The Middle Pillar

by Israel Regardie

  So in October of 1928 at the age of twenty, Regardie went to France to take the post that Crowley offered him. For the next three years Regardie lived a rather nomadic life as he tried to get his employer to teach him the magical arts.

  However, Crowley did not offer to teach Regardie magic or yoga and Regardie, a shy and unobtrusive young man, did not press the issue. Instead he continued his own studies, reading every book or manuscript on these subjects that he could get his hands on.

  Meanwhile, Regardie’s sister, whom he scornfully referred to as “Nosey Parker,” read some of Crowley’s books and, since she understood nothing about magic, was appalled. She marched off to the French Consul in Washington and complained about her brother’s “demise.” The French Consul promised to look into the matter. This was the beginning of trouble. Four months after Regardie arrived in Paris, a French detective from the Surete Generale came to the apartment “to see what kind of wicked monster this man Crowley was.” It just so happened that Crowley owned an unusual glass Silex coffee maker that the detective assumed was used for distilling drugs. The fact that Crowley was the British head of a German magical society (the Ordo Templi Orientis) led police to the false conclusion that Crowley was a German spy.

  Crowley’s problems came to a head when he had a falling out with his literary press agent who told French police that Crowley was a drug addict. As a result of all this, Crowley and his wife-to-be, Marie de Miramar, were given expulsion papers. The young Regardie, who had neglected to get a valid residence permit, was also told to leave the country. After spending six months in Brussels, Regardie went to England where he stayed with Crowley and his wife. By this time Crowley had discovered another publisher, Mandrake Press, but by now Crowley’s notoriety in the tabloids as “the wickedest man in the world”1 was enough to cause most booksellers to avoid him, and Mandrake Press soon went under. As a result, Crowley could no longer afford to keep his secretary. After attempting to repair Crowley’s tarnished image by co-authoring a book called The Legend of Aleister Crowley (1930), Regardie and Crowley drifted apart though they remained friends. For a time Regardie, who had settled in London, served as a secretary for Thomas Burke, the novelist.

  In 1932, Regardie published his first two important books, A Garden of Pomegranates and The Tree of Life. The former represented Regardie’s own Qabalistic studies, while the latter is usually considered Regardie’s Magnum Opus and one of the most comprehensive texts on practical magic ever written. The book was primarily a restatement of the original teachings of the Golden Dawn and contained very little “Crowleyanity.” The Tree of Life was dedicated to Crowley under the name of Marsyas, a pseudonym that Crowley used in his poem Aha. About five years later in 1937, Regardie sent his old friend a copy of The Tree of Life with a warm note. Unfortunately, Crowley’s response to Regardie’s kindness was less than kind—chiding the sensitive young author with an anti-Semitic slur about his recently adopted name of “Francis” (a name given to Regardie by a lady friend who thought he had a lot in common with St. Francis of Assisi). Regardie took offense and wrote Crowley an inflammatory letter designed to “sting” him—which apparently it did. Crowley retaliated by circulating an abusive and slanderous letter about Regardie to all of his friends and acquaintances. The result was a final and complete break between the two men. Regardie was deeply wounded by the breakup of the friendship and was only able to pardon Crowley in his later years. (In 1970, when he wrote The Eye in The Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley, Regardie’s charitable nature and his ability to be forgiving toward his old friend was evident.)

  The publication of The Tree of Life caused quite a stir in magical circles of the time. In the book Regardie outlined a few of the magical practices and teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Although the original Order had ceased to exist in 1903, it continued to live on in its successors, the Stella Matutina and the Alpha et Omega. Many members of both Orders remembered Crowley as a disruptive insurgent from years before, therefore Regardie’s previous connection to Crowley caused some members to lash out at him. Other members, most notably Dion Fortune, defended him. With her support, Regardie was invited to join the Stella Matutina. In January of 1933, Regardie joined the Order and made rapid progress through the grades, probably due to his exceptional abilities. However, Regardie was terribly disappointed with the chiefs of the Stella Matutina, who claimed extraordinarily high degrees but seemed sorely lacking in magical knowledge. The Order itself was in a state of demoralization and decay—the members and chiefs alike cared little for magic, other than as an irritating prerequisite for examinations in order to obtain exalted titles. Regardie concluded that the teachings of the Order would not survive unless they were published, so shortly after attaining to the grade of Theoricus Adeptus Minor in 1934,2 Regardie left the Order in December of that year. In 1937 he published much of the Golden Dawn’s ceremonies and teachings in four volumes titled The Golden Dawn. He clearly stated his reasons for doing this in his previous book My Rosicrucian Adventure (1936) which documented his own experiences with the Golden Dawn:...(I)t is essential that the whole system should be publicly exhibited so that it may not be lost to mankind. For it is the heritage of every man and woman—their spiritual birthright.... My motives have been to prove without a doubt that no longer is the Order the ideal medium for the transmission of Magic, and that since there have already been several partial and irresponsible disclosures of the Order teaching, a more adequate presentation of that system is urgently called for. Only thus may the widespread misconceptions as to Magic be removed.

  Some members of the Order were incensed at this action, but others were quite happy—they no longer had to copy all the Order materials tediously by hand. In Regardie’s words, “Some approved of the publication of these books; a very few disapproved. That’s all there is to it.” Nevertheless most temples of the Stella Matutina and the Alpha et Omega slowly stagnated and died, just as Regardie had predicted. But because of Regardie’s actions, all students of magic today owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. According to Francis King and Isabel Sutherland: “That the rebirth of occult magic has taken place in the way it has can be very largely attributed to the writings of one man, Dr. Francis Israel Regardie.”3

  Regardie made a very difficult and courageous decision to break his oath of secrecy to a lethargic Golden Dawn in order to save the valuable teachings of the Order. Given the fact that many former chiefs had the appalling habit of destroying Order documents rather than passing them on to future generations of initiates, it was the right thing to do. As a result all true seekers, regardless of their education, background, location, or finances, could benefit from the Order’s teachings. Not only did Regardie’s work on the Golden Dawn system ensure that its body of knowledge, sometimes called the Western Esoteric Tradition, would survive long after the original Order had ceased to exist, he is also credited with inspiring the Golden Dawn’s modern revival. And of all the initiates who were associated with the original GD or its immediate offshoots (the SM and AO), Regardie, far more than any other person, demonstrated through his life, his work, and his writing, the essential wisdom and soundness of those teachings. He was the one initiate uniquely qualified for his appointed task—the task of successfully presenting magic as a therapeutic tool to the skeptical world of psychology, and ultimately, to bring psychotherapy and magic together.

  In the winter of 1936-37, Regardie was bedridden in London for two weeks with a bad case of bronchitis. During this time he wrote most of what would be published as The Philosopher’s Stone, a book about alchemy from a Jungian perspective. At the time Regardie was convinced that laboratory alchemy was fallacious, and that only theoretical, spiritual, or psychological alchemy was valid. (By 1970, however, interaction with practical alchemists such as Frater Albertus of the Paracelsus Research Society caused him to change his opinion on this. He began his own alchemical experiments in a small laboratory setting. Unfortunately, one of his experim
ents went awry and he seriously burned his lungs when fumes of antimony escaped in the lab. Regardie gave his alchemy equipment to a friend and for the rest of his life he suffered from the effects of the accident.)4

  Seeing that war in Europe was imminent, Regardie returned to the U.S. in 1937, where he immersed himself for a number of years in the study of psychology and psychotherapy. He was grateful for his previous experience with the Golden Dawn and a lengthy Freudian analysis—“for both of which I can say in all humility and simplicity—Thank God!” These were the two influences which led him to write The Middle Pillar in 1938. The Art of True Healing would soon follow. In 1941 he graduated from the Chiropractic College of New York City with a degree in psychology, and took up practice as a lay analyst. He was particularly intrigued with the work of Wilheim Reich.

  When America became involved in World War II, Regardie discontinued his practice and joined the army, something he later considered a huge mistake. When the war was over, he continued his studies and received a doctorate in psychology.

  For a time he explored Christian mysticism with as much energy as he had previously pursued Hindu, Jewish, and Buddhist systems. He was especially drawn to Christian Science, New Thought, and the Unity School of Christianity, which taught that faith, belief, and the power of positive thinking could cure physical illnesses. He concluded that the healing techniques taught by these different schools had validity, and he explored these ideas in The Romance of Metaphysics (1946).5

  In 1947, Regardie relocated to California and set up practice as a chiropractor and a Reichian therapist. He also taught psychiatry at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. During this time, he contributed articles to various psychology magazines, including The American Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Quarterly.

  Throughout the 1950s Regardie distanced himself from occultists and concentrated on establishing his practice, which brought him a comfortable income. He had three marriages which all ended in divorce. He had no children.

  His interest in magic never waned as can be seen by such books as The Art and Meaning of Magic (1964); Twelve Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment (1969); A Practical Guide to Geomantic Divination (1972); How to Make and Use Talismans (1972); and Foundations of Practical Magic (1979).

  Regardie retired from his practice in 1981 and moved to Sedona, Arizona, where he continued to write. His later books included Ceremonial Magic (1980); The Lazy Man’s Guide to Relaxation (1983); and The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic (1984). He continued to give advice on health and magical matters until the end of his life.

  We came to know Regardie through Grady McMurtry, former Caliph of the OTO. We had established our own independent Golden Dawn temple in Columbus, Georgia, in 1977 and were in the process of building the Vault of the Adepti.6 At that time we were also involved with the OTO, because we were told that the Golden Dawn no longer existed in any form. Grady was well aware that our primary interest was the Golden Dawn,7 and since he and Regardie were friends, eventually he was kind enough to give us Regardie’s address. We were ecstatic—we had assumed that Regardie passed on years ago. We wrote to Regardie and initiated what was to become a rewarding magical adventure and a close friendship.8

  Regardie, as we knew him, was small in stature but great in spirit. In his later years, the shyness and inhibition of his youth was gone. In its place was a vitality, a ready smile, a no-holds-barred honesty, and a mischievous Scorpio sense of humor. He enjoyed good food and drink, boxing, professional wrestling, Salvador Dali, and Mozart. He enjoyed the unique red rock outcroppings of Sedona as much as he enjoyed playfully teasing the local New Age inhabitants of that town.9 Although Regardie believed that no magician should be poor or have to struggle to make a living, he was adamantly opposed to the idea of spiritual gurus or magical groups exploiting students for personal financial gain.10

  On March 10,1985, Regardie died of a massive heart attack while entertaining friends at a restaurant. We had visited him in his home just ten days prior. His death was a great blow to us. A few days later, we performed the Requiem ceremony from The Golden Dawn in his honor, in conjunction with the reading of one of his favorite pieces, “The Prayer of the Sylphs.”11 Although Regardie is gone, his written works continue to teach and inspire new generations of students.

  Regardie’s classic book, The Middle Pillar, introduces a psychological perspective on magic and occultism and presents an intelligent and viable rationale promoting the practice of certain magical techniques, the effects of which can be compared to the processes of analytical psychology. Regardie gave readers clear directions on how to perform the Qabalistic Cross, The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, and the Middle Pillar exercise, along with its accompanying methods of circulating the light, the Vibratory Formula, and the building up of the Tree of Life in the aura.

  Regardie, more than any other individual, saw the vast potential of the Middle Pillar exercise, which was first published in a rather incomplete form in the manuscirpts of the Stella Matutina. Regardie realized that this simple ritual could be adapted into a variety of exercises with varying levels of complexity and spiritual development, or used for numerous purposes such as charging talismans and healing (healing oneself or healing others). He firmly advocated that the Middle Pillar exercise was an excellent and multifaceted tool that could be easily accessed and employed by any and all for the purpose of self-development and self-healing. Regardie must be credited for the popularity that the Middle Pillar exercise and its numerous variants have enjoyed among ceremonial magicians, mystics, and New Agers for the past several decades.

  Regardie also brought the disciplines of analytical psychology and magic together as a holistic mechanism for human development. As an author, Regardie’s style of writing was refreshing, inspiring, comprehensible, and non-elitist. Now, nearly sixty years since The Middle Pillar was first published, it remains a fine introduction to the psychological processes underlying all magical work.

  It was with great pleasure, then, that we responded to Llewellyn publisher Carl Weschcke’s suggestion that Regardie’s classic The Middle Pillar be reprinted and its ideas expanded on so that new generations of seekers could benefit from it. We hope that the material we have contributed to this new annotated edition is a fitting tribute to Regardie’s original work, which was so instrumental in our own spiritual growth.

  Part One of the third edition of The Middle Pillar contains Regardie’s masterpiece in its entirety. We have redrawn the illustrations and added titles for Regardie’s chapters. We have also applied standard rules of capitalization to Regardie’s text and changed the style of certain capitalized words to italic. All endnotes are ours.

  In previous editions, differences in Regardie’s spelling of Hebrew words (such as Sephiros in place of Sephiroth, Keser instead of Kether, Tipharas rather than Tiphareth, Daas for Daath, and Malkus in place of Malkuth) are due to a variation in dialect—Askenazic Hebrew versus Sephardic Hebrew. His early works, including The Middle Pillar, featured the Askenazic dialect which was a form of Hebrew pronunciation used in central Europe.12 Later, he adopted the more common Sephardic (Mediterranean) dialect which was used by many Qabalistic authors, translators, and most Golden Dawn magicians. The Sephardic pronunciation is used almost exclusively by Western magicians today. With this in mind, we have changed the spelling of the words mentioned above in this edition of The Middle Pillar to reflect the modem usage that most readers are familiar with.

  Part Two contains our own work titled The Balance Between Mind and Magic. This comprises a number of chapters which we have added to supplement and enhance many of the ideas introduced by Regardie in Part One. Chapter Six contains a further exploration of the principles of Jungian psychology and Qabalah. In the Foreword of The Middle Pillar, written in 1938, Regardie expressed a desire to add more information on the art of relaxation and its importance to the individual’s well-being. Chapter Seven provides several exercises for this, and both solitary and group work is
covered. Chapter Eight examines the Eastern system of the chakras including the similarities and differences between the Qabalistic and Yoga systems of self-growth. An exercise for activating the chakras is included. The use and symbolism of the Pentagram Ritual and the Middle Pillar Exercise are investigated in Chapters Nine and Ten, which also give Egyptian, Greek, Gaelic, and Shamanic versions of these rituals for the benefit of those readers who are not especially drawn to the language of Hebrew but nevertheless would like to experience the energies involved. Also included is a revised and expanded version of the Middle Pillar by Regardie himself, along with exercises for healing and charging talismans. The Appendix reflects a portion of a larger work called “The Musical Qabalah” by Thom Parrott, which builds upon the musical correspondences of Hebrew letters and words used in the Middle Pillar and Pentagram rituals. Also included is a glossary of psychological and magical terms.

  Regardie’s legacy lives on through each and every individual who values and finds meaning in his written works. We strongly suspect that readers of The Middle Pillar will discover that Regardie was an inspirational writer, an ethical magician, a skilled therapist, a caring healer, a great teacher, a consistent guide, and a companion on the path of the Magic of Light.

  —Chic Cicero

  Sandra Tabatha Cicero