The Spear of Destiny (book)
1972 non-fiction book by Trevor Ravenscroft
The Spear of Destiny: The Occult Power Behind the Spear which Pierced the Side of Christ is a 1972 occult book by the writer Trevor Ravenscroft about the Holy Lance and occultism in Nazism, published by Neville Spearman Publishers.
Reviewers generally found the book bizarre and its claims far-fetched; historian of occultism Joscelyn Godwin called The Spear of Destiny a "bloodcurdling work of historical reinvention". The Los Angeles Times described it as "one of the weirdest books of the year". Despite its factual inaccuracy, the book was a commercial success, was translated into several languages, and is, according to British historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, one of the most influential works on Nazi mysticism in English.
Background
The book was authored by the British writer and journalist Trevor Ravenscroft (1921–1989), formerly a British commando, imprisoned in a German prisoner of war camp as part of the World War II North Africa campaign. He then became a journalist. Some time later, he claimed to have met the Austrian anthroposophist Walter Stein. The book is supposed to be based on what he claims is the testimony of Stein.
Ravenscroft claimed that he wrote the book based on research "by using mystical meditation" and on papers of Stein supposedly given to Ravenscroft by his widow. He maintained Stein would have written the book if not for his "untimely death".
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “The Spear of Destiny (book)” is 1972 non-fiction book by Trevor Ravenscroft. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Spear, Destiny and book, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1972 non-fiction book by Trevor Ravenscroft” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11889238. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1921 and 1989.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “The Spear of Destiny (book)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.