1. Francis Israel Regardie was an English and American occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer who spent much of his life in the United States.
55 Facts About Israel Regardie
1. 2.
Israel Regardie wrote fifteen books on the subject of occultism.
3.
Israel Regardie rejected Orthodox Judaism during his teenage years and took an interest in Theosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jewish mysticism.
4.
Israel Regardie followed Crowley to England before their association ended.
5.
Israel Regardie studied psychology, being particularly influenced by ideas from Jungian psychology, and explored Christian mysticism.
6.
Israel Regardie's family changed their surname to "Regardie" after a clerical mixup resulted in Israel's elder brother being enrolled in the British Army under that name.
7.
Israel Regardie emigrated with his parents to the United States in August 1921 and settled in Washington, DC Israel Regardie's parents believed that the Talmudic stories were literally true.
8.
Israel Regardie began reading the work of Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy.
9.
Israel Regardie joined the Societas Rosicruciana in America at around this time.
10.
Crowley advised Israel Regardie to meet with Karl Germer, his agent in the United States.
11.
Israel Regardie visited Germer in New York City, where he purchased the ten volume of Crowley's periodical, The Equinox.
12.
In October 1928, Israel Regardie sailed from New York City to Paris.
13.
Israel Regardie hoped that Crowley would personally instruct him in occult practices, but this did not occur; Crowley expected his pupils to learn things for themselves and only seek his advice when in difficulty.
14.
Crowley urged Israel Regardie to overcome his inhibitions, including by visiting prostitutes to lose his virginity; from one of these encounters he reportedly contracted gonorrhoea.
15.
Israel Regardie spent much time studying Crowley's material, both published and unpublished.
16.
The Surete Generale did so, discovering that Israel Regardie did not have an identity card permitting him residence in France.
17.
Israel Regardie received an expulsion notice giving him 24 hours to leave the country; Crowley was ordered to leave.
18.
Israel Regardie moved to Brussels in Belgium, where he began a relationship with Crowley's then-lover, Maria Theresa Ferrari de Miramar.
19.
Crowley had returned to England, and in late 1929 Israel Regardie joined him there, living in Knockholt, Kent.
20.
Israel Regardie then became secretary to the author Thomas Burke, who encouraged his own literary intentions.
21.
Israel Regardie followed this with a more substantial volume on Qabalah, The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic.
22.
The publication of works on Qabalah aimed at a general audience angered some occultists who thought Israel Regardie was sharing information too widely.
23.
Israel Regardie rapidly progressed through the grades of the order, reaching that of Zelator Adeptus Minor, but grew disillusioned with the group's leaders, regarding them as being egotistical and preoccupied with collecting grandiose titles.
24.
Israel Regardie resolved to publish the group's ritual material, believing that it would ensure that the Golden Dawn ritual system was not lost and would benefit a far wider range of people; this would entail breaking the oath of secrecy he took upon entering the order.
25.
In February 1935, Israel Regardie finished writing My Rosicrucian Adventure, which was published as What You Should Know about the Golden Dawn.
26.
Israel Regardie was particularly attracted to the figure of Francis of Assisi; he began using the name "Francis" himself after he was given it by a woman he was in a relationship with.
27.
Israel Regardie sent Crowley a copy of his latest publication; the latter's response made fun of Israel Regardie's use of the name "Francis", calling him "Frank", and including an anti-semitic slur.
28.
Israel Regardie wrote an angry letter back, calling Crowley "Alice" and describing him as "a contemptible bitch".
29.
Crowley then circulated a document attacking Israel Regardie, accusing him of exploiting his benefactors and of contracting gonorrhoea.
30.
Israel Regardie later came to reject this understanding of alchemy, referring to it as "by far my worst book" and regretting having written it.
31.
Israel Regardie studied at the Chiropractic College of New York City, graduating in 1941.
32.
Israel Regardie followed this work with The Middle Pillar and The Art of True Healing, in which he showcased his psychological approach to Qabalistic magical practices.
33.
In 1947, Israel Regardie moved to Los Angeles, where he set up practice as a chiropractor.
34.
Israel Regardie taught psychiatry at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic.
35.
Israel Regardie contributed articles to the Psychiatric Quarterly and The American Journal of Psychotherapy.
36.
Israel Regardie consistently avoided the public eye, refusing interviews to appear on radio and television; he was concerned that publicity would bring with it persecution.
37.
Israel Regardie decided to write his own book about Crowley, but it took over a decade to produce.
38.
Israel Regardie's works gained a growing readership in the Counterculture of the 1960s.
39.
Israel Regardie received correspondence from many of his readers, much of which he thought was unhinged; he collected these in a manuscript he called Liber NVTS.
40.
Israel Regardie's house was burgled twice, with the burglars seeking to steal Golden Dawn and Crowleyan material.
41.
Israel Regardie established friendly contact with the author Robert Anton Wilson, who provided an introduction for the third edition of The Eye in the Triangle.
42.
Israel Regardie corresponded again with Yorke, who was now a Tibetan Buddhist.
43.
Israel Regardie was an acquaintance of the psychedelics proponent Timothy Leary.
44.
Israel Regardie came to believe that Jesus of Nazareth had never existed, and that the myth around him was derived from that of the ancient Egyptian god Osiris.
45.
In 1981, Israel Regardie began instructing a woman in the Golden Dawn system.
46.
Israel Regardie went on to establish a temple in Los Angeles, for which Regardie agreed to act as a consultant if they ran into difficulty.
47.
In 1981, Israel Regardie retired from his chiropractic clinic and left Los Angeles for Sedona, Arizona.
48.
Israel Regardie died from a heart attack in the presence of close friends during a dinner at a Sedona restaurant on March 10,1985, at the age of 77.
49.
Israel Regardie left his money to his nephew, a lawyer in New York City.
50.
Israel Regardie suffered from asthma, sometimes known as "the occultist's disease" within the occult community.
51.
Suster noted that, in old age at least, Israel Regardie had "a most delightful sense of humour".
52.
Israel Regardie was a fan of boxing; it was one of the few things he would watch on television.
53.
Israel Regardie enjoyed cannabis and, in later life, used LSD around once a year.
54.
Israel Regardie is a principal reliable source for much of what is known about the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
55.
The second significant task carried out by Israel Regardie was, as an Adept, to bring a valid branch of the initiatory lineage of the Golden Dawn to America the alchemical melting pot where the New Age was incubating.