View Full Version : Trump Poems
BodhiSeed
21-04-2010, 11:18
Forgive me if this has been posted elsewhere (I did try to do a search:)), but is there a thread that discusses each of the "poems" for the Thoth trumps?
As an example, here is the Fool's:
Know naught!
All ways are lawful to innocence.
Pure folly is the key to initiation.
Silence breaks into rapture.
Be neither man nor woman, but both in one.
Be silent, babe in the egg of blue, that thou mayest grow to bear the lance and the graal!
Wander alone, and sing! In the King's Palace his daughter awaits thee.
Always Wondering
21-04-2010, 13:38
These are my favorite. :heart:
Some of them are scattered in study posts, but they are not in one place here.
They are from The Book of Thoth, starting on page #126 here. . .
http://www.tarot.org.il/Library/Crowley/Book%20of%20Thoth.pdf
There has been no discusions on them per say that I know of.
AW
The little poems were not written specifically for the Thoth Tarot deck. They were written by Crowley many years earlier. They were first published in 1925 in the German edition of a book called, The Heart of the Master.
In 1938 the OTO published the first English edition of the book.*
http://hermetic.com/crowley/heart-of-the-master.pdf
(* The 1992 edition is illustrated with the Thoth Majors.)
I'm not certain when Crowley wrote the poems. But it's a safe bet that they were written a good 20 years or more before the existence of the Thoth.
BodhiSeed
21-04-2010, 20:03
Thank you very much, Always Wondering and Aeon418, for the information and the links you posted!
Always Wondering
22-04-2010, 02:04
I'm not certain when Crowley wrote the poems. But it's a safe bet that they were written a good 20 years or more before the existence of the Thoth.
I had no clue. Looks like I am going to have to break down and read one of those biographies. :eek:
Thanks.
AW
The little poems were not written specifically for the Thoth Tarot deck. They were written by Crowley many years earlier. They were first published in 1925 in the German edition of a book called, The Heart of the Master.
In 1938 the OTO published the first English edition of the book.*
http://hermetic.com/crowley/heart-of-the-master.pdf
(* The 1992 edition is illustrated with the Thoth Majors.)
I'm not certain when Crowley wrote the poems. But it's a safe bet that they were written a good 20 years or more before the existence of the Thoth.
That's really interesting, Thanks!
I'd always liked them but never knew anything about them.
Just assumed they were written for the book!
I had no clue. Looks like I am going to have to break down and read one of those biographies.
If you want my advice, wait a couple of months and get this one. :)
http://www.amazon.com/Perdurabo-Revised-Expanded-Aleister-Crowley/dp/1556438990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271876013&sr=1-1
It's due for release on August 10th.
Just assumed they were written for the book!
I think a fair bit of material wasn't written specifically for the book. And I suspect that's where the controversy causing inconsistencies crept in.
Ross G Caldwell
22-04-2010, 05:12
If you want my advice, wait a couple of months and get this one. :)
http://www.amazon.com/Perdurabo-Revised-Expanded-Aleister-Crowley/dp/1556438990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271876013&sr=1-1
It's due for release on August 10th.
Thanks for the heads-up Aeon. I'm glad Kaczynski's coming back with a new edition! Its reputation has it as the best biography.
Placed my order already.
Its reputation has it as the best biography.
I would agree with that. I was one of the lucky 3000 that bagged a copy of the first edition. :D Hopefully this time the print run will be more substantial.
There's something ironic about the publication of Kaczynski's book. Why has Kaczynski had such a hard time getting a big publisher to take it on? It may sound cynical, but the publishing houses know what sells to a public fed on a steady diet of sensationalism, scandal, and gossip. A well researched biography won't appeal to that kind of ma$$ audience. :rolleyes:
Always Wondering
23-04-2010, 04:49
The Heart of the Master.
This feels like the birth of Thelema, which was what I always thought was the Book of Law. Now I'm confused again, but that's okay. ;)
Did Crowley ever comment on this work?
Was there any records (date) of his visit to Sidi Bou Said?
I didn't know Confessions was online, but so far that hasn't shed any light on this. I will take your most welcome advice and preorder Perdurabo.
AW
This feels like the birth of Thelema, which was what I always thought was the Book of Law. Now I'm confused again, but that's okay. ;)
I suppose you could call it the birth of To Mega Therion. During the period that he wrote The Heart of the Master, Crowley became actively engaged in promoting himself and Thelema. In 1904 he had the role of "prophet" thrust upon him. But it took another 20 years for him to grow into this role.
Also at this time Crowley was involved in a lot of "out-reach" to various organisations. The Heart of Master was part of this. As I mentioned before, it was first published in German. Not surprisingly Crowley was vying for the leadership of the of the German based OTO.
He also tried to ingratiate himself with the Theosphical society, but this met with failure when Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater chose Jiddu Krishnamurti as their "world teacher". And the rest is history.
Did Crowley ever comment on this work?
Was there any records (date) of his visit to Sidi Bou Said?
I don't believe Crowley ever commented on it. Even though it is something of a visionary work, it was still placed in Class B and was edited before publication.
Crowley was in Sidi Bou Said between March 5th and April 5th, 1925. He doesn't say much about what happened there beyond this short entry in his diary.
At night went into Trance, & beheld the Vision called The Heart of the Master. At one moment I nearly fainted: & just then Brother Bar-On saw physically in the courtyard an inverted cone of blue light.I didn't know Confessions was online, but so far that hasn't shed any light on this.
Yes, it wouldn't. The Confessions only goes as far as 1923.
Always Wondering
24-04-2010, 07:35
I suppose you could call it the birth of To Mega Therion. During the period that he wrote The Heart of the Master, Crowley became actively engaged in promoting himself and Thelema. In 1904 he had the role of "prophet" thrust upon him. But it took another 20 years for him to grow into this role.
Ah, I hadn't realized this.
Also at this time Crowley was involved in a lot of "out-reach" to various organisations. The Heart of Master was part of this. As I mentioned before, it was first published in German. Not surprisingly Crowley was vying for the leadership of the of the German based OTO.
He also tried to ingratiate himself with the Theosphical society, but this met with failure when Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater chose Jiddu Krishnamurti as their "world teacher". And the rest is history.
I have been learning about the Theosphical society and reading a little Steiner, I didn't know Crowley was intrested, but it doesn't surprise me.
I don't believe Crowley ever commented on it. Even though it is something of a visionary work, it was still placed in Class B and was edited before publication.
Crowley was in Sidi Bou Said between March 5th and April 5th, 1925. He doesn't say much about what happened there beyond this short entry in his diary.
It all makes more sense to me now.
Yes, it wouldn't. The Confessions only goes as far as 1923.
:lightbulb I probably should have looked into that first. :|
Thank-you
AW
Professor X
25-04-2010, 01:50
These are my favorite. :heart:
Some of them are scattered in study posts, but they are not in one place here.
They are from The Book of Thoth, starting on page #126 here. . .
http://www.tarot.org.il/Library/Crowley/Book%20of%20Thoth.pdf
There has been no discusions on them per say that I know of.
AW
Is this the entire Book of Thoth on the link posted here?
Always Wondering
25-04-2010, 02:31
Is this the entire Book of Thoth on the link posted here?
Actually now that you mention it I notice it is lacking the table of contents, illustrations and appendix B.
https://www.dmt-nexus.com/Files/Books/General/Aleister%20Crowley%20-%20The%20book%20of%20Thoth.pdf
Here is a link to one that is more complete. And I like that it notes the original page numbers.
AW
Professor X
26-04-2010, 03:29
Actually now that you mention it I notice it is lacking the table of contents, illustrations and appendix B.
https://www.dmt-nexus.com/Files/Books/General/Aleister%20Crowley%20-%20The%20book%20of%20Thoth.pdf
Here is a link to one that is more complete. And I like that it notes the original page numbers.
AW
Thank you. :)
BodhiSeed
28-04-2010, 12:22
Can someone tell me what he meant in this part of the Fool's poem:
"Be silent, babe in the egg of blue, that thou mayest grow to bear the lance and the graal!
Wander alone, and sing! In the King's Palace his daughter awaits thee."
Always Wondering
29-04-2010, 02:25
This is why I love these poems. They are tiny capsules of huge ideas, I think especially, in regards to The Fool. When I find myself drowning in a sea of information in regards to a card I read the corresponding poem it settles my thoughts.
Crowley wrote on Silence and the Fool in Little Essays Toward the Truth http://hermetic.com/crowley/little-essays-towards-truth/silence.html
When we inquire more closely into His symbolism, the first quality which engages our attention is doubtless His innocence. Not without deep wisdom is He called the twin of Horus; and this is the Aeon of Horus: it is He who sent forth Aiwass His minister to proclaim its advent. The Fourth Power of the Sphinx is Silence; to us then who aspire to this power as the crown of our Work, it will be of utmost value to attain His innocence in all its fullness. We must understand first of all that the root of Moral Responsibility, on which Man stupidly prides himself as distinguishing him from the other animals, is Restriction, which is the Word of Sin. Indeed, there is truth in the Hebrew fable, that the knowledge of Good and Evil brings forth Death. To regain Innocence is to regain Eden. We must learn to live without the murderous consciousness that every breath we draw swells the sails which bear our frail vessels to the Port of the Grave. We must cast our Fear by Love; seeing that Every Act is an Orgasm, their total issue cannot be but Birth. Also, Love is the law: thus every act must be Righteousness and Truth. By certain Meditations this may be understood and established; and this ought to be done so thoroughly that we become unconscious of our Sanctification, for only then is Innocence made perfect. This state is, in fact, a necessary condition of any proper contemplation of what we are accustomed to consider the first task of the Aspirant, the solution of the question, "What is my True Will?" For until we become innocent, we are certain to try to judge our Will by some Canon of what seems `right' or `wrong'; in other words, we are apt to criticise our Will from the outside, whereas True Will should spring, a fountain of Light, from within, and flow unchecked, seething with Love, into the Ocean of Life.
The egg of blue, I have seen referenced to the Orphic egg. Crowley calls it Akasha, "the black egg of the element of spirit" and also "the original egg in the biological sense."
The Kings palace and his daughter, Crowley says, is a referral to the formula of tetragrammaton.
This is only a small start of Qabalahistic aspects I am still trying to wrap my head around. Lon Milo Duquette (in the Chicken Qabalah) says,
Ultimately, the Fool is the only real Tarot card. In essence, all the other cards live inside the Fool- just like you and me and all the other components of creation live inside in inscrutable consciousness of Deity.
This helped to give me an idea of the scope of the Fool.
Scion has posted some great stuff on the Orphic egg. Aeon418 on 0=2, having to do with Tetragrammation which I found very helpful.
AW
BodhiSeed
29-04-2010, 10:31
Thank you Always Wondering for the information and for giving me some new avenues to pursue!:heart:
Always Wondering
04-11-2010, 05:09
Be neither man nor woman, but both in one.
What does this mean?
AW
Fixed gender, as we normally understand it, only exists on the physical level of Malkuth. Nature has to make a choice one way or the other. But at all other levels gender is far more fluid and malleable. In fact we are all potentially androgynous on these levels, but men and women tend to be more developed in some areas than others.
In general men tend to lean towards the thought/form oriented sephira, Hod. And women tend to lean towards the feelings oriented sephira, Netzach. But both genders have the potential to develop the opposite principle within themselves and thus achieve balance. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Take a look at the path between Hod and Netzach and consider why Crowley was going to call this path's card, War.
I am a god of War..... ;)
Always Wondering
04-11-2010, 07:29
Oh.
Break down the fortress of thy Indivdual Self, that thy Truth may spring free from the ruins.
This explains why I pulled the Tower over this question. I wasn't getting it. Thank-you.
AW
Kenshin Gordon
20-11-2010, 19:26
In a general sense the right and the left Pillar are in a sense opposites since they distinguish the ego/self from other entities and the middle pillar comes to set things mild and balance them out. That's what I just thought anyway.
In a general sense the right and the left Pillar are in a sense opposites since they distinguish the ego/self from other entities and the middle pillar comes to set things mild and balance them out. That's what I just thought anyway.
Could you explain this a little more please Kenshin? I'm not following your connection between the ego and the pillars :)
Kenshin Gordon
29-11-2010, 06:39
My bad, the post sucked. I mean That while the left Pillar is the pillar of Mercy(indicating your ability to sympathise, show mercy and generally indicates your feelings towards everything outside of yourself) while the right one, the pillar of Severity introduces your personal power, intellect, personal goals and egoism. In the middle Pillar though there seems to be the metre, the exact point where those two coexist.
Ah thanks, I like that idea :)
Kenshin Gordon
29-11-2010, 19:45
For further reference, go to the "Triple Arrangments of the planets" table p. 43 and 44 of 777.