Masonic & Occult Symbols Illustrated

It’s worth spending money on this book. I’m so pleased I managed to get my hands on a copy.

I do find myself wondering if some of the more denegrating views have been put here deliberately by occultists, since this is by far the best book on this subject, and I have seen a few, which comes at freemasonry from an 'outsiders' point of view. It is therefore one of the few objective studies, fully illustrated, of the subject.

Fantastic Book by ' Author ' Cathy Burns, greatly highlights the ' Occultic Symbols,' used in ' Modern Version Bibles,' and'Occultic Practices ' within the ' Masonic Organization.' This book is a must for any ' Born- Again, Christian Believer, tokeep abreast of what is actually happening in this world today. Very Highly Recommended.

A must for those who need to understand how humanity relates to spirituality.

Fantastic introduction. Written from a slightly biased perspective, but a really great book.

Another reviewer gave this book only one star, because she bought it for a specific purpose (for which the book wasn't really intended) and then slagged it off because it didn't meet her demands. That's like reviewing a mobile phone and giving it only one star because it didn't mow your lawn that well. Now that is out of the way, let's review the book.For your money, you get hundreds and hundreds of pages crammed full of just what it says: symbols. From the "Christian" Cross to the peace sign, and just about everything in between. This is where it gets interesting, because many of these symbols originated in ways we wouldn't have imagined.And this is where the book becomes valuable, because the text is well researched and highly informative. And passionately relayed. Cathy Burns means business, and delivers abundantly. She doesn't twist the truth and she remains unbiased.On the other hand, the editors could have done something about the layout and design of the book. It could have been packaged much better. The layout really is pathetic. And the book could do with an update, as the topic is current and relevant, but also very dynamic.I always used to think the "Christian" cross came from the cross that Christ was crucified on. Boy, was I wrong. Bet you are thinking now that yes, if I thought that, I probably also thought that the star of David came from David. And that the sign of Islam had something to do with the crescent moon and sun. Guilty as charged. Man what an interesting book!

Please don't waste your money on this ridiculous book. No scholarship, no insight, no understanding, just a boring recitation of prejudice and ignorance. As another reviewer mentioned, one star is (at least) one star too many for this sorry tome...

The author has definitely made great efforts in putting this Very well researched and controversial book especially in defining and illustrating too many symbols such as the triangle, hexagram, pentagram , tarot and playing cards, animals , birds, winged symbols, logos, talismans and many others which are linked to occultism , magic, sex ,paganism secret societies ,mythologies, freemasonry and eastern star symbols , and so on .For instance ,in the chapter of the tarot and playing ca... (show more)The author has definitely made great efforts in putting this Very well researched and controversial book especially in defining and illustrating too many symbols such as the triangle, hexagram, pentagram , tarot and playing cards, animals , birds, winged symbols, logos, talismans and many others which are linked to occultism , magic, sex ,paganism secret societies ,mythologies, freemasonry and eastern star symbols , and so on .For instance ,in the chapter of the tarot and playing cards page 83 the author is referring:'' in our phallic heritage we find that the symbols used on the playing cards are sexual connotations. This book explains: the symbols used on playing cards are the diamond, heart, club and the spade. This is often the acorn. In sex symbolism, the diamond and heart were female symbols, and the spade and club were male symbols. The two colors represented the sexes; red symbolized the male, and black the female". Moreover, in page 84 the author said that when the cards were invented the club was the weapon of the murderer and the club card stands for murder.Of course there a lot more explanations regarding this chapter for other figures such as the king, ten , the queen and the joker but I won't explain their meanings here.Overall, despite that "don't believe everything you read" is my motto, the fact that nether in the past nor in the present did any person responded to these allegations ( as far as i know)there is maybe a slight degree of authenticity not only in this chapter but in the whole book.