Customer Reviews

A Garden of Pomegranates: Skrying on the Tree of Life

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is totally indespensable for anyone interested in the Practical Kabbalah. I only regret that I purchased three books which covered different aspects of the material contained in this volume without checking out the "Garden" first. Don't make the same mistake. Most modern texts are versions of bits and pieces of this one. The editors' contribution, which constitutes half of the edition, contains practical meditations that illuminate the different paths beautifully. There are also instructions for Scrying in the Sprit Vision and actual pathworking. I only wish all modern writers on the Kabbalah took the approach the Ciceros do. That is, taking an existing classic, adding footnotes to clear up confusion, then giving practical suggestions for its usage. This is much better than the typical proccedure of throwing together a cribbed version of ohter's work and passing it off as your own. Highly, highly reccomended.

Symbols have always been used in the mystical tradition to express spiritual truths that cannot be properly expressed in words. The founders of the Qabalah created a particularly elegant system of symbols, numbers and the figure of the Tree of Life to convey their insights.

The word "skrying" means "to see" or "observe" and refers to the type of clairvoyance where use is made of mirrors, crystals, water in a bowl (like Galadriël in Lord of the Rings) or the tarot, to concentrate and focus psychic abilities in order to receive and interpret visions in the normal state of waking consciousness.

Regardie published this work in 1932 as an easy albeit comprehensive guide to the complex system of the Qabalah and to serve as a key to its symbolism. The primary symbol of this ancient Hebrew system is the tree of life that has been used for centuries as a means to study the nature of the cosmos and the qualities of the psyche.

With its emphasis on direct experience by meditating on the paths of wisdom, this is a most understandable introduction to the Qabalah. The editors have enhanced this classic work with their commentary, notes and a system of reference and have added practical material in the form of meditations, exercises, rituals and mantras.

Garden of Pomegranates is an excellent book for those interested in the working of the mind, in psychology, parapsychology and for practicians of the magical arts. This edition contains a glossary, bibliography and index. The text is enhanced by 52 beautiful illustrations and figures.

A Garden of Pomegranates is a book that delivers far less than it promises. This book is split into two parts: a short work by Mr. Regardie, followed by a much longer commentary written by the Ciceros. While most of what is contained in this book is good, most of what is contained in this book can be found in better sources.

Mr. Regardie's section briefly summarizes the themes and ideas of the Hermetic Qabalah. He explains the basic ideas behind the Tree of life, describes the Sefiroth and the 22 paths connecting them, and touches momentarily on Qabalistic practices. He also spends some time tying the ideas of the Qabalah to the theories of his day, especially Freudian psychology.

Unfortunately, the authorship of this book as a whole is loose and unfocused. It is clear that Mr. Regardie had many great ideas on this subject, but he just does not seem capable of expressing his ideas clearly. He touches on many topics, but doesn't stop long enough to develop any one of them. Reading this book is more like watching Mr. Regardie organizing his thoughts on this subject than good presentation of those thoughts to a reading audience.

The second section contains commentary by the Ciceros. The Ciceros briefly explain a few Qabalistic rituals and meditations, and then spend most of their work describing incredibly detailed "guided visualizations." Most of what they write here (e.g. how to do the Middle Pillar Exercise) is described in better detail in other books dealing with ritual or ceremonial magic. For those interested in well-written "guided visualizations," this section might be worthwhile.

Overall, this book promises much, but only delivers some of what it promises. There are good ideas in this book, but the organization is too sloppy and confused to be of much value as an introduction to the Qabalah. For a good introduction to the Hermetic Qabalah, I would recommend the much better written The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune. Ms. Fortune deals with the same material as Mr. Regardie, but presents it in a coherent and organized manner.

I have read and studied the Cicero's published works for many years and this book is simply superb. This expands and elaberates on Israel Regardie's original "A Garden of Pomegranates" without taking away from the author's true vision of his work. The book covers in depth the paths and spheres on the tree of life, along with the symbolism associated with them. If you have to get only one book on the cabala make it this one.

This book is the single best introduction to the Qabalah for Occultists and Magicians. It details the fundamentals of the Holy Qabalah in plain English. All of the information originally left out by Regardie has been provided by the Ciceros, who themselves have quite a name in the Occult books industry. Other great books to check out: Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition, The Middle Pillar (The Balance Between Mind and Magic), The Golden Dawn.

This book is excellent on the topic of the Kaballa but it is a very complicated read if someone doesn't have a varied background in many different kinds of cultures and their different beliefs. The book will use examples and relate things to the different cultures but won't explain what it means. For example, it may say that something is related to Shiva, but won't tell what Shiva is. (Shiva is from Hinduism) So, if you don't have an understanding of HInduism, you won't know what is being talked about. Keep a dictionary by your side while reading this book!

In what is certainly an oxymoron for the genre, Regardie introduces the associative language of Kaballah and Tarot without manipulating the reader through false promises of enlightenment. His thumbnail character assessments of various figures in the history of occult literature are variously incisive, inspiring, and cautionary. The structure of the book easily permits the volume to double as a reference. There is no better guide for the curious.

I respect a lot of Israel Regardie's works and this is no different. However, sometimes he is a bit more difficult ot follow, but then again so are Crowley, Mathers, and other writers on Qaballah of their period in history. It may require more than one read and analyzing the correspondences. However, this is not a downfall to the book. Another good book to read along with this is Crowley's "777".

The Cicero's have constantly proven to take the teachings of Regardie and make them a bit more easier for the modern reader to comprehend, and this book is no different in that area either. Their addition to this book by adding excellent and mind provoking insights along with Pathworking is astounding. I would recommend this to any Qabbalist or serious student of the "Higher Science" You must understand the correspondences.

The section on the Literal Qabbalah left me wanting to learn Hebrew so that I could understand it even better. However, another good book to read along with this for the working student is Donald Kraig's "Modern Magick" which I written a review for as well.

This and the books mentioned above, I believe, can get you on the road to better understanding of the Qabbalah in all sense of the word. If you are particular for the dogmatic Qabbalah, also get "The Bahir". All of these you can get at the push of a button via Amazon.com.

Again this is an excellent book for practioners and even those who are into psychology and how the mind works. All in all, it is a very good book, and I suggest picking it up first because it is great for an introduction to the Qabbalah. Wets your tongue for the experience, and if you are further interested, the other books are at your disposal.

Dr. Israel Regardie's work reconciling psychology and ceremonial magick is invaluable to understanding the process of initiation into the Golden Dawn tradition. Regardie was one of the last living Adepts of the Order of the Golen Dawn {Stella Matutina} and published "The Golden Dawn" system of magick to ensure the teachings and psychotechnology would survive with each passing generation. He was one of the most prolific occult authors of his time and arguably the sole renewer of ceremonial magick. Taking up the motto, "Ad Majoram Adonai Gloriam," 1934, he joined Stella Matutina, the successor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Regardie acquired the bulk of the Order's documents, renewing the work of the Golden Dawn.

Dr. Regardie states in 'A Garden of Pomegranates,' "...it 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." Therefore modern occult organizations claiming lineage from the original Golden Dawn and its curriculum of ceremonial magick indisputably owe their existence to Regardie's legacy.

Regardie discusses in this work Qabalistic exercises of the Golden Dawn system; the symbolism of each path on the Qabalistic Tree of Life and their pathworking correspondences with the Tarot and angelic evocation; the evolution of Adam Qadmon and the mythos of Genesis; the concept of progressive initiations in the Golden Dawn system while pathworking with Qabalistic archetypes and motifs; and much more. Regardie's exegesis of Qabalistic symbolism & archetypes in "'A Garden of Pomegranates" is indispensable to any student or Adept of the tradition. Dr. Regardie's works including "'A Garden of Pomegranates" are required reading for any student of the Western Mystery Traditions.

Chapters include:

Historical Survey {Golden Dawn magick & mysticism, Qabalah}
The Pit {Practical Qabalah, Yoga, & Magick}
The Paths {Sephirot and the Tree of Life}
Adam Qadmon {Human spiritual evolution and Qabalah}
The Literal Qabalah {Application of Qabalah in magick and initiation}
The Ladder {the "Ladder of Lights," the composition of the soul, and initiation}

Cross reference "A Garden of Pomegranates" with
Tree Of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic, and Middle Pillar: The Balance Between Mind & Magic: formerly The Middle Pillar...a prerequisite for any serious student of the magick of the Golden Dawn.

Now, before I start harping on the wonders that is this book I'd just like to say one thing. This is not the only book you'll ever need. There is not, nor will there ever be, one all encompassing tome that will serve every student's every need. There, now that I've said that, on with the review:

This book, as others have said, is one of the most complete books on the practical Qabalah that is on the market today. It is a necessary part of any serious student's library, and will require more than one reading to successfully gain all that this book has to offer. The reason that I gave it only four stars, instead of five, is that despite all of the information that is contained in the book, it is not written in a user-friendly manner. His sentence structure and choice of words are sometime difficult to comprehend, which is another reason that this book should be read more than once.