Source: “Hidden Wisdom: Secrets Of The Western Esoteric Tradition”, By Tim Wallace-Murphy, The Disinformation Company Ltd., 2010.
Underground Streams Of Spirituality And Search For The Holy Grail.wav
This podcast explores a "hidden stream" of spirituality in Western history, arguing that while the dominant medieval Church became a dogmatic and persecuting authority, true spiritual knowledge and mystical experience persisted outside its control. The text posits that figures like medieval mystics and groups like the Knights Templar and Craftmasons, influenced by Gnosticism and the "Search for the Holy Grail," represented a secret tradition of spiritual initiation passed down through the ages, often encoded in art and architecture like the Gothic cathedrals. This esoteric path, emphasizing inner knowing and the divine presence in creation, offered an alternative to the Church's rigid dogma and contributed to cultural and architectural developments despite facing repression.
Topic 1 The sources describe the Western Church, particularly after merging with the Roman Empire, as becoming a compulsory and persecuting society. Its leaders held the belief that they could legislate away spiritual knowledge through dictatorial dogmatism, persecute those who possessed such knowledge, and control and monopolize access to spiritual powers. This delusion influenced Church thinking for centuries, leading to persistent and vicious persecutions. This policy culminated in the later doctrine of "papal infallibility." The Church established itself as the sole arbiter of religious belief, demanding adherence to a centrally established system. This environment bred silent and fearful obedience but could not fully remove the spirit or knowledge of the spirit from mankind's folk memory. The Church proved to be an intolerant, dogmatic, and repressive authority, with anyone expressing opinions or beliefs contradicting its teachings facing persecution, excommunication, torture, or being burned. Skills of dissembling and disguise became vital for survival for those of independent spirit.
Topic 2 Despite the Church's attempts to control spirituality and knowledge, the sources highlight the existence of "underground streams" of spirituality that continued to inform, pervade, and sustain the temporal world. Knowledge and beliefs providing access to the world of the spirit continually invaded the Church's domains. Gnostic spiritual teachings attributed to Jesus, continued by James and original disciples, persisted in secret despite severe persecution. These hidden streams included Gnostic cults of Greek, Egyptian, or Essene origin, who were mercilessly persecuted, such as the Manichees and their derivatives like the Bogomils and Cathars. Later, Christian Hermeticists synthesized a Christianized version of the Jewish Kabbala. The sources suggest that historical accounts, written by the victors (like the Church hierarchy), represent the outward, exoteric stream, while a hidden, esoteric spiritual stream runs parallel, influencing and reacting against the exoteric. This hidden history is recorded in secret traditions, folklore, poetry, esoteric schools, and secret societies.
Topic 3 The sources discuss medieval Christian mystics, their profound spiritual experiences, and the severe persecution they faced from the Church hierarchy. True mystical experience was viewed with distrust by the Church, which, while accepting the validity of biblical mystics, condemned similar experiences among its own devout members. Mystical experience is said to imbue one with a sense of justice, making mystics dangerous in rigid, dogmatic, and unjust systems. Notable examples include Hildegard of Bingen, excommunicated at age eighty-one, and St. Francis of Assisi, whose order was removed from his control, leading to a breakdown. St. Thomas Aquinas battled the hierarchy and suffered a nervous breakdown, being condemned for heresy multiple times before canonization. Mechthild of Magdeburg was driven out of towns for criticizing clerical greed and indifference. Meister Eckhart, considered by the source as perhaps the greatest Christian mystic, was condemned for heresy after death and remains on the condemned list. Julian of Norwich was simply ignored. Despite this, these mystics' teachings had a significant effect on literate scholars of their time, passing on the torch of spirituality through their writings and influence.
Topic 4 The Holy Grail quest is presented not as a search for a physical relic, such as the cup used by Joseph of Arimathea, but as an allegorical description of an individual, inner adventure in spiritual experience following a true initiatory tradition. The sources argue against the relic interpretation, noting that established Jewish traditions prohibited handling corpses in that manner, especially given the crucifixion occurred on the eve of Passover, requiring ritual purification. The text questions why a knight would search for a relic when communion supposedly provided direct access to Christ's body and blood. Instead, drawing on Joseph Campbell, the Grail represents the fulfillment of the highest spiritual potentialities of human consciousness. The Nag Hammadi scrolls, containing early Christian initiatory documents, support this view; the "Gospel According to Thomas" quotes Jesus saying, "He who drinks from my mouth will become as I am, and I shall be he," which Campbell sees as the essence of the Grail.
Topic 5 The sources emphasize the profound significance of the number seven, particularly in relation to spirituality, initiation, and the Revelation of St. John. Sevenfoldedness is presented as a key to unraveling the complex coding in the Revelation, which contains rhythms of seven (seven stars, candlesticks, messages, angels, seals, trumpet blasts, vials of wrath). This number is described as magical and key to time, pervading ancient schools of magic and systems of initiation across various civilizations preceding Jesus. It is noted as a number of supreme significance in Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, Celtic, Roman, and Christian traditions. The search for the Holy Grail, in this interpretation, represents a new system of Christian initiation, known historically as the "Search for the Holy Grail," which utilizes a seven-fold key derived from the Revelation. The number seven is said to recur mystically in the seven spirit senses, the seven chakras, the seven planetary oracles, the seven great European cathedrals on revered sites, the conditions for an initiatory novice, and the degrees of initiation sought by the Knights Templar.
Topic 6 The Knights Templar are discussed as a complex and mysterious initiatory order. While ostensibly founded to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land, the sources suggest a hidden agenda, concealed behind deliberate obfuscation. There is uncertainty among contemporaries and near-contemporaries regarding the precise date, purpose, and responsible parties for their foundation, with dates proposed ranging from the time of the First Crusade to 1119 or even circa 1094. Modern commentators offer earlier dates, citing evidence like a bishop's letter from 1114 rebuking a count for joining the "Knighthood of Christ," a term later used for the Templars. The Templars were the first military order in Christendom. They were quartered at King Solomon's former stables in Jerusalem. A papal bull in 1139 placed them under the direct authority of the Pope, granting them independence from other earthly powers. They are described as initiates of the Holy Grail and were bound to secrecy regarding their hidden path. Their military prowess was legendary, fighting with distinction in the Holy Land, yet they conspicuously refused to participate in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars, suggesting an unwillingness to fight other Christians following an initiatory path.
Topic 7 The Compagnonnage, known in England as the Craftmasons, are presented as more than simple craft guilds. They are described as anonymous orders of initiation and humility, claiming origins dating back to the building of Solomon's Temple. In France, there were distinct fraternities like the Children of Father Soubise, Children of Master Jacques, and the Children of Solomon, now amalgamated. They are credited with building the great cathedrals, particularly the Children of Solomon with building Chartres, Rheims, and Amiens. These builders were initiates granted insight into sacred geometry ("Trait") and the laws and harmony of the spiritual realities underpinning nature. They adhered to a hierarchy of three degrees: apprentice, companion, and master. Apprentices underwent initiation privately by masters in "cayennes." The Children of Father Soubise were linked to Benedictine monasticism and the Romanesque style, while the Children of Master Jacques might have been successors to Celtic builders. The Children of Solomon, most important for the rise of Gothic, were instructed in sacred geometry by Cistercian monks and traced their Mysteries back to Egypt and biblical Israel via Roman and Greek roots.
Topic 8 The sources propose a significant, albeit mysterious, relationship between the Knights Templar and the Craftmasons (specifically the Children of Solomon) in the context of the "Rise of the Gothic" cathedral building. While the Masons' involvement is self-evident, the Templars' role is seen as substantial and pervasive. They were almost openly involved in financing and lending moral support to cathedral building throughout Europe. A rule for constructors of churches, known as the Rule of St. Devoir de Dieu et de la Croissade, was given to the Children of Solomon by the Knights Templar in March 1145. This suggests a close affiliation. The Compagnonnage involved in Gothic building were certainly protected by the Templars and were granted great privileges, including freedom from taxes and protection against legal action, likely due to Templar influence. These privileges were lost upon the suppression of the Templars, indicating a direct link. The sudden explosion of Gothic building following the Templars' return from Jerusalem leads to questions about whether they discovered ancient knowledge or building skills during their excavations under the Temple Mount.
Topic 9 The influence of external traditions, particularly from the East and Gnosticism, on Western esoteric thought and architecture is a key theme. The sources mention that knowledge of ancient Greek culture and thinking returned to European scholarship via a circuitous route through the Arab lands, where classical scholars had fled persecution by the Church. Arabic respect for education and philosophy, and their tolerance, contrasted sharply with European hierarchy's views. This knowledge, along with Arab advances in mathematics and medicine, re-entered Europe through Moorish Spain and contributed to a scholastic revival. Furthermore, Gnosticism, described as a pervasive form of dualistic thinking, influenced medieval European initiatory orders. Specifically, the sources suggest the Gothic arch itself was introduced from Islamic culture, originating from the Holy Land through a blending of indigenous skills and Islamic architectural genius. Contact between the Templars and Sufis, the mystical order of Islam, is proposed as the means by which the Templars learned the geometric method for designing the pointed arch, which they then tested in Jerusalem. This interaction between initiatory orders of both faiths, sharing knowledge of sacred geometry, resulted in the development of the Gothic style in Europe. Sufism itself is suggested to have ancient origins and links to Hebraic/Egyptian traditions, sharing a common parent with Christian initiatory paths.
Topic 10 The Rex Deus theory is presented as a persistent Western esoteric tradition offering an explanation for certain historical mysteries. This theory suggests an hereditary group of initiatory families, known as Rex Deus, claiming descent from the hereditary high priests of the Temple in Jerusalem and potentially from Jesus himself. It is assumed that information about the Temple treasure, possibly hidden from Roman soldiers, was passed down orally through these families. Hugues de Payens, the first grand master of the Knights Templar, and Bernard of Clairvaux are suggested to have been part of this secret group. This theory could explain the speed and efficiency of the Templars' excavations under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; they seemed to know what they were looking for and where to dig, implying they had accurate information from somewhere. The reactions of Bernard of Clairvaux's noble family when he announced his intention to join the relatively new and struggling Cistercian Order are also cited as potentially supporting this theory, as many male relatives and friends unexpectedly joined him in religious life, including the family heir. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, containing a list of sites for hiding Temple treasure, is mentioned as a potential clue supporting the plausibility of the Rex Deus legend having inherited similar information.