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An Introduction to the Western Wisdom Traditions

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There is a long and rich history of Wisdom, or Mystery, Traditions in the West, stretching right back to Atlantean times and tracing forward through all the major cultures up to the present day, but what were they, what was their purpose and what do we know about them? Many cultures embodied their Wisdom Traditions as Mystery Schools, often set up and run through the temples of the time. Initiates would follow a proscribed path of learning and testing with the ultimate goal of reaching Mastery.

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There is a long and rich history of Wisdom, or Mystery, Traditions in the West, stretching right back to Atlantean times and tracing forward through all the major cultures up to the present day, but what were they, what was their purpose and what do we know about them?

Many cultures embodied their Wisdom Traditions as Mystery Schools, often set up and run through the temples of the time. Initiates would follow a proscribed path of learning and testing with the ultimate goal of reaching Mastery. This learning was only for the chosen few.

The word 'mystery' is derived from the Greek word 'mysteria' meaning a play in which the truths of life are both hidden and revealed - think of the mummers, or mystery plays of the medieval era. The Great Mystery is life itself, and by taking part in it, becoming actors as it were, we learn about the processes of life. We can do this unconsciously or consciously. If we chose the latter then we become an Initiate of the Mysteries.

We can then begin our instruction to learn the structure and form of the script and see how we can influence and change it, working with it in such a way as to be able to improve our experience and understanding of it, and finding a higher way of living and working in the world.

In essence the central themes of all the mystery schools was similar - that of the evolving of human consciousness and an understanding of the cycles of nature and the laws of the natural world. These are the great Truths of life and the Initiates of these Wisdom Teachings were taken through a process where this was not just learned, academic knowledge taught in their academies, but - when the initiate was fully prepared - also experiential. It was the grounding-in of the learning with the experiential process which comprised the pathway to true wisdom and illumination.

Being initiated into the mysteries was always done by a degree system, a step at a time. The Initiate was taught by Masters or Adepts, and only allowed to progress to the next stage if they were deemed ready. Following the process fully through led to Mastery, and the ideal was that it was these Masters who then became the religious and political leaders of each culture, so they could guide their people with true wisdom and understanding.

There were the Lower Mysteries which were about preparation leading through to direct experience of the core tenets of the Mystery, which led to perception of the inner truths. The following degrees were the Higher Mysteries, the true degrees of illumination and mastery leading to full understanding and mastery of divine law or Truth. All the different mystery schools used ritual, symbols and myths as the stories to convey the metaphysical truths. Myths are a mixture of fact and fable used to both hide and reveal great truths.

All of the great wisdom traditions are said to have their roots in ancient Atlantis and the teachings of the first human soul to achieve mastery of them, Enoch, fabled king of Atlantis. From there they went to Ancient Egypt where Enoch was known as Thoth. The Egyptian mysteries are also called the Hermetic and Alchemical tradition, and have their echo in the Magian or Zoroastrian traditions of Mesopotamia and Persia. From Greece we have the Dionysian, Orphic, Eleusian, Pythagorean and Platonic mysteries, Rome the Mithraic teachings. Britain has the Druidic and Arthurian or Grail traditions, Scandinavia the Norse mysteries and Ireland, Scotland and North-West Europe the Celtic. Jewish mysticism has the Cabalistic thread, whilst Christianity has Christian Caballah and the Gnostic teachings which were echoed in the Cathar and Templar traditions.

The Renaissance saw an attempt by the Adepts of the time to pull these various strands into a more coherent whole, with Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry giving us access to the core truths today. For those who know what to look for there is a rich tradition to be found within the visionary work of Sir Francis Bacon, Renaissance art and architecture, literature and the Shakespeare plays. The skill is to see what is hidden in full view!

The challenge for us today is to unravel the gems of knowledge hidden by past Masters. All sacred literature is created in such a way and all great poets through the ages from Homer to Shakespeare have hidden metaphysical layers within their works. The task for all would-be initiates is to learn to recognise, read and interpret the various levels of meaning, and then embody the truths revealed.

The wisdom traditions, although rooted deep, deep in ancient history are still alive and thriving in a myriad formats today. Their core truths still have great power and much to teach us today.

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