fire cat pickles Posted April 1 Posted April 1 This is an open journal. Anyone can comment and add their inputs. It is greatly appreciated! I will be using Liber T: Tarot of Stars Eternal paired with the Oracle of the Radiant Sun for study decks, and Crowley's Book of Thoth for my "Decan Deep Dive." To be honest I never have bonded with the Thoth deck. Finding the Liber T's simple art deco design appeals to my more straightforward, minimalistic sensibilities. In the forward to the LWB, the artist Andrea Serio confirms that this is a reworking of the Thoth tarot, and that the Book of Thoth is a model of reference. The Oracle of the Radiant Sun will be used as comparative tool and to practice my intuitive skills through its artwork.
fire cat pickles Posted April 2 Author Posted April 2 (edited) 01: Aries 1 March 21 to March 30 (2 of Scepters) Just backing up/reviewing the first Decan of Wands/Scepters (March 21st - March 30th) here. The Book of Thoth says this card "represents the Will in its most exalted form. It is an ideal Will..." As the ruler of Aries, Mars imports his natural proclivities and instincts into the sign. If unchecked, this power can easily come across as egotistical, vain, and arrogant. The Mars personality is often not open to criticism from others, and it is each individual who is responsible to maintain discipline within themselves. This is the nature of this card, to understand oneself. Initial impulsiveness falls to what the Thoth calls "willing surrender." But impulse is needed to be successful nevertheless. Mars in Aries understands this. Edited April 20 by fire cat pickles
fire cat pickles Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 (edited) 02: Aries 2 from March 31 - April 10 (3 of Scepters) This is the sun exalted in Aries. Crowley calls it the "establishment of primal energy." Smith and Alsop assign the word "Assertion" to it. Here in the first house we find our public persona is at its most favorable as the sun shines at its brightest, amplifying Aries' most positive qualities—outgoing, ambitious, determined. In becoming more confident and assertive as a result, it would be wise to show restraint: Aries can be more and more ambitious and impulsive and the sun expands these attributes. It is easy to fall into the trap and become overambitious, aggressive, overly competitive. Flexing some intuitive skills. The first thing I picked up on when I looked at Serio's depiction was the left knee on the Ibis, concerning how phallic it looks. Although Ibis is typically male, here he is represented with breasts, and therefore hermaphroditic. Perhaps the artist intends to relay from the Book of Thoth's interpretation that "[t]he Sun has enkindled the Great Mother" in this card. In the OORS card, it is difficult to see who exactly has the upper hand in the fight. Is it the dragon (who is typically female)? Or is it the knight? One thing is for certain, masculine energy, Assertion, will not be enough. The dragon will easily overcome hubris. (Look at his bare legs!??) If anything, I would take this oracle card as a advice, or a warning, not to allow toxic masculinity to derail an otherwise positive force to direct actions taken to promote success. Edited April 20 by fire cat pickles
fire cat pickles Posted April 18 Author Posted April 18 (edited) 03: Aries 3 from April 11 - April 19 (4 of Scepters) Venus is in her detriment in Aries, meaning that she can't reach full potential in this sign. And the Fours indicate the establishment of effort, only a beginning. Both masculine and the feminine are needed to culminate anything of significance. Venus' full power may be stunted unless she can bring her full support. What we have left is brute force. In the Book of Thoth, Crowley says that this card the "bears in itself the seeds of disorder" due to lack of female energy. What we have remaining is "completion and limitation." This highlights the masculine (completion) and feminine (limitation) dichotomy. Crowley points out that Venus in Aries manifests "without tact and gentleness;" Smith and Alsop see this Venusian inequality as "lust," in other words, the inability for Venus to balance Aries' power. Edited April 20 by fire cat pickles
fire cat pickles Posted April 26 Author Posted April 26 05: Taurus 1 from April 20 - 29 (5 of Spheres) On 4/23/2025 at 5:24 PM, JoyousGirl said: Mercury is a symbol of communication, too, and literally quicksilver, which is slippery and hard to grasp. Taurus, on the other hand is fixed - and resistant to change - much like the institution and traditions that Hierophant, on his face, represents. There's a lot to unpick in that blend of slippery with rigid. I couldn't have described this better myself! The Oracle of the Radiant Sun names this card Resistance: The parrot is flying above, difficult to catch while the bull is below, the domesticated animal, a beast of burden, heavy and reliable. What I first noticed in this card is the line of demarcation between the two symbols. There are aspects with both these animals, in that both are "tame-able." But in essence they are wild animals at heart. We can keep a parrot as a pet but its wings must be clipped and it has to be kept in a cage or it will fly away. The bull can be domesticated but remains a very dangerous animal. One best stay out of the bull pin! Both of these animals are resistant to any change from their natural states. The same can be said about the human animal IMHO. On 4/23/2025 at 7:20 AM, Ferrea said: Paleolithic folks, those infamous meat and berry lovers, probably didn't worry too much about bringing in the harvest or planting seeds at the right time to begin with. They were just running and sniffing around, no matter the season—being subjected to nature rather than turning it into an object to be exploited or outsmarted. Applying this idea to the image of the CSW 5 of Pentacles, it gives me the sentence: feeling or being existentially dependent on something we can't control. Feeling de-based, uprooted. This may also allude to the aspect of a spiritual crisis that can come up with the 5 of Pentacles—a lack of connection when dissecting Mercury is at play. The imagery in the Liber T is almost tortuous. The bull-as-overseer of the laborers' toil doesn't exactly reflect humankind in their natural state, as @Ferrea points out. There is almost something untoward, forced and dystopian about the scene. The overseer here seems to be wrangling, or worrying, the workers into their laborious positions of discomfort. Mercury can enable us to push back against our baser desires, to avoid giving into our simple mammalian survival instinct. Applying Mercury in Taurus is thinking before doing instead of acting our way into thinking. Breaking through survival mode is a hurtle each one of us has approached at some time or another, and this may be one of the interpretations we can glean from this card. A piece of advice we can use here is to maintain a work-life balance.
JoyousGirl Posted April 27 Posted April 27 10 hours ago, fire cat pickles said: What I first noticed in this card is the line of demarcation between the two symbols. Yes indeed. It makes a statement. The tree seems to be a bridge between the two - emerging from the Earth to kiss the sky - Taurus/Earth and Mercury/Air. I am thinking that the bird in the tree (as Air) combines with the Earth (because it is resting on the tree). It reminds me of the bird in the Star card - faith. There's another more prominent bird, though. The demarcation may suggest the bird in flight represents the spirit, with the bull representing Earth. Spirit can penetrate matter, but what about matter penetrating spirit? Even though it came into existence through it. So maybe there's no separation, which is what the bird in the tree says, but thinking creates it. 10 hours ago, fire cat pickles said: both are "tame-able." We are free but allow ourselves to be captured? I was thinking about the yoke Jesus was talking about - that was light. We trap ourselves, perhaps by materiality - Taurus likes luxury. Not sure where I'm going here other than perhaps we have luxury on Earth as it is, what more do we need other than more? 10 hours ago, fire cat pickles said: its wings must be clipped That's a bit rough on the bird, isn't it? What stops us from flying freely? Mercury has winged sandals and wings on his helmet. I'm drawn to the fact that the top of the Mercury symbol is the Taurus symbol (circle with crescent). The Circle is the the eternal mind existing in everything before creation, it encompasses everything and there is no desire or need for anything. The unconscious mind is the crescent, receptive feminine and instincts, creation. The instincts are of the animal, and Mercury is progress, which makes us different to animals. The state of the environment implies that's not necessarily better. But then Taurus is environmentally conscious. When you think of an animal, it does what it does, it doesn't think too much about needing to set something aside for winter, I don't think it has a death anxiety unless it's in the moment being chased by a thing. Like Ferrea said, we used to just be satisfied with enough like the animals - no need to work, a feed of berries one day and if we're lucky on the hunt, a slab of meat the next. We didn't really have to work, it was sport, and educational, and immersive in and respectful of our fellow living beings. The Egyptian tools held by the bull make me think of enslavement - they're the crook and flail - the flail threshes wheat and the crook grabs an animal by its neck. The guys in the field, are they working for themselves? Or to feed the workers that are building the things Pharaoh wants for his own reasons. I don't know if I have a point!
fire cat pickles Posted April 28 Author Posted April 28 On 4/26/2025 at 9:50 PM, JoyousGirl said: There's another more prominent bird, though. The demarcation may suggest the bird in flight represents the spirit, with the bull representing Earth. Spirit can penetrate matter, but what about matter penetrating spirit? Even though it came into existence through it. So maybe there's no separation, which is what the bird in the tree says, but thinking creates it. I think what you are touching on here is the dualism of nature, which is far to deep a subject for discussion here. But just to touch on it--how can we have one (i.e. spirit penetrating matter without it penetrating the other?) I'm not saying it's impossible, don't get me wrong. It's a reframe for for another time! And it's an evocative question! On 4/26/2025 at 9:50 PM, JoyousGirl said: I'm drawn to the fact that the top of the Mercury symbol is the Taurus symbol (circle with crescent). The Circle is the the eternal mind existing in everything before creation, it encompasses everything and there is no desire or need for anything. The unconscious mind is the crescent, receptive feminine and instincts, creation. The instincts are of the animal, and Mercury is progress, which makes us different to animals. The state of the environment implies that's not necessarily better. But then Taurus is environmentally conscious. I think you're onto something here. The crescent is a symbol of desire, the fertile crescent of the Middle East, the horns of Taurus. Zeus transformed himself in a bull to rescue Europa, now memorialized in the constellation Taurus. When we find Moon in Taurus (moon exalted in Taurus) we reconcile, or balance, our wants and needs. On 4/26/2025 at 9:50 PM, JoyousGirl said: When you think of an animal, it does what it does, it doesn't think too much about needing to set something aside for winter, I don't think it has a death anxiety unless it's in the moment being chased by a thing. Like Ferrea said, we used to just be satisfied with enough like the animals - no need to work, a feed of berries one day and if we're lucky on the hunt, a slab of meat the next. We didn't really have to work, it was sport, and educational, and immersive in and respectful of our fellow living beings. Animals prepare for winter as much as we do, and have fight or flight instincts. I'm thinking of bears, squirrels and birds. I believe they have death anxiety, too, just on a different level. There is new research that suggest that some species teach their young and that their young young learn patterns of behavior, such as chimpanzees and apes. We aren't so different from the animals, especially some of the great apes. What separates us is our language. Mercury is the planet of communication. This conversation is taking us into a different realm... Does the disconnect of earthy Taurus interfere with the ability of Mercury to effectively communicate our desires? Are we so caught up in our day to day need for survival that we have forgotten how to enjoy life? On 4/26/2025 at 9:50 PM, JoyousGirl said: The Egyptian tools held by the bull make me think of enslavement - they're the crook and flail - the flail threshes wheat and the crook grabs an animal by its neck. The guys in the field, are they working for themselves? Or to feed the workers that are building the things Pharaoh wants for his own reasons. Maybe this is why they workers toil. Sometimes we get so caught up in our day to day that there is no time for recreation.
fire cat pickles Posted May 13 Author Posted May 13 (edited) 06: Taurus 2 from April 30 - May 9 (6 of Spheres) Catching up here! It was an eventful, if not busy, span of time during this period. This decan certainly reflects the energy implied for Moon in Taurus. My last day full time at my last service was the 29th and my first day was May 3rd. The comforts of material pleasure are inherent in this card, but this comes with a warning: the "approach to perfection ... is transient" according the the Book of Thoth. The figure in the Liber T looks as if he is lording over the characters in the cards below as if to say that success is there, for now. Taurus tends to be immobile, resistant to change. Learning from mistakes is not a fixed Taurean trait. In order to enjoy continued success Taurus must learn to change like the phases of the moon in which he is exalted. This irony is echoed in the OORS. The cornucopia flowers beneath the crescent moon only temporarily. The lesson here is to enjoy the fruits of success in the present, for they may be short-lived. Edited May 25 by fire cat pickles
fire cat pickles Posted May 25 Author Posted May 25 (edited) 07: Taurus 3 from May 10 - May 21 (7 of Spheres) I have been remiss in updating my journal here, a week late and a dollar short! The Book of Thoth gives a terribly dismal interpretation for the 7 of Disks. As I said in the other thread, I am having difficulty putting my thoughts about this last decan into words. The best metaphor I can come up with is that there were too many distractions during this period, as if the crops (beneficial growth or time for self improvement) were ignored. They fell to rot and now I am left to clean up the mess. As the Book of Thoth states, "The four Sevens are not capable of bringing any comfort... there is no effort here..." It seems like I am getting the hang of things at my service; however there is a fine line between "effortlessness" and no "effort at all." At work, we seem to have been stuck in a pattern: A lull during the day and then busy after midnight. Each shift we have had a call at 3 or 4 in the morning and then another one at 7. I don't believe in coincidences and the number seven figured prominently. Getting into a pattern is both a blessing and a curse. It allows us to be well rested, but it isn't pleasant being up all night no matter how you look at it. The litmus test is how I feel after the fact. If I have no satisfaction that I have done well (i.e. "no comfort") then I actually have not put in any effort. The influence of Saturn tends to make things worse, the "enfeebling effect." I think we'd call it "kneecapping" or "burnout" in modern lexicon. I haven't reached this stage, but Saturn in its heaviness certainly has had its turn during this cycle! The keyword for this card is Failure; but diving more deeply; it seems as if its overall sentiment is "working to the point of failure." There is less a concept of not achieving something at all, and more the act of overachieving without gaining noticeable success, or of getting nowhere fast. With OORS we have Ostentation. This is "wasteful spending" in order to impress others. One can easily do this with one's energy as well. Spinning my wheels because I'm trying to hard to succeed is just as silly as spending money to impress others. Edited May 25 by fire cat pickles
FindYourSovereignty Posted May 26 Posted May 26 On 5/25/2025 at 11:39 AM, fire cat pickles said: The best metaphor I can come up with is that there were too many distractions during this period, as if the crops (beneficial growth or time for self improvement) were ignored. They fell to rot and now I am left to clean up the mess. I relate to this metaphor. On 5/25/2025 at 11:39 AM, fire cat pickles said: The keyword for this card is Failure; but diving more deeply; it seems as if its overall sentiment is "working to the point of failure." There is less a concept of not achieving something at all, and more the act of overachieving without gaining noticeable success, or of getting nowhere fast. With OORS we have Ostentation. This is "wasteful spending" in order to impress others. One can easily do this with one's energy as well. Spinning my wheels because I'm trying to hard to succeed is just as silly as spending money to impress others. Thank you for posting this.
Bodhiseed Posted June 10 Posted June 10 On 5/25/2025 at 11:39 AM, fire cat pickles said: The influence of Saturn tends to make things worse, the "enfeebling effect." This is a great description!
fire cat pickles Posted June 10 Author Posted June 10 4 minutes ago, Bodhiseed said: This is a great description! I wish it were mine---it's from the Book of Thoth 😉
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