The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians and the First Freemasons author: Tobias Churton Red Wheel/Weiser 2002 ISBN #1-57863-329-X The Golden Builders provides a fascinating background into one of the most interesting areas of hermetic study - Freemasonry. The author comes with his own most interesting background: he is a writer and filmmaker (the driving force behind the award winning Gnostic series on English television), co-founder and editor of the Freemasonry Today magazine. He writes with clarity, humor and great insight, and doesn't feel bound by anyone else's constraints in presenting his material. Churton does a wonderful job here of tracing Hermetic thought from ancient Alexandria through to 18th century England. The names are familiar, but the stories take on a new light with Churton's insight, and his ability to link both people and schools of thought. Needless to say, we also get quite a picture of the politics of the time, especially that of Church versus State. In his preface, Churton discusses his interest in such matters as alchemy and Rosicrucianism. For him, they are part of the path to finding the "hidden" parts of our universe, qualities that one is not immediately aware of, but that exist, nonetheless. For him, science is the child of the Magi. What a wonderful manner of understanding things - and certainly one that took me long enough to realize! In his search, Churton backtracks through time, looking at individuals as well as the ideas being presented. Throughout the book he presents passages from the individuals being discussed, as well as thought provoking graphics from the times in question, such as the memorial to Elias Ashmole, the alabaster memorial to Philip Mainwaring and his wife, and a representation of the Thrice Greatest Hermes. And who are these "Golden Builders"? The title comes from the poem Jerusalem, by William Blake. Here the golden builders are building the city of Golgonooza. Churton brings out the importance of the builders as skilled tradesmen w ho not only understood the physical mechanics of their trade, but they also understood the Hermetic principles inherent in specific structures. On another level, reference is being made to those individuals in every age who have personal glimpses of Hermetic knowledge, and make a strong attempt to apply this wisdom to living in a meaningful manner. The Golden Builders is presented in a three part structure. In "Part One, The Hermetic Philosophy", Churton discusses the Hermetic philosophy as seen through the vision of Hermes, and the connection between neoplatanism and the Hermetic tradition. He speaks of the hermetic messiah Mercurio da Correggio (and the quite interesting entrance that he made into Rome), and of Paraclesus' influence on the "Rosicrucian Manifesto". I personally found very interesting the discussion of Rosicrucian roots, including the contributions of Johann Valentin Andrea, Tobias Hess, and Christoph Besold. Separately, as well as together, these gentlemen make for a very interesting story of how an idea, a philosophy, can take hold and prosper. It is interesting to me that I am seeing names here that are also connected to my main field of study, which is Tarot: names like Ludovico Lazzarelli, and his mentor, Giovanni Mercurio da Corregio. I was also riveted by the story of the Sabians of Harran, who did what they had to do to remain intact. In "Part Two, the True Story of the Rosicrucians", we see how this specific philosophical movement carried forward Hermetic thought. We view this history through the people that made it happen, people like the notary and physician Adam Haselmayr, who became an object of the Inquisition (and a galley slave for five years) because he wrote a sympathetic reply to the Fama Fraternitatis (the initial Rosicrucian Manifesto). What we are seeing here is Christianity as expressed in a Hermetic-alchemical-apocalyptic manner. It is interesting to see how the printing press, and t hose skilled at running them, played such an important part in connecting people that would before not have had contact with one another. How much we take for granted in our electronic age of the Internet! "Part Three, Elias Ashmole", is quite literally focused on the English alchemist, astrologer and early Freemason Elias Ashmole. He is a true Renaissance figure, one of a group of English Renaissance figures who embraced the Hermetic movement. It was not unusual to publish under an assumed name at that time. Ashmole published under the name Mercuriophilus Anglicus, the English Mercury-lover, as well as James Hasolle (in the introduction to a translated alchemical text by John Dee's son, Arthur). While the reader may not agree with all of Churton's suppositions or conclusions, his writing is clear, and the text understandable. He has done an excellent job with providing footnotes and a significant bibliography, so that he work not only stands on its own merit, but it serves as excellent resource material for further study. For anyone with an interest in Hermeticism or Freemasonry, I highly recommend this book. © January 2005 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. 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