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“Wisdom fears no thing, but still bows humbly to its own source, with its deeper understanding, loves all things, for it has seen the beauty, the tenderness, and the sweetness which underlie Life's mystery” –Manly P. Hall |
Welcome to the August issue of The New Journal of the Philosophical Research Society.In the hushed halls of the Tate Britain museum beside the River Thames in London there are a series of paintings by the Victorian artist John Martin. They are spectacular images of sublime biblical apocalypse, in which tectonic forces smash the landscapes of classical civilization. Lava flows from the ripped and upturned land, lightning rips through torrential downpours flooding from black skies, and infernos burn. The end of the world was nigh. When the wars came at the beginning of the twentieth century, Martin’s paintings felt like a prediction. Yet the evolving traditions that had maintained civilization survived, and sustained civilization even at this lowest point of human history. Tradition provided the guide for how to live, how to sustain each other, how to love one another in the direst of times. Traditions of initiation, cultural traditions of ritual life, calendar holiday traditions, all provided a framework that was shaped by our ancestors over generations, changing very slowly as need required. During the wars, freemasons held ritual meetings in concentration camps. Weddings were held in the darkness of imprisonment. Birthdays were marked by small celebrations in the trenches. The living occult and esoteric traditions of all cultures are the breath of their metaphysical existence. Without them, John Martin’s predictions of total annihilation would be true, but with them, human culture was sustained. The Philosophical Research Society exists to sustain research into the esoteric traditions of the world. Please help us to continue Manly Hall’s legacy by sharing your treasure with us. Make a donation here. |
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Strange Creatures of Mythology
By Manly Hall 
Native American Freemasonry
By Michael Samu 
The Great Chain of the Rosicrucians
By Ike Baker 
The School of Universal Vibration
By M. Marble |
Tarot Tradition and the Drowning World
By Thea Wirsching 
Just a Little Drowning
By Mark Storer 
Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India
By Ruben C. Cordova |
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The New PRS Journal is published with the support of: Michael J. Pearce (editor), Michelle Song (design), David Orr (banner design), Kelly Carmena & Matthew Taylor (copyediting), & supporters like you.
