The Inner West: An Introduction to the Hidden Wisdom of the West

by Jay Kinney (Editor)

The founder of the influential Gnosis magazine collects essays by some of today's finest spiritual writers to explore the West's magical and esoteric traditions.

Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, The Knights Templar . . . Even before the success of The Da Vinci Code , many readers knew of these and other aspects of Western esoterica. But few understand their true meaning.

In The Inner West , more than twenty essays by seventeen leading authors shine a light on some of the most mysterious and closely held aspects of the Western tradition. Its authors bring to life the symbolist and occult philosophies that populate the history and beliefs of the Western way. These same philosophies-which include variants of Christian and Jewish mysticism, and the teachings of figures like Rudolf Steiner and G. I. Gurdjieff-can present a deep and different spiritual path for today's seekers.

Spiritual seekers have often looked to the East for inspiration and guidance. Yet increasing numbers of people are discovering that many helpful wisdom traditions have existed right here in the West. With the Kabbalah and Tarot cards more popular than ever, and alternative spirituality from Wicca to Sufism gaining a new audience, The Inner West is a timely book for this expanding audience

Genres: Philosophy, Esoterica, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Mark David Vinzens · Rating 5 out of 5]

“... the esoteric arts of transmutation and change. One facet of this tradition is alchemy, with its well-known objective of turning lead into gold. But Hermeticism involves much more than that. It is concerned not only with changing one substance into another but also with transforming grosser substances into subtler ones. As the Emerald Tablet, the primordial document ascribed to Hermes, says, you will separate the fine from the coarse, sweetly, with great ingenuity. Taking a slightly different perspective, Peter French, in his excellent book on John Dee, defines the most basic concept of Hermeticism thus: "Man must know himself and recover his divine essence by reuniting with the divine mens" or mind (...) Alchemical transformation involves taking something with only a minimal amount of life and intelligence in its ordinary state and refining and perfecting it until it reaches a state of higher being (...) the transformation of the "lead" of ordinary being into the "gold" of true consciousness.”

— The Inner West: An Introduction to the Hidden Wisdom of the West

[John Conquest · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first chapters on Alchemy, Neoplatonism, and Gnosticism were interesting and if the book was exclusively about those topics I think it would have held my interest more. When talking about Kabbalah, Sufism, and Christian Mysticism it is also informative.

But the middle chapters on Wicca, Astrology, and the like are a bit goofy. One surprise was the tarot card chapter which was quite interesting. Then a section on secret societies whose connections to hidden wisdom are vague and a final section on a bunch of literal whos and René Guénon.

Love the cover though.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it varies alot depends on which chapter you are on cause the chapters have different authors.

[Ian Hulstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction, but very rudimentary.
There are a couple of gems in this collections, notably the articles by Richard Smoley, and the one on Mystic Christianity by Nottingham.
The chapters about Blavatsky, Guenon, Gurdjieff, and Schwaller de Lubicz were quite interesting as well, as I have read the work of all these individuals but never really knew their stories.
Other than that, I found most of the chapters in the middle of the book to be pretty rubbish.

Overall, I don't think this is a book worth owning, as it is too shallow to merit a rereading. But if you are new to esoteric studies, this could serve as a good starting point.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great addition to any beginner esoteric library. Kinney acts as editor bringing together some of the most prominent authors on the origins, religious counterparts, thinkers and practices of Western Esotericism. If one were to read only one book on the esoteric tradition, this one should be seriously considered.

[Les Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great articles covering most of western mysticism from Christian, Jewish, and Islamic mystics to the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, and Alistair Crowley, this book has it all. A wonderful reference.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good introduction into all things mystical.