Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt by John Anthony West Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt
Book Review: EGYPTOLOGY RE-INVENTED
Summary: 5 Stars
A MARVELLOUS INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK OF R.A.SCHALLER DE LUBICZ. A MUST READ FOR ANYONE CONTEMPLATING THE STUDY OF "THE TEMPLE OF MAN" WELL DONE JOHN WEST!Book Review: Good, bad and ugly
Summary: 2 Stars
"Serpent in the Sky" is primarily concerned with popularizing the otherwise inaccessible work of R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, who spent a great deal of time making exhaustive measurements of the Temple of Luxor and subsequently incorporated his findings into a comprehensive reinterpretation of ancient Egypt known as "Symbolism." A final chapter and a pair of appendices summarize West's investigation of an offhand comment of Schwaller de Lubicz that the Sphinx appears to be weathered by water, with the conclusion that such weathering necessitates a redating of the Sphinx's carving to at least 5000-7000 BCE and perhaps much further in the past. As tracts of alternative archaeology go, this is not an easy read, and so the casual reader should be forewarned. The content of this book falls rather neatly into "good, bad and ugly" classifications.On the good side, I found the application of "Symbolism" to the Egyptian hieroglyphics intriguing. West shows rather nicely (though I would like to see more conventional views in their original context) how literal translations of Old Kingdom pyramid texts seem like complete gibberish, and most likely do not do justice to the people who wrote them. The symbolic translation appears more believable.
On the bad side, West is not reticent about engaging in rants against what he terms the "Church of Progress," meaning the belief in technological and scientific advancement as the measure of human accomplishment, and the depradations of modern society (which, he boldly asserts, is not a civilization) on the human soul. One does not have to be a Luddite to have some sympathy with this view, but its application to studies of ancient Egypt, with the conclusion that this long-lost civilization was far more advanced (in a non-technological sense) than our own, seems misplaced. It is odd, after all, that after castigating modern Egyptologists for the "flimsy" reasoning behind, for example, the conventional dating of the Sphinx, West should use evidence even more flimsy to claim that the ancient Egyptians were healthier than "Western" man, or that they had knowledge of pi, phi, and the zodiac. At best, West's harping on the "Church of Progress" is simply annoying. At worst, he seems unable to recognize when his own prejudices are coloring a too-rosy picture of the past for which there is no evidence.
As for the ugly, West's creationism prompts him to unleash several baseless attacks on Darwinian evolution. Usually, his rants concern the application of evolutionary principles, which were really only meant to apply to the origin and extinction of species over great spans of geological time, to human societies. Certainly, Darwinian evolution has been overextended in non-biological arenas, but the fact of evolution is simply not contestable on rational grounds. West's scientific credentials are compromised further by his claim that astrology has some basis in observable phenomena. It is in these subjects that "Serpent in the Sky" degenerates into complete drivel.
Book Review: Highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
Though not an easy read, this book is quite rewarding. It makes a nice companion volume to Graham Hancock's "Fingerprints of the Gods."Book Review: A translation of Schwaller de Lubicz, but not a light read
Summary: 4 Stars
When I returned from my first trip to Egypt in May, 1998, I voraciously read everything I could get my hands on. Before I read Serpent in the Sky, I had viewed John's emmy-award-winning documentary, so I was prepared for excellence in thinking and new ideas about ancient Egypt. Although John West writes with great flair and articulation, his summarizing of Schwaller de Lubicz was tough going. West makes some good points of his own, but some of de Lubicz's theories are too esoteric for me. West acknowledges he's not a mathemetician and much of de Lubicz's theories are based on sacred geometry, and was beyond my scope as well. I found that the quotations on the sides of the pages detracted from the main body of work. It's very apparent that West thoroughly loves ancient Egypt and has devoted many years to study, discussion and leading tours there. I had the good fortune to be with him on a second tour to Egypt in Nov, 1998. I enjoyed the foreword by Robert Masters regarding Sekhmet, as I had some extraordinary experiences with Sekhmet myself both while I was in Egypt and when I returned. All in all, I would recommend reading Serpent in the Sky. John still leads tours to Egypt.Book Review: FASCINATING
Summary: 5 Stars
One autum day in september i stumbled upon the fascinating book The Serpent in the sky and it just blew me away. I have for years studied the sfinx and the pyramids in Egypt together with my "thinktank" and partner Mikael Knagg and had looked for the book for a while. Another chapter of fascinating reading has opened for me.