Thoth Books?

December Fairy

What is your favorite book about the Thoth deck?
I have a greenie & the purple box deck. I would like to find a book to help with them.
 

Scion

Buy the Duquette: Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot... No question.

Other people are gonna grumble about how chatty and funny he is, but he knows his stuff and isn't afraid to point you towards Crowley himself for further research. He not only gives a basic overview of the philosophical underpinnings, and a pretty solid handle on the structure of the deck and its symbols that will serve initial curiosity and later exploration.

Suster is terrific, but admittedly Thelemic, as well as extremely brief and hard to find in the US.
Arrien has NOTHING to do with the deck and treats the images like they fell out of the sky. Fluffy and practically useless for study.
Wanless is ok but no great shakes. Again, doesn't really address the "why" of the images.
Banzhaf is fine for keywords and noticing details, but the translations are sketchy and the writing so-so.
And Ziegler is too vague to be of real utility.
And you'll want to buy Crowley's own Book of Thoth, but not until you're feeling grounded and frisky. If you plunge in, remember its like the deep end of a pool that connects to the Pacific. Bring your oxygen tank, flippers and a harpoon.

Duquette, hands down.

Scion
 

December Fairy

Thanks Scion,
I bought the greenie deck in 97/98. But all I've done is take it out and look at it. It's time to get to know it much better.
 

lunakasha

I agree with Scion's recommendation of Duquette....although I personally also like to consult Ziegler on occasion. I have never been able to make sense of Crowley's Book of Thoth but I guess it might be good to have available as a resource.

BTW--I do have both books--Duquette's and Crowley's--available for sale, you can PM me if interested.

:) Luna
 

brenmck

Scion said:
I am the newest of the newbies with this deck, and I second the recommendation. DuQuette is very accessible, doesn't try to dazzle you with his brilliance, and gets to the heart of it. I get the feeling that he wants you to love this deck as much as he does. He is also the author of Chicken Qabalah, which I'm rapidly pursuing at the rate of a page every other day.
Scion said:
Banzhaf is fine for keywords and noticing details, but the translations are sketchy and the writing so-so.
Hajo Banzhof's Keywords For The Crowley Tarot should be in my mailbox by the end of the week. I'm expecting it to be very helpful, but I'll let you know.

~B~
 

Ventrue

i found that after i read DuQuettes book and did some of my own research that I could understand Crowleys book so much easier. Granted, some of it was still alien to me, but before I didn't understand whole pages, and now it's just a paragraph here and there. Anywho, give BoT a try after you read some primers.

Ven
 

Sidhe-Ra

Absolutely, DuQuette without question! It's not only the best book on the thoth deck I've seen, but also one of the best overall Tarot books. I've found it invaluable in the creation of my own deck. he makes the reasons WHY the cards mean what they do so clear, as well as the whole structure of tarot and the Qaballa.

Blessings,

Em x
 

December Fairy

lunakasha said:
I agree with Scion's recommendation of Duquette....although I personally also like to consult Ziegler on occasion. I have never been able to make sense of Crowley's Book of Thoth but I guess it might be good to have available as a resource.

BTW--I do have both books--Duquette's and Crowley's--available for sale, you can PM me if interested.

:) Luna

I already ordered the Duquette book & it's been shipped. Darn!!
I wish I would have seen this earlier, I could have canceled the order.
Thanks for the offer.
 

December Fairy

Ventrue said:
i found that after i read DuQuettes book and did some of my own research that I could understand Crowleys book so much easier. Granted, some of it was still alien to me, but before I didn't understand whole pages, and now it's just a paragraph here and there. Anywho, give BoT a try after you read some primers.

Ven

I have his book in a box. I never understood it before and gave up on it. I'll see if I can dig it out to look at again.
I think the time was not right for me to understand it. Why I bought this deck so long ago and did not get rid of it, I don't know. I'm glad I didn't.
 

December Fairy

Sidhe-Ra said:
Absolutely, DuQuette without question! It's not only the best book on the thoth deck I've seen, but also one of the best overall Tarot books. I've found it invaluable in the creation of my own deck. he makes the reasons WHY the cards mean what they do so clear, as well as the whole structure of tarot and the Qaballa.

Blessings,

Em x

That's a good thing to know. I have your deck on my wish list and hope to buy it soon.