Crowley's Thoth Deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Dark_angel	27 Oct 2004
When my friend came back from travelling, I was expecting his present to me to be a boomerang, or some sweets... not a tarot deck! (He'd found it on his journeys and thought it would be perfect for me). It's a Thoth deck, from the early seventies, from the LWB it seems to be quite an early edition, would that be a reasonable assumption? (I've never even seen a Thoth deck before). I feel a very strong connection to this deck, like it was meant to be with me at this time, but at the same time, I'm feeling quite intimidated by its complexity - it has a completely new feeling to it, and I don't even know where to begin studying to do it justice. Could anyone recommend a source to use to help? Luv, Fi. xxx

Moonbow*	27 Oct 2004
Hi Fi I was in this same boat a couple of months ago, and I started with a Daily Thoth card (in Your Readings) it was a great insight to the deck for me. Especially when you can see what others write about the same cards. There is an on-line Book of Thoth which is a very good source but I approached the deck by lookiing hard into the artwork and using my own thoughts. I thinks it's probably one of the best decks for doing this. Everything in these cards is there for a reason. You may like to have a looks at Yaboots Ya and Boot readings too. I hope you enjoy this deck as much as I do.

CreativeFire	27 Oct 2004
Hi Dark_angel Moonbow* has already mentioned the thread 'Daily Thoth' which you can find here http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29983. I am having a bit of a rest from the Thoth myself at the moment but like to read the posts from this daily thread as well when I get the chance. Also here is the thread for the study group in the Thoth Forum: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27324 , which has gone a little quite of late but you may like to add your thoughts as you start working with the deck and get us all motivated again ;) Hope you enjoy your new deck. CF

fyreflye	27 Oct 2004
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Lee	27 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by fyreflye I tend to get really annoyed when someone suggests that you learn this deck by "intuiting" the images (sorry, Moonbow :() This deck is the result of five years' work by Crowley and Harris, and a lifetime of prior study by Crowley, and needs to be approached more like a Gothic cathedral than like the puny commercial ripoffs that pass as tarot decks these days. He's combined the alchemical, astrological, Qabalistic and Enochian symbolisms inherited from the Golden Dawn together with his own drug-induced visionary twists and brought them to life in images produced by a first-class artist, not a cartoonist. The Thoth deck is a complete system of interpretation that depends on a network of built in symbols and is not meant for a reader who projects her own fantasies into the artwork - though Harris' artwork brilliantly illuminates those symbols. Some readers read best intuitively, and some decks are best read that way. But not this deck. To each their own. :) Also, the wonderful thing about tarot decks is we can interpret them any way we want to. It's up to us! -- Lee

fyreflye	27 Oct 2004
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Lee	27 Oct 2004
Well, here's what I do. I read lots of different things, and I take from them what's valuable to me and leave the rest. Over time, of course, what's valuable to me may change. At the same time, I look at the cards themselves and see what they have to teach me. This also may change over time. Regardless, each of these sources teaches me things I didn't already know. The most important thing, for me, is to keep an open mind. Just because a deck was created 40 years ago, or 400 years go, doesn't necessarily mean it's better than a deck created last year or last month. In fact, some people might say that to refuse to look at new decks with an open mind is itself lazy and self-centered. And isn't it a bit self-centered to say that people who do things differently than you do are lazy and self-centered? Some people like to think that tarot development ended at a certain point and everything after that is garbage. You certainly have a right, fyreflye, to believe that if you want. Just keep in mind that there are other people who feel the same way as you do, except the deck that they think is the be-all and end-all may be a different deck than the one you like, or from a different time period. Also, fyreflye, you can believe, if you like, that deck designers are pandering to lazy, self-centered readers. I think this is a rather sweeping indictment. I'm a deck designer myself, and I don't think of myself as lazy or self-centered, nor am I trying to produce decks to appeal to the lazy or self-centered. In fact, quite the opposite, I try to make decks that will inspire people to think and to feel and to explore their own souls. But you can certainly believe what you want. If you feel that way, then you are welcome not to buy my decks. :) -- Lee

TemperanceAngel	30 Oct 2004
I've read RWS for 15 years, taught myself with no books. Any deck I pick up, I read intuitively. I'm not saying this is the way we all should read. I'm just saying that's what I do and it works for me. People like the way I read, apparently, I have lots of clients and gets lots of recommendations. dark angel I too recently got a Thoth deck, love the Majors, love the colors. It certainly speaks to me in a straight forword way. I don't have a book to go with it, nor do I have the time to devote to the study of it. I really hope you enjoy your Thoth, it sounds very special :D

Fulgour	31 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by fyreflye Which is not to say that I believe any of Crowley's crackpot notions - only that once you understand them you can use this deck in a consistent manner for your own purposes. Any consistent method of interpretation will work as long as you understand what you're doing. But you have to study. For me, it was only through an exhaustive exploration of the Golden Dawn corruptions of logic and meaning that an eventual breakthrough to clarity was possible. What a waste of time though, figuring out such a mess. And why? Just so some Victorian magicians could play at being Hermes Trismegistus, via the fallacy of 0 = 1.

Alta	31 Oct 2004
Hi Dark Angel, To get back to some of your original questions. For the year, there have been a number of threads on that. There seem to be two clues. Is it a slide apart box, with the inner box covered in gold-like foil? Do the edges of the cards have the 'Egyptian' scroll-work, or are they plain? Who is listed as the printer? I know we went through this, because Kiama and I have the second printing, which is the one with the gold foil inner box and plain edges. The card stock is relatively thick, and more cardboard-y than regular playing card stock. If you want to read the Book of Thoth, I think I have two copies, both older, because of eBay lot deals. Actually I have a ton of Crowley books because of one purchase just to get a deck. (The guy was freaked by the books and wanted to get rid of them) PM me if you want it and maybe we can work a trade. It is a very interesting book, written in a fairly high flown manner and crammed with information, some of which takes some other reading to dig out. And, I cannot recommend the Thoth Study group enough. :) There are tons of old threads there.

The Crowley's Thoth Deck thread was originally posted on 27 Oct 2004 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.