Tarot of the Holy Light Revisited...

magicjack

I have both the application and the deck and they work well together. I also have the book.

Can I assume the book explains the zodiac wheel and the placements of the cards? I still am wanting to see my birth chart using the cards which she recommends.
 

magicjack

This looks like it has the potential to be an amazing deck, but it would've been better if she had gotten all her ducks in a row first, published one deck and one volume that explained everything. It's too confusing as it is with all the different versions and with all the typos and mistakes. It's a shame.

This is actually what I am referring to. I don't mind looking at and reading complicated things. But I would like the information to be correct. I don't have the first edition bit how would people know that you need to switch the sun and the Mars symbols on the 7 and 8 of wands? Now I can't confirm this because I don't have the first deck in front of me. I really don't know if it was corrected or not in the newer versions because she didn't specify which was which. By the way I did contact her to let her know the typos I did find.
 

magicjack

Thanks for the insight. I'm not a huge fan of the RWS model, except for its robust story-telling potential, so I would be looking for something else from the deck. I'm still nibbling around the edges of Paul Huson's Dame Fortune's Wheel, which is similarly non-RWS based.

This happens to be a very simple deck because of the scenic pips and still looking somewhat TDM. Also nice colors. Don't get too hung up on Ettellia meanings because they aren't that much different really than what your use to. I will say his reversal meanings seem to not have anything to do with the upright position. And even though I like Dame Fortune I must confess I do not use it as much. And yes you can use Tarot of the Holy Light without astrology but you will be scratching your head on the majors.
 

imno007

I made a long post that partially covers the astro stuff here, if you care to take a look:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=264455&page=2

I might have got into it a little more if there'd been any interest, but the point is there is a definite system there, and to me it makes at least as much sense as the RW system. Just a matter of what you get used to, I guess.

EDIT: Oh, and to quote myself from a later post in that thread, these are the printing errors I noticed (later confirmed for me by Christine), which were probably all touched on in the OP:

A couple other things I will mention, to save you any possible confusion. I own a first printing of the "deluxe" edition and there's a couple of misprints I've found. First, the 2 of Disks shows the degrees as 1-20" (should be 11-20"); and second, both the 7 and 8 of Wands have the wrong ruling planet attributed to them: the 7 of Wands shows the symbol for the Sun as the ruling planet, and the 8 of Wands has the symbol for Mars printed on it - that order should be reversed (7 ruled by Mars and 8 ruled by the Sun). Not sure if these errors were duplicated with subsequent editions, but I figured it was worth mentioning.
 

magicjack

I made a long post that partially covers the astro stuff here, if you care to take a look:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=264455&page=2

I might have got into it a little more if there'd been any interest, but the point is there is a definite system there, and to me it makes at least as much sense as the RW system. Just a matter of what you get used to, I guess.

EDIT: Oh, and to quote myself from a later post in that thread, these are the printing errors I noticed (later confirmed for me by Christine), which were probably all touched on in the OP:

A couple other things I will mention, to save you any possible confusion. I own a first printing of the "deluxe" edition and there's a couple of misprints I've found. First, the 2 of Disks shows the degrees as 1-20" (should be 11-20"); and second, both the 7 and 8 of Wands have the wrong ruling planet attributed to them: the 7 of Disks shows the symbol for the Sun as the ruling planet, and the 8 of Disks has the symbol for Mars printed on it - that order should be reversed (7 ruled by Mars and 8 ruled by the Sun). Not sure if these errors were duplicated with subsequent editions, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

Thanks so much! My 2 of disks is 10 - 20". (Should be 11 -20" like you said). Did you mean the 7 and 8 of wands? They have been corrected. My 7 of wands is Mars and my 8 of wands is the sun. I would not have known about that typo at all. She mentioned it in a letter to someone. I just had been reading thru her website and stumbled on that one. That's the only way I knew about it. Your really good! I am going to your link now. Thanks again!

*Nevermind you did mention the wands to begin with. You mean wands not disks.
 

magicjack

OK. I read the thread and yes, you did help. I knew the pattern of the cards, (that's how I found the Typo) but this does help me with how the deck is associated with the tree of life. Now I'm going to work thru the majors and figure the astrological correlation. And the Decans. By the way, this deck should not be considered an "Ettellia" deck. Am I right to say Ettellia influenced maybe?
 

imno007

Thanks so much! My 2 of disks is 10 - 20". (Should be 11 -20" like you said). Did you mean the 7 and 8 of wands? They have been corrected. My 7 of wands is Mars and my 8 of wands is the sun. I would not have known about that typo at all. She mentioned it in a letter to someone. I just had been reading thru her website and stumbled on that one. That's the only way I knew about it. Your really good! I am going to your link now. Thanks again!

*Nevermind you did mention the wands to begin with. You mean wands not disks.

You're welcome. And thank you, I'm glad to know those two cards at least have been corrected.
 

imno007

OK. I read the thread and yes, you did help. I knew the pattern of the cards, (that's how I found the Typo) but this does help me with how the deck is associated with the tree of life. Now I'm going to work thru the majors and figure the astrological correlation. By the way, this deck should not be considered an "Ettellia" deck. Am I right to say Ettellia influenced maybe?

Glad I could help!

As for the Ettellia influence, I'll quote Christine and myself again from that earlier post:

"Therefore, Etteilla's esoteric correspondences guide our choices in Tarot of the Holy Light. But the actual numbering of the cards is the same as with Marseille decks."

It should maybe be noted that the author herself places more importance on the numbers associated with the cards that she does on any astro associations - just in case you were thinking you really had to master all this other stuff to get a handle on the deck. She considers the numbers the "core" meanings of the cards and all the other stuff just adds depth and nuance for different kinds of readings. About the numbers, she says, and I quote, "Nothing more is necessary to explain why a card has a certain meaning above all others."
 

Barleywine

Is it possible to use the Tarot of the Holy Light effectively with earlier source material translated from the French rather than Payne-Towler's own book? I've heard mixed opinions about her approach and ideas, so I'd rather find something closer to Etteilla's own thoughts, or at least from the same era.
 

magicjack

Well,. I'm been doing some searching and there is another thread in the history group that is now talking about Ettellia's astrological associations. I do not have Christen-Towlers book and I'm curiously considering getting it. The deck is not an Ettellia deck even though that's what I keep hearing. (and correct me if I'm wrong). It's not so much Ettellia but it concerns the time of that era and before. Before the Golden Dawn. The deck itself, and I mean the collages are strictly from this era. Renaissance and after. There is a connection between alchemy and mystical art but not a connection with the tarot specifically. There is a lot of Masonic connection also which in fact do work with tarot as well before the Golden dawn. I think the deck is an appreciation of the alchemy art of this time. Now please remember I do not have the book but this "system" has tree of life associations and the paths. They all do not match up with Ettellia and his deck. I have not decided yet if I am in agreement with it but I am curious.

The reason for my starting this thread was because of typos in the deck itself. Christine has gotten back with me and explained the different typos in the different printings. I have 1of the 1000 decks In the last print with the typos I found. I think this is what has interested me in the Astro correspondencs to begin with. Now I could be wrong about all of this because like I said...I don't have the book! I'm not sure it matters in the end but I sure would like to know what the f**k is going on. Every symbol in each card may or may not connect with the exact meaning of the card but you can't say it's not interesting and beautiful. I do think reversals are a part of this deck. I don't use reversals either. It's obvious most cards can be connected to your golden dawn meanings. It really depends on the art and what you get out of it. Some find it too busy. I'm still working with it. And reading with it! We will see what happens.