An excerpt from Manly P. Hall’s "The Occult Anatomy of Man."

All the priests of the ancient world were anatomists. They recognized that all the functions of nature were reproduced in miniature in the human body. They therefore used man as the textbook, teaching their disciples that to understand man was to understand the universe. These wise men believed that every star in the heavens, every element in the earth, and every function in nature, was represented by a corresponding center, pole, or activity within the human body.

These wise ones realized that there was a great deal more involved in religion than the chanting of mantras and the singing of hymns; they realized that the path of salvation could be walked successfully only by those who have practical, scientific knowledge of the occult function of their own bodies. The anatomical symbolism which they evolved in order to perpetuate this understanding has come down to modern Christianity, but the keys to it apparently have been lost. It is a tragic situation for religionists that they are surrounded by hundreds of symbols which they cannot understand, but it is still sadder than they have even forgotten that these symbols ever had any meaning other than the foolish interpretations which they themselves have concocted.

The idea prevalent in the minds of Christians that their faith is the one and only truly inspired doctrine, and that it came parentless into the world, is unreasonable in the extreme. A study of comparative religions proves beyond doubt that Christianity has begged, borrowed, or stolen its philosophies and concepts from the religions and philosophies of the ancient and medieval pagan worlds. Among the religious symbols and allegories which belonged to the world long ago before the coming of Christianity are a few to which we would like to call your attention. The following Christian symbols and concepts are of pagan origin:

The Christian cross, comes from Egypt and India; the triple miter from the faith of the Mithraics; the shepherd’s crook from the Hermetic Mysteries and Greece; the immaculate conception from India; the transfiguration from Persia; and the trinity from the Brahmans. The Virgin Mary, as the mother of God, is found in a dozen different faiths. There are over twenty crucified world saviors. The church steeple is an adaption of Egyptian obelisks and pyramids, while the Christian devil is the Egyptian Typhon with certain modifications. The deeper one goes into the problem, the more he realizes there is nothing new under the sun. A truly sincere study of the Christian faith proves beyond all doubt that it is the evolutionary outgrowth of primitive doctrines. There is an evolution in religion as well as in physical form. If we accept and incorporate into our doctrines the religious symbolism of nearly forty peoples it behooves us to understand (at least in part) the meaning of myths and allegories which we borrow, lest we be more ignorant than those from whom we secured them.

This brochure is devoted to the problem of explaining the relationship existing between the symbolism of the ancient priests and the occult functions of the human body. We must first understand that all scared writings are supposed to be sealed with seven seals. In other words, it requires seven complete interpretations to understand fully the meaning of these ancient philosophic revelations which we have liked to call Holy Writ. Scripture is not intended to be historical. Those who understand its literal meaning understand the least of its meaning.