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A GARDEN OF

POM\EGRANATES

AN OUTLINE OF THE QABALAH

By the author:

The Tree of Life

My Rosicrucian Adventure

The Art of True Healing

The Middle Pillar

The Philosopher's Stone

The Golden Dawn

The Romance of Metaphysics

The Art and Meaning of Magic

Be Yourself, the Art of Relaxation

New Wings for Daedalus

Twelve Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment

The Legend of Aleister Crowley

(with P.R. Stephensen)

The Eye in the Triangle

ISRAEL REGARDIE

Second Edition

Revised and Enlarged

1985

Llewellyn Publications

St. Paul, Minnesota, 55164-0383, U.S.A.

INTRODUCTION

TO THE SECOND EDITION

It is ironic that a period of the most tremendous

technological advancement known to recorded history

should also be labeled the Age of Anxiety. Reams have

been written about modern man's frenzied search for his

soul-and. indeed, his doubt that he even has one at a time

when, like castles built on sand, so many of his cherished

theories, long mistaken for verities, are crumbling about

his bewildered brain.

The age-old advice, "Know thyself," is more imperative

than ever. The tempo of science has accelerated to such a

degree that today's discoveries frequently make

yesterday's equations obsolescent almost before they can

be chalked up on a blackboard. Small wonder, then that

every other hospital bed is occupied by a mental patient.

Man was not constructed to spend his life at a crossroads,

one of which leads he knows not where, and the other to

threatened annihilation of his species.

In view of this situation it is doubly reassuring to know

that, even in the midst of chaotic concepts and conditions

there still remains a door through which man, individually,

can enter into a vast store-house of knowledge, knowledge

as dependable and immutable as the measured tread of

Eternity.

For this reason I am especially pleased to be writing an

introduction to a new edition of A Garden of

Pomegranates. I feel that never, perhaps, was the need

more urgent for just such a roadmap as the Qabalistic

system provides. It should be equally useful to any who

chooses to follow it, whether he be Jew, Christian or

Buddhist, Deist, Theosophist, agnostic or atheist.

The Qabalah is a trustworthy guide, leading to a

comprehension both of the Universe and one's own Self.

A GARDEN OF POMEGRANATES

INTRODUCTION

iii

Sages have long taught that Man is a miniature of the

Universe, containing within himself the diverse elements of

that macrocosm of which he is the microcosm. Within the

Qabalah is a glyph called the Tree of Life which is at once

a symbolic map of the Universe in its major aspects, and

also of its smaller counterpart, Man.

Manly P. Hall, in The Secret Teachings of All Ages,

deplores the failure of modern science to "sense the

profundity of these philosophical deductions of the

ancients." Were they to do so, he says, they "would realize

those who fabricated the structure of the Qabalah

possessed a knowledge of the celestial plan comparable in

every respect with that of the modern savant."

Fortunately many scientists in the field of

psychotherapy are beginning to sense this correlation. In

Francis G. Wickes' The Inner World of Choice reference is

made to "the existence in every person of a galaxy of

potentialities for growth marked by a succession of

personalogical evolution and interaction with

environments." She points out that man is not only an

individual particle but "also a part of the human stream,

governed by a Self greater than his own individual self."

The Book .of the Law states simply, "Every man and

every woman is a star." This is a startling thought for those

who considered a star a heavenly body, but a declaration

SUbject to proof by anyone who will venture into the

realm of his own Unconscious. This realm, he will learn if

he persists, is not hemmed in by the boundaries of his

physical body but is one with the boundless reaches of

outer space.

Those who, armed with the tools provided by the

Qabalah, have made the journey within and crossed

beyond the barriers of illusion, have returned with an

impressive quantity of knowledge which conforms strictly

to the definition of "science" in Winston's College

Dictionary: "Science: a body of knowledge, general

truths of particular facts, obtained and shown to be

correct by accurate observation and thinking; knowledge

condensed, arranged and systematized with reference to

general truths and laws."

Over and over their findings have been confirmed,

proving the Qabalah contains within it not only the

elements of the science itself but the method with which

to pursue it.

When planning to visit a foreign country, the wise

traveler will first familiarize himself with its language. In

studying music, chemistry or calculus, a specific

terminology is essential to the understanding of each

SUbject. So a new set of symbols is necessary when

undertaking a study of the Universe, whether within or

without. The Qabalah provides such a set in unexcelled

fashion.

But the Qabalah is more. It also lays the foundation on

which rests another archaic science-Magic. Not to be

confused with the conjurer's sleight-of-hand, Magic has

been defined by Aleister Crowley as "the science and art

of causing change to occur in conformity with will." Dion

Fortune qualifies this nicely with an added clause,

"changes in consciousness."

The Qabalah reveals the nature of certain physical and

psychological phenomena. Once these are apprehended,

understood and correlated, the student can use the

principles of Magic to exercise control over life's

conditions and circumstances not otherwise possible. In

short, Magic provides the practical application of the

theories supplied by the Qabalah.

It serves yet another vital function. In addition to the

advantages to be gained from its philosophical application,

the ancients discovered a very practical use for the literal

Qabalah.

Each letter of the Qabalistic alphabet has a number,

color, many symbols and a Tarot card attributed to it. The

Qabalah not only aids in an understanding of the Tarot,

but teaches the student how to classify and organize all

such ideas, numbers and symbols. Just as a knowledge of

Latin will give insight into the meaning of an unfamiliar

English word with a Latin root, so the knowledge of the

Qabalah with the various attributions to each character in

its alphabet will enable the student to understand and

correlate ideas and concepts which otherwise would have

A GARDEN OF POMEGRANATES

INTRODUCTION

no apparent relation.

A simple example is the concept of the Trinity in the

Christian religion. The student is frequently amazed to .

learn through a study of the Qabalah that Egyptian

mythology followed a similar concept with its trinity of

gods, Osiris the father, Isis the virgin-mother, and Horus

the son. The Qabalah indicates similar correspondences in

the pantheon of Roman and Greek deities, proving the

father-mother (Holy Spirit) - son principles of deity are

primordial archetypes of man's psyche, rather than being,

as is frequently and erroneously supposed a development

peculiar to the Christian era.

the other attributions in this particular area-that is the

so-called Intelligences of the Sepher Yetzirah. I do not

think that their use or current arbitrary usage stands up to

serious examination or criticism.

A good many attributions in other symbolic areas, I feel

are subject to the same criticism. The Egyptian Gods have

been used with a good deal of carelessness, and without

sufficient explanation of motives in assigning them as I did.

In a recent edition of Crowley's masterpiece Liber 777

(which au fond is less a reflection of Crowley's mind as a

recent critic claimed than a tabulation of some of the

material given piecemeal in the Golden Dawn knowledge

lectures), he gives for the first time brief explanations of

the motives for his attributions. I too should have been far

more explicit in the explanations I used in the case of

some of the Gods whose names were used many times,

most inadequately, where several paths were concerned.

While it is true that the religious coloring of the Egyptian

Gods differed from time to time during Egypt's turbulent

history, nonetheless a word or two about just that one

single point could have served a useful purpose.

Some of the passages in the book force me today to

emphasize that so far as the Qabalah is concerned, it could

and should be employed without binding to it the partisan

qualities of anyone particular religious faith. This goes as

much for Judaism as it does for Christianity. Neither has

much intrinsic usefulness where this scientific scheme is

concerned. If some students feel hurt by this statement,

that cannot be helped. The day of most contemporary

faiths is over; they have been more of a curse than a boon

to mankind. Nothing that I say here, however, should

reflect on the peoples concerned, those who accept these

religions. They are merely unfortunate. The religion itself

is worn out and indeed is dying.

The Qabalah has nothing to do with any of them.

Attempts on the part of cultish-partisans to impart higher

mystical meanings, through the Oabalah, etc., to their now

sterile faiths is futile, and will be seen as such by the

younger generation. They, the flower and love children,

will have none of this nonsense.

At this juncture let me call attention to one set of

attributions by Rittangelius usually found as an appendix

attached to the Sepher Yetzirah, It lists a series of

"Intelligences" for each one of the ten Sephiros and the

twenty-two Paths of the Tree of Life. It seems to me, after

prolonged meditation, that the common attributions of

these Intelligences is altogether arbitrary and lacking in

serious meaning.

For example, Keser is called "The Admirable or the

Hidden Intelligence; it is the Primal Glory, for no created

being can attain to its essence." This seems perfectly all

right; the meaning at first sight seems to fit the

significance of Keser as the first emanation from Ain

Soph. But there are half a dozen other similar attributions

that would have served equally well. For instance, it could

have been called the "Occult Intelligence" usually

attributed to the seventh Path or Sephirah, for surely

Keser is secret in a way to be said of no other Sephirah.

And what about the "Absolute or Perfect Intelligence."

That would have been even more explicit and appropriate,

being applicable to Keser far more than to any other of the

Paths. Similarly, there is one attributed to the 16th Path

and called "The Eternal or Triumphant Intelligence,"

so-called because it is the pleasure of the Glory, beyond

which is no Glory like to it, and it is called also the

Paradise prepared for the Righteous." Any of these several

would have done equally well. Much is true of so many of

vi A GARDEN OF POMEGRANATES

I felt this a long time ago, as I still do, but even more so.

The only way to explain the partisan Jewish attitude

demonstrated in some small sections of the book can

readily be explained. I had been reading some writings of

Arthur Edward Waite, and some of his pomposity and

turgidity stuck to my mantle. I disliked his patronising

Christian attitude, and so swung all the way over to the

other side of the pendulum. Actually, neither faith is

particularly important in this day and age. I must be

careful never to read Waite again before embarking upon

literary work of my own.

INTRODUCTION vii

Tarot" by Paul Foster Case, published in the early 1920's.

It is now out of print, superseded by later versions of the

same topic. But as I now glance through this slender book,

I perceive how profoundly even the format of his book

had influenced me, though in these two instances there

was not a trace of plagiarism. It had not consciously

occurred to me until recently that lowed so much to

them. Since Paul Case passed away about a decade or so

ago, this gives me the opportunity to thank him, overtly,

wherever he may now be.

By the middle of 1926 I had become aware of the work

of Aleister Crowley, for whom I have a tremendous

respect. I studied as many of his writings as I could gain

access to, making copious notes, and later acted for several

years as his secretary, having joined him. in Paris on

October 12, 1928, a memorable day in my life.

All sorts of books have been written on the Qabalah,

some poor, some few others extremely good. But I came

to feel the need for what might be called a sort of Berlitz

handbook, a concise but comprehensive introduction,

studded with diagrams and tables of easily understood

definitions and correspondences to simplify the student's

grasp of so complicated and abstruse a subject.

During a short retirement in North Devon in 1931, I

began to amalgamate my notes. It was out of these that

A Gar den 0 f Pomesranates gradually emerged. I

unashamedly admit that my book contains many direct

plagiarisms from Crowley, Waite, Eliphas Levi, and D. H.

Lawrence. I had incorporated numerous fragments from

their works into my notebooks without citing individual

references to the various sources from which I condensed

my notes.

Prior to the closing down of the Mandrake Press in

London about 1930-31, I was employed as company

secretary for a while. Along with several Crowley books,

the Mandrake Press published a lovely little monogram by

D. H. Lawrence entitled "Apropos of Lady Chatterley's

Lover." My own copy accompanied me on my travels for

long years. Only recently did I discover that it had been

lost. I hope that anyone of my former patients who had

Much knowledge obtained by the ancients through the

use of the Qabalah has been supported by discoveries of

modern scientis ts-e an.thropologists, astronomers,

psychiatrists, et al. Learned Qabalists for hundreds of years

have been aware of what the psychiatrist has only

discovered in the last few decades-sthat man's concept of

himself, his deities and the Universe is a constantly

evolving process, changing as man himself evolves on a

higher spiral. But the roots of his concepts are buried in a

race-consciousness that antedated Neanderthal man by

uncounted aeons of time.

What Jung calls archetypal images constantly rise to the

surface of man's awareness from the vast unconscious that

is the common heritage of all mankind.

The tragedy of civilized man is that he is cut off from

awareness of his own instincts. The Qabalah can help him

achieve the necessary understanding to effect a reunion

with them, so that rather than being driven by forces he

does not understand, he can harness for his conscious use

the same power that guides the homing pigeon, teaches the

beaver to build a dam and keeps the planets revolving in

their appointed orbits about the sun.

I began the study of the Qabalah at an early age. Two

books I read then have played unconsciously a prominent

part in the writing of my own book. One of these was

"Q.B.L. or the Bride's Reception" by Frater Achad

(Charles Stansfeld Jones), which I must have first read

around 1926. The other was "An Introduction to the

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