Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock are considered by many the fathers of modern heretical speculation!

In The Orion Mystery Bauval transformed our view of ancient Egypt and the age of the Sphinx, and with other researchers such as Graham Hancock gave birth to what could be best called the alternative archaeological movement.

Both men have never seemed content to sit on their laurels, and after many impressive volumes covering all aspects of archaeology, they have now turned their sights on more recent history.

The central hypothesis of Talisman is based on how we understand history. Today, history is normally studied in one of two ways – it is either studied in very small bites, focusing on minute details with a spotlight on a specific time or place, or it is studied with a grand theory.

The first method gives us amazing tomes focusing on everything from the state of ancient mines in Cornwall to the study of skin lesions in ancient Rome, but it doesn’t especially excite or reveal many insights.

The second method, which one would hope gives us a deeper vision, is generally bound up with predefined worldviews. In the world of today’s universities certain theories are fashionable, which means others are not, and never the two shall meet. History is therefore studied from the perspective of economics, environment, social cohesion theories, gender and sex roles, etc.

The grand theories of the 19th century, for example, while perhaps dated, were at least interesting attempts to understand the past. Today it is all about soil, money, sex, gender and power, or at least that’s what we are told.

Bauval and Hancock approach history like detectives searching for clues. Rather than emphasising a predefined grand theory or isolating themselves in time or location, they follow traces and hints which others don’t notice.

Talisman begins its journey in the French Revolution. Of course, the French Revolution has been studied by academics ad infinitum; each has a grand theory of how and why it occurred. Bauval and Hancock, however, are looking for something else. They are looking for clues and what they uncover is challenging.

If the French Revolution was, in part, an atheistic revolt against religion, as most believe, then why was a statue of Isis installed in celebration of the revolution? Why was Reason worshipped as a Goddess and unusual religious practices and images used throughout the revolution? Why did this cult of Reason focus on an Egyptian religious figure and, moreover, utilise as one of its prime motifs a red cap that is primarily of Mithraic origin?
    
These clues and others begin to lead the author-detectives on the trail of a hidden ancient religion. They identify this religion, in part, with Freemasonry, not as an old boy’s club but as the remains of an older Mystery cult.

This is not simple Freemasonic conspiracy theory. Bauval and Hancock do not, for example, ignore the various economic and social causes of the French Revolution or the American War of Independence, but see Freemasonry as having far more of an influence than traditionally considered.

Rather than seeing it as a global conspiracy of evil atheists and Satanists, they relate Freemasonry to a larger continuum of a secret religion, which has as its ancestry the Gnostics, Bogomils and Cathars. They posit a hidden stream of wisdom-teachings suppressed and persecuted by the Church, but surviving underground.

The overview of this continuum of Gnosticism is truly impressive. It shows a lineage from the earliest forms of Gnosticism through to the Paulicians, Manicheans, Cathars and beyond. Indeed, it is suggested this lineage could contain the original and authentic form of Christianity rather than the prevailing Christian institutions.

The outline of these early traditions is extremely comprehensive and quite inspiring; indeed, for me it was the most significant aspect of this work. It is powerful to read a history of Christianity written from the perspective of the Gnostics rather than from the viewpoint of the Crusades and the Inquisition. The section on the Church’s crusade against the Cathars is deeply moving.

Bauval and Hancock see the Gnostic traditions, under the pressure of the continuing onslaught of the Church, going underground and resurfacing in the Hermeticism and Kabbalah of the Renaissance.

Moreover, they see Hermeticism and Gnosticism as ultimately having an Egyptian origin and encompassing a geometrical and symbolic form as well as a practical (Theurgy) and theoretical gnosis.

This geometrical form is expressed in many of Egypt’s monuments and in the various forms of sacred architecture found throughout European and American cities. This leads to some of the more speculative aspects of this work where various cities are decoded to show strong evidence of this hidden tradition.

This may seem like a strange idea. Often we try to see our modern culture as purely secular and degrade those who see hidden meanings. We delude ourselves into believing the propaganda that we are in a post spiritual age, yet our culture is saturated with spiritual symbols and forms, not even giving consideration to the plethora of religions, cults, sects and isms.

Clearly architecture is influenced, like anything else, by the ideas and values of the designers, and we know that throughout history the builders (read: Freemasons) had a strong esoteric orientation. Accordingly, if we can trace a lineage of teachings through history, then there is every reason to suggest this tradition not only influenced literature and culture but was encoded in the forms and buildings of our great cities.

Bauval and Hancock present a solid case for certain forms and designs developed with Hermetic emphasis being used in the architecture of Paris and Washington, as well as other cities.

A controversial suggestion in the appendix relates this to September 11 and the possibility the terrorists had knowledge of these designs.

This is a challenging speculation and hinges on how we interpret the various denouncements of the West by Islamic militants.

When they use the term ‘Masonic’, are they using it in the greater context that Hancock and Bauval apply it, or is it simply a buzzword for big business?

Certainly, in the West, many now see modern Freemasonry as simply an old boy’s club and hence it is difficult to decode how the term is used and its significance in this context.

Talisman is an amazing work. It covers immense territory from Gnosticism to the Cathars, from the Knights Templar to modern Freemasonry, from the origins of Christianity to the Merovingian bloodline and the design of Paris.

The conclusions they reach will be debated for years. The immense vision of the authors and the depth of their research cannot be faulted.

Much in this book is challenging and worth further research.

Is Gnosticism the real Christianity? Were the Knights Templar and the Cathars inter-related? What is the full story regarding the Rosicrucians and Freemasons? What is the state of modern Gnosticism today? Are its remains simply found in the architectural designs of Paris and Washington or is its revival a sign of the ancient faith returning?

Talisman offers more than the usual to ponder and debate...

– Reviewed by Robert Burns in New Dawn No. 86