The Tree of Life

Have you ever heard of Elbert Hubbard? After being a soap salesman he founded the Roycrofters (part of the handicraft movement) and the Roycroft Press, which printed magazines and books filled with inspiration and information. He was popular in the early 1900s. Most people today have never heard of him.

On the other hand, you’ve probably heard of Israel Regardie. About his book, The Tree of Life, famous occultist Dion Fortune wrote, ..“.it is going to be one of the classics of occultism.” She was right.

The Tree of Life was a book of its time. And just as poor Elbert is pretty obscure today, so, too, are many of the references in Regardie’s book. It was time, not to change the book, but to update it for modern readers.

The ideal people to do this were Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Senior Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and respected writers and lecturers. The actual changes they made were few – they Americanized some British spellings and carefully turned the transliterations of Hebrew into the modern system that Regardie used in his later books. But that was just the beginning.

Next, they made numerous explanatory notes for each chapter so that everyone can now fully understand the book. Then, to make it easier to use and more valuable they added a glossary, a bibliography, an index, and information on each chapter for the contents pages. To show its importance, they included a biographical preface giving information about Regardie and the book. And finally, to make it even more attractive, they’ve added over 100 illustrations. Now, this classic from the year 1932 is again a classic for the 21st century. Elbert Hubbard may be forgotten, but this book is fresh and lively. Again, if you get a book on real magic, this should be it!

Francis I. Regardie, born in London, England, November 17, 1907; died in Sedona, Arizona, March 10, 1985. Came to the United States in August 1921, educated in Washington D.C. and studied art in school in Washington and Philadelphia. Returned to Europe in 1928 at the invitation of Aleister Crowley to work as his secretary and study with him. Returned to London as secretary to Thomas Burke 1932-34, and during that time wrote A Garden of Pomegranates and The Tree of Life.

In 1934 he was invited to join the Order of the Golden Dawn, Stella Matutina Temple, during which time he wrote The Middle Pillar and The Art of True Healing, and did the basic work for The Philosopher’s Stone.

Returning to the United States in 1937 he entered Chiropractic College in New York, Graduating in 1941, and published The Golden Dawn. Served in the U.S. Army 1942-1945, and then moved to Los Angeles where he opened a chiropractic practice and taught psychiatry. Upon retirement in 1981, he moved to Sedona.

During his lifetime, he studied psychoanalysis with Dr. E. Clegg and Dr. J. L. Bendit, and later studied psychotherapy under Dr. Nandor Fodor. His training encompassed Freudian, Jungian and Reichian methods.