Product Description

Written by a practising Freemason, this profusely illustrated survey explores the origins, history, beliefs and symbolism of the famously secretive and often misunderstood Order. Completely international in its outlook, the book has also had the special assistance of the United Grand Lodge of England â the oldest and foremost Masonic body in the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #207092 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

About the Author
Kirk MacNulty has been a Freemason for well over forty years, and is a member of three different Lodges in England and the United States. His previous publications include Way of the Craftsman: A Search for the Spiritual Essence of Craft Freemasonry and Freemasonry: A Journey through Ritual and Symbol.

Customer Reviews

Inspiring survey of Masonic emblematic art.
This is a feast of primarily visual materials from the amazingly rich emblematic traditions of Freemasonry, well presented within a sound historical context. The symbology of Freemasonry holds such a depth of spiritual and ethical significance that the pictures in this work, like the art of any authentic sacred tradition, convey a good deal more than any superficial explanations could convey to the reader: this notwithstanding, the author does a very good job at indicating in a sober and clear-headed manner this interior dimension and providing pointers to the initiatory wisdom at the heart of the Craft. Masonry's esoteric language is based on artisanal working symbolism derived from the builders guilds of the High Middle Ages and further unfolded during the Renaissance via the philosophical rediscovery of the Prisca Theologia inherited from antiquity, the Hermetic and Kabbalistic lore revealing the mystical ascent of the soul toward the knowledge of God. Thus the mystical work of 'building the Temple of Vision', based on the Solomonic mythos of the Old Testament, is seen to unveil a profound metaphor and symbol of the interior spiritual work of the regeneration of man's soul to its original state of direct communion with the Divine. But all this esotericism aside, what this book so amply demonstrates is the sheer fecundity and astonishing beauty of the Masonic art traditions and their enduring place at the heart of Western civilization.

Splendid illustrated overview and introduction of Freemasonry
Very well presented and illustrated book by a well-known Masonic writer. Makes a perfect gift to anyone interested in Freemasonry.

Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets etc..
A nice book. The images are superb. Thames & Hudson always do a good job in this respect. This very visual version of Freemasonry is presented here and it is good. However, there are some very major sortcomings. For a start there is no real discussion of the Scottish origins of modern Freemasonry. Sadly there are no images of the various Scottish documents from the 1500's. Presently there is only a couple of books that are written by a Scottish Freemason about Scottish Freemasonry - The Rosslyn Hoax and Cracking the Masons Code (I think that's the title) are examples.
This is an excellent picture book which almost completely disregards Scotland and is therefore a poor 'history' book. In my opinion it barely gets three stars
That said Amazon do a great deal on this pretty expensive book. Buy it from Amazon!