The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley [Paperback]

Israel Regardie (Author), Robert Anton Wilson (Author), David Cherubim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 29, 2012

Introduction by Robert Anton Wilson

Preface by David Cherubim from the Aleister Crowley Foundation

This is the masterful biography of the Magus Aleister Crowley, written by the one person most qualified to write it. Israel Regardie was a friend and student of Crowley, and served as his personal secretary for some time. In this book, Regardie manages to write a fair and balanced view of Crowley. It is an intelligent and insightful look into Crowley's life, Magick and Mysticism. Dr. Regardie interprets all this from the wisdom of experience. A member of the Golden Dawn, O.T.O. and A.A., Regardie writes with deep insight and compassion, openly revealing his own feelings, and thus providing a unique insight into Crowley. This book is the classic biography of Crowley!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"My own life contains the singular parallel of a relationship with a man of vast spiritual development, wisdom and humor who has influenced me since the day I met him. That great man, Israel Regardie, shall forever live in my heart and soul. I am eternally grateful that our friendship extended to the last day of his life." -- Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D., author of Undoing Yourself

"I avidly read this book when it was first published in 1970. What a joy it was to meet Dr. Regardie some years later and see the mischievous sparkle in his eye as he told his tales of Aleister Crowley. Regardie, a true man of action, braved ridicule and hatred in Crowley's defense when most of today's active proponents of Crowley's teaching weren't even born." -- James Wasserman, author of Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary

"The Eye in the Triangle is essential reading material for anyone who is seriously interested in learning about the life, Magick and Mysticism of Aleister Crowley." --David Cherubim, founder of the Aleister Crowley Foundation

About the Author

Israel Regardie (1907-1985) was an Adept of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and he was one of the greatest exponents of the Western Esoteric Tradition of the 20th century. He was also an initiate of Crowley's Order of the A.A., and he was a IXth degree initiate of Crowley's O.T.O. It was his aim to preserve the teachings and work of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley. His success in this task has profoundly influenced occult thought. From the age of 21, Regardie worked as Crowley's personal secretary. During this period, until their bitter parting, Regardie was one of the few who knew Crowley well. He was one of the few who were qualified to provide first-hand, personal insight into the character and personality of one of the major figures in Western Magick. In addition to his extensive writings, Regardie practiced as a chiropractor and as a neo-Reichian therapist. He taught Psychiatry at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and contributed articles to many Psychology magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 554 pages
• Publisher: New Falcon Publications (February 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561840548
• ISBN-13: 978-1561840540
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 1.1 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Intellectual Apology for The Great Beast August 14, 2006

By The Dilettante

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In the introduction to the Book of Lies, Crowley makes a statement to the effect that -to the uninitiated- his work is intended to be infuriating nonsense. Anyone hoping to glean anything from it needs either an incredible amount of free time or an excellent interpreter. I, for one, hate riddles. I would never have taken the time to "figure Crowley out," so I was glad to have Regardie as an interpreter.

Regardie's personal relationship with Crowley and his insight into Crowley's practice make this book truly exceptional. In life, Crowley actively sought to sensationalize himself and biographers have generally followed his lead. Regardie refuses to do so, and this book is perhaps even fairer to Crowley than Crowley deserves.

There are, however, some things for the prospective buyer to be aware of. First, this book is more an apology for Crowley than a comprehensive biography. The author assumes that the reader has some familiarity with the other books on Crowley, and addresses only those points that he believes other biographers (primarily Symonds) have gotten wrong or missed entirely. The author only covers the years 1898-1914 and entire episodes of Crowley's life are missing (e.g. there is no discussion of his life in Sicily).

Similarly, the author presumes a high-level of literacy in the occult, and digresses at-length into its minutiae. He fails to define most of the arcane terms used, so the casual reader (like me) will often be lost and sometimes bored (I found myself skipping pages here and there).

But even without this contextual knowledge, I enjoyed the book immensely. The author clearly understands Crowley's thought, right down to the bedrock, and the portrait of him that emerges from this book is unexpected.... As a general matter, I have no interest in ritual magick. But the author brings Crowley's mindbending and unique insights into religion, psychology, philosophy and (especially) yoga into sharp focus. Open-minded readers in each of these disciplines will find this book relevant and rewarding. Read more ›

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Analysis of Aleister Crowley August 30, 2003

By Nicq MacDonald

Format:Paperback

To say that Aleister Crowley was a confusing and sometimes contradictary character is an understatement. His biographers have all come away with different pictures of the man, and even his own autobiography does little to clear the air. In "The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley", Israel Regardie, a student under the old magician, slices through the perplexities of his character with a shrewd, psychoanalytically based eye.

Regardie does more than address the neurosis and flaws in Crowley's character structure, however- as a student of mysticism, he dives into an investigation of Crowley's system of "Thelemic Magick", it's basis in the esoterica of the Golden Dawn, India, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and the Sacred Magic of Abramelin, and how this influenced his character and development. Regardie discusses philosophy, yoga, several schools of psychoanalytic thought (including that of the controversial Wilhelm Reich), and western ceremonial magic, all with a very readable style. The book is more than an analysis of Crowley- it is an analysis of how Crowley's investigations give us insight into the entire structure of the character of western man and the changes we're experiencing in the postmodern world.

I highly recommend this book- it should be on the bookshelf of every student of Transpersonal psychology.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Classy,enlightened,illuminating... November 28, 1999

By Bete Noire

Format:Paperback

A great Magus discussing his mentor...Israel Regardie writes authoritatively about Aleister Crowley,the man he knew better than any other.However,this is no simple biographical endeavor:the book is rich in information about the inceptive years of the Golden Dawn and the tremenduous formative influence that this magical order exerted upon Crowley.Practising magicians or the simply curious about the controversial figure of Crowley will not only find their misconceptions shattered,but they will also get an education in High Magic and its relevance for our time.Spicy and humorous at times,Regardie makes a strong case for Crowley as a great mystic,pioneer,and Adeptus of the highest order.Written with a great economy and sense of balance,this is the only work available that correctly contextualizes Aleister Crowley while avoiding the ludicrous tabloid trash that provided so much fodder for mediocre biographers of the past...A great introduction to Crowley and the Magical Path.Light in extension!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Extremely poor production quality - unreadable book April 23, 2011

By BHFC

Format:Paperback

This review is only about production quality of this New Falcon edition. Otherwise this is an important text and excellent book, but if you want to read it either get a second hand copy or wait for alternative edition (I have not seen Original Falcon edition).

Over many years I have been enjoying Falcon books which include some of my favourite authors (Robert Anton Wilson, Israel Regardie, ...) I have these in old editions which I read regularly.

My problem is with production quality of the latest printed New Falcon paperbacks. I run reading groups where I propose and present books, which after reading we jointly discuss. To several of my members I have been ordering (here via Amazon.co.uk) several of their titles (ie Quantum Psychology, Prometheus Rising, Eye in the Triangle, ...). In presenting these books to my friends I found myself in difficult situation, as my enthusiasm for the content is dampened by me needing to APOLOGISE for poor physical quality of the book.

It is clear that the titles are printed digitally and 'on demand'. But digital printing quality has improved a great deal in the last 10 years and some of the technical problems with these books can relatively easy be dealt with.

1. Paper. Text paper use is a digital cartridge paper which for the smaller book sizes like these is rather inflexible. You could go for thinner or standard book paper with finer fibres.

2. Cover. Eye in the Triangle is one of the worst covers by lowest card quality, with low contrast printing and is not even laminated from the outside. (these leads that even new copies I received from amazon have chipped off printing).

3. Binding.... As this book is a digital print they are machine glued (not stitched) and this makes them (partly because of paper used) inflexible, stiff and difficult to keep open and read. With over 500 pages, it makes you think how many times this book can be opened before the spine cracks and pages start falling out. In addition, page-setting is obviously done for stitched binding. With only gluing, this leaves book's inside margins extremely tight, which with the general stiffness makes the book difficult to handle and nearly impossible to read.

In conclusion, this publisher should make some effort in improving quality of their books as they have some very important titles in their catalogue.

Finally, I have complained directly to the publishers with few ideas on improvements... they only replied in two words... 'thank you' with no explanation. Read more ›