The Goat, the Devil and the Freemason

by David J. West

A magical mystery tour in search for the history of the goat and the devil and how they became associated with Freemasonry, including the occult in France, the Santa Fe Trail, a Masonic hoax, ancient Egypt and the Book of the Dead, Greek gods and the afterlife, fauns and satyrs, early Christianity and gnosticism, polytheism,henotheism and monotheism, the death of Pan, the problem of evil, the Cathars, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and John Donne, Wittgenstein and language games, Kabbalah, Templars and Rosicrucians, and the wonderfully named Hermes Trismegistus ... not forgetting Tecumseh, Crazy Horse and the Comanche.

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2013

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book as part of my annual membership to Iowa Research Lodge. I wish I could judge this book by its cover because the cover and the title are very intriguing. If the author had stayed true to his premise of uncovering the link between the image of the goat and depictions of the devil it may have been worth the effort to plow through this book. However, West has little direction for his thesis and finds himself bogged down in anecdotes and asides. There is a wealth of historical information buried in this book, but like many aspects of Freemasonry itself its substance is veiled and obscured. Very disappointing.

[Chase · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is quite confusing and very rambling but clearly well researched. If you can manage to plow through it there are some great nuggetsbof information to be gleaned.