
The Essenes Children of the Light
By Stuart Wilson & Joanna Prentis
Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2014 (388 pages)
I have been drawn to learning more about the Essenes for many years. And I was excited to find this book. The Essenes were an ascetic Jewish sect of the Second Temple era known for their communal lifestyle, strict ritual purity, and apocalyptic beliefs, most famously associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were also herbal healers. The Essenes meticulously studied and cultivated medicinal plants—ranging from mandrake, rue, and madder to balsam shrubs and date palms—preparing herbal infusions, poultices, and oils while also incorporating Dead Sea minerals like asphalt, sulphur, and salt into their remedies. They operated communal workshops at Qumran and En Boqeq, dispatching trained healers who blended practical pharmacology with ritual purity and spiritual intent, viewing the art of herbal medicine as a sacred gift and divine blessing.
The Essenes: Children of the Light, co-authored by Stuart Wilson and Joanna Prentis, ventures into the hidden world of an ancient Jewish sect often linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Drawing on transcripts of past-life regression sessions, the book claims to unveil eyewitness accounts of Essene teachings and the formative years of Jesus within their community. This review examines its narrative approach, historical assertions, and overall contribution to spiritual literature.
Readers are invited to “take a trip through time to uncover the mysterious Essene knowledge and secrets that Jesus was taught.” The narrative poses provocative questions: Did Jesus truly die on the cross? What was Mary Magdalene’s real connection to him? Through hypnotic regression of five individuals purported to have lived as Essenes, the authors reconstruct dialogues among Jesus, his inner circle, and Joseph of Arimathea. These sessions reveal Essene links to the Druids, a secret Core Group around Jesus, and even contacts with the Order of Melchizedek.
A central pillar of the book is its reliance on past-life regression, a hypnotherapeutic technique aimed at retrieving memories from previous incarnations. Joanna Prentis, a certified hypnotherapist, leads regression sessions that form the core “evidence” for the authors’ claims. While this approach lends a novel, experiential dimension, it also raises questions of subjective memory, suggestion bias, and scientific rigor. Skeptical readers may view these recollections as creative narrative rather than factual history, whereas those open to metaphysical exploration may find them spiritually illuminating.
One strength of the book is its recontextualization of Jesus as “the Essene Jesus,” a wise and compassionate being supported by a dedicated brotherhood for over two centuries before his birth. This portrayal challenges mainstream Christian doctrine and reassert the premise that early Christianity was rooted in Essene philosophy—harmony with nature, communal living, and inner transformation. The restoration of Mary Magdalene’s role and the depiction of Joseph of Arimathea as a royal tin merchant from Cornwall further enrich the narrative tapestry, blending Celtic lore with Judaic tradition.
At 384 pages, the book maintains a brisk pace by alternating regression transcripts with interpretive commentary. Stuart Wilson’s accessible prose ensures complex spiritual concepts remain approachable. The inclusion of direct dialogue excerpts brings immediacy to the reader’s experience, though at times the shift from historical context to metaphysical discourse can feel abrupt or jarring. But I found it an exciting look into the Essenes and how they thought, lived, worked and uses vivid regression dialogues that are like peeking into the past. If you are a reader unfamiliar with New Age methodologies, you might find the premise implausible. For me, since I have a strong belief in past lives, it was a fascinating trip delving into the Essenes and their beliefs.
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