LIVING ANCIENT WISDOM. Understanding and Using its Principles Today Paul Devereux. Rider, London, 2002. Paperback, 240 pages, £10.99. ISBN 0-7126-1287-4

Freemasonry is founded upon a spirituality which is expressed through many different religions; eternal principles modulated by human aspiration and endeavour. Thus we, as Freemasons, should take notice of any book which seeks to bring home to us the varieties and realities of spiritual expression. Such a book is Living Ancient Wisdom.
    "When we visit the sacred monuments and temples of antiquity", writes Devereux, "or learn of the rituals and religious beliefs of ancient and traditional peoples, we are peering down into the deep well of the human mind and soul. We are encountering the remnants of the world-views and spiritual or psychological insights of our ancestors".
    One of the problems of the modern world is that of an increasing cultural homogenisation driven by international media and commerce and which, based upon modern science and technology, "now acts on the world like no other knowledge system has managed to do before". We all can fall into the trap of thinking that this provides the only "real" way of seeing the world.
    By looking through the lens of ancient wisdom traditions Devereux explains that we can gain insight into other ways of seeing our environment, our culture, and ourselves. His book is designed to encourage this process.
    The book is divided into four sections: World Centres, Pilgrimage, Sacred Geometry and Divination, these being the primary themes underpinning the main patterns of ancient thinking. Each section is further divided into an overview, which explains the subject, examples of existing sites world-wide which express or embody the theme, and a set of experiments or exercises by which the reader might gain some personal experience of these themes. My only criticism is that due to its simple introductory approach the book does not venture as deeply into its subjects as it might. But then, Paul Devereux has written other books which do that.
    This book is essential reading for all those who seek practical insight into the spiritual principles of the ancients rather than to just read about them. Of course, as Devereux points out, "these principles are perennial – they do not age".
    Michael Baigent