Manly Palmer Hall
Encyclopedia
Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian
-born author
and mystic
. He is perhaps most famous for his 1928 work The Secret Teachings of All Ages.
to William S. Hall, a dentist
, and Louise Palmer Hall, a chiropractor
. In 1923 Hall moved from Canada
to Los Angeles, California
. In that year he was ordained to the Church of the People and published his first of over 150 works, The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry. Later in 1928, at the age of 27 years, he published The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy.
(PRS) in Los Angeles, California, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the study of religion, mythology, metaphysics, and the occult.
It is claimed that Hall was made a knight patron of the Masonic Research Group of San Francisco in 1953, although he was not raised as a Mason until 22 November 1954 into Jewel Lodge No. 374 , San Francisco. He later received his 32° in the Valley of San Francisco AASR (SJ). On December 8, 1973 (47 years after writing The Secret Teachings of All Ages), Hall was recognized as a 33° Mason
(the highest honor conferred by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite
) at a ceremony held at the Philosophical Research Society
(PRS)). The definitive Manly Palmer Hall Archive states that Hall received the 33°, "despite never being initiated into the physical craft."
In his over 70-year career, Hall delivered approximately 8,000 lectures in the United States
and abroad, authored over 150 books and essays, and wrote countless magazine
articles. He appears in the introduction to the 1938 film When Were You Born
, a murder mystery that uses astrology as a key plot point.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. He is perhaps most famous for his 1928 work The Secret Teachings of All Ages.
Early years
Manly P. Hall was born 1901 in Peterborough, OntarioPeterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
to William S. Hall, a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
, and Louise Palmer Hall, a chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
. In 1923 Hall moved from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. In that year he was ordained to the Church of the People and published his first of over 150 works, The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry. Later in 1928, at the age of 27 years, he published The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy.
Career as occultist
In 1934, Hall founded the Philosophical Research SocietyPhilosophical Research Society
The Philosophical Research Society is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1934, by the prolific author and scholar Manly Palmer Hall, which provides learning and development of a philosophy of life which embraces conciliation of religion and science and higher understandings of life...
(PRS) in Los Angeles, California, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the study of religion, mythology, metaphysics, and the occult.
It is claimed that Hall was made a knight patron of the Masonic Research Group of San Francisco in 1953, although he was not raised as a Mason until 22 November 1954 into Jewel Lodge No. 374 , San Francisco. He later received his 32° in the Valley of San Francisco AASR (SJ). On December 8, 1973 (47 years after writing The Secret Teachings of All Ages), Hall was recognized as a 33° Mason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
(the highest honor conferred by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite
Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry...
) at a ceremony held at the Philosophical Research Society
Philosophical Research Society
The Philosophical Research Society is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1934, by the prolific author and scholar Manly Palmer Hall, which provides learning and development of a philosophy of life which embraces conciliation of religion and science and higher understandings of life...
(PRS)). The definitive Manly Palmer Hall Archive states that Hall received the 33°, "despite never being initiated into the physical craft."
In his over 70-year career, Hall delivered approximately 8,000 lectures in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad, authored over 150 books and essays, and wrote countless magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
articles. He appears in the introduction to the 1938 film When Were You Born
When Were You Born
When Were You Born is a 1938 murder mystery film starring Anna May Wong as an astrologer who helps the police. Each of the twelve principal characters was born under a different astrological sign.-Plot:...
, a murder mystery that uses astrology as a key plot point.
Legacy
- The PRS still maintains a research library of over 50,000 volumes, and also sells and publishes metaphysical and spiritual books, mostly those authored by Hall.
- It was reported in 2010 that President Ronald Reagan adopted some ideas and phrasing from Hall’s book The Secret Destiny of America (1944), using them in speeches and essays.
Works
- Selected Major Works
- The Secret Teachings of All Ages, 1928 PRS
- Meditation Symbols In Eastern & Western Mysticism-Mysteries of the Mandala, The Philosophical Research Society,Inc.,1988. ISBN 0-89314-543-2
- The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry, 1923
- Other Books & Texts
- Lectures in Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Practical Ideals
- The Adepts Series PRS
- Lady of Dreams: A fable in the manner of the Chinese (Los Angeles, 1943)
- The Blessed Angels: A MonographMonographA monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
- Lectures on Ancient Philosophy—An Introduction to the Study and Application of Rational Procedure, The Hall Publishing Company, Los Angeles, First Edition, 1929, Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins (chapter 19)
- Introduction to Max HeindelMax HeindelMax Heindel - born Carl Louis von Grasshoff in Aarhus, Denmark on July 23, 1865 - was a Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic. He died on January 6, 1919 at Oceanside, California, United States.- Early infancy :...
's Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine, 1933 http://rosicrucianzine.tripod.com/introductionhpb.htm, - The Secret Destiny of America (Los Angeles, 1944)
- America's Assignment with Destiny (Los Angeles, 1994)
- Unofficial Listing of All Books by Manly P. Hall, with topics http://www.manlyphall.info//mph-book-list.htm
- Journals
- Catalogs of articles in The All-Seeing Eye, Horizon, and PRS Journal http://www.manlyphall.info
- Essays
- AtlantisAtlantisAtlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, An Interpretation - Symbolic Essays
- NoahNoahNoah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
and His Wonderful Ark - The Fraternity of the Rosecross From: The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall. PRS., 1928 www.fraternidaderosacruz.org
- Atlantis
External links
- The Manly P. Hall Archive
- Library of Congress holdings
- Philosophical Research Society – Manly Palmer Hall biography
- Fraternidade Rosacruz Max Heindel – Biografia de Manly Palmer Hall
- http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishersoffice/screeningroom/0609/tarchertalks/episode5.html#vmix_media_id=5950739Video interview with publishers of Hall's Freemasonry books – Tarcher publisher and editor Joel Fotinos and Mitch HorowitzMitch HorowitzMitch Horowitz is an American writer in occult and esoteric themes. He is the editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin in New York City.Horowitz is the author of Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation...
discuss Hall's background, common Freemasonry symbols and famous freemasons] - Manly Palmer Hall collection of alchemical manuscripts, 1500-1825 The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. A collection of 243 manuscripts detailing the arts of Alchemy, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, and Masonry, gathered by Manly Palmer Hall, author and researcher in the realms of mysticism and the occult.