What motivated my piece this month was a particularly acute version of what motivates me every month: PANIC! This is because Sarah has selfishly elected to take a vacation from the first of September, which means the Codex must be compiled even earlier than usual! I jest of course, she works extremely hard and has definitely earned her holiday. Besides, I actually knew what I needed to write about for this edition!

In 1934, Manly Palmer Hall (1901-1990) founded the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), an American nonprofit organization to promote the study of the world's wisdom literature, mysticism, comparative religion, and metaphysics. Hall believed the accumulated wisdom of humanity was the birthright of every single individual – a mission continued by PRS to this day and one which we at the Embassy of the Free Mind identify with absolutely. Our founder Joost Ritman was motivated by the same spirit, and knew of Manly Hall’s identical mission on the other side of the Atlantic - and in his own way, founded a ‘sister’ institution to support that mission in Amsterdam.

But there is more to the story than merely two inspired persons and their quest to enlighten the world through their organizations and libraries. Beginning my seventh year of involvement with the Embassy in Amsterdam, I had heard passing remarks over the years by the Ritman family and our curator (and fellow Codex contributor) José, that Mr Hall and Mr Ritman knew each other, and that Ritman had paid him some visits to California in the past. Occasionally, I would open a book and find Mr Hall’s autograph in it - which always struck me as amazing - but somehow, I never inquired to the Ritman family or José very directly on the matter until somewhat recently. I had no idea, but there are some amazing connections to go over, which this article is meant to serve as an initial but not exhaustive collation of.

Your Amazing Mystic Powers

Before Mr Ritman passed away a few months ago, upon one of his many spontaneous visits to me in our old book room, I had a book on the table I wanted to show him. Its title was ‘Your Amazing Mystic Powers’ (what a title, right?!) – it was a book on Freemasonic teachings written by a 33* mason called Henry C. Clausen. Upon opening its first page, I found a dedication written to Mr Ritman from Mr Hall: ‘To Joseph R. Ritman, with Sincere Regards, Manly P Hall’. I showed it to Mr Ritman, who opened it, smiled, concluded our conversation and took it home with him to read. Then, after I mentioned this to José, she told me she found an identical dedication in another book titled ‘The Music of the Comte de St. Germain.’

Later, during a video call with PRS director Kelly Carmena, she shared with me that it was quite a rare thing for Mr Hall to sign a dedication with ‘with sincere regards’, which indicated to her that Mr Hall sincerely respected and valued Mr Ritman. A nice find, right? It gets better though!

The Secret Teachings of All Ages

The singular work composed by Mr Hall which has garnered him the most fame (and book sales, to be sure), is the vast compendium of secret knowledge, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, published by Hall in 1928. The work is an absolute classic and belongs on the shelf of every person with even a passing interest in occult lore and the history of mysticism. We have several copies of this work, including a first edition with Mr Hall’s autograph. What is especially amazing about the book are the many beautiful images which accompany the chapters.

The color plate paintings were executed by American artist J. Augustus Knapp (1853–1938) who worked closely with Hall on the project. Well, I learned that during one of Mr Ritman’s visits to the PRS, Mr Hall decided to allow Joost to select one of the original paintings from The Secret Teachings to bring back to our library in Amsterdam! The PRS director indicated to me this may have been done because of some previous book donations which Mr Ritman made to the PRS library (discussed below). The painting which Joost chose was the ‘Opening of the Tomb of Father C[hristian] R[osencreuz]. The motif is derived from the very first Rosicrucian manifesto, the Fama Fraternitatis (Kassel, 1614).  

The painting is treasured by the library, and hangs above the fireplace in one of our old book rooms. During our video call, my colleague Maria (who you’ve now met) and I showed the PRS director where it sits and was very pleased to learn this! Evidently, Maria was quite amused by my attempt to show this and snapped a photo, hehe.  

The next chapter of our story I must express deep gratitude to Kelly Carmena for, the director of the Philosophical Research Society. Following our call, she followed up with a fantastic gift, namely, a list of the recordings made by Mr Hall in the PRS Journal in the ‘Happening at Headquarters’ section concerning visits made by Mr Ritman. This was extremely enlightening for us to learn. The first visit occurred in the Summer of 1981, (two years before our library was opened to the public) where we learn that an original edition of Hall’s Secret Teachings had already been included in the BPH collection!  

It is nice to know that from the very first encounter, Mr Hall considered this an important visit.

The next visit to California came three years later, in Winter 1984. At this point the Ritman Library had opened to the public. This encounter also involved quite an exquisite gift ‘as a token of appreciation for [their] collection’ given to PRS from Mr Ritman which can be read in the next account:

The concluding description of the visit as a ‘most unusual occurrence’ was especially noted by the PRS director, who considered this to have been quite a special visit – it must have made quite an impression on Mr and Mrs Hall and makes me wonder what they spoke about in their conversation… Oh to be a fly on that wall!

The next visit came three years later in Spring 1987. By now the Ritman Library had been open for four years, and our head librarian Frans Janssen had been firmly established in his role. It was he who visited on this occasion, and primarily as a research trip:

One year later, in Spring 1988, Mr Hall noted not a visit, but the receiving of one of our exhibition catalogues. Mr Hall describes the ‘privilege of knowing Mr Ritman personally’ and mentions a couple of specific titles in the Ritman collection that he viewed as being particularly impactful on the effect of gnostic and hermetic ideas in the broader culture:

One year later in Spring 1989, our head librarian Frans Janssen ‘dropped by’ on what appears to be another research trip:

The final mention we are aware of at the moment (there could be more), occurs in Winter 1990, which involves a poignant memory shared by a contributor to the PRS journal which indicates the broad awareness and appeal of Mr Hall in Europe and concludes our short piece here quite beautifully I think:

Conclusion

As we acknowledge the death anniversary of the great Manly P Hall, and we at the library continue the mourning of our own founder, Joost Ritman, it seems appropriate to dedicate my article to their joint memory. Without these two titans of esoteric history, or rather, the history of esoteric thought, the world would be a less informed, less enlightened place. With one foot in the past, and one in the future, I also want to consider this short article a gesture towards a living connection between our two institutions, the Philosophical Research Society and the Embassy of the Free Mind. By honoring our founders’ life’s work and mission, we can step into a new future where new opportunities for collaboration and sharing is made possible, or to put it in words they might use, to carry the torch.