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The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic
Israel Regardie says of the Golden Dawn... "Initiation is the preparation for immortality. Man is only potentially immortal. Immortality is acquired when the purely human part of him becomes allied to that spiritual essence which was never created, was never born, and shall never die. It is to effect this spiritual bond with the highest, that the Golden Dan owes all its rituals and practical magical work.
Initiation means to begin something new. It represents the beginning of a new life dedicated to an entirely different set of principles from those that Wilhelm Reich once contemptuously termed "homo normalis." With the enormous development of scientific pragmatism, it is conceivable that sometime in the near or distant future, robots or computers will be invented that will, to all intents and purposes, free man from the daily drudgery of common toil. If and when that occurs, what will the average man do with his leisure time? Despite the claims of various protagonists of the free future of man, most will continue their lives on a thoroughly prosaic and mundane level. If there are excursions into outer space, with a view of setting up colonies outside of the earth, I am far from certain that the same fate will not await them as did all previous utopian communities. There are only a mere handful who can tolerate more than a glancing casual look at other than the superficial aspects of what life presents to them.
For this handful, the Golden Dawn system presents itself as the answer to their innumerable questions. The system itself is timeless. It did not owe its origins to the formation of that particular Order called the Golden Dawn in the latter part of the 19th century. The greater part of it, in one form or another, has existed for centuries — actually forever — not necessarily in the open where it could be attacked by secular and ecclesiastical authorities, but under cover, secretly and safely. Those who were in need of its teaching and work would inevitably be attracted to some one or other of its members, and undergo initiation. This process occurred in the past even as it does today. When the time comes for the inner awakening, as it may be called, all sorts of synchronicities occur which lead them inevitably in the right direction, to the Western Esoteric Tradition."
Initiation means to begin something new. It represents the beginning of a new life dedicated to an entirely different set of principles from those that Wilhelm Reich once contemptuously termed "homo normalis." With the enormous development of scientific pragmatism, it is conceivable that sometime in the near or distant future, robots or computers will be invented that will, to all intents and purposes, free man from the daily drudgery of common toil. If and when that occurs, what will the average man do with his leisure time? Despite the claims of various protagonists of the free future of man, most will continue their lives on a thoroughly prosaic and mundane level. If there are excursions into outer space, with a view of setting up colonies outside of the earth, I am far from certain that the same fate will not await them as did all previous utopian communities. There are only a mere handful who can tolerate more than a glancing casual look at other than the superficial aspects of what life presents to them.
For this handful, the Golden Dawn system presents itself as the answer to their innumerable questions. The system itself is timeless. It did not owe its origins to the formation of that particular Order called the Golden Dawn in the latter part of the 19th century. The greater part of it, in one form or another, has existed for centuries — actually forever — not necessarily in the open where it could be attacked by secular and ecclesiastical authorities, but under cover, secretly and safely. Those who were in need of its teaching and work would inevitably be attracted to some one or other of its members, and undergo initiation. This process occurred in the past even as it does today. When the time comes for the inner awakening, as it may be called, all sorts of synchronicities occur which lead them inevitably in the right direction, to the Western Esoteric Tradition."
1110 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
477 people are currently reading
860 people want to read
About the author
Israel Regardie
151 books305 followersIsrael Regardie (born Francis Israel Regudy) was considered by many to be the last living Adept of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. At an early age, Regardie worked as Aleister Crowley's personal secretary. 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.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 29, 2007
This book is invaluable if not from it's overwhelming breadth of content, than from it's demonstration of a very important principle: Sometimes the only way for a group/tribe to survive is to yield it's secrets to the general public. Absolutely seminal work for any group derived from the original Golden Dawn, this represents the culmination of all of the documents he collected from his experience with the order by 1934. From explicit breakdowns of rituals to an exhaustive explanation of the Shem Ha-Mephoresch and the Tree of Life cycles, there have been few that have followed with nearly the authenticity of Regardie.
February 21, 2013
I could STILL cry over losing this volume so many years ago. In 1988, a former room mate took it from my possessions in lieu of rent, along with many other valuable books & even jewelry. I was too dumb & timid then to realize that I could have called Buffalo PD and made her surrender all of the possessions she kept. I speak to her once more. I wonder if she still has it & might be willing to surrender it, finally.
January 15, 2019
An extensive and thorough look at the Golden Dawn System of magic. It mostly revolves around the Kabbalah, which isn't really my thing. This book is still a great resource for those looking into the practices of the Golden Dawn and Ceremonial Magic.
February 7, 2017
Hmmm, well, where to start?
Pros: it's a comprehensive book about the Golden Dawn, covering everything you'd expect: the rituals, tarot, geomancy, tattwa vision, and so on. If you want to study that system of magic, this is an essential reference book.
Cons: so much of this stuff is pretentious, turgid crap. The system is designed as an intellectual game, mixing up a hodge-podge of Egyptian, Jewish, Greek, Christian and Eastern thought into a huge convoluted mess. It's more about taking tests and passing examinations to achieve ever-increasing rank within the organization than it is about actual magical thought. The rituals themselves are repetitive and clumsy, and, frankly, laughable.
Summary: there's some great material in there, but I think I'd have had very little time for the Golden Dawn themselves.
Pros: it's a comprehensive book about the Golden Dawn, covering everything you'd expect: the rituals, tarot, geomancy, tattwa vision, and so on. If you want to study that system of magic, this is an essential reference book.
Cons: so much of this stuff is pretentious, turgid crap. The system is designed as an intellectual game, mixing up a hodge-podge of Egyptian, Jewish, Greek, Christian and Eastern thought into a huge convoluted mess. It's more about taking tests and passing examinations to achieve ever-increasing rank within the organization than it is about actual magical thought. The rituals themselves are repetitive and clumsy, and, frankly, laughable.
Summary: there's some great material in there, but I think I'd have had very little time for the Golden Dawn themselves.
August 27, 2020
This is the bible of Golden Down, as it contains all practices of the club. GD keeners must keep it aside their bed table. As always, Israel Regardie explained all stuff as clear as his best.
In my personal opinion, GD members had no tweeter or instagram, therefore after dinner time they were socializing with eachother over these unnecessarily exaggerated arty crafty stuff. Because these stuff on their own have no power for magic. Some say the more difficult a magic practitioner, the easier his/her deep mind is convinced to create targeted experienced.
In my personal opinion, GD members had no tweeter or instagram, therefore after dinner time they were socializing with eachother over these unnecessarily exaggerated arty crafty stuff. Because these stuff on their own have no power for magic. Some say the more difficult a magic practitioner, the easier his/her deep mind is convinced to create targeted experienced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Picked up a second edition of this legendary brick of esoterica, and wow… this is not a book—it’s a portable ritual chamber bound in yellow. You don’t read this book so much as you open dimensional doorways with it. Honestly, if you stacked three of these on top of each other, you could summon a small egregore just from the weight alone.
This is the kind of tome that Old Gregg would summon John Dee to read aloud as a bedtime story, after sipping Baileys from a shoe and casting hexagrams into the abyss. Every page feels like someone smuggled a grimoire out of the astral plane, photocopied it in the 1970s, and bound it with the faint smell of incense and candlewax. Israel Regardie basically gave us the occult equivalent of a Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide all duct-taped into one enormous ritual weapon.
If you only read this book like a normal book, you’ll get lost in diagrams, passwords, and footnotes. But if you understand how to read this book without just reading this book—letting the symbols seep into your bones, whispering the Enochian syllables in the shower, drawing pentagrams in your coffee foam—then the journey becomes priceless. It’s not just “study,” it’s initiation disguised as reading comprehension.
This is legendary-level esoterica. Approach with caution, humor, and a strong bookshelf (seriously, this thing could collapse Ikea furniture). But if you’re ready to wake up your inner adept and maybe accidentally open a portal to the 19th century, this book is the key.
Picked up a second edition of this legendary brick of esoterica, and wow… this is not a book—it’s a portable ritual chamber bound in yellow. You don’t read this book so much as you open dimensional doorways with it. Honestly, if you stacked three of these on top of each other, you could summon a small egregore just from the weight alone.
This is the kind of tome that Old Gregg would summon John Dee to read aloud as a bedtime story, after sipping Baileys from a shoe and casting hexagrams into the abyss. Every page feels like someone smuggled a grimoire out of the astral plane, photocopied it in the 1970s, and bound it with the faint smell of incense and candlewax. Israel Regardie basically gave us the occult equivalent of a Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide all duct-taped into one enormous ritual weapon.
If you only read this book like a normal book, you’ll get lost in diagrams, passwords, and footnotes. But if you understand how to read this book without just reading this book—letting the symbols seep into your bones, whispering the Enochian syllables in the shower, drawing pentagrams in your coffee foam—then the journey becomes priceless. It’s not just “study,” it’s initiation disguised as reading comprehension.
This is legendary-level esoterica. Approach with caution, humor, and a strong bookshelf (seriously, this thing could collapse Ikea furniture). But if you’re ready to wake up your inner adept and maybe accidentally open a portal to the 19th century, this book is the key.
May 4, 2021
A very large tome of utter ridiculousness. If you are looking for magic, you will find nothing here but bizarre, empty and hilariously silly rituals, many illustrations that have no literal value or meaning other than to provide a facade of mysteriousness. I am convinced the Golden Dawn was no more of an old gentlemans club like the Freemasons, who found some kind of connect and feelings of self importance and exclusivity through bizarre rituals and chants while wearing outrageously crazy costumes. Just weird and of no practical use to anything whatsoever. Most "magic" books are utter nonsense, and this one joins the pile.
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March 12, 2023There's not really too much to say about this one. I was just curious about the whole GD thing. I have been hearing about them since I was a kid. Aleister Crowley is on a Beatles record cover for christ's sake.
I looked at it as I would a philosophy book. There are a lot of good insights about how to constitute oneself, seems most of it is Kabbalah based. Alot of meditation and controlling the will. As far as the 'magic' goes, you take it how you want to. I guess anything can happen if you put your mind to it.
If you're interested in answering any question you ever had about GD, then go for it, read all million or so pages of this. You'll probably get your answer.
I looked at it as I would a philosophy book. There are a lot of good insights about how to constitute oneself, seems most of it is Kabbalah based. Alot of meditation and controlling the will. As far as the 'magic' goes, you take it how you want to. I guess anything can happen if you put your mind to it.
If you're interested in answering any question you ever had about GD, then go for it, read all million or so pages of this. You'll probably get your answer.
January 12, 2022
Foundations for every magician.
Whether you are just curious, or looking to get into magic, this book is a must have. Very informative. It's a lot of diagrams and information, but it's critical to ceremonial magic. You'll see this information used in all forms and practices . Also, if you know anything about anything this is a gem.
Whether you are just curious, or looking to get into magic, this book is a must have. Very informative. It's a lot of diagrams and information, but it's critical to ceremonial magic. You'll see this information used in all forms and practices . Also, if you know anything about anything this is a gem.
May 1, 2019
It serves a purpose
Again adding to my knowledge I am grateful for the information in this book. The rituals are intense yet needed in some cases. Thank you
Again adding to my knowledge I am grateful for the information in this book. The rituals are intense yet needed in some cases. Thank you
January 20, 2020
Very informative if your looking for the rituals.
Very good book. Was just going through it and it has allot of content if your into the golden dawn.
Very good book. Was just going through it and it has allot of content if your into the golden dawn.
January 16, 2008
This is a collection of ritual knowledge from the Golden Dawn 'school.' It's heady.
December 23, 2008
Good info on G.:D.: work, though I get conflicting accounts as to what version of the book is more accurate.
August 1, 2009
The "doorstop" edition.
May 19, 2012
fabulous book. It has taken me a good 20 years to read it and I still open the pages and read it over and over again.
November 2, 2018
Very good book but kind of difficult to read sometimes. I recommend it if you are really interested. For sure, I have to be honest, it is really very complete in content.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews