Crowley's Devil

Thoughtful

l am learning so much from these different Thoth threads, thank you all.

For some reason l love the Thoth Devil l find him humorous and quirky, he wants to play and clear the decks. Not sure what that says about me LOL! Its the only Death card depiction l actually do adore.

To add: l must now invest in the I. Regardie book, sounds very interesting. My little library of Thoth related books is gradually being formed.

l must be so tired, my excuse for getting the Devil and Death card completely mixed. l am referring to the Death card which of course is not relevant to this thread. Forgive me
 

foolMoon

I just got the book, and it is nice. I didn't know there were two types of Alchemy, one laboratory and other psychological, and it is the latter which is focused in this book.

It has meaty explanation about Alchemy in association with Cabala, Astrology, Ritual Magic, and the GD. This book will take its readers into deeper into the main occult topics, which would be a good foundation for Thoth deck studies as well.

My occult library has expanded a lot too recently, but not able to catch up as much I would like to due to lack of time. But slowly and steadily, will get there in the end :)
 

foolMoon

This is one aspect of Pan/the Devil for me. The living expression of amor fati.
Though I myself am not sure where the difference to Lust is.

Could lust be the instinctive passion, and devil the force which converts it into an action?
 

WolfyJames

I've been reading a book about demons, that to early Christianity Nature was evil and therefore they turned into demons pagan gods of Nature, like Pan, dryads, sylphs, and fairies. So obviously we get in the tarot Pan as the Devil in most of tarot decks as a bad character. Except in the Thoth Tarot and later pagan tarot decks where the devil is viewed in a more positive light.
 

Richard

Pan was not considered a bad guy in The Wind in the Willows, but he was awesome.

ETA. Here is the beautiful, poetic passage about Pan:

Perhaps he [the Mole] would never have dared to raise his eyes but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed still dominant and imperious. He might not refuse, were Death himself waiting to strike him instantly, once he had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden. Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble head; and then, in that utter clearness of the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper […] All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.

‘Rat!’ he found breath to whisper, shaking. ‘Are you afraid?’

‘Afraid?’ murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. ‘Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet–and yet–O, Mole, I am afraid!'”​