This is a collection of 18 essays on a variety of occult-themed topics, covering the full spectrum of classic esoteric and related subjects, which include hermeticism, alchemy, magic, the Kabbalah, ancient wisdom and philosophy, the Tarot, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Theosophy and spiritualism, by some of the most notable and prominent names in the history of those subjects.

Renowned esoteric scholar Manly P. Hall gives us an overview of the history of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus. He begins with a short piece of fiction, which he was known to do, in which he illustrates the tale of Hermes defeating a dragon in a temple, as the neophyte and initiator observe. Moving to nonfiction, he discusses the identity of Hermes, the lost writings of Hermes, the Book of Thoth in particular, an introduction to Poimandres, and ends with his simplified and condensed translation of Poimandres.

Scientists refer to the pineal gland as the atrophied third eye. Indeed, it, along with the pituitary, is the third eye chakra or energy center, but are more dormant than atrophied. According to Max Heindels, in the distant past, man was in touch with the inner worlds through an activated pineal and pituitary gland. Considered the most powerful and highest source of ethereal energy available to humans, the third eye has always been important in initiating psychic powers (e.g. clairvoyance and seeing auras). Manly traces the historical significance of the gland and its spiritual value.

We regard growth as a natural process but the phenomenon of unfoldment is actually a revelation of the release of the spiritual potential with which all creatures have been endowed. Evolution is actually a kind of ideation or an expansion of consciousness through bodies. Jacob Boehme, the German mystic, describes the soul as a tree with its roots in the heart and its branches extending through all the regions of space. The fruit of this tree is for the healing of the nations, and the shade which it provides is consolation and protection for those who are weary of worldliness.

The history of the tablets translated in the following book is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years. The writer is Thoth, an Atlantean Priest-King, who founded a colony in ancient Egypt after the sinking of the mother country. He was the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, erroneously attributed to Cheops. In it he incorporated his knowledge of the ancient wisdom and also securely secreted records and instruments of ancient Atlantis.