Posts Tagged ‘aleister crowley tarot’

A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians, Equinox Volume III, No. V
This book describes the philosophy and the use of Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, a deck of Tarot cards designed by Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris. A classic in the field, and used by students of the Golden Dawn, as well as by those who want to understand Crowley’s tarot. This is the definitive study of the Egyptian tarot and is used as a key to all Western mystery traditions.
The Thoth Tarot has become one of the best-selling and most popular Tarot Decks in the world.

From the editor:
The Tarot is a pictorial representation of the Forces of Nature as conceived by the Ancients according to a conventional symbolism. At first sight one would suppose this arrangement to be arbitrary, but it is not. It is necessitated by the structure of the universe, and in particular of the Solar System, as symbolized by the Holy Qabalah.
- Aleister Crowley

This book was originally published in a limited edition of 200 numbered and signed copies in 1944. In part one, we find the Origin on the Tarot; The Theory of the Correspondences of the Tarot, The Evidence for the Initiated Tradition of the Tarot; Eliphaz Levi and the Tarot; The Tarot in the Cipher Manuscripts; The Tarot and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; The Nature of the Evidence; Summary of the Questions Hitherto Discussed; The Tarot and the Holy Qabalah; The Naples Arrangement; The Tarot and the Formula of the Tetragrammaton, The Tarot and the Elements; The Twenty-two Keys, Atu, or Trumps of the Tarot; The Tarot and the Universe; Theories of the Ancients; The Tree of Life; The Naples Arrangement; The Tarot and the Tree of Life; The Atu of Tahuti; The Roman Numbers of the Trumps; The Tarot and Magick; The Shemhamphorasch and the Tarot; The Tarot and Ceremonial Magick; The Tarot and Animism; The Cards of the Tarot as Living Beings.

The Thoth Tarot Deck (or “Crowley Deck” as it is more widely known) is one of the most popular decks in current use- It is also one of the most original interpretations of the tarot, incorporating astrological, numerological, and Qabalistic symbolism. While there are many other useful-guides to this famous tarot deck, there are no others which explain the deck in its creator’s own words. The Book of Thoth has been used for many years by students of the occult for study of the tarot and as a -key to all Western mystery traditions. As such, this book is on the short list of must-have textbooks for modern students of the tarot and esoteric studies.

The Thoth Tarot codifies a wealth of wisdom and traditional lore in a suite of 78 miniature paintings of deceptive simplicity. While the Thoth Tarot Deck is today the subject of numerous books, there is no replacement for the designer’s own thoughts on the cards, and their underlying esoteric philosophy. The Book of Thoth is an indispensable companion to the deck, and the most authoritative and reliable guide to the Tarot in the New Aeon.
-Hymenaeus Beta, Frater Superior, O.T.O.
MASTER THERION (Aleister Crowley)

The Book of Thoth

Excerpts & Reviews
- The Twenty-Two Keys, ATU, or Trumps Of The Tarot
- The Naples Arrangement

by David Cherubim

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

The Devil of Tarot not only represents the darker elements, limitations and illusions of mankind, but beyond the Veil of Appearances, the Devil represents a much higher principle, being that the Devil also symbolizes Pan – the All – and Baphomet, who is both Male and Female, Two in One, uniting all things, integrating all parts of the Self.

In Magick, the Devil is a door to a Great and Eternal Mystery, which can only be understood by fearlessly passing through the door and entering into the Temple of the Unconscious. One Mystery of the Devil Atu of Tarot is, in fact, that there is more than meets the eye, and that we must look beyond the Veil of Appearances to Understand the True Nature of a Thing. The Devil Atu also informs us that the only real enemy is the self. But again, there is a much higher and more spiritual interpretation of the Devil, not as the false image of the self, but as the Integration of All. The Devil of Christianity is a perverted form of Pan, the All. Pan represents both the human and the animal united into One, symbolizing a perfect balance between Nature and Humanity.

The Devil represents the Unconscious Self for various reasons. The Devil can signify one’s unconscious fears, limitations, and the unknown and hidden elements of the Psyche. Or it can signify one’s Animal Self, which these days is very unconscious in its basic and pure form, but which must be accepted and integrated. Or, on a much higher level of thinking, the Devil, as Pan, can represent the Secret Self, or the True Self, the Spirit of the Middle Way and the Perfect Balance of All Things.

The Hebrew letter that corresponds with the Devil Atu of Tarot is Ayin, the Eye, which has two fundamental implications: As the Human Eye, it represents the limiting of consciousness to outside appearances or external conditions, which is ignorance. As the Third Eye, it represents the expansion of consciousness beyond the veil of the external into the interior World of Understanding. It has a double meaning, as does the Devil. The same applies to the inverted Pentagram, which is often only seen as a symbol of negativity, but in actual fact it conveys the formula of initiation itself.

The Devil is the Shadow Self, which is another term for the unconscious self or personal unconscious. It is the Natural or Instinctive Self, the Primitive and Animal Part of our natures, and pertains to all that we do not want to know or accept about ourselves due to the false beliefs and imprints of our society and a general fear of the unknown. It is called the shadow since it relates to the image that is cast upon the screen of life when the Light of Divinity illuminates the self. When the light emerges into consciousness, via the works of initiation of whatever kind, the shadow self appears and must be accepted, integrated and ultimately transcended, so that true equilibrium may be attained in the soul of the initiate. Without accepting our shadow self, we remain imbalanced. And Balance is the basis and the end of the Great Work!

Love is the law, love under will.

Copyright © David Cherubim. 1998 e.v. All rights reserved.

The Thoth Spread

Card 1: Represents the client and the nature of the question. It also represents the primary influences upon the situation.

A court card in this position refers to a dominant individual, influence, or personality trait affecting the situation.

Cards 2 and 3: Read this combination with reference to Card 1. All three cards are keys to describing the nature of the situation and the personality of the individual.
Cards 13, 9, 5 and 4, 8, 12: These two sets of cards indicate potential futures.

If the two sets compliment each other, the cards on the upper left are a development of the cards on the upper right.
If the two sets are in conflict, the cards on the Lipper right are the direction the individual will naturally follow. The cards on the upper left represent actions that could change the natural direction.

Cards 6, 10, 14: This set indicates the psychological basis of the issue.
Cards 7, 11, 15: This set shows the operation of forces beyond the individual’s control (destiny or karma), and how he can adapt to them. They are personal advisory cards.

NOTES

Princes and Queens often indicate actual men and women connected with the matter.

Knights mean the coming or going of a matter in accordance with the direction the Knight faces.

Princesses show ideas, thoughts, or opinions related to the subject.

LOOK FOR A MAJORITY OF CARDS IN ONE SUIT

A majority of Wands indicates great energy, quarreling, or opposition.

A majority of Cups indicates love, emotions, and pleasure, or intoxication.

A majority of Swords indicates either intellectual matters or sickness, depression, trouble, and death.

A majority of Pentacles indicates general business matters in general, possessions, and material success or failure.

A majority of Trumps indicates higher forces at work, therefore, the individual is not fully in control of the situation. This majority is a strong indicator of spiritual or karmic matters.

A majority of Court Cards indicates meetings, society and many people surrounding the individual or situation.

Source: tryskelion.com

With thy right Eye create all for thyself,
and with the left accept all that be created otherwise.

• Thoth
• Rider-Waite

Rider-Waite

The Devil

The design is an accommodation, mean or harmony, between several motives mentioned in the first part. The Horned Goat of Mendes, with wings like those of a bat, is standing on an altar. At the pit of the stomach there is the sign of Mercury. The right hand is upraised and extended, being the reverse of that benediction which is given by the Hierophant in the fifth card. In the left hand there is a great flaming torch, inverted towards the earth. A reversed pentagram is on the forehead. There is a ring in front of the altar, from which two chains are carried to the necks of two figures, male and female. These are analogous with those of the fifth card, as if Adam and Eve after the Fall. Hereof is the chain and fatality of the material life.

The figures are tailed, to signify the animal nature, but there is human intelligence in the faces, and he who is exalted above them is not to be their master for ever. Even now, he is also a bondsman, sustained by the evil that is in him and blind to the liberty of service. With more than his usual derision for the arts which he pretended to respect and interpret as a master therein, Éliphas Lévi affirms that the Baphometic figure is occult science and magic. Another commentator says that in the Divine world it signifies predestination, but there is no correspondence in that world with the things which below are of the brute. What it does signify is the Dweller on the Threshold without the Mystical Garden when those are driven forth therefrom who have eaten the forbidden fruit.

(*from the Major Arcana of the Rider-Waite tarot from the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, by A. E. Waite)

<< Thoth

Superb reproduction of the famous Crowley Thoth Tarot cards based upon original paintings by Lady Frieda Harris. Each oversize card measures 3 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ and is reproduced in full color. Includes instruction booklet.

The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley, contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowley’s “The Book Of Thoth” .

History of the Thoth Tarot
Crowley originally intended the Thoth deck to be a three-month project aimed at updating the traditional pictorial symbolism, perhaps best demonstrated by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck; however, it was to span five years, between 1938 and 1943, as the scope of the project grew ever wider. Crowley and Harris were meticulous in their work; Harris painted some cards as many as eight times. The current printing of the deck actually includes two alternate illustrations of The Magus, each making use of markedly different style and symbols. Unfortunately, neither Harris nor Crowley lived to see the deck published; a follower of Crowley undertook the work of publication in 1969. This initial printing was of markedly inferior quality, and in 1977 Harris’ paintings were rephotographed for a second edition; the current edition is based on a further update that took place in 1986.

References:
Wasserman, James. Instructions for Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot Deck (included in the U.S. Games Systems publication of the deck).
Duquette, Lon Milo. Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot.