Source: “Hidden Wisdom: Secrets Of The Western Esoteric Tradition”, By Tim Wallace-Murphy, The Disinformation Company Ltd., 2010.
Prehistoric Man Neolithic Spirituality Egypt.wav
This podcast explores the deep historical roots of Western esoteric tradition, tracing its lineage back thousands of years before known orders like the Knights Templar to Neolithic spirituality and particularly ancient Egypt. It argues that this hidden spiritual and sacred knowledge stream significantly influenced European culture, art, science, and philosophy. The text highlights megalithic structures and ancient mythology as key evidence of prehistoric man's profound spiritual beliefs and a surprising absence of warfare in early settlements. Finally, it presents the intriguing theory that the biblical figure of Moses may have been the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, suggesting a direct link between ancient Egyptian monotheism and the origins of Judaism.
Topic 1 The sources discuss a hidden stream of spirituality and sacred knowledge that forms a continuous strand in the Western esoteric tradition. This tradition predates the Knights Templar by thousands of years and is considered profoundly imaginative and influential on European culture. Despite often being hidden, it significantly influenced builders of great cathedrals, teachers, philosophers, artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and indirectly all generations of European Christendom. It is also identified as the root from which alchemy and modern science sprang. This tradition is dynamic, pervasive, loose, and constantly re-synthesizing, appearing intermittently through the achievements of its initiates and disciples. This vibrant stream is credited with irrigating medieval Europe, bringing peace and stability, and stimulating and sustaining the Renaissance.
Topic 2 A significant topic is the persecution faced by the Knights Templar and their successors, including the Freemasons and Rosicrucians, who inherited traditions linked to this ancient hidden stream of spirituality. Despite the benefits derived from their insight, these groups were slandered, harassed, and persecuted, often to the point of near extinction, by the Christian Church. The sources pose the mystery of how a church founded on the teachings of "gentle Jesus" could create a regime based on intolerance, torture, and genocide. Examining this relationship in light of materials like the Dead Sea Scrolls reveals answers. The work is dedicated to those throughout the ages who kept this spiritual tradition alive despite such persecution.
Topic 3 The sources emphasize the critical importance of understanding the past, particularly prehistory and mythology, to truly appreciate the nature of esoteric knowledge, why it needed to remain secret in the European context, and its long-term effects. Culture, religions, and civilization are seen as having deep roots in the past. Understanding patterns of thought and basic attitudes of earlier cultures, though difficult due to intellectual oblivion, is necessary. History, as currently understood through written records, is distinct from prehistory, which is the time of myth and legend. Trying to resolve the problems of prehistory requires correcting distortions in perception by using modern scientific and academic disciplines.
Topic 4 The source outlines a common evolutionary path for most civilizations, starting from egalitarian, cooperative, resource-sharing wandering bands in awe of nature. These evolved into tribes, then settled agricultural communities and towns, and eventually cities, often initially centered on religion. As populations grew, bureaucracies developed, leading to secular elites and hierarchies of rule and ownership. This hierarchy fostered a desire first to defend power and wealth, and then to acquire more through force. Each population increase is led by a new order with the potential for both peace and war. The transition from the industrial to the information age involves seeking a global order, but carries the risk of global destruction if technology is uncontrolled.
Topic 5 Mythology is presented not merely as fanciful tales but as a valuable, albeit complex, tool for understanding the past and human origins. While many modern scientists, philosophers, and historians are divided on its use, its value as an indicator of historical truth is undergoing change. When interpreted carefully, especially in conjunction with archaeological evidence or scholarly opinions, mythology can provide insights into prehistoric man's developmental era that stand up to dispassionate analysis. Theodore Roszak is quoted as saying myths hold a vision of life and nature at their core. Joseph Campbell viewed mythology as the penultimate truth, while Kathleen Raine stated that myth is the truth of fact. Ananda Coomaraswamy believed myth embodies the closest approach to absolute truth in words, and Campbell saw myths as clues to human spiritual potentialities.
Topic 6 The source describes the early form of human organization as small, family-based bands of hunter-gatherers who lived ecologically sustainable lifestyles, moving in search of food when needed. This nomadic or semi-nomadic life was challenged by population growth, forcing wider movements across the globe. Archaeological evidence like burial patterns and practices suggests the essentially spiritual nature of their beliefs. Cave paintings reflect shamanistic practices, a form of ritual magic still practiced by modern hunter-gatherers. As populations increased and food pressure grew, magic and spiritual enhancement gained importance. Evidence like cave paintings, burial practices, and female figurines points to a strong, persistent belief in spiritual powers among Stone Age ancestors, who generally lived in awe of nature, seeing spirituality in every aspect of life.
Topic 7 A quantum leap in human development occurred around ten thousand years ago with the inexplicable domestication of animals and plants, leading to settled agricultural communities. This represented the single most dramatic change in the way of life mankind has ever experienced, laying the direct roots of present civilization. This massive change happened piecemeal and spread slowly, beginning a process of separation from the spiritual heritage important to Neolithic ancestors. This heritage is evidenced not by written records or mythology (which didn't exist for this specific period) but by megalithic monuments found across Western Europe and the globe.
Topic 8 Megalithic structures like Stonehenge, Avebury, and Carnac are presented as mute testimony to the supreme value placed on spirituality by the first ancestors who began agriculture and settled life. These sacred sites are described as mysterious places imbued with a tangible mystical power or "genius loci" (spirit of the place). The puzzle of their construction is compounded by the lack of written records from their builders and the unknown reasons for many structures, though some, like long barrows and dolmens, were burial places. An intriguing problem is their deliberate siting on places of demonstrable telluric power, possibly discovered by ancient peoples who used sites with mystical, magical, or healing properties. The ability to discern the Earth's sacred places was a required attribute of Druids. This telluric energy, rediscovered in the 1920s as "ley lines," connects ancient sites like barrows, dolmens, henges, healing wells, sacred grottos, and early churches with precision.
Topic 9 The extraordinary precision of alignment found between many ancient monuments and celestial bodies is highlighted as another enigma. Many Neolithic temples are oriented to receive light and energy from planets and stars. Stonehenge is a known example, but Newgrange in Ireland (dating to 3200 BCE) features a fascinating alignment where the midwinter sunrise shines down a passage to a burial chamber. This precision suggests that these "primitive" people possessed an incredible degree of astronomical knowledge, a skill that persisted and developed in ancient Egypt. Archaeological excavation also reveals evidence from sites like Çatalhöyük in Anatolia (occupied 7th-6th millennium BCE) that challenges widely held beliefs about humanity's inherently warlike nature, showing no evidence of war, sacks, massacres, or violent death over 800 years of occupation studied, in contrast to the experience of history and modern times. Organized war is presented as a planned form of theft, not an instinct.
Topic 10 Ancient Egypt is presented as the source of much of Western esoteric knowledge and a civilization founded on sacred knowledge ("gnosis"). Its monuments like King Djoser's step pyramid reflect this. Imhotep, the designer of this pyramid, was a priest-architect, genius, high priest, astronomer general, and healer, later equated by Greeks to Asclepius. The seven steps of the pyramid are linked to Egyptian beliefs about the soul's seven-stage ascent through planetary spheres after death, drawing an intriguing comparison to Druidic beliefs in seven stages of soul purification before death. Pyramid Texts found in later pyramids at Saqqara offer insight into this complex civilization's early knowledge depth. Discovered through a series of events prompted by a jackal, these texts, dating back to prehistoric Egypt and considered the oldest religious writings discovered, represent an oral tradition of secret knowledge passed down through initiation by an elite ("the Few"). They describe a highly complex stellar cult where the dead king ascends to the stars and reveal sophisticated astronomical knowledge, embodying the concept of "as above, so below," mirrored geographically by the Nile representing the Milky Way.