Monday, August 04, 2008

Book Review: The Secret History of the World

In The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies, Mark Booth presents a way of interpreting major religious traditions as chapters in a single narrative explaining the evolution of the way humans experience the world. The book is part expose: Booth claims to be revealing views he has learned through nurturing relationships with "initiates" in The Mystery Schools, where esoteric wisdom dating to the beginning of time is still taught. In this sense, since Booth cannot cite his sources (who are sworn to secrecy), the book can only be read as speculation and not as a persuasive argument.

In short, the view Booth presents is that the physical world we know has been precipitated from the thoughts of the "cosmic mind". As the world -- and humans along with it -- gradually gathered form, our experience was shaped by waves of successively more material (and less powerful) spirit beings, until the world hardened to the point where the spirit world has been almost completely obscured. The stories of major religious and mythological traditions can be read as literal descriptions of the way humans experienced the world at different stages of this process. This "Secret History" provides a road map to the human mind that forms the basis of rituals that the secret societies use to unravel our material blinders reconnect with the spirit world.

Booth's way of relating and summarizing stories from these traditions is at times masterful. These are complex and subtle themse, and he makes them delightfully accessible. However, when he starts making arguments and drawing conclusions, he loses all grace. The experience is like finding a bitter pill in a delicious meal.

What I find most compelling in this book is the notion that ancient traditions share common themes and contain clues as to why we aprehend the world the way we do. We experience phenomenon all the time (e.g. intuition) that are beyond the current reach of science and reason, and the myths hold clues that can help us penetrate such phenomenon. This is not to say that reason is futile; rather, that esoteric contemplation can compliment reason, much as diplomacy compliments miltary force.

If you're a fan of astrology, or are interested in common themes across religions, you will probably enjoy this book. If you consider yourself to be a religious person, you may find it hard to endure.