Thoth, Tree of Life, and The Star

Aeon418

Dulcimer said:
If you're not using it as an aid in Ceremonial Magic but rather as a mirror for understanding you own place in the Universe and what the f*** is going on (as I am), then if it works for you then it works. Period. Of course if you want to make it an objective reality as some Great Truth (eg, Emperor = Tzadi) then you'd better be able to prove it! ;)
Emperor = Tzaddi and objective reality! Ahem!!! :D
An excellent man of great intelligence, a learned Qabalist, once amazed the Master Therion by stating that the Tree of Life was the framework of the Universe. It was as if some one had seriously maintained that a cat was a creature constructed by placing the letters C. A. T. in that order. It is no wonder that Magick has excited the ridicule of the unintelligent, since even its educated students can be guilty of so gross a violation of the first principles of common sense.

Magick in Theory and Practice ~ Aleister Crowley.

Hee hee :D
 

Dulcimer

Aeon418 said:
Emperor = Tzaddi and objective reality! Ahem!!! :D


Hee hee :D

Oh, ha ha, we are so funny. (lol)
 

Teheuti

Concerning design parallels, I'd like to share this image.

Look at the lower right-hand parallels. Something similar can be found in all the Majors although this set is particularly obvious. This is one of the things that, I believe, make Frieda Harris' images so powerful. You can divide each Major into 9 segments 3x3 and find interesting parallels.

Mary
 

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Scion

Mary, many thanks for posting that!

A powerful comparison both for occult and artistic reasons... because it calls on your knowledge of myth and Qabalah but also creates movement and the sense of a vortex in the cards, singly and as parts of a spread. Wildness and relation to the center in every sense of the word. Beautiful.

Scion
 

Windhorse

Dulcimer said:
2)You should try putting the RWS majors on the sephiroth. See what you make of the symetry between Lovers and Devil in THAT layout.

I had done that earlier in the day whilst I was out and I actually had my RWS deck on me. Thats why I remembered to have a go with the Thoth later that evening. I didn't want to bring that up, being that we are trying to focus on Thoth here. I was already aware of the similarity of visual compostion between these two cards in the RWS - thats why I was freaking out when I saw the two Thoth cards side by side. There has to be something n it, given both boys were part of the GD club.....

And you are right of course about using GD system or otherwise. Whatever works for you....

And thanks for pointing out the 'lightning path' thing. But I will have a play nonetheless and see what comes of it. Was the 'lightning path' a GD invention?

As for how I interpreted the Star...

...well in two ways:
1) I need to think about what I really want to manifest - kinda like the ol' saying "be careful what you wish for". I have the power/skill/ability/will to manifest whatever I truly want in life - and therein lies the problem, for what do I want? Sometimes I don't make that wish, coz I am scared of unforeseen consequences; but then that attitude is debilitating! So I need to just be aware that whatever I truly really want in life is possible to be manifested.... I just need to actually ASK, make that wish - otherwise nothing will happen.

Incidentally, the other cards on that pillar: Geburah (what you need to alter/change/adjust) = 10 swords; Hod (what does my rational mind tell me) = Strength/Lust. Intrigued? I was.....

2) I have been intellectually obfuscating about the order of cards recently, as I do want to go into teaching Tarot. I am a comparativist, and believe there is an underlying truth that lies behind both systems (ie, Waite and Crowley). The Star card seems to be the key to this comparative understanding because of the whole "tzaddi is not the star" thing and (as I like to call it) 'Crowley's loop'. I need to think about what the cards mean to me, what order they lie for me, etc etc. Once I get a consistent personal and subjective understanding of what the cards mean, then I can go forth and pass this on to others - not the meanings as such, but how to use the Tarot to help one 'understand' their own reality. I don't hold much to 'objective truth' - so I need to be able to come to my own understanding of the Tarot before I teach it, otherwise I am just parroting the words of others....

Both interpretations are (subjectively) correct, both are valid, and both are related in some way. If you're interested in the whole spread, let me know. It was quite interesting, and I am very pleased with having learned this one - I know it would've been quite handy for past clients.

:)
 

Windhorse

Teheuti said:
Concerning design parallels, I'd like to share this image.

Look at the lower right-hand parallels. Something similar can be found in all the Majors although this set is particularly obvious. This is one of the things that, I believe, make Frieda Harris' images so powerful. You can divide each Major into 9 segments 3x3 and find interesting parallels.

Mary
OKay, forgive my ignorance and inability in interpreting art -
but can you explain please?
Am I meant to be looking at the creatures in the corner?
I'm a little slow at the moment..... :(
 

Alta

Sorry, I am being slow here too. I also do not see what I am supposed to be seeing Teheuti. A clue for those of us less versed please.
 

Teheuti

Windhorse said:
OKay, forgive my ignorance and inability in interpreting art - but can you explain please? Am I meant to be looking at the creatures in the corner? I'm a little slow at the moment..... :(

In Dulcimer's first post in this thread she drew attention to various lines going across the cards. I've always noticed that there seemed to be a rough matrix or underlying pattern to all the Major Arcana. Because it was not slavishly adhered to I was never sure exactly what the pattern was.

The jpg I sent was one I put together several years ago. (I cut the borders off one copy of my deck over 20 years ago, finding that it helped me to see the details of the cards even better.) At the time I was looking at the lower right hand corners - but you can also see that whether or not there are actual horizontal lines - there tend to be elements that suggest them.

BTW, if you aren't familiar with Steinerian Projective Synthethic Geometry and it's influence on Frieda Harris then you might want to do a google search on it. There used to be a great article on Olive Whitcher (spelling?) and Harris. (edited to correct Objective to Projective)

If this is too far off topic then I apologize. I was just taken by Dulcimer's discussion of matching lines on certain cards.

Mary
 

Dulcimer

Teheuti said:
BTW, if you aren't familiar with Steinerian Objective Synthethic Geometry and it's influence on Frieda Harris then you might want to do a google search on it. There used to be a great article on Olive Whitcher (spelling?) and Harris.

Mary

Alobar was kind enough to forward a link in post #21 to "Projective Synthetic Geometry in Lady Frieda Harris' Tarot Paintings and in Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law". Is that the one?
 

Teheuti

Dulcimer said:
Alobar was kind enough to forward a link in post #21 to "Projective Synthetic Geometry in Lady Frieda Harris' Tarot Paintings and in Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law". Is that the one?
Yes - that's the one. I forgot it was given in this thread. Thanks, too, for the correction of Projective. I was in too much of a rush. It's a great article.

Mary