A Gipsy secret

There was written by the Freemason Manly P. Hall in the book Secret teachings of all ages.

When Gypsies originally arrived in England is very uncertain. They are first noticed in our laws, by several statutes against them in the reign of Henry VIII.; in which they are described as ‘an outlandish people, calling themselves Egyptians,–who do not profess any craft or trade, but go about in great numbers, * * *.'”

A curious legend relates that after the destruction of the Serapeum in Alexandria, the large body of attendant priests banded themselves together to preserve the secrets of the rites of Serapis. Their descendants (Gypsies) carrying with them the most precious of the volumes saved from the burning library–the Book of Enoch, or Thoth (the Tarot)–became wanderers upon the face of the earth, remaining a people apart with an ancient language and a birthright of magic and mystery.”

Page 57; Secret teachings of all ages

It has been asserted that the Book of Thoth is, in reality, the mysterious Tarot of the Bohemians--a
strange emblematic book of seventy-eight leaves which has been in possession of the gypsies since the
time when they were driven from their ancient temple, the Serapeum. (According to the Secret Histories
the gypsies were originally Egyptian priests.) There are now in the world several secret schools
privileged to initiate candidates into the Mysteries, but in nearly every instance they lighted their altar
fires from the flaming torch of Herm. Hermes in his Book of Thoth revealed to all mankind the "One
Way," and for ages the wise of every nation and every faith have reached immortality by the "Way"
established by Hermes in the midst of the darkness for the redemption of humankind.

Paracelsus was a great observationalist, and those who knew him best have called him "The Second
Hermes" and "The Trismegistus of Switzerland." He traveled Europe from end to end, and may have
penetrated Eastern lands while running down superstitions and ferreting out supposedly lost doctrines.
From the gypsies he learned much concerning the uses of simples, and apparently from the Arabians
concerning the making of talismans and the influences of the heavenly bodies. Paracelsus felt that the
healing of the sick was of far greater importance than the maintaining of an orthodox medical standing,
so he sacrificed what might otherwise have been a dignified medical career and at the cost of lifelong
persecution bitterly attacked the therapeutic systems of his day.

"That cards were brought by the home-returning warriors, who imported many of the newly acquired
customs and habits of the Orient to their own countries, seems to be a well-established fact; and it does
not contradict the statement made by some writers who declared that the gypsies--who about that time
began to wander over Europe--brought with them and introduced cards, which they used, as they do at
the present day, for divining the future."

Through the Gypsies the Tarot cards may be traced back to the religious symbolism of the ancient
Egyptians. In his remarkable work, The Gypsies, Samuel Roberts presents ample proof of their Egyptian
origin. In one place he writes: "When Gypsies originally arrived in England is very uncertain. They are
first noticed in our laws, by several statutes against them in the reign of Henry VIII.; in which they are
described as 'an outlandish people, calling themselves Egyptians,--who do not profess any craft or trade,
but go about in great numbers, * * *.'" A curious legend relates that after the destruction of the
Serapeum in Alexandria, the large body of attendant priests banded themselves together to preserve the
secrets of the rites of Serapis. Their descendants (Gypsies) carrying with them the most precious of the
volumes saved from the burning library--the Book of Enoch, or Thoth (the Tarot)--became wanderers
upon the face of the earth, remaining a people apart with an ancient language and a birthright of magic
and mystery.

Court de Gébelin believed the word Tarot itself to be derived from two Egyptian words, Tar, meaning
"road," and Ro, meaning "royal." Thus the Tarot constitutes the royal road to wisdom.

As far back as we can trace, an important part of the Gypsies' stock-in-trade had been metalworking and other small crafts. They not only carried out blacksmithing, shoeing and repair work, but manufactured vessels and tools. On occasion, groups of Gypsy metalsmiths were employed as armourers in different parts of Europe and in Serbia at least they largely replaced local smiths because their handiwork proved superior. Others produced baskets,combs and jewelry, selling them in the market in direct competition with guild members. The guild masters would not tolerate this threat posed by wandering vagrants, as they saw them, to even a part of their monopoly.

Source
Link - Amazon
Manly P. Hall

SNIP

a reply to: dashen

Its a "special note to a bunch of very special people"

a reply to: tikbalang

But there's no proof, just conjecture.

Next.

a reply to: TerryDon79

Its always like that with stories.. Some you believe in, some you dont..

a reply to: MysticPearl

Ive met many =)

a reply to: tikbalang

Well, it sends a different message to everyone else. It's a nasty thing to say. Perhaps your "special messages" should be sent to those "special people" via u2u instead of tacked onto the end of what otherwise seemed an interesting post.

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: TerryDon79

Its always like that with stories.. Some you believe in, some you dont..

The ones that I "believe" have evidence to back them up. Not someone going "because I said so!"

a reply to: TerryDon79

snip!!!

Your words Terry, apparently they share alot in common with freemasonry.. Could be that they made it up and stole their story?

a reply to: tikbalang

Well your OP refers to an ancient type of gypsy which no longer exists.

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: TerryDon79

They're nothing, but dirty, disrespectful thieves.

Your words Terry, apparently they share alot in common with freemasonry.. Could be that they made it up and stole their story?

Where's the proof?

Oh, wait. Someone said "because I said so!" makes it true?

Go do some real research.

originally posted by: MysticPearl
OP, have you met any gypsies?

I have, all over Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Some in Germany too. They're hated across Europe as they don't assimilate, don't work, don't believe in education, pump out huge numbers of children for welfare checks, steal, rob, engage in prostitution of even their family members and generally, do nothing at all to contribute to society.

In America, we call them "politicians."

a reply to: tigertatzen

Everyone has there opinion based on what they know, everyone has their subjective realities based on their experience..
I just like to share things, a different story, a different opinion, maybe even plant a seed of doubt of why a story just suddenly pop up..
And integrate them two into one.. Gypsies, Egyptians.. Tooth..
Its great actually.. Still just a story in a book..

a reply to: TerryDon79

I quoted a Freemason "who said so" did you skip that part?

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: TerryDon79

I quoted a Freemason "who said so" did you skip that part?

That was an opinion, not a matter of history. There's a difference.

a reply to: TerryDon79

Im pretty sure that is not an opinion on page 57 in his book, i believe its a statement..

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: TerryDon79

Im pretty sure that is not an opinion on page 57 in his book, i believe its a statement..

Based on.....

Wait for it.

His opinion.

a reply to: TerryDon79

No, its based on a Legend.. Just like most freemason stories are.. I think you are mixing apples and oranges..
Or you have a problem with freemason connections to gypsies? Bigot?