This one I acquired with the massive lot I inherited from my late Uncle Joe. I am not a believer in the occult or any mode of religious thought though I like to read such works on occasion. This one is really far-out man. It is a hodge-podge collection of beliefs cobbled from Hinduism, Egyptian myth, Christianity, and medieval European lore on witchcraft including bits from classical literature such as Dante, Milton and even a definite influence from Blavatsky especially found in the repeated references to Atlantis. Of course, I’m assuming more Blavatsky’s version than Plato’s (unfortunately). All of this has some terms ripped from science & astronomy at the time (1920s) thrown into the mix.
There are a (very) few tidbits that I find relevant such as on page 24 item #47 the last sentence which reads:
As of old, so today, the cry is seldom “Save souls,” but is usually “Show us miracles.”
Then other parts of the text can be taken the wrong way (if they weren’t meant in that context already that is) such as Item #59 which refers to the “Brown Man” who was “ordained to labor in the fields” and the “Black Man” described as “the creature born into slavery”. Yikes.
There are other questionable passages in the text such as Item #90 that strikes me as slightly fascistic.
Our natures cannot be allowed to just grow, […] anymore than children can be allowed to run around promiscuously and then be expected to amount to anything; they must be trained, and there must be a thorough understanding as to who is master and who is servant. [pg.37]
Granted this passage is in the section titled The Mechanics of Magic and is referring to the discipline of magic but the metaphor is a bit of a collar tugger but not out of place.
Then there’s Item#102 pg.41. It begins:
No man who is sick should be healed merely because he has an ailment. He should learn the lesson that accompanies the disease which he has brought upon himself. To affirm health is foolishness; to find out the reason for the ailment, make right the wrong and become healthy again, is wise and proper. To be so moderate, so wise, so thoughtful, as not to become sick, is still better philosophy.
The context is you shouldn’t use magic on people who do not specifically ask per item for it but it also places blame for illness which for the most part is just plain wrong. Then the rest of the passage runs with the contextual not really relating to what it has already put forth with the blame game. This is repeated throughout the book and items don’t necessarily relate to the previous or next item either. Again, this passage can be misconstrued and has been, unfortunately, a refrain from the American right and anti-vaxxers in general.
On the other hand, some of the rich imagery was really cool in my opinion. Also, the illustrations are really neat. I especially liked the image of the "Black Morning” at the beginning of time in the text. It sent my mind off in a million directions, so there’s that.
Overall, I’m not angry or disappointed that I read it, it was a fast read although its formatting diced up any sort of narrative momentum that could have been possible. I would only recommend this if you like reading esoterica such as 19th-century spiritualism & mysticism and belief in Atlantis. Otherwise, I can’t recommend this one. ( )

MAN

Manly P. Hall is the President-Founder of The Philosophical
Research Society, Inc. In over fifty years of dynamic public activity, he has
delivered more than 7,000 lectures in the United States and abroad, and has
authored countless books, essays, and articles. His quarterly magazine on
philosophy and comparative religions, the PRS Jounal, has been in continuous
publication since 1941. In his lectures and writings, Manly P. Hall has always
emphasized the practical aspects of philosophy and religion as they apply to
daily living. He restates for modern man those spiritual and ethical doctrines
which have given to humanity its noblest ideals and most adequate codes of
conduct. Believing that philosophy is a working tool to help the individual in
building a solid foundation for his dreams and purposes, Mr. Hall has steadfastly
sought recognition of the belief that world civilization can be perfected only
when human beings meet on a common ground of intelligence, cooperation,
and worthy purpose.

The Philosophical Research Society, Incorporated is a nonprofit
organization founded in 1934 for the purpose of assisting thoughtful
persons to live more graciously and constructively in a confused and troubled
world. The Society is entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical
control. Dedicated to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems,
the Society's program stresses the need for the integration of religion,
philosophy, and the science of psychology into one system of instruction. The
goal of this instruction is to enable the individual to develop a mature
philosophy of life, to recognize his proper responsibilities and opportunities,
and to understand and appreciate his place in the unfolding universal
pattern. further information on the Society and its programs please write:

MAGIA :UN TRATADO SOBRE OCULTISMO NATURAL

PRIMERA PARTE
LOS HIJOS DE LA FALSA TINIEBLA
1.- Desde hace mucho tiempo el hombre ha estado cometiendo el error de llamar MAGIA NEGRA a la perversión del poder oculto. Ésta es una aceptación inadecuada de la palabra NEGRA, porque negro no significa necesariamente perverso. E1 negro es el incoloro fundamento de las cosas; es la fuente de todo ser y representa el cuerpo de la Inteligencia Absoluta. Toda conciencia y toda luz han surgido de la oscuridad del caos, y la Noche Cósmica - con su tenebroso Pralaya - es el Padre-Madre de la Creación. Las negras tinieblas encubren el trabajo del Infinito, y pese a toda luz que pueda existir en el alma humana, ésta siempre se encontrará rodeada por oscuridad, por las hirvientes sustancias del caos. Toda manifestación es una concreción de las tinieblas, y una inmensurable
posibilidad.
2. Los HIJOS DEL OBSCURO ORIGEN,que elaboran en las tinieblas de esta sustancia, moldeándola en miríadas de formas invisibles e incalculables, no son perversos. Son los hijos de Saturno (Satán), el Padre Negro quien, como la negrura del caos mismo, terminará devorando a sus propias obras, y, al hacerlo, las vuelve a la vida sustrayéndolas de esa muerte que los hombres llaman creación. Todos provenimos de ese negro abismo y no tenemos derecho a considerarlo malo;es el padre de dioses y de hombres, siempre envuelto en los inescrutables mantos de su propio misterio. El hombre debe extraer la piedra de su
propia alma de esa abismal negrura - insondable cofre de los tesoros de la Naturaleza - del mismo modo que el minero arranca el diamante de entre el
negro carbón que lo envuelve.
3.- Los obscuros SEÑORES DE SATURNO son los constructores de la aurora de la primera luz después de las tinieblas, y de la
fricción de sus esfuerzos surgieron las primeras rutilantes chispas de embrionaria conciencia. Son los Nacidos de la Mente, y son los Brahmines de nuestra cadena de Globos, surgidos del cerebro y de la boca de Brahma. Su tronco está hecho de substancias y elementos químicos de la materia sólida.
Son las emanaciones satánicas, los espíritus de la fría tiniebla.
4
DIAGRAMA II
4.- En el diagrama II se indican los cuatro nacimientos que han tenido lugar desde el cuerpo de Brahma (BrAUM), la Tiniebla Desconocida, la x del Ser.
5.- Hay una falsa tiniebla y una tiniebla verdadera. La verdadera tiniebla es la matriz de la luz; la falsa oscuridad es la perversión de la Luz que se
irradia desde la verdadera oscuridad. La oscuridad natural es el principio básico de todas las cosas, mientras que la falsa es el resultado
de la degradación del poder de los ángeles de Satán.
6.- El demonio, el arquetipo del abuso, no es un hijo de Saturno sino un hijo del hombre y de la falsa oscuridad de la Tierra. E1 hombre es laencarnación del germen de inteligencia mental, y la magia negra sólo es posible para gente inteligente.
7.- El Espíritu Absoluto, despojado de todas las envolturas de los vehículos no compuestos, sin forma, es verdadera Oscuridad, el fundamento adimensional de todo cuanto es, ha sido y será, y el velo final tras del cual ha de ocultarse toda la creación.
8.- La falsa oscuridad es Cristalización Absoluta y constituye el extremo incoloro inferior del espectro, en oposición al colorido extremo superiordel espectro de vibraciones. Ambos extremos, en última instancia, son absorbidos en la oscuridad: uno en la oscuridad del espíritu y el otro en la oscuridad de la materia.
9.- La vida palpita en la oscuridad y se extingue en la luz, muriendo verdaderamente viene a la vida, porque la vida, tal como la conocemos, es pura muerte.
10.- La oscuridad natural es posibilidad latente; la falsa oscuridad es oportunidad degradada. La Filosofía de la Oportunidad
11.- Si las varias formas de la oportunidad no existiesen, no habría perversión del poder. Un antiguo proverbio dice: “La ocasión hace al ladrón”. La oportunidad es la eterna tentación, sin tentación no habría pecadores. Por eso, cuando los poderes superiores le ofrecen al hombre una oportunidad, también le están ofreciendo pecado y muerte; quien le trae luz le trae falsa oscuridad. Luz y sombra son inseparables; la sombra de la luz es la falsa oscuridad, porque la creación de la primera acarrea la segunda. Para liberarse de la tentación el hombre deberá liberarse de la razón; para liberarse de la oscuridad deberá renunciar a la luz; tendrá que renunciar a los opuestos, pues si acepta uno, necesariamente
debe aceptar el otro.
12.- La Tentación es el precio que el género humano paga por la inteligencia; por eso es que la Serpiente de la Sabiduría es también la Eterna Tentadora. ..

This is an erudite work on the body and its various organs from the occultist's viewpoint.

The author being from an older generation, the book is immaculately well written.

The esoteric material is derived from the works of alchemists/occultists/cabalists etc.,including Parecelsus, Vesalius (the father of modern anatomy)and Robert Fludd, from the Middle Ages or perhaps older as well as from ancient Hindu texts. I found this material extremely dry and difficult to comprehend. (I ordered the book from the library only because I was interested in the chapter on the pineal gland, but then was tempted to read the whole book).

You would need to be an expert on such ancient occult matters, or keenly interested in the subject, to find the book at all readable.

One interesting point that attracted my attention, however, was that original man was reportedly androgynous and that the separation of the sexes took place in "the secondary or further course of tribal history". This fits in with revelations by Shirley Maclaine in her book "Camino" about a significant past life of hers in Atlantis.

Also of interest was the information that reptiles originally had a seeing eye at the back of their head (according to the author this can be confirmed in any geological museum) - in humans this hole has "boned over, and the eye has shrunk up into the so-called pineal gland".

The book includes many drawings and illustrations, but no photos.

To sum up, this book can be described as an overly erudite work on occultist views of the body, and as such will be of little interest to the average reader. Those with a real interest in the subject, however, may find the book fascinating. ( )