Why is the Thoth deck so popular?

Chrystella

It sits on my wish list, per say, and I'm so tempted but I'm afraid of it. Not in a scared way but in the way that I fear not being able to grasp it and actually read with it. So, I've yet to buy it because if I can't grasp it and read well with it, I will not be doing it any justice.

Get it, get it, get it.

I felt like this. I still feel like this a little, but that's true of tarot in general. I find the Thoth very flexible. You can read with it with minimal knowledge and the deck itself will expand your knowledge and then your understanding of it will grow and deepen. The Thoth is a tarot that teaches.
 

Nemia

Get it. When I bought it, I knew nothing about it but I could read with it. It pulled me in and I learned more and more. It's a deck you can really grow with. The shapes, colors, compositions and symbols are strong and allow you to read it even if you don't know what a decan is. You'll learn over time. And the learning process is enjoyable.

It's like with art. You don't have to be a professional Art Historian to enjoy a Cezanne painting. But Cezanne may make you wish to know more.

It's always a waltz - one step you enjoy, second step you learn something, and in the third step, you integrate the knowledge so you can enjoy again. It's a dance that never ends.

It took me years until I even wished to buy a RWS - it seemed so bland and tame compared to the boldness of the Thoth. Only in the last two years did I learn to appreciate it, too. The Thoth has its own special appeal. If it calls out to you - I'd say, buy it and give it a try.

I bought empty playing cards (in an art supply and toy shop) and wrote the information about every card on them - like flash cards. I used differently colored pens and even though I don't use them much, writing it down was helpful. A journal is always a good learning tool, too. If you like such things. If not, just look at the cards themselves and dive in ;-)
 

Marcus R

Bought the deck over 20 years ago. Loved the artwork but understood nothing of Tarot. It seemed so secretive yet dripping with knowledge unseen, I couldn't fathom it but would not give it away.
Now I can read, I am struck even more by the beauty and arcane knowledge shining from each card. Harris was a genius pure and simple. Crowley had the knowledge and drive to instruct Harris but the final form is hers, with Crowleys eternal gratitude I hope. What elegance, what sheer genius and love in this deck. For me this is the deck of decks and always will be.
I love my Bonefire, Hermetic and Golden but the be all and end all of decks for me is Thoth.
 

Barleywine

Bought the deck over 20 years ago. Loved the artwork but understood nothing of Tarot. It seemed so secretive yet dripping with knowledge unseen, I couldn't fathom it but would not give it away.
Now I can read, I am struck even more by the beauty and arcane knowledge shining from each card. Harris was a genius pure and simple. Crowley had the knowledge and drive to instruct Harris but the final form is hers, with Crowleys eternal gratitude I hope. What elegance, what sheer genius and love in this deck. For me this is the deck of decks and always will be.
I love my Bonefire, Hermetic and Golden but the be all and end all of decks for me is Thoth.

What he said! I understand, though, that Crowley had Harris do multiple takes on some cards, so he certainly had a say in the final form of each. I've been using it for over 40 years now, have three copies, and still turn to it first.
 

gregory

For all the reasons already mentioned. I'll add that, for me, it deepens and widens my knowledge of tarot in ways that other decks do not. And I'll tell ya, I'm not huge on GD stuff or on Kabbalah or astrology. I'm very much just a 'read the cards' type. Still, the Thoth opens up the tarot in a different way. I don't know how to explain it really.

I also consider it an important deck in the world of tarot. If I had to pick three tarot decks for a lifetime, it would be a Marseille, the RWS, and the Thoth.

There's simply nothing else like it out there.
All of the aboves.

It also rewards study in a way that few others can match.
 

Michael Sternbach

The Thoth was not only my introduction to the world of Tarot but to many avenues of esoteric thought. A mind map, if you will, that guided me to Astrology, Kabbalah, Alchemy, Egyptian mythology, and many more.

I also agree with most of the other things said here so far and would add that the Thoth is sexy and trippy.
 

Zephyros

For me the Thoth is the "real thing." In a world of RWS clones and RWS-influenced decks, the Thoth stands out as being quite original, yet true to its source material. All other decks seem small and childish compared to it.
 

MysticMoonlight

Thank you all so very much for sharing your opinions and stories of the Thoth with me, I've really enjoyed reading them! Hearing this has really lessened the intimidation factor for me quite a lot and has given me a kick of confidence for getting and working with this deck as soon as possible :)
 

Zephyros

I can understand the intimidation factor, but something that tends to be missed is the idea that it is actually supposed to be that way. I mean, you could read and enjoy a little online article about "lifehacks" but you really can't compare it to classic literature like Tolstoy. I mean, regardless of your enjoyment, Tolstoy is objectively better than Buzzfeed, and I can't imagine anything that would change that.

When you're dealing with the Thoth you're dealing with the "high literature" of Tarot, not the run-of-mill decks where the ease of use is the only standard. It isn't easy, and I don't know if it should be. In order to read something like Ulysses you have to, in a sense, become the target audience, which means knowing well beyond basic English, having the ability to follow a convoluted story, and to try to understand what the author was getting at. An easy English version of Joyce exists, no doubt, but I wouldn't say that it is just as good as the original, because it really isn't. The Thoth is difficult and unfriendly, and takes a lot of work to use well (contrary to "just using" it intuitivly).

Now, I say this not as some esoteric snob who was raised in the OTO and has been around this stuff forever. Far from it, and I'm also not particularly driven or intelligent. But I did want to "get" the Thoth, four years ago, and it took a lot of effort, and I did it (as much as I can, of course). There are always new things to learn, of course, but I have made great strides in that direction.

I just don't believe in coddling anyone, I think that demeans them and is disrespectful. I won't tell you, like others, that it is constantly rewarding, that it meets you at any level you may be at or any of those platitudes (even though they're true and I believe them). One should study the Thoth because they want to, and with clear knowledge that it is difficult, it can be frustrating, there are things that will take you months to work out and things you will never work out. Those things shouldn't stop you if you really want it.

However, if you do put in the effort, then the differences between Joyce and Buzzfeed will become all the more obvious, the difference between the Thoth and "just any other" deck.
 

Teheuti

The beauty, the depth and the integration of all its parts. It continues to open up, ever more fully and blossom. While partaking of their genius, it transcends its makers.

Far too many decks are either shallow or you feel like you are wallowing around in someone's personal psyche. The great decks totally transcend this.