The Tree of Life and Death

The ultimate workbook for those who want to explore the deep roots of the Qabalah and work with the lost and broken places of the soul and of the universe.

This book provides an in-depth exploration of the Qliphoth, or Shells, and looks at the Shadow or unbalanced aspects of the Tree of Life. It is centred around a fascinating practice of alchemical transmutation which brings these Shells into balanced relationship with what has been described as "the great bundle of the living".

The Tree of Life and Death will show readers how this was central to the work of Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley. It identifies the historical root of this work in Ancient Egypt, contemplating the concept of Maat or Truth, and looks at how this principle becomes pivotal in the development of the Qabalah in working to transform the Qliphoth. It uses the ancient Egyptian forms of the holders of Maat - the Eloquent Peasant, the Good Shepherd and the Silent Sage - seeing them as key images that enable us to embody truth and balance and promote that quality in all that we touch.

Ian Rees is a psycho-spiritual psychotherapist practicing in Glastonbury, Somerset, UK. He has been a therapist for twenty years and spent ten years before that working in probation work and social work. He designed MA programs and taught at the Karuna Institute in Devon from 1999 to 2009. Since 2009 he has concentrated on developing and presenting workshops for the Annwn Foundation.