The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic

296 Pages·1972·92.91 MB·English

by  Israel Regardie

TREE LIFE
THE OF
TAHl'TI
The Patron of Magic,
TREE LIFE
THE OF
A STUDY IN MAGIC
ISRAEL REGARDIE
SAMUEL WEISER, INC.
York Beach, Maine
First paperback edition 1972 by
Samuel Weiser, Inc.
P.O. Box 612
York Beach, Maine 03910
Seventh printing 1983
ISBN 0-87728-149-1
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 70-16403
© Israel Regardie 1969, for the Introduction
to the Second Edition. All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A. by
Michell-Shear, Inc.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Dedicated
with poignant memory
of what might have been
to
MARSYAS
.. You must understand therefore that this is the first path
to felicity, affording to souls an intellectual plenitude of divine
union. But the sacerdotal and theurgic gift of felicity is called
indeed the gate to the Demiurgos of wholes, or the seat, or
palace, of the good. In the first place, likewise, it possesses a
power of purifying the soul ... afterwards it causes a coapta
tion of the reasoning power to the participation and vision of
the good and a liberation from every thing of a contrary nature,
and in the last place, produces a union with the Gods, who are
the givers of every good."
I AMBLICHUS.
INTRODUCTION
To The Second Edition
DOES a parent have a favorite child? Is there one, above all
others, that secretly he feels is the apple of his eye? More
often than not, despite all protestations to the contrary,
there certainly is.
So it is with me. In having been asked to write an introduction to
this new edition of The Tree of Life, I feel a warm inner glow which
combines a number of quite separate emotions. This book has
special meaning for me that none of my other writing ever had.
Primarily, there is the basic fact that it was the first book that
emerged from my burgeoning spirit. A Garden of Pomegranates, a
prior publication, simply expanded itself from a set of Qabalistic
notes I had kept for several years-and that is all it ever was.
The Tree of Life has been said to be the most comprehensive
introduction available to the numerous, complex, and sometimes
obscure mystical writing of Aleister Crowley. Both these books were
dedicated to him whom I served as a secretary for several years.
Symbolically, both came to be gestures of independence from him.
The Tree of Life also resulted in a correspondence all over the
world that has eventuated in several deep and abiding friendships.
For these I am most grateful.
Though this book contains many minor typographical errors
principally due to haste and the carelessness· of youth-it has been
found useful as a guide to the vast, complicated and wonderful
Golden Dawn system of initiation to which I am obligated; a debt
which must here be acknowledged. The two volumes of The Golden
Dawn (Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minn. 1970) are alleged
by some students to contain such a diversified mass of information
that a clear guide is a pre-requisite to hew an intelligible pathway
through its papers, rituals and instructions. This new edition
should provide such a guide.
In the writing of The Tree of Life I learned much. It consoli
dated many isolated fragments of disconnected knowledge and ex·
perience. Correspondence indicated it has served others equally well.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Apart from its flamboyancy and a tendency to adjectivitis, which
were the hallmarks of my youth-some thirty-five years having
elapsed since it was written-it was declared a sincere, simple guide
to an intricate and otherwise obscure art. A British psychiatrist was
so kind as to admit to a sense of awe and, indeed, admiration that
one in his mid-twenties could have shown as much spiritual insight
and capacity for synthesis evidenced in this book. Should this con
clusion be valid, much credit has to be given Aleister Crowley to
whom lowe very much. To his ultimate vindication from the idiocy
of biographers and muck-raking journalists I have dedicated many
years of my life. His material will never die, it will remain an inspira
tion to students of the distant future as it has to me.
Credit must also be given to my higher and divine Genius, to use
the lovely Golden Dawn language-for without this inner direction,
no literature however profound, beautiful or ecstatic would mean
very much. Because the guidance obtained later from The Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn resulted from the publication of The
Tree of Life, its writing was not influenced by the Order. Subse
quently, however, it did playa prominent part in my inner growth
and the writing of later books.
In retrospect, this testimony of my independence from Crowley
resulted in a letter from the Chief of one section of the Golden Dawn
condemning both me and the book in no uncertain terms. On the
other hand, it resulted in an invitation to become a member from
the Chief of another branch of the Order. I accepted the latter.
Though later years brought about a separation from the Order, I
now regret my youthful presumption and arrogance. Nevertheless,
destiny must have intervened, resulting in a re-issuance of the secret
Order teachings, the first exposure having been essayed just before
World War I by Crowley in the Equinox.
With due respect to Crowley's abundant genius, it has been said
my presentation did more justice to the Order than did his. It is
worth repeating a second time that this new edition of The Tree of
Life will give the student a bird's eye view of the Western magical
tradition. In this .connection, despite minor doctrinal and ritualistic
deviations, Crowley stands in direct line of descent from the Adepts
of the Golden Dawn; nothing that he has written can be understood
without reference to its teachings. Both the Golden Dawn and
Aleister Crowley gain in stature and depth if the newcomer to these
THE TREE OF LIFE
studies first obtains a synoptic view through The Tree of Life.
Finally, a former caution is still essential. I have long realized
modern psychological analysis should be wedded to methods of the
Great Work-a task yet to be fully accomplished. It is strongly
recommended that the serious student undergo a course of some kind
of psychotherapeutic treatment before proceeding too far with these
practices. At the very least, he will have gained in self-awareness,
and eliminated a few bodily and emotional tensions exacerbated by
the magical art.
So to this new edition of The Tree of Life, I can only say with
humility, sincerity and conviction, go forth and spread the word.
It depicts a good teaching, a noble philosophy, and an archaic though
practical system of attainment, of reaching sun-drenched heights to
which all mankind ultimately must aspire and rest. Mayall readers
obtain as much gratification, spiritual aid, comfort, and enlighten
ment as I have had in the initial writing and in the subsequent years.
Godspeed!
ISRAEL REGARDIE
May 12, 1968
Studio City, California, 91604