Description
Israel Regardie
Llewellyn Publications, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, 1970. Hardcover. Third edition, revised & enlarged, encompassing Four volumes in two, 1172 pages . Black cloth textured cloth with gilt titles to spine. A collection of the rituals and teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, originating from Israel Regardie’s involvement with Stella Matutina. This edition is a valuable resource for students of the occult and those interested in the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. A remarkably handsome edition, internally clean pages and boards. See photos. Near Fine set of books complete with unclipped dust-jackets.
AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL OCCULTISM
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Latin: Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (Aurora Aurea), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism.
The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell Mathers, were Freemasons and members of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn. Hence the Golden Dawn system was based on hierarchy and initiation, similar to Masonic lodges. While the grade structure was based on the SRIA, women were admitted on an equal basis with men.
The “Golden Dawn” was the first of three Orders, although all three are often collectively referred to as the “Golden Dawn”. The First Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and personal development through study and awareness of the four classical elements, as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy. The Second or Inner Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, taught magic, including scrying, astral travel, and alchemy. The Third Order was that of the Secret Chiefs, who were said to be highly skilled; they supposedly directed the activities of the lower two orders by spirit communication with the Chiefs of the Second Order.
The Stella Matutina (Morning Star) was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known as Mystic Rose or Order of the M.R. in the Outer. When occult writer Israel Regardie released documents of the Golden Dawn to the public it was the teachings of the Stella Matutina that he revealed, not those of the original order. The Stella Matutina was one of several daughter organisations into which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fragmented, including the Alpha et Omega led by John William Brodie-Innes and Macgregor Mathers, the Isis-Urania Temple led by A. E. Waite, and others.
Francis Israel Regardie (November 17, 1907 – March 10, 1985) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer who spent much of his life in the United States. He wrote fifteen books on the subject of the occult and was a frequent contributor to The Occult Review. Born to a working-class Orthodox Jewish family in the East End of London, Regardie and his family soon moved to Washington, D.C. in the United States. Regardie rejected Orthodox Judaism during his teenage years and took an interest in Theosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jewish mysticism. It was through his interest in yoga that he encountered the writings of the occultist Aleister Crowley. Contacting Crowley, he was invited to serve as the occultist’s secretary, necessitating a move to Paris, France in 1928. He followed Crowley to England before their association ended. Living in England, he wrote two books on the Kabbalah, A Garden of Pomegranates and The Tree of Life. In 1934 he then joined the Stella Matutina—a ceremonial magic order descended from the defunct Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn—but grew dissatisfied with its leadership and left. He also studied psychology, being particularly influenced by ideas from Jungian psychology, and explored Christian mysticism. In 1937 he returned to the United States. Concerned that the Golden Dawn system of ceremonial magic would be lost, he published the Stella Matutina rituals in a series of books between 1938 and 1940. This entailed breaking his oath of secrecy and brought anger from many other occultists. During the Second World War he served in the U.S. Army. On returning to the U.S., he gained a doctorate in psychology before relocating to Los Angeles in 1947 and setting up practice as a chiropractor. While in Los Angeles, he met Sybil Leek, a witch from England, and taught her the basics of Kabbalah. In 1981 he retired and moved to Sedona, Arizona, where he died of a heart attack four years later.
