Unicursal Hexigram (the extra black card in Thoth)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Oct 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

9ofcups	13 Oct 2001
Thanks fo that. Another question regarding this deck then. What am I to interpret the Hexagram card as being? I cannot find a useful reference to this in the Book of Thoth, but I have read and been told that it should be used as a focus for ones own psychic or magickal attention. So what exactly does that statement mean, and does it imply that we must use our own psychic ability to read a divination into the card in its relevant position? And if so, does that not leave said divination open to preconceptions and inner/outer influence? Help!

Jane	13 Oct 2001
Hi, Reguarding the Unicursal Hexagram, this is not part of the deck. Tarot cards are printed on sheets of 80 cards. This leaves 2 extras. A variety of things are printed on these cards. In some versions of the decks there are 3 Magus cards. Some people think these have significance, but the 2 extra are just some of Lady Harris's preliminary versions. Some cards she did several versions of until her and Crowley were satisfied. The deck consits of 78 cards that Crowley describes in his book. My understanding is that the hexagram is a planetary glyph. It was used in magical rituals of the Golden Dawn. Many authors have attached signigance to extra cards in decks. Blank cards, extra Magi, Unicursal Hexagrams etc. I suppose if you want to use them you can, but (and this is my opinion, your mileage may vary) the are unneccessary to using the deck as intended. Unless you are really into working with Magick, just take it out and forget about it. Personally I use them as bookmarks. Personally I think the Thoth deck is complex enough without adding extra cards that weren't intened for use to the mix. Hope this helps, Jane

9ofcups	14 Oct 2001
Quite! This would probably be my opinion as well, thanks for clearing that up.

The Unicursal Hexigram (the extra black card in Thoth) thread was originally posted on 13 Oct 2001 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.