The Secret Teachings of All Ages

1. The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies
2. The Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity
3. The Life and Philosophy of Pythagoras
4. Pythagorean Mathematics
5. Isis, the Virgin of the World
6. The Sun, a Universal Deity
7. The Zodiac and Its Signs
8. The Bembine Table of Isis
9. Wonders of Antiquity
10. The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus
11. The Initiation of the Pyramid
12. Hermetic Pharmacology, Chemistry, and Therapeutics
13. The Qabbalah, the Secret Doctrine of Israel
14. Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogony
15. The Tree of the Sephiroth
16. Kabbalistic Keys to the Creation of Man
17. An Analysis of Tarot Cards
18. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
19. The Faith of Islam
20. Rosicrucian Doctrines and Tenets
21. Alchemy and Its Exponents
22. The Theory and Practice of Alchemy
23. The Hermetic and Alchemical Figures of Claudius de Dominico Celentano Vallis Novi
24. The Chemical Marriage
25. Bacon, Shakspere, and the Rosicrucians
26. Mystic Christianity
27. Stones, Metals and Gems
28. Ceremonial Magic and Sorcery
29. Symbolism of the Cross and the Crucifixion
30. Freemasonic Symbolism
31. Mystic Christianity
32. American Indian Symbolism
33. The Mystery of the Apocalypse

• An anomaly — a self-published 1928 doorstop that became a permanent reference work. The original folio edition of 800 numbered copies sold by subscription at $75 (substantial in 1928) and immediately went into reprints; the Philosophical Research Society reissued the book multiple times across the twentieth century, and the 2003 Tarcher/Penguin reader’s edition pulled it back into general circulation. Esoteric communities treat it as canonical; academic historians of religion respect Hall’s reach but criticise the syncretism, the absence of citations, and his tendency to flatten distinct traditions into a single perennial-philosophy narrative. The book’s authority comes from breadth rather than rigour, and Hall himself in later decades acknowledged he had been a populariser more than a scholar. Cited as a key influence by figures from Joseph Campbell to Mitch Horowitz; widely circulated within Freemasonry and contemporary occult publishing.

  Index reception note

What is The Secret Teachings of All Ages?

It is Manly P. Hall’s 1928 encyclopaedic survey of Western esoteric traditions: Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, alchemy, Pythagoreanism, Kabbalah, Freemasonry, ceremonial magic, and the symbolism of mystery religions. Originally issued as an oversized illustrated folio, it remains the single most cited reference in modern occult publishing.

How was the book first published?

Hall self-published it in 1928 as an oversized colour-illustrated folio in a numbered subscription edition of 800 copies, priced at $75. It immediately went into reprints, and the Philosophical Research Society — which Hall founded in 1934 — has kept it in print ever since. Tarcher/Penguin issued an affordable reader’s edition in 2003.

How do academic historians regard the book?

They respect its reach but criticise the absence of citations and Hall’s tendency to flatten distinct traditions into a single perennial-philosophy narrative. Hall himself in later decades acknowledged he had been a populariser more than a scholar. Within esoteric communities the book is treated as canonical.

Author

Manly P Hall

Title

The Secret Teachings of All Ages

Original title

An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy

Publisher

H. S. Crocker Co. (1928); Tarcher/Penguin Reader’s Edition (2003)

Year

1 January 1928

Pages

768

Language

English

ISBN

9781585422500

Shelf

Esoteric · Philosophy · Consciousness

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