Rider Waite VS Thoth

Tanga

...Perhaps we could also recommend, for people in this 'fix' Wang's book ? It focuses on, in part, comparisons, to those two decks and another two more 'traditional' deck . Many appreciate its layout of illustrations showing the different deck cards, side by side.

here is a free copy :)

http://www.ebooks-on-cd.com/PDFs/Robert Wang - The Qabalistic Tarot.pdf

Thankyou! :)
(like that Lord and Lady on the cover there holding the candles up :joke: Is he "directing" or are they arguing... my frame of mind today...).


Thinking back, that's exactly what I did in the beginning, but I had a bottomless and omnivorous appetite for all things esoteric in my early twenties, and just gobbled it all up to process and digest over the ensuing decades.

I'll bet you did...


of course :)

.... if one had to swear an oath of secrecy not to reveal the Tarot / Hebrew letter correspondences , one cant ....

Oh ...... I shouldnt have revealed that :bugeyed:

Slap your wrist now!!
(she says, knowing what you mean).
 

ravenest

Actually, I lied. The Regardie-Wang Magician has a Mercury glyph; Judgement has a funny looking red thing that looks sort of like a W; and the Aces have some suspicious little squiggles. ;)

Cant waite for the thread " Mystery of funny looking red thing revealed ! " :D



ETA. What puzzles me about the Waite deck is that the secret GD stuff was no longer secret, so why was he so mysterious about it?

Because, if you cant be mysterious at least try to look mysterious. Its kinda spooky and occultist like :)

For me , the Charioteer's belt says it all; a hodge podge of mystical meaningless mumbo jumbo.

But people will see the mystery in it, its width, shape position , its one recognisable symbol..... ;)

Pixie ; " Magic squiggles ! ( tee he he ) ." ]
 

ravenest

Thankyou! :)
(like that Lord and Lady on the cover there holding the candles up :joke: Is he "directing" or are they arguing... my frame of mind today...).

he tried directing her what to do in the ritual .... thats how the argument started ;)
 

Abrac

I'm wondering if the "Aquarius" glyph symbolizes Water. 99% of the time that glyph is identified as Water at Adam McLeans Alchemy Website. If that's what it represents in the card, then Air seems the best fit for Mercury, leaving Salt and Sulphur for Earth and Fire respectively. What do you think, can anyone see Mercury as Air?
 

Michael Sternbach

I'm wondering if the "Aquarius" glyph symbolizes Water. 99% of the time that glyph is identified as Water at Adam McLeans Alchemy Website. If that's what it represents in the card, then Air seems the best fit for Mercury, leaving Salt and Sulphur for Earth and Fire respectively. What do you think (anyone)? Can you see Mercury as Air?

I see Mercury as related to both Air and Water.
 

Barleywine

I'm wondering if the "Aquarius" glyph symbolizes Water. 99% of the time that glyph is identified as Water at Adam McLeans Alchemy Website. If that's what it represents in the card, then Air seems the best fit for Mercury, leaving Salt and Sulphur for Earth and Fire respectively. What do you think (anyone)? Can you see Mercury as Air?

Good point. Here's the rest of Cirlot's essay, which supports your observations:

"All Eastern and Western traditions relate this archetype (Aquarius) to the symbolic flood which stands not only for the end of a formal universe but also for the completion of any cycle by the destruction of the power which held its components together. When this power ceases to function, the components return to the Akasha - the universal solvent - which is symbolized by Pisces."

Furthermore:

"The Egyptians identified Aquarius with their god Hapi, the personification of the Nile, whose floods were the source of the agricultural, economic and spiritual life of the country."

Astrological conventions aside, it's not much of a stretch to see the glyph as symbolizing Water; the wave-form certainly conveys that idea, although some modern esoteric astrologers construe it as depicting the subtle vibratory emanations that permeate all matter. The mythological Water Bearer pours forth what is sometimes called "the water of eternal life," suggesting "the fluid quality of nature's finer forces." (Moore and Douglas, Astrology: The Divine Science). And an astrologer has no trouble envisioning Mercury as Air, which is its primary rulership. I'm not well-versed enough in classical alchemy to know what ramifications this viewpoint might have for the rest of the system; probably rank heresy of the highest order.
 

Michael Sternbach

Mercury both as a Deity and an astrological influence indeed has a certain airy quality to himself. However, we must be careful not to simply equate a planet's elemental nature with the element of one of its two rulerships. This is a mistake people not versed in traditional astrology are frequently making. Mercury is traditionally seen as being of a mixed nature, and sometimes he is described as earthy in the classical texts (yeah, that's right).

There are other indications that, much like Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn stand for Water, Fire, Air, and Earth, Mercury represents the Fifth Element, Quintessence or Aether. Mercury as alchemical principle is also the Aether, so there is a nice match.
 

Michael Sternbach

In The Hermetic Tradition, Julius Evola speaks of two different kinds of alchemical Mercury (based on a certain classical text), using two different glyphs. The common glyph (which is the same as for the planet) represents "watery" Mercury, the other one seems to have affinity with Air.
 

Barleywine

Mercury both as a Deity and an astrological influence indeed has a certain airy quality to himself. However, we must be careful not to simply equate a planet's elemental nature with the element of one of its two rulerships. This is a mistake people not versed in traditional astrology are frequently making. Mercury is traditionally seen as being of a mixed nature, and sometimes he is described as earthy in the classical texts (yeah, that's right).

There are other indications that, much like Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn stand for Water, Fire, Air, and Earth, Mercury represents the Fifth Element, Quintessence or Aether. Mercury as alchemical principle is also the Aether, so there is a nice match.

Thanks for clarifying that, Michael. Of course I know that Mercury is of "mixed disposition" and is seen as somewhat "neutral" and tractable, especially in combination with other planetary influences. I was simply isolating one factor that would permit seeing it as "airy." It's rulership of Virgo is another matter. In the realm of planetary "humours," it seems to land in the "cold and dry" melancholic region:

". . . of his own nature, he is cold and dry, and therefore Melancholy; with the good he is good, with the evil Planets ill: in the Elements the Water; amongst the humours, the mixt . . ." (Lilly, Christian Astrology)
 

Michael Sternbach

Thanks for clarifying that, Michael. Of course I know that Mercury is of "mixed disposition" and is seen as somewhat "neutral" and tractable, especially in combination with other planetary influences. I was simply isolating one factor that would permit seeing it as "airy." It's rulership of Virgo is another matter. In the realm of planetary "humours," it seems to land in the "cold and dry" melancholic region:

". . . of his own nature, he is cold and dry, and therefore Melancholy; with the good he is good, with the evil Planets ill: in the Elements the Water; amongst the humours, the mixt . . ." (Lilly, Christian Astrology)

Yes, and cold and dry equals Earth. This is not to say that other attributions don't make any sense. Many things in occultism are a matter of perspective, and Mercury is always the oddball.