Fronterance
The Thoth Tarot does some very unlikely things for me that frequently leave me just dumbstruck. Stuff that is so far beyond likelihood that it puts a smile on your face you can't erase. However, all my prior Qabalistic training and Tarot studies were based on "Old Aeon" Tarot placement. BOTA, in fact. These placements work well and makes sense on the Tree of Life AND the Cube of Space. What's more, the standard "classic" tarot actually depicts the characters in relation to the Cube of Space (where they're looking, the cubes they sit on, etc.). It all relates perfectly.
And so, with the Thoth tarot, I patiently wait to understand the changes Crowley has made because the deck is just so obviously magickal it practically jumps out at you and says "BOO" compared to the results you're bound to get with other decks. I mean, Thoth is accurate, consistent and PERSISTENT. Try shuffling and pulling cards out at random while thinking of a specific circumstance or question.
Then, I come upon this and ... well, I don't know how to classify my feelings other than to say I find it "annoying" ... It's not that I think the commentary is annoying or that Crowley's changes are annoying, necessarily. No, what I find annoying is that I just am not familiar enough with Qaballah to know if there are other arguments FOR Crowley's placement choices that are not described below:
From http://www.experiencefestival.com/the_emperor_and_the_star
"THE EMPEROR AND THE STAR
These are Crowley's two greatest mysteries. We need to study them in
tandem, because Crowley insists that the Emperor's proper letter is
not Heh, but Tzaddi, so it must change places with The Star. Since
these new attributions fly in the face of every tradition, let's try
to guess why he does this.
By Crowley's reckoning, the star, Kokhav = 48 (a multiple of 12), the
astrological number) or the "sphere of Venus". It represents Mercy
(Gedulah or Chesed ). It also means, "strength" and "army". Forty
eight divided by four is 14, the card of Temperance (or Alchemy),
where we also have the angel pouring the waters. Qisar and Melech both
translate as "Emperor". To continue with Crowley's reckoning, qisar
would equal 371 ("Evil") and melech would equal 78 (that is, 15, or
The Devil). However, if we use the ordinal value of the letters alone
we get for Qisar and Melech, respectively, 60 and 33. Thirty Three is
"sorrow, weeping" and a spring or fountain." Sixty is "watch-tower",
excellence, sublimity, glory, pride, a Vision..." For kochav we get 28
or "Union, unity, power, and the mystic Netzach. . ." If we skip Aleph
we get for Qisar and Melech, 60 and 30 ("Judah, Libra, Justice"). All
of these seem appropriate enough for "The Emperor" but still do not
explain why Crowley wants him to be the 17th card!
One reason that Crowley might have wanted to exchange The Emperor with
Atu number 17 is so that (17 = 1 + 7 = 8 ) The Emperor (4) would serve
as the higher exponent of Justice, which he had renamed "Adjustment"
and already exchanged with Strength at 11. In his system, that places
mundane authority (the Emperor) in the most subservient position and
exalts Sirius (the Star) to the seat of greatest power at Atu 4.
Meanwhile, Strength, now Atu 11, becomes the higher exponent of The
Priestess (Atu 2), since 11 is the number of sorcery. This kind of
highly rational manipulation of universal symbols is typical of
Crowley's creative and very original approach to M/magic(k). The whole
thing is extremely round-about and vexatious and looks like nothing so
much as one of those infinitely-regressing whorls of cocaine-induced
ratiocination, which were sometimes characteristic of Crowley. His
paltry excuse that tzaddi is the letter that begins the word for
Emperor "in many languages", is not meant to fool any serious student.
It occurs only in Russian, Tsar, which is but a corruption of
"Caesar."
Moreover, even if we assign the ordinal value to tzaddi (18 ), that
translates as the notariqon of Yehi Aur ("Let there be light!"); Chai
(the "living"); the antique serpent (Lucifer?); Hatred and "My
Beloved". All of those seem strangely fitting for The Star, whereas
"four" seems more natural to the Emperor if we think of him as the
Tetragrammaton (IHVH). Apparently, that was precisely what AC wanted
to avoid -- the ascription of IHVH to the Emperor. All the same, after
all this numerology, we are no closer to the meaning of these cards.
Indeed, we are farther at sea than ever!"
[ / end quote]
What do you think?
And so, with the Thoth tarot, I patiently wait to understand the changes Crowley has made because the deck is just so obviously magickal it practically jumps out at you and says "BOO" compared to the results you're bound to get with other decks. I mean, Thoth is accurate, consistent and PERSISTENT. Try shuffling and pulling cards out at random while thinking of a specific circumstance or question.
Then, I come upon this and ... well, I don't know how to classify my feelings other than to say I find it "annoying" ... It's not that I think the commentary is annoying or that Crowley's changes are annoying, necessarily. No, what I find annoying is that I just am not familiar enough with Qaballah to know if there are other arguments FOR Crowley's placement choices that are not described below:
From http://www.experiencefestival.com/the_emperor_and_the_star
"THE EMPEROR AND THE STAR
These are Crowley's two greatest mysteries. We need to study them in
tandem, because Crowley insists that the Emperor's proper letter is
not Heh, but Tzaddi, so it must change places with The Star. Since
these new attributions fly in the face of every tradition, let's try
to guess why he does this.
By Crowley's reckoning, the star, Kokhav = 48 (a multiple of 12), the
astrological number) or the "sphere of Venus". It represents Mercy
(Gedulah or Chesed ). It also means, "strength" and "army". Forty
eight divided by four is 14, the card of Temperance (or Alchemy),
where we also have the angel pouring the waters. Qisar and Melech both
translate as "Emperor". To continue with Crowley's reckoning, qisar
would equal 371 ("Evil") and melech would equal 78 (that is, 15, or
The Devil). However, if we use the ordinal value of the letters alone
we get for Qisar and Melech, respectively, 60 and 33. Thirty Three is
"sorrow, weeping" and a spring or fountain." Sixty is "watch-tower",
excellence, sublimity, glory, pride, a Vision..." For kochav we get 28
or "Union, unity, power, and the mystic Netzach. . ." If we skip Aleph
we get for Qisar and Melech, 60 and 30 ("Judah, Libra, Justice"). All
of these seem appropriate enough for "The Emperor" but still do not
explain why Crowley wants him to be the 17th card!
One reason that Crowley might have wanted to exchange The Emperor with
Atu number 17 is so that (17 = 1 + 7 = 8 ) The Emperor (4) would serve
as the higher exponent of Justice, which he had renamed "Adjustment"
and already exchanged with Strength at 11. In his system, that places
mundane authority (the Emperor) in the most subservient position and
exalts Sirius (the Star) to the seat of greatest power at Atu 4.
Meanwhile, Strength, now Atu 11, becomes the higher exponent of The
Priestess (Atu 2), since 11 is the number of sorcery. This kind of
highly rational manipulation of universal symbols is typical of
Crowley's creative and very original approach to M/magic(k). The whole
thing is extremely round-about and vexatious and looks like nothing so
much as one of those infinitely-regressing whorls of cocaine-induced
ratiocination, which were sometimes characteristic of Crowley. His
paltry excuse that tzaddi is the letter that begins the word for
Emperor "in many languages", is not meant to fool any serious student.
It occurs only in Russian, Tsar, which is but a corruption of
"Caesar."
Moreover, even if we assign the ordinal value to tzaddi (18 ), that
translates as the notariqon of Yehi Aur ("Let there be light!"); Chai
(the "living"); the antique serpent (Lucifer?); Hatred and "My
Beloved". All of those seem strangely fitting for The Star, whereas
"four" seems more natural to the Emperor if we think of him as the
Tetragrammaton (IHVH). Apparently, that was precisely what AC wanted
to avoid -- the ascription of IHVH to the Emperor. All the same, after
all this numerology, we are no closer to the meaning of these cards.
Indeed, we are farther at sea than ever!"
[ / end quote]
What do you think?