“The Initiates of the Flame” is the first book by Manly P. Hall, published in Los Angeles in October 1922, when the author was twenty-one years old. It is considered the core of his later thought, which he developed six years later in “The Secret Teachings of All Ages.”

In seven chapters, Hall explores the symbolism of the sacred fire, initiation, and spiritual transformation, drawing from Egyptian, biblical, Hermetic, alchemical, and Arthurian traditions: The Fire on the Altar, The Sacred City of Shamballa, The Mystery of the Alchemist, The Egyptian Initiate, The Ark of the Covenant, The Knights of the Holy Grail, The Mystery of the Pyramid.

A central theme of the work is that the symbols of religions and Mysteries — the altar, the Ark, the Philosopher’s Stone, the Grail, the Pyramid — represent inner functions of the human being.

The Greek edition includes an extensive introduction that places the book in its historical and philosophical context and clarifies its relationship with the Masonic, Rosicrucian, and Theosophical symbolism of the era.

Manly Palmer Hall (1901–1990) authored more than 150 books and essays and founded the Philosophical Research Society in 1934.