The Aleister Crowley Tarot

[Aeon418]

A silent flip-through of the Aleister Crowley Tarot.

 

 

[Wyrdkiss]

Is this one of your videos @Aeon418?

[Aeon418]

7 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

Is this one of your videos @Aeon418?

 

No, it's not mine. (It's not my hands either. 😄) I thought it might be of interest to other Thoth Tarot users. Unlike the RWS, the Thoth has not seen a lot of clone decks.

 

To my eye the deck looks like an interesting redraw of the Thoth Tarot. Although I'm not sure about the naming of the deck. It seems a little odd to tag Crowley onto it.

 

Some of the pip cards look quite attractive, but I'm not sure about the major's and the alterations to the symbolism. The simplified cartoon art style reminds me of the Liber T: Tarot of Stars Eternal (minus the donkey of course).

 

I have heard that the card stock is very thin though.  

[Wyrdkiss]

You are far kinder in your assessment than I could be. But, the more the merrier I suppose. Slapping his name on it is a problem, however, in my eyes.  Some uninformed  store browsers and online shoppers will buy it thinking it is the original most likely, which is what they are probably banking on.

[Aeon418]

The name is an obvious marketing gimmick. And as P.T. Barnum supposedly said: "A sucker is born every minute." 

 

But I can see how some people might appreciate this sort of Thoth-lite deck.

[gregory]

A local major chain bookstore was selling them off, so I... I was actually interested that it was the only deck they had discounted - and they had a whole wall of them (which was a new one on me, locally - but it was in a university city, so maybe students mean more occult things are in demand...)

 

It's pretty. Almost dainty. As a  CROWLEY deck this troubles me. There's none of the earthiness I associate with the real thing. I will be back when I have spent some time with it (I only got it this afternoon.) I also have doubts about the book, which seems superficial at first glance..

[gregory]

OK SO -

 

To correct one thing - the card stock is perfectly fine - and definitely not "thin". The whole thing is, whatever else, very well produced, physically. Nice box, well bound book, decent well for the cards and so on.

 

The art work seems very strange at first glance to someone who has been looking at the Harris artwork for very many years - but - and this is one HUGE but - it was created in a startlingly interesting way. The artist - who had no tarot background that I know of - was simply given the directions Crowley gave to Frieda Harris, and told to paint cards accordingly. While, for instance, the horned green man's head on the fool shocked me rather - it seems to fit the brief - and that's the case with most of the cards. In those terms I shall be interested - when I have time ! - to lay them, out next to the Harris deck and compare. They are certainly in some cases, "gentler" - perhaps less uninhibited - but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. On reflection, while I prefer Harris' art, that may at least in part be down to familiarity. I don't think it is fair to call it Thoth-lite. So that I take back (if it was I who said it !) It was done in the exact same way that the original was - painted according to Uncle Al's instructions. And the key words are as they should be. The art work may not be the style I (or Wyrdkiss !) prefer - but I can't stand Michelangelo's David or a lot of 19th century art which I am told, by people who know stuff that I don't, is Ever So Good. Much of such opinion is a matter of personal taste.  It certainly isn't Liber-T (which I actually like, but I can see the glaring issues with it.)

 

To the book. No Arrien nonsense, that's for sure. It is in fact written by someone who really knows her stuff - she has been in the field for years and was at one point the editor of a sadly defunct UK occult magazine (Prediction) that I used to buy when I could get hold of it. She knows her Crowley. She even went through what so many of us have gone through: the old "Oh GEEZ I can't handle all this, it's too much, I'm not CLEVER enough" and then came back to it, having suddenly GOT it -  And while the book is much simpler than Crowley's own, it is pretty true to that brief too, and very clear on Crowley and the Tree of Life; the Hebrew letters, the Magick and the astrology - though I would prefer it if it didn't occasionally reference the Waite-Smith deck - but even that is done with taste and discretion, as they say - a suggestion to clarify the view, not a suggestion to use Waite's meanings.

An example: of the Fives:

 

Quote

The Five of Disks is one of the saddest looking cards in the RWS deck. It is a beggar woman with a child on crutches hurrying past the window of a church in the middle of Winter. A scene of poverty - and of course, Worry.

 

No huge issue, really, and it doesn't happen often. But it might help a reader new to Thoth to move forward with that Three as Worry.

 

Slapping his name on it - I think it was smart to include the Aleister, which does make a small difference in terms of ID - but given how it was created, from the original brief - I think it's fair enough. Liber-T made no such claim., nor did it invoke Uncle's name in the title. It is very clear on the box that it is new artwork. And of course, we know Frieda added things which weren't in the brief - I imagine we have "lost" some of those, But it's arguable that while Uncle Al  sanctioned them in the final version, they weren't in his original brief - which perhaps adds another layer of interest.

 

Not Thoth lite really - there's a lot to digest in the book - which is both thorough and very succinct and I picked up a couple of things I sort of knew but hadn't fully take in, like - and even in the cards, to someone who has never used Thoth before - but it is a Thoth that would be easier to start with - not least because the book is actually pretty good - getting all  the basics of Crowley's much longer one down to manageable size. To my slight surprise - I actually rather like it. and for $15 CDN I like it quite a lot !

 

Questions ?

Edited July 7, 2023 by gregory
typos.

[gregory]

Oh - been done:

 

 

 

There are some startlingly bad - in the sense of badly done - reviews on youtube - one in particular is big - VERY big - on Crowley being a horrible person - over and over and over. True or not, you only need to say it once..

[FindYourSovereignty]

@gregory, thank you for sharing your thoughts on the deck and for the video link. It looks very interesting to me.  

[Aeon418]

@gregory, thanks for sharing your impressions of the deck. Your comments about the card stock are reassuring in light of the negative reviews on Amazon UK & US. Maybe they were unlucky?

 

With regard to the accompanying booklet, I've only seen the section on The Fool and the Ace and 2 of Wands. It was immediately obvious to me that both were a mixture of verbatim quotes and paraphrases of the descriptions of the cards in the Book of Thoth. If the rest of the book continues in that vein I could see it being a very useful introduction and stepping stone to the real thing.

 

I've noticed that the Fool and the Magus are different from their Thoth counterparts. But the Green Man and the Egyptian Thoth are influences on the design of both the originals, so the deviation is not a big deal as far as I'm concerned.

 

One card that has caught my eye is the Hierophant. He is no longer "sinister" or left handed as per Crowley's oblique description of the inverted benediction. But at least the multicoloured sceptre of the three Aeons is much clearer. I'm still trying to puzzle out the significance of the 12 panned oriel window though. I also noticed that the 4 Cherubim are in their revised Thoth positions on card V, but are in their traditional order on card XXI. Beyond that the new design seems to have tried to incorporate the hexagram mentioned in the Book of Thoth at the expense of the inverted pentagram featured on the original card. (Harris' exhibition catalogue lists 3 pentagrams.)

 

As with many modern decks, the Priestess (of the Silver Star) has been renamed the High Priestess.

 

I really do like the new version of the Sun card though. The suggestion of stars mingled in with the zodiac signs really does accentuate the subtle shift away from a the terrestrial to the celestial that Crowley intended this card to show.

 

Consistent with the description in the Book of Thoth there's no child Harpocrate's on card XX, The Aeon. Although cards 0, XII, and XX are the three Mother letters of the Hebrew alphabet and therefore the babe in the womb is meant to be implied. But the new image is consistent with the one printed on the postcards of one of the two versions of Liber Oz that Crowley issued in December, 1941. Apparently Harris was horrified that Crowley intended to use the Devil card to illustrate the postcards. Eventually Crowley relented and only 50 Devil's were printed (and reserved for initiates), while the remaining 250 were illustrated with the Aeon, minus Harpocrates!

 

       

 

Back to the new deck. From what I have seen of it I think anyone could use this new deck as a perfectly valid substitute for the Thoth Tarot and still take advantage of all of the study material that is available for the original deck. (I think I draw the line at Angeles Arrien though. 😄) The divergences between the two decks aren't huge. And even where there is a marked difference, there's still has an underlying consistency with the original design intent of Crowley and Harris.

 

Mogg Morgan of Mandrake Press seems to have been happy to lend his name to this new deck.

[gregory]

23 minutes ago, Aeon418 said:

@gregory, thanks for sharing your impressions of the deck. Your comments about the card stock are reassuring in light of the negative reviews on Amazon UK & US. Maybe they were unlucky?

 

With regard to the accompanying booklet, I've only seen the section on The Fool and the Ace and 2 of Wands. It was immediately obvious to me that both were a mixture of verbatim quotes and paraphrases of the descriptions of the cards in the Book of Thoth. If the rest of the book continues in that vein I could see it being a very useful introduction and stepping stone to the real thing.

 

I would say it does exactly that.

 

23 minutes ago, Aeon418 said:

One card that has caught my eye is the Hierophant. He is no longer "sinister" or left handed as per Crowley's oblique description of the inverted benediction. But at least the multicoloured sceptre of the three Aeons is much clearer. I'm still trying to puzzle out the significance of the 12 panned oriel window though. I also noticed that the 4 Cherubim are in their revised Thoth positions on card V, but are in their traditional order on card XXI. Beyond that the new design seems to have tried to incorporate the hexagram mentioned in the Book of Thoth at the expense of the inverted pentagram featured on the original card. (Harris' exhibition catalogue lists 3 pentagrams.)

He looks pretty sinister to me... the way he looks at you.  But - he's holding the sceptre in his left hand - maybe that was supposed to suggest left-handedness ?

 

23 minutes ago, Aeon418 said:

 

As with many modern decks, the Priestess (of the Silver Star) has been renamed the High Priestess.

Yes - that is a shame, but not a deal-breaker for me anyway !

 

23 minutes ago, Aeon418 said:

 

I really do like the new version of the Sun card though. The suggestion of stars mingled in with the zodiac signs really does accentuate the subtle shift away from a the terrestrial to the celestial that Crowley intended this card to show.

I'm with you there !

 

23 minutes ago, Aeon418 said:

Consistent with the description in the Book of Thoth there's no child Harpocrate's on card XX, The Aeon. Although cards 0, XII, and XX are the three Mother letters of the Hebrew alphabet and therefore the babe in the womb is meant to be implied. But the new image is consistent with the one printed on the postcards of one of the two versions of Liber Oz that Crowley issued in December, 1941. Apparently Harris was horrified that Crowley intended to use the Devil card to illustrate the postcards. Eventually Crowley relented and only 50 Devil's were printed (and reserved for initiates), while the remaining 250 were illustrated with the Aeon, minus Harpocrates!

Yes - I remember that now that you mention it !

 

23 minutes ago, Aeon418 said:

Back to the new deck. From what I have seen of it I think anyone could use this new deck as a perfectly valid substitute for the Thoth Tarot and still take advantage of all of the study material that is available for the original deck. (I think I draw the line at Angeles Arrien though. 😄) The divergences between the two decks aren't huge. And even where there is a marked difference, there's still has an underlying consistency with the original design intent of Crowley and Harris.

 

Mogg Morgan of Mandrake Press seems to have been happy to lend his name to this new deck.

 

He does indeed - though there were bits of his intro that grated a bit for me. No biggie - a foreword isn't a make or break ! I agree with you entirely here. It's a thoroughly  decent piece of work. (And available for $15 in Indigo !)

[gregory]

I went back and read the reviews, then examined the cards again. Oh - and the person who said the (rather bad) image on Amazon suggests that the cards have gilded edges, and they were disappointed to find they don't was quite right to point this out - indeed they don't. As one who doesn't like gilded edges - that's a plus for me.  They aren't the thickest - but they riffle shuffle well. They would crease if you bend them - but so would the cards in every deck I own. Maybe others treat their cards worse than I do ? If you all go buy and hate them - sorry; they are fine by me.

Edited July 7, 2023 by gregory

[Aeon418]

7 hours ago, gregory said:

 If you all go buy and hate them - sorry; they are fine by me.

 

I will take my chances and live with it come what may. My copy is due early next week.

 

In the mean time I'm still ruminating on that Hierophant. 

[Aeon418]

My deck arrived early! 😀

 

Despite the fact that Amazon saw fit to package it in nothing more than a paper bag (seriously!), everything is in A1 condition thanks to the very sturdy and attractive box.

 

My initial impressions after a quick flick through both the deck and the book are mixed. The card stock is thin, but it's not the worst I have ever seen either. In my opinion it is perfectly acceptable. However I can see why some reviewers have made an issue out of it.

 

In places the artwork exudes a cutesy, saccharine sweetness that seems alien to the Thoth Tarot. Granted, I'm probably not the target audience for this deck and the feeling that my teeth were rotting on the sugar coating on some of the cards is understandable. But I do get it that some people are put off by the Thoth's blunt directness. Perhaps the softer feel of this deck might encourage some readers to dip a toe in Thoth inspired waters. However, in all fairness, some of the artwork is rather attractive and appealing.

 

The 2 of Cups actually features dolphins and not dolphin free tuna. 

 

One thing that might put some people off is the numbering of the cards. Despite what some of the advertising images suggest, the Major's feature regular numbers, 0,1,2,3, .... 21. While the minor cards are numbered with Roman numerals. Personally I would have preferred it the other way around, but it's a minor quibble. 

 

The accompanying book appears to be well produced and features several examples of the artwork of J. F. C. Fuller that originally appeared in The Equinox. Overall the contents of the book appears to be aimed at card readers rather than deep symbolists. This is to be expected and after all there's no point in trying to out-Crowley Crowley and the Book of Thoth. Once I've had a good read through I will comment more. I have noticed a few things that raised an eyebrow, but I will try to be mindful that I am probably not the target audience. With that in mind I will be charitable and skip over the authors story of Aleister Crowley visiting her in her dreams to give the deck his personal seal of approval. Erm .... yeah. 

[Aeon418]

Curious! I've only just noticed that my booklet, while superficially looking identical to the one on Amazon USA, is actually different. The sample chapters of the Fool and the Ace & 2 of Wands that are available online, differ from the actual book. The scans on Amazon USA appear to be simple summaries of the Book of Thoth, while the actual book features a lot more of the authors own interpretation with a few quotes thrown in for good measure. Both of the videos posted in this thread show the same book I have that was purchased from Amazon UK. Maybe the scans are a different American edition, or merely an early draft that was used for promotional and marketing purposes.

 

Anyway, on to the deck and the book. I think I will put down a few thoughts and observations as I work my way through it.

 

I'm afraid the foreword by Mogg Morgan made no impression on me whatsoever. I'm not sure what irked Gregory, but I think I'm too familiar with all this supposedly "shocking" stuff that Crowley wrote about.

 

For me the one standout feature of Tania Ahsan's semi-biographical introduction is her laudable attempt at differentiating Do what thou wilt from Do what you want. I'm not 100% on board with her definition, but it's good enough and should serve as a rough and ready guide post for people new to this idea.

 

The "How to use the cards" section is probably bread & butter for most readers and can be safely skipped or skimmed over. But there are 14 pages of various well known spreads for those who like or need that sort of stuff.

 

Onto the Fool....

Edited July 10, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[gregory]

On 7/10/2023 at 4:19 PM, Aeon418 said:

I'm afraid the foreword by Mogg Morgan made no impression on me whatsoever. I'm not sure what irked Gregory, but I think I'm too familiar with all this supposedly "shocking" stuff that Crowley wrote about.

 

It was just - a bit pointless; I felt he could have done a LOT better. I too have read extensively by and about Crowley. I suppose it came over a bit like showing off - as if he knew Crowley personally (I think he didn't ?) and OH so carefully casual.

Edited August 28, 2023 by gregory

[Aeon418]

20 hours ago, gregory said:

It was just - a bit pointless; I felt he could have done a LOT better. I too have read extensively by and about Crowley. I suppose it came over a bit like showing off - as if he knew Crowley perennially (I think he didn't ?) and OH so carefully casual.

 

I'm pretty sure he never met Crowley. In fact I think it's safe to assume that practically all the people who ever did know Crowley personally are long gone by now. Even Steffi Grant, who attended Crowley's funeral when she was a young woman, died a few years ago.

 

Back to Mogg's foreword. I don't necessarily disagree with anything he says, but I think it could have done with a little more nuance. When he begins comparing the Thoth Tarot to the RWS it begins to sound like a kind of subversion for its own sake that seems to imply "Do what you want!" But the Thoth's Devil card is every bit as restrictive as its RWS counterpart if one's motivations aren't informed by the True Will. Likewise with the Lust card. Superficially the imagery and the new title may appear to be a call to orgiastic licentiousness. But the Scarlet Woman can only safely harness the powers of the Beast because she is doing her True Will. (On the original Thoth card this is shown by her looking back at the eighth head of the Beast.) But should she seek to use that same energy for selfish ends, it will turn against her, overwhelm and devour her. "Let the Scarlet Woman beware!"

 

Mogg Morgan's contention that this falls along sex/gender lines, while not necessarily wrong, is a little misleading as well. There's nothing in the message of either card that does not apply equally to both sexes. Again, its a lack of nuance that risks losing the Golden Thread that runs through the Thoth Tarot and decks inspired by it like the Aleister Crowley Tarot.

Edited July 11, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[Aeon418]

I'm going to try and highlight ways in which the Aleister Crowley Tarot appears to differ and diverge from the Thoth Tarot. The Fool card in the Aleister Crowley Tarot differs from its Thoth counterpart in a number of ways that are still consistent with the original design.

 

The most noticeable difference is that the Fool is quite clearly intended to be the Green Man of the Spring Festival. In the Book of Thoth this the first tradition that Crowley discusses. "The Fool stirs within all of us at the return of Spring." ".... there is a connection with the ideas of irresponsibility, of wantonness, of idealization, of romance, of starry dreaming." 

 

The suggestion of a cup or chalice near the Thoth Fool's right hand is absent in the new card. But the element of water seems to be represented by the iridescent rainbow appearance of the whirling spiral of, what the author calls, the "Threefold Veil of the Non-Matter." I've never heard of the the Thee Veils of the Negative referred to in this way before because the Three Veils precede the appearance of Spirit, not just matter. Quibbles aside, the spiral emerges from a white sphere of light at the level of the navel. With the Three Veils this gives the impression of the umbilical cord. This could suggest the idea of Being inside the womb on Non-Being. (Incidentally the sphere of Kether is the Rashith ha-Gilgalim, the first whirling.) Tania Ahsan seems to quoting from the Book of Thoth when she says the stem of the grapes develops into rainbow-coloured spirals. That may be true of the Thoth Tarot's Fool card, but not here.

 

Another discrepancy is the reference to the "three flowers in one" that hangs above the embracing twins. Once again that is a nod towards the Thoth's Fool card. Instead there is what appears to be either a rose or a lotus flower. Either one would be suitable for this card, but the lotus in particular is sacred to Harpocrates. The roots of the flower seem to branch out in five directions. This could be a symbol of the roots of the five elements, fire, water, air, earth, and spirit.

 

Finally the Tiger and the Crocodile are only mentioned in passing by Ahsan without further explanation. In a change from the Thoth image, the tiger is part of the spiral and seems to be following its outward flow. In the Thoth Tarot the tiger attacks the Fool's thigh (i.e. phallus) and indicates the creative and motive drive of the Fool's entry into the world of matter. But elsewhere Crowley mentions stripes being a quality of the dual-twin sing of Gemini. One interpretation of this may be the way the original creative impulse could become a danger to the Fool on his journey, where that same impulse transforms into instinctual, procreative drives of purely animal existence.

 

The Crocodile is a complex symbol, but a simple explanation is that it represents the end of the Fool's journey and the motive for his return to the source of his (non)being. Having reached the end of his journey the Fool is transformed into his exact equal and opposite. The Creator is made one with the Destroyer and now seeks the Path of Return whereby he may be consumed or swallowed up by reabsorption in the divine No-Thing. 

 

The outline of a Tree behind the Fool seems to be complemented by the roots on the Universe card. 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[Aeon418]

The design of the Magus card is the biggest departure from the Thoth Tarot. Oddly enough Crowley himself provides the justification for this in his closing remarks on the card in the Book of Thoth.

 

Quote

".... no true image is possible at all; for, firstly, all images are necessarily false as such .... any stasis contradicts the idea of the card: this picture is, therefore, hardly more than mnemonic jottings."

 

Crowley and Harris worked their way through eight design iterations trying to pin down this most Mercurial of cards.

 

Most of the symbols on this card are the same as the Thoth Tarot's Magus card, but the biggest difference is the inclusion of the Egyptian god Thoth in place of Mercury - Hermes. But this isn't the radical change it appears to be. The Egyptian Thoth and the Greco-Roman Mercury-Hermes overlap in many ways. However Thoth does not represent the same trickster qualities. But this is balanced by the Ape of Thoth at the bottom of the card who faces the opposite direction. So while Thoth may speak of truth, wisdom, and learning, his "word" is of necessity dualistic. His truth implies falsehood. The wisdom stands in contrast to folly. And all learning is based upon ignorance. Surprisingly little is made of this duality by Tania Ahsan in the accompanying book.

 

The eight pointed star in the upper left corner is a new addition, but 8 is the Mercurial number and the word "Kokab" means both star and mercury.

One thing that is not mentioned at all is the gray shape behind Thoth. The colour suggests the sphere of Chokmah and the link to the number 2 and duality. It could represent a mirror and reflections. It could also be a blank slate for writing. But I think it represents a doorway. This is consistent with the attribution of this card to the letter Beth - the House. This is the basic structure that separates inside from outside. The doorway is simultaneously an exit and an entrance that reaffirms the duality of this card.

 

Tania Ahsan's description of the card ends with the observation that the Magus is the masculine counterpart of the High Priestess. Masculine implies feminine and vice versa. While Chokmah = 73 = Gimel, the letter of card II. The inference is that the creative Word of Atu I is given form in Atu II.

[Aeon418]

The Thoth Tarot's, Priestess, has been renamed, The High Priestess, in the Aleister Crowley Tarot. To be fair though the card is named as such in the Book of Thoth. So it may reasonably be assumed that this title was at least under consideration by Crowley and Harris when they were creating the Thoth deck.

 

There are no pillars on the new card, but they were barely visible of the edges of the Thoth original anyway.

 

On the Thoth Tarot card the veil in front of the Priestess is a kind of optical illusion that appears to be simultaneously flowing away and towards the Priestess. This illusory, lunar style ebb and flow is replicated in a more simple fashion on the new card where the veil appears to be being pulled to a point behind the head of the High Priestess. This can be seen as a point of origin or an avenue of return to the Great Void. The lower part of the veil that falls from her shoulders can be seen as flowing out or being drawn back into the void.

 

Like the Thoth design the High Priestess is lunar white to suggest the Formless Void being clothed in a veil of form giving Light (or spirit). The angled posture of the High Priestess accentuates the semi-pyramidal nature of the throne, with the symbolic link between the Tomb and the Womb.

 

The lunar crescent is more obviously placed at the bottom of the card, but the inverted white triangle is a new addition. In the book, Ahsan refers to this as the Yoni and therefore the general feminine symbol. But beyond this it is the symbol of water, which is also the general symbol of consciousness. This is consistent with this card representing the fully illuminated spiritual consciousness, along with its entry into and transcendence of the world of Form as symbolised by the crystals and flowers. The inverted triangle also represents the descending arrowhead of spiritual inspiration.

 

Compared to the Thoth card the lunar bow is more clearly a stringed instrument. She uses this to create harmonies that shape the universe of evolving consciousness, while simultaneously playing an enchantment to lure it all back to the source.

 

The Camel, being the literal meaning of the corresponding letter - Gimel, is the "ship of the desert," who carries the water of life and consciousness across the Abyss that separates the Ideal from the Actual, or the universal consciousness and the individual life.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[gregory]

This is all SO good, Aeon - please do the lot - I am so enjoying reading your stuff; your knowledge is so much better than mine, and this is very helpful on both decks.

[Serpentwand]

Me too. I find all the Thoth material interesting to read.👍

[smw]

On 7/12/2023 at 6:47 PM, Aeon418 said:

One thing that is not mentioned at all is the gray shape behind Thoth. The colour suggests the sphere of Chokmah and the link to the number 2 and duality. It could represent a mirror and reflections. It could also be a blank slate for writing. But I think it represents a doorway. This is consistent with the attribution of this card to the letter Beth - the House. This is the basic structure that separates inside from outside. The doorway is simultaneously an exit and an entrance that reaffirms the duality of this card.

 

The door shape reminds me of the Stele of Revealing, with Egyptian Thoth seated.

                                                                        

 

'I have made a secret door

Into the House of Ra and Tum,

 Of Khephra and of Ahathoor.

I am thy Theban, O Mentu,

 The prophet Ankh-af-na-khonsu!

By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;

 By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.

Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!

 Bid me within thine House to dwell,

O wingèd snake of light, Hadit!

 Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!'

 

* Phylis Seckler suggests that Ta-Nech is Tarot

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by smw

[Aeon418]

Thank you for the encouragement @gregory and @Serpentwand. 🙂

 

My intention is to work my way through all of the Major Arcana and comment on any differences between the Thoth and AC Tarot. Obviously some of the cards are almost like-for-like redraws which provides a smaller opportunity for comment and discussion without reinventing the wheel and regurgitating readily available information. But I will try my best to say something about all of the cards.

 

Before moving on I have an addition to my previous remarks about the High Priestess. I hope this is not too technical and confusing, but it occurred to me last night that the Veils are suggestive of an oyster shell. This possibly gives an added significance to the central disk of the the crown that the High Priestess wears. Is that a Pearl? 

 

In the Book of Thoth, Crowley quotes the Oyster from the Book of Lies. In veiled language this describes the desire of the Divine (the One) to gain experience of itself through multiplicity (the Many). The other half of this is the desire of the Many to return back to the One. This ebb and flow is reminiscent of the lunar influence on the tide. The Path of Return is the Great Work.

 

The card of the Great Work is Atu XIV - Art. This is the card of the universal solvent, V.I.T.R.I.O.L., that will dissolve the Pearl and reveal the Hidden Stone of the Wise.

 

Quote

Transmute all wholly into the Image of thy Will,
bringing each to its true token of Perfection.
Dissolve the Pearl in the Wine-cup; drink, and
make manifest the Virtue of that Pearl.

 

The completion of this Great Work is accomplished in Atu VII - The Chariot, where the victorious warrior of life returns back to the Great Mother with the Holy Grail full of the ecstatic Wine and Life Blood of realised experience and the manifested possibilities that were only latent potential within the Fool. This hard won Wine and Life Blood is also the Water that is spilt in the desert by the Camel that leaves a footprint on each of the 5 Paths that span the Abyss - V.V.V.V.V. (see "Dust Devils" which is also quoted in the High Priestess chapter of BoT.)

 

The final dissolution of the Pearl in Atu VII is the confirmation of the legend said to be written above the Saitic Isis, who is also the High Priestess.

 

Quote

I am all that has been, and is, and shall be. No mortal hath ever raised my veil. 

 

The Master who has surrendered every drop of their individuality to the Universal Life is called NEMO - No Man - who is a Brother of A.'.A.'. and one with the Mother of the Child. This is why the Brothers of A.'.A.'. are said to be Women. 

[Aeon418]

3 hours ago, smw said:

The door shape reminds me of the Stele of Revealing, with Egyptian Thoth seated.

 

That's a great observation @smw. 🙂

 

This fits perfectly with the Path of Beth and the Magus card being the Intelligence of Transparency. Quoting Paul Foster Case:

 

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Intelligence of Transparency is the mode of consciousness. "Transparency" means "letting light shine through." Here we have the same idea of transmission that is suggested by Hermes as the transmitter of the messages of the higher divinity. Clearly the mode of consciousness called transparent must be one that affords a free channel of communication, which permits the free passage downward and outward of the superconscious Light which is above and within.

 

Now consider Liber AL, III:10, but try think symbolic and not literal.

 

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10. Get the stélé of revealing itself; set it in thy secret temple— and that temple is already aright disposed— & it shall be your Kiblah for ever. It shall not fade, but miraculous colour shall come back to it day after day. Close it in locked glass for a proof to the world.

 

Look at the Magus card in the Aleister Crowley Tarot deck and think about "locked glass" and the idea of the Fixed Mercury or the conscious awareness of the True Will. The Stele of Revealing is a symbol of the Will of the Aeon and a visible object of worship that manifests again further down the Tree of Life on the 31st Path of Shin (Spirit) between the spheres of Hod (Mercury) and Malkuth (the World). This symbolism points to the clear transmission of the Word of Divinity to the World through the channel of the mind. 

 

A different spin on the link between the Stele and the Magus card is that it is the Urn of the Magus described in the vision of the 6th Aethyr. These ashes are said to be the residue of the Magus who has passed through the searing Fires of initiation and become totally identified with their Word of Will. (This is why Crowley occasionally makes the the seemingly shocking statement: "I am Thelema.") In this context the Stele is a funerary plaque.

 

The 6th Aethyr also declares that Book T is in ashes in the Urn of the Magus. Book T is the Tarot or the Book of Thoth itself. To clearly utter the creative Word the Magus must burn up their remaining karmic debt. Beyond their Word the Magus has no more destiny to divine.  

Edited July 15, 2023 by Aeon418
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