The Tradition of the Holy Grail. Rachel Ritman

Rachel Ritman is a visual thinker with the artistic gift of expressing everything she observes in pen drawings, in handicrafts, in compelling stories, lectures and tours, and in the exceptionally profound and narrative books she has written. Her most recent books are Gnostic-Christian initiation with the Cathars, published in nine languages since 2012, and Oog in oog met Jacob Böhme (2019).

The tradition of the Holy Grail. Background to the Amsterdam Grail Cup in the Embassy of the Free Mind is the Opus Magnum in which Rachel brings together all her life wisdom at the age of 85. She exposes the roots and tradition of Gnostic-Christian thought and the Grail tradition using the twelve miniatures on the Amsterdam Grail Cup in the museum library Embassy of the Free Mind. This artwork, commissioned by Joost and Rachel Ritman between 1996 and 2006, was created by Oleg An, a master painter from the Russian lacquer miniature art in Palekh.

Rachel has been fascinated by the Grail tradition since she was twelve years old. In this book she takes you on a journey of discovery: a journey through the world of ideas of the Grail, the Christ legends and her own insights. Her descriptions are as meticulous as the miniatures on the Grail Cup. Her message is clear: the mystery of the Holy Grail is sublime and profound, but not secret and within everyone's reach.

The tradition of the Holy Grail is a book for observers, thinkers, seekers and finders. Above all, it is an invitation to anyone who takes it in hand to go on a journey of discovery – also within themselves.