Overview

EARLY YEARS: Francis Israel Regardie was born in 1907 to an Orthodox Jewish family in the East End of London, an impoverished area that twenty years previously had been the stalking ground of Jack the Ripper. When he was still a teenager, he emigrated along with his family to the United States, settling in Washington, D.C. Regardie was early on attracted to the writings of Madame Blavatsky and her Theosophical Society, in addition to Qabalistic and Rosicrucian studies. While living in D.C., at the age of 20, Regardie became an Initiate of a Rosicrucian group there. RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEISTER CROWLEY: Shortly after, Regardie came across a book of Aleister Crowleys and was immediately awestruck by the elder magicians talent and evident genius. In 1928 He began a correspondence with Crowley, who was then living in Paris, and was eventually offered a job as Crowleys personal secretary. Regardie travelled to Paris to join him at a great personal sacrifice and while there he served as Crowleys secretary. He also provided the British magician with some financial assistance needed to help the latter maintain his outlandish hedonistic lifestyle. The arrangement may have been ideal for Crowley, who utilized Regardies services as secretary and errand-boy, while pursuing women and drugs to his hearts content. It was less than idyllic for Regardie, who became disillusioned by Crowleys failure to truly teach him the higher secrets of magic, which he had to get from extensive reading instead. The whole episode came to an end less than a year later, when Crowley was deported from France, accused of being a German spy. THE GOLDEN DAWN: Regardies resonance with the Golden Dawn derived in part from the intuitive knowledge that he demonstrated in his 1932 book, The Tree of Life. With the sponsorship of Dion Fortune, he joined the Stella Matutina in 1933 but quickly became disillusioned with its egotistical leadership and departed less than two years later after attaining the grade of Adeptus Minor. Three years after that, he published his landmark collection The Golden Dawn, making the secret rites and teachings of the on-again, off-again Order available to a wider public for the first time, and making possible todays resurgence of interest in the Order. Several years later, Regardie and Crowley parted company after an acrimonious public clash of personalities. Regardie returned to the United States and studied chiropractic medicine in New York. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and afterward moved to Los Angeles to open a chiropractic clinic and also work as a Reichian therapist. He had studied psychology and psychiatry with several notable teachers and was a strong proponent of Jungian analysis all his life, as well as the work of Wilhelm Reich. Both Jung and Reich are known among the 20th centurys most unique and controversial psychological theorists, whose writings straddled the border between science, religion and myth, and incorporated a strong element of sexuality. It is easy to see how this emphasis blended well with Regardies magical and esoteric studies.DR. CHRISTOPHER HYATT: It was in Los Angeles in the early 1970s that Regardie met Dr. Christopher Hyatt and served as a mentor to the younger man by introducing him to the Golden Dawn tradition of Magic as well as Reichian Therapy. Regardie served as a much better mentor to Hyatt than Crowley had to Regardie; in any case, Regardies and Hyatts similar backgrounds (both were Jewish and inclined to psychotherapeutic methodologies) helped them mesh and eventually led to a branch lineage of the Golden Dawn formed by Dr. Hyatt in Phoenix, Arizona, in the early 1980s. In a sense, Regardie went beyond his erstwhile mentor Crowley in terms of bringing the practice of medieval mysticism into the modern world by tying it to the new science of psychology. Regardies most well-known works, The Middle Pillar, A Garden of Pomegranates, The Tree of Life, and of course his The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic are some of the most widely read books on the art of Magic today. Regardie introduced the Golden Dawn system to a far wider audience than it had ever had before. Regardies books were always written for a broad audience and made a point of explaining esoteric concepts in a rationalistic fashion that mid-20th century readers, already exposed to the discoveries of psychology, could accept. NEW FALCON PUBLICATIONS: Regardie died, in retirement, in 1985, in the magically powerful area of Sedona, Arizona. Before passing to the other side, Regardie helped establish Falcon Press, now New Falcon Publications with his student Dr. Christopher S. Hyatt Ph.D. Today New Falcon Publications proudly publishes much of Dr. Regardies great work. Israel Regardie (1907-1985) was the messenger to the modern world charged with preserving and perpetuating the teachings of Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn. He takes his place among such luminaries as Madame Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, and Dion Fortune. Even in such distinguished company, Regardie stands out as a figure of central importance.

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Reviews

As a writer, Regardie has long been hailed as one of the most coherent proponents of Western magic. His work is refreshingly humble and honest: he is able to convey difficult, abstract concepts with clarity and openness to inquiry. Never one to talk down to readers, he focuses instead on the patient teaching of esoteric knowledge: his warm style coaxes readers toward further investigation. He invites the reader to join him in the journey on the Path of Light. And it was through Regardie s writings that we began our own Rosicrucian adventure. -- --Chic and Tabatha Cicero Golden Dawn Adepts 93 Magazine My Teacher, mentor and friend created this for the survival of the Order and in the furtherance of Magick. -- --Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D. OTO News Without Regardie, the Golden Dawn would have perished in the flames of history. -- --David Cherubim Israel Regardie Foundation

"""If you need a review you are not a serious student of Magic."" --Dr. Christopher S. Hyatt ""Without Regardie, the Golden Dawn would have perished in the flames of history."" --David Cherubim, Israel Regardie Foundation ""As a writer, Regardie has long been hailed as one of the most coherent proponents of Western magic. His work is refreshingly humble and honest: he is able to convey difficult, abstract concepts with clarity and openness to inquiry. Never one to talk down to readers, he focuses instead on the patient teaching of esoteric knowledge: his warm style coaxes readers toward further investigation. He invites the reader to join him in the journey on the Path of Light. And it was through Regardie's writings that we began our own Rosicrucian adventure."" --Chic and Tabatha Cicero"

Author Information

Israel Regardie (1907-1985) was an Adept of the Golden Dawn and he was one of the greatest exponents of the Western Esoteric Tradition of the 20th century. He was also an initiate of Aleister Crowley's Order of the A.·. A.·., and he was a IXth degree initiate of Crowley's O.T.O. It was his aim to preserve the teachings and work of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley. His success in this task has profoundly influenced occult thought. From the age of 21, Regardie worked as Crowley's personal secretary. During this period, until their bitter parting, Regardie was one of the few who knew Crowley well. He was one of the few who were qualified to provide first-hand, personal insight into the character and personality of one of the major figures in Western Magick. In addition to his extensive writings, Regardie practiced as a chiropractor and as a neo-Reichian therapist. He taught Psychiatry at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and contributed articles to many Psychology magazines. Regardie's most profound work, The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic, is a 1200 page book published by New Falcon Publications; a company he founded with his student Dr. Christopher Hyatt. The book is currently available in three different editions: a) 1200 page hard bound with index; b) eBook with the same material; and c) a new portable edition as a soft cover. Today Regardie's work is being preserved and perpetuated by New Falcon Publications and the Israel Regardie Foundation.

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