Crowley's Apprentice: The life and Ideas of Israel Regardie [Paperback]

Gerald Suster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

Dr. Francis Israel Regardie was one of the most important figures in the 20th centure development of the Western Mystery Tradition. From the teachings of Madame Blavatsky, the Bhagavad-Gita, Buddhism, and yoga he came to study with Crowley and became his secretary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: RedWheel / Weiser (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877287007
• ISBN-13: 978-0877287001
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,408,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Broad, December 2, 2011

By 

JOSE - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Crowley's Apprentice: The life and Ideas of Israel Regardie (Paperback)

The biography is very broad but interesting. I wish it could cover:
(1) More details about IR experiences with Magic.
(2) The root cause why IR hated Christianity .
(3) The advantages and disadvantages of using Enochian Magic. Paul Foster Case wrote some letters to IR regarding the danger of using Enochian Magic.
(4) Why IR didn't have children if he was married 3 times.
IR left a huge legacy on Magic and this biography is too short.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love is the bleedin law..., February 10, 2003

By 

S. White (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crowley's Apprentice: The life and Ideas of Israel Regardie (Paperback)

This is a superb biography of Israel Regardie who is responsible for great Occult classics such as 'A garden of Pomegranates', 'The Tree of Life' and countless others. The question you need ask yourself is, are you a Freud person or a Jung person? I was always a Jung person and so from an Esoteric point of view I always found Regardie far more instructive and interesting than Crowley.

Through the eye's of Regardie, helped along by Suster's flowing objective style, we gain a valuable insight into the existence of the former under the wing of the Beast himself. Regardie was infact Crowley's secretary for some years and this is as much a story of two great lives intertwined. I thoroughly enjoyed this work and gained an immense respect for Regardie for being the ultimate, cooler head prevailing, in all circumstances.

Some lovely moments at the end have our author spending time with
Israel in old age somewhere in California, Regardie mimicking the old Beast as he calls out in mock Crowley fashion...

"Love is the bleedin law, love under bleedin will"

Priceless stuff. Who was the greater Magician? I'll let you work that out for yourself.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not What You Think but a Gem Anyways, October 31, 2001

By 

"philosopher04" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crowley's Apprentice: The life and Ideas of Israel Regardie (Paperback)

I bought this book because I thought it was about Crowley cause I read the title wrong. It is actually a biography of Israel Regardie. it was a wonderful book, his life is more interesting than previously believed. Israel's life becomes another way of living with the occult as opposed to Crowley's extravagance.