Please note: I am including links to the revised edition as it is available, but this review is based on the original work.
Israel Regardie’s A Garden of Pomegranates is an essential work on the Kabbalah (or Kabala, Qabalah, etc.). It covers the general philosophy and history of the Kabbalah, as well as the esoteric and occult applications of it. One thing to take note of is the image, the edition without the markup from Chic Cicero is hard to find, so I have linked to the easily available edition for convenience.
This is one of my favorite books on the Kabbalah. It’s written as a beginner’s book, but it will take you much further than most beginner’s books if you tread carefully. Let’s go over the content in general, the pros of this books, what to be aware of, and whom the work is intended for.
Contents
The content is broken down into 8 chapters each of which is about 18 pages of really dense writing. The book is small, but dense writing. Israel Regardie covers complicated topics clearly and concisely.
The book leads with a historical section which covers the history of the Kabbalah and why it’s applicable to western ritual magick and other occult practices. The history covers up through the Golden Dawn including Aleister Crowley’s writings on the topic. The next section covers the basics of the Kabbalah and what the Tree of Life is and what the Sephiros mean.
From here, it covers applications of the Kabbalah including more literal practices. Gematria and similar practices are covered here. The Kabbalah is often linked with Hebrew writing and other practices for divination. It includes enough content that these practices are pretty much standalone with a few necessary references.
This discussion then grows into the Kabbalah’s effect on western occult practices. These are first discussed in the history, but we go full circle here and tie everything together. It also covers how the layout of the Tree of Life is reflected in the system of the Golden Dawn (technically listed as the Rosicrucian grading system, but the Golden Dawn used it as well).
Pros
This book is extremely well written and is a cornerstone work to any esoteric or spiritual study of the Kabbalah. It covers the history as well as the philosophy, and also how it has changed over time. It is mostly self-contained as well. Very few things in the book require outside reference, but it would entirely change the type of book to teach the rest.
It covers the major triad system of the Kabbalah, the application to the human being, as well as other breakdowns of how the Tree of Life applies to the world and greater universe. This book is extremely thorough in its detailing of these points and remains extremely insightful from cover to cover. Some of the traditional practices involving the Kabbalah are detailed as well which makes it that much richer.
The big selling point for this book though is its application of the Kabbalah to the western occult tradition and detailing its application in the Golden Dawn (as well as other Rosicrucian systems). I would buy the book again just for this section.
Considerations
The first and foremost concern is getting a copy. I have an edition which is not revised by Chic Cicero. I have heard that the revised edition has extra footnotes which make it harder to read, but that the extra content (at the end) is worth it. Flipping through the original, I don’t see a single footnote.
This book is a beginner’s book, but may not work as a true introductory work. It covers too much too fast for a casual single read. This is a book you want to read after a little bit of delving into the Kabbalah or else you get in over your head fast. This is originally a book from the 1930’s (1932 to be exact) and the writing is very similar to that of D. T. Suzuki’s An Introduction to Zen Buddhism in terms of density and efficiency.
The content is dense and unforgiving, but not a single word is wasted. A few sections may require a reread or two to really sink in. It covers a lot of content in a very tight space.
Intended Audience
This book is intended to people studying the western occult tradition or else interested in the more mystical and spiritual side of the Kabbalah. A Garden of Pomegranates delves deep into the occult and mystic side of things. If you’re interested in ritual magick, or similar occult practices, this book is essential reading.
If you’re curious about the basics of the Kabbalah, this work may be a little over the top. It’s descriptions and details are great, but they bleed into the spiritual side a bit much for a more casual reader. These aren’t slights against the book in the least though, it just has a more directed audience than the average Kabbalah book. It gets metaphysical without getting hokey.
Conclusion
This is one of the best occult books I’ve ever read. This is a cornerstone of my occult library. If you’re interested in the Kabbalah in depth, or interested in magick, or even just the system behind the Golden Dawn, this is the book for you.
A Garden of Pomegranates details the Kabbalah in a way few other works can. Everything just makes sense about it the more you read. It covers both the philosophical side as well as the mystic side, as well as applications of both. This book is a treasure for your bookshelf.
Get a revised copy here to support local bookstores, or here: