The Golden Thread: The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions

by Joscelyn Godwin, Richard Smoley (Foreword)

The Golden Thread traces the interconnectedness of esoteric wisdom in the Western world, from classical antiquity to contemporary Europe and America. Joscelyn Godwin lends personal perspective to an arrangement of text that is historical and wisdom that is timeless, creating a source of inspiration that calls us to action in our everyday spiritual practice. Every chapter, therefore, makes reference to some aspect of contemporary life and issues of immediate concern. Elegantly written and not without irony and humor, readers will appreciate the non-threatening tone of Godwin’s writing, which is not meant to preach or convert but rather inform the public on an often baffling field. Educated readers who are curious about the esoteric and mystery traditions and interested in finding surprising, new approaches to subjects that veer away from the trends of current thought will be particularly drawn to this book.

Genres: Occult, Religion, Philosophy, Esoterica, History

214 pages, Paperback, Sewn Binding

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Composer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult.

Reviews

[Julianne Davidow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Golden Thread is a comprehensive, yet easy to read overview of the perennial wisdom of the Western Mystery Tradition by a great scholar and writer. Godwin, with clarity and precision, guides the reader down through the ages, covering the major points of progression of this prisca theologia. Nowadays, some people speak of New Age as if something unprecedented is occurring. In fact, there have always been those who have sought the wisdom beneath the surface of life, and engaged in esoteric spiritual practices. These practices have sometimes worked in tandem with established and accepted religious practices, and sometimes not. Today, with science taking precedence over religion in the Western world, it’s important to remember that the scientific method developed as a result of spiritual inquiry into the workings of nature. When science began, this splitting or division between science and religion had not yet occurred.

From the hermetic tradition, to the Orphic mysteries, Pythagoras, and Plato on up to the Renaissance with its reawakening after a dark period of repression, and continuing to the present day, we are able, with Godwin as our guide, to follow this thread and see where we have arrived and what our next steps might me.

Today, we are fortunate to have a vast array of spiritual writings available to us, from both the Western and Eastern traditions. Godwin gives us a summary primarily of the Western tradition, but does not neglect to also include information on the great influence Eastern philosophies and practices are having in our lives. As Godwin states: “Knowledge has been put into our hands that was once the closely guarded property of initiates, together with the freedom to discuss and follow it …
(p. 149)

Now that we have access to this information, it is up to us to use it responsibly and with awareness and discernment.

[Maan Kawas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read! I enjoyed reading this interesting book by Joscelyn Godwin on ancient sages and philosophers. I particularly loved the parts on the great Ancient Greek philosophers, Pythagoras, Orpheus, and Plato. I also loved the parts on Hermes Trismegistu and Prisca Theologia. Godwin's writing is beautiful, absorbing, readable, and supported by reference; that is to say, he writes in a scholarly way.

[Thea Stayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

If one is interested in esoteric Western thought, this is a good introductory text. Godwin starts with some anxieties of the mid 1900s and then doubles back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. He does a great job of pointing to important movements, ideas and authors/thinkers as he moves through time, without going into to much detail. If it’s what you’re looking for, you will definitely get a good reading list.
I DO WISH, that instead of referring us in some instances to some rather shallow reading aimed at the general public, that he had cited scholarly research and writing instead, it IS out there.
Even so, if a person is looking for an introduction to esoteric materials, they could do a lot worse. Be aware, the citations for Julius EVOLA: Great researcher and clear writer—also a fascist of Mussolini’s Italy. Doesn’t make the research of the UR group useless, but he had a real hard time with the idea of ordinary people (like himself) getting a fair standing in the world.

THERE IS NO REAL SIGN THAT GODWIN AGREES WITH EVOLA, just that he recognizes his place in contemporary research and esoteric thought.

[Beverly Bentley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more of an overview of Western Mystery Tradition. If you have already read or are in the least familiar with The Republic, Hermes Trigestus, and the like then you can skip this book. If you are not familiar, then this will list the books and characters you will need to read. For Christianity, just skip this altogether and read Inner Christianity by Richard Smoley.

[Caleb.Lives · Rating 2 out of 5]

Godwin is a scholar, not a mystic, and it shows. And he is a rather biased scholar at that. His contempt for Christianity, even monotheisms in general, is not even disguised, and is fueled by a variety of severely outdated historical concepts.
There is useful info in here, but one must enter with critical mind and be prepared to deal with bias and distortion.

[Victor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Godwin's book has been adequately summarized in other positive reviews, which I second. Read it the first time several years ago, but came back to it recently and reread it, not a luxury I can usually afford. I was surprised by how much more was there. It is book for meditation on the Wisdom traditions of the planet, not just of the West. And with practical applications that accompany deep insights into history. Succinct but loaded, each chapter a window into a mystery for contemplation. [Chapter 6: "The Power of the Egregore" contains a concept that will blow your mind.] Pun intended, I feel it is worth its weight in gold.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent quick read, packing the history of a vast, near-timeless tradition into a short, clearly written and well annotated package. Godwin’s tracing of what he views as a single thread from the dawn of recorded history to the present is insightful and enlightening, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

[Teri Uktena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately full of misinformation about Egypt, the myth of universal archetypes, Stonehenge and much more.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well put together and organized.

[Christopher Plaisance · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Golden Thread, Godwin presents a scholarly, but eminently emic overview of Western Esotericism's history. He begins by defining the study in terms of the Renaissance idea of the differing strains of thought which comprise Western Esotericism being manifestations of the prisca theologia, or primordial theology—a view which treats individual religious traditions as particular instances of a universal truth. In distinct contrast with Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke's The Western Esoteric Tradition —which also charts Western Esotericism's developmental history—Godwin's book devotes over half of its content to the subject's Hellenistic origins and Medieval manifestations. The amount of space Godwin spends on expositions of Hermetism, Orphism, Pythagoreanism and Platonism does somewhat overpower the chapters on post-Medieval phases of Western Esotericism, but they succeed admirably in providing the reader with a firm grip on the philosophical foundations that came to support nearly all subsequent manifestations. As an emic text, Godwin's work does suffer from a perceived lack of objectivity in places (most notably his devoting an entire chapter to the seldom discussed concept of the egregore), yet not so much as to make it completely unusable as an historiographical study.

[Katelis Viglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It isn't the first book by Joscelyn Godwin I read. It is very thoughtful, a lot of insights are included, without the bibliographical references to be neglected. In each chapter, althought a different subject is developed, one can find the same culmination of thought. The final sentence of the book, - I don't know if it is written by the author - but of course it is excellent. I think this book is one of his best, and one of the best in this field.

[Sienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent but too-brief survey written in an engaging, accessible style. Glad I finally purchased one of Godwin's books and look forward to reading more in the future.

[Greg Sudmeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!