opinion that it should not be used to draw parallels with the structure of the Great Pyramid, which was built some 3,000 years earlier. I suggest putting such thoughts aside, and simply reading the book. As with material of this kind, we are taken on a journey - this journey being one of the soul, of death and rebirth. I found the material fascinating, and felt as if I was crawling on hands and knees through the pyramid with the author - seeing this world through his eyes. For those who endeavor to understand the symbolism in Masonry, Ceremonial Magick or the Western Mystery Tradition, this material is a true joy. In The Book Of The Master, Adams leaves aside most of the references to masonry and symbolism, focusing on the religious aspect of Egypt. From the book: Thus, in the religion of ancient Egypt, the deepest and most fascinating mystery if antiquity, the visible creation was conceived as the counterpart of the unseen world. And the substance consisted not of a mere vague belief in a life beyond the grave, but in tracing out the Path whereby the Just, when the portal of the tomb is lifted up, passes through the successive stages of Initiation, of Illumination, and of Perfection, necessary to fit him for an endless union with Light, the Great Creator. That Path it was, through the secret places of the universe, which appears to have been the subject of the secret mysteries which were communicated to the postulant, according to Egyptian tradition, by the Master of the Secret Scroll, in the secret chambers of the House which bore the mystic title of Light. And in order to follow the instruction, we must commence by raising our eyes to the heavens around us, and understanding how our earthly sphere is itself a member of the starry host. The House Of The Hidden Places and The Book Of The Master contain a wealth of well written, if wordy, material. It is easy to follow - although as with all things, the reader needs to take away what serves them and leave behind that which does not. The books constitute a wonderful wandering into ancient times as seen through the eye of the not too distant past. For anyone interested in the Western Mystery Tradition, Freemasonry, ceremonial magick or simply in Egypt, its pyramids and its religion, this is excellent resource material. The nature of things is to change, and it is time well spent when we can go back and review how those things that we believe in/work with came about. I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, and I think that you will too. © August 2004 Bonnie Cehovet Personal Lifestyle Reading - I offer a Personal Lifestyle Reading using Tarot that looks at past, present and future influences in your life, at the energies that are currently available to help you along your path, and at those energies that are appearing as challanges. My goal is to offer you insight into your decision making process, as well as tools that you can use to both better understand your path and make conscious, choice centered decisions. Home Personal Empowerment links Personal Empowerment articles View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook Graphics by Art for the web