Max Heindel's mysticism is set firmly in the western tradition of the Gnosis. Following a series of disappointments and ill health, Heindel claims to have been visited by a Spiritual Being, who he identified as an Elder Brother of the Rosicrucian Order. From this entity he received a compelling explanation of the spiritual evolution of both the Cosmos and Humanity, couched in terms best suited to the logical, linear mind of western culture. Freemasonry and Catholicism expounds upon these teachings and training methods, and acts as a perfect representation of the philosophy of this important teacher of the Western Mystery Tradition. Cover photography by Paul Spremulli."