What are the divination meaning differences between the Thoth Tarot and the RWS?

[Ix Chel]

I have spent a lot of time with my RWS deck. And I am now at a point to look more to the Crowley deck. But I am wondering, what are the differences in divination meaning from the cards? Some cards have a different name. But I have the feeling that they are similar in meaning. Is my opinion and feeling correct? Thanks.

 

[Page of Ghosts]

Well, I am a Thoth newbie but quite a few of the cards are similar since both Waite, Pixie and Crowley were in the Golden Dawn. But there are a lot differences too like the kabbalistic stuff that I think comes across more in the Thoth, like how the Aces are the ultimate expression of their suit since they are the number 1, which is the monad and closer to god/creation. The tens are very low on the tree of life and furthest away from god/creation. They're still the fullfillment of the suit in some way, following the progression on the tree of life, but I don't think in the same way that we think the 10 of cups or pentacles is awesome in the RWS. It's been a while since I read the book I got for it though and I didn't take any notes  :-[ There's also a lot of astrology in the minors that explains why the cards mean what they mean. I think it's mostly in the minors the differences shows through as many of the Majors are very similar or the same to me, the newb. Maybe someone more adept has a different idea than me, heh. One thing I really like about the Thoth is how the Majors seem very big and otherworldly  ;D

 

Thoth is kind of it's own thing and I appreciate it for that, when I read about it a lot made sense and it's very well thought out with all the correspondances. You can delve deep into that if you'd like to but I think you could also start using it out of the box. Personally I like reading about this stuff even if it's a little bit advanced for me, but I really don't think you'll have to do a lot of studying before you use it. I don't know how much of the esoteric stuff you'll see right away but I suggest being open to the differences in the Thoth. Maybe you can sort out those cards you think are very similar to the RWS and those you think are different?

[Trogon]

I have spent a lot of time with my RWS deck. And I am now at a point to look more to the Crowley deck. But I am wondering, what are the differences in divination meaning from the cards? Some cards have a different name. But I have the feeling that they are similar in meaning. Is my opinion and feeling correct? Thanks.

 

I think to a fair extent, the RWS and Thoth have more similarities than differences. As Page of Ghosts said, both Crowley and Waite were members of the GD and so the roots of each deck are very close. I have both decks, and many other decks which are based on one or the other. And for doing readings, I find there is little difference. Again, as Page of Ghosts mentions, the bigger differences are in some of the Minors. Thumbing through the Thoth, one that leapt out at me as an example is the 6 of Swords; In the RWS, we're used to the image of the people in the boat, moving from an area of troubled water to calmer waters. However, the Thoth (and remember, the Minors do not have scenic illustrations) has the keyword of "Science". But if one keeps in mind that the suit of Swords is about the mind, and one thinks of using critical (scientific) thinking to rationalize troubled/turbulent thinking, you can see the connection ... sort of. But there are certainly differences.

 

I do love both decks, but the Thoth is one that has taken me a bit more study. I do have to say that it is worth the effort and time. If one studies the Thoth and RWS together, one will be able to find the similarities as well as the differences and be able to work with both. The Thoth does have the keywords on the Minors and that does help with both study and in readings. But even with keywords, the lack of illustration on the Minors was probably what I struggled with the most.

 

If you are considering, or already have the Thoth Tarot and want to study it along side the RWS, I would suggest the Comparative Tarot study group. We are comparing several different decks, card-by-card and the starting point is the 3 main systems of RWS, Thoth and TdM. At this point, we're still in the Majors, bit it gives a good look at both decks. (I have, alas, fallen behind on this one a little bit, but I'm getting ready to get back into it.)

 

Hope this has helped some.