Aleister Crowley Thoth

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Aug 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Dee 04	09 Aug 2001
Hello: I will be getting the Thoth deck soon. I was just wondering what others' experiences with this deck have been. Thanks!!!

raeanne	10 Aug 2001
The Thoth deck is, well, intense! I strongly recommend that you get a book that explains the symbolism for this deck. Unless you have a good background in Kabala (however you want to spell it), astrology, Egyptian mythology, and all the other stuff Crowley poured into this deck, you might miss a lot. "The Book of Thoth" is Crowley’s own book that explains this deck. Another book, "The Crowley Tarot: The Handbook to the Cards" by Akron, Banzhaf, Grimm, and Crowley is also good. Ask lots of questions and enjoy the journey! Raeanne

Kiama	10 Aug 2001
I like the look of the cards in theis deck: Not traditional. Quite nice. However, I don't agree very much with Crowley's interpretations of the cards or the Tarot itself. I think he makes the Tarot seem to 'occult' and 'dark'... But I am thinking about getting the deck and book to add to my collection. Who is the publisher? Kiama

nexyjo	10 Aug 2001
i have to agree with raeanne. the first time i looked through the thoth deck, i actually thought it started to feel hot in my hands. the images are intense, quite so in fact. i've since put it back on my shelf, and haven't touched it. don't get me wrong, i really liked it. but it was, well, way too over-powering for me to use. luv and light, nexy

Dee 04	11 Aug 2001
Yeah - I had heard this before. I have seen the deck before at a metaphysical store and I love the art. It really is great. Kiama: I dont not know who the publisher is - sorry. I can find out and get back to you on that. Nexy-Jo: What do you mena by too over-powering? (Just Curious)

raeanne	11 Aug 2001
The publisher is U.S. Games.

nexyjo	11 Aug 2001
Quote: Dee (12 Aug, 2001 02:21): Nexy-Jo: What do you mena by too over-powering? (Just Curious) by overpowering, i mean that the images were so intense, that my thoughts ran away with themselves, and i found that i could not really concentrate on doing any tarot work with them. as art, the cards are incredable. but the pictures inspire way too many feelings and thoughts for me to process in the context of a tarot reading. frankly, the deck scared me a little. like i said, it started getting hot in my hands, and that kinda freaked me out. i'm not saying there was any magick going on or spirits or foul play, maybe i was just so over powered, my hands started sweating. be that as it may, i haven't used the deck since that incident... luv and light, nexy

Maan	11 Aug 2001
Kiama, AGM Agmuller also published the Toth tarot. personally i like that version better. The colours are a little different. Maan

ericadoe	11 Aug 2001
but the pictures inspire way too many feelings and thoughts for me to process in the context of a tarot reading. I agree with nexyjo - the artwork, while beautiful, is very overwhelming. A friend of mine uses only the Thoth deck and his readings are always very intense. It is a hard deck to use if you don't have some background into Crowley's thinking - and a lot of people don't want to go there.

Cindy	11 Aug 2001
I was intriqued with the Thoth deck for years but had always put off buying it because I had felt it was too involved and above me or my experience. Then about 2 years ago I felt the unexplainable urge to purchase them. It was one of the best Tarot purchases I've ever made! Believe it or not to me they were very user friendly. I had followed up with some books specifically on Thoth but that was more or less for my own curiousity. I think most people know when they are ready to come to this deck. My 'base' deck has been Spiral for the same amount of years, purchased a month before Thoth. Thoth is my favorite alternitive deck. Whenever I get stuck in a rut and or reading I follow up with Thoth, the insights are amazing! Cindy ~

Kiama	12 Aug 2001
Thanks for the publiher info, guys... I may be venturing into a nearby bookstore and buying this deck. I'm very intirgued, esp. by what Nexy Jo experienced when holding the deck. I wanna see how it affects me. I also think Crowley has alot to offer, if it is a bit way out on a limb... Kiama

truthsayer	12 Aug 2001
i used the thoth deck and rws only for 10 years w/o a prob. then i was introduced to the internet and eventually found tarot sites. on those sites, ppl talked about how evil crowley was, how difficult the thoth is to read, how you need to know kabalah, etc. the next time i tried to use them, i felt too intimidated to use them! in the past, i went by numerology, astrology, and imagery. i skimmed the book of thoth but thought it was boring. the cards were incredibly beautiful and that's all i needed to inspire me to read them until i found out all the reasons i shouldn't read them! :D imho, the intent of the thoth is in the user. aleister crowley is dead and w/ him any evil influence on the cards. they are what the reader makes them. i put the cards away about 2 years ago. i think i will try to read w/ them again soon. i really did love them and they gave good readings. i don't remember that they were any more or less intense than my rws. in my mind at the time, they were simply beautiful cards that i enjoyed reading and admiring. what changed my naive relationship w/ the thoth was exposure to the opinions of others. so i think it may be time to reclaim my relationship w/ the thoth. 8-)

Kiama	13 Aug 2001
Crowley is quite misunderstood I think. Poor man... He was a friend of Sybil Leek's when she was quite young, and started out as a normal occultist. His intentions were not to be evil. However, as he grew in age, he became 'bored,' for want of a better word, and started researching into the darker things in life and the occult. But I don't think he was ever in any way evil. I don't believe that a mortal human being can be classed as something so hideous! We are only human! We cannot possibly have such an efect on people and the world that the word 'evil' can rightly be used to describe us. Okay, so Crowley called himself Master Therion, and The Beast, and claimed his number to be 666. (He really kinda coined the idea of 666 being the devi's number, taking a single line out of teh book of Revelation and playing on it), but that was to shock and to be different. He knew what he was doing, and his purpose behind it was probably to gain a wider eradership or infamy. Who knows? I think that anything written by or created by Crowley would probably make good reading. I definitely refuse to think that his 'energies' associated with the deck or a writing are still there. Maybe the energies people are feeling around the deck are just cuz the imagery is so intese. And many people before on this topic have said that. BTW: Anyone read the Book of The Law? I'm interested. I've seen it around, and considered buying it, but it looks like a load of bumph. (Well, so much for my theory on his writings making good reading!) :( Anyway, just thought I'd stick my oar in there. Kiama

Cindy	13 Aug 2001
I believe there are evil people in the world. I don't believe Crowley was one of them. Demented, maybe, mad, touched, full of himself.... but what is evil? Flipping through pieces of writings on his life and childhood, one could conclude he would most likely grow up with some dysfuntions. Crowley was an amazingly intelligent man. I feel it was ashame he didn't direct that in a more positive manner. Evil to me would be the sensless drive by shooters, the parents who drown their own children. Crowley doesn't even begin to scratch that surface to my knowledge. In reference to his tarot deck... He was the master mind behind the design, true, but it was Lady Harris that poured her soul into the final work. The emotions they envoke and the insight that they bring I contribute to 'her' keen eye and artistic creativity. I would often ask myself who is the true master mind of this deck? The designer or the artist? Just my thoughts. Cindy ~

truthsayer	13 Aug 2001
it pleases me to hear positive feedback on crowley at last. the guy has an amazingly bad rep not to be a mass murderer. in my mind i put him in a similar box as oscar wilde b/c they both gained attention by the shock value of their behavior. i do agree about the art being the genius of lady freida harris. he may have come up w/ the concepts but the success of a deck so often depends on the skill of the artist. maybe the intensity of the deck has never affected me b/c i tend to be an intense person and we cancelled each other's intensity out. ;)

The Aleister Crowley Thoth thread was originally posted on 09 Aug 2001 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.