Zan and BC's Excellent Thoth Adventure: In the beginning....

zan_chan

BC - what are you making of Part 1 of the BoT? Makes enough sense, I suppose. The "Naples Arrangement" is thrown in there without much explanation, isn't it? He goes through the 1-10 well enough, but that whole 61=0 seems to go by without a word. Oh well.

How about, "There are very few people to-day who have heard of Plato and Aristotle." Was that actually true of 1944? I really can't imagine it could be...
 

zan_chan

Oh, thanks Grigori - that (somewhat frighteningly) actually makes a lot of sense :thumbsup:

I'm so glad you posted that quote from LFH. I don't feel so bad about grasping so little of this on first reading if she didn't get it either! :laugh:
 

zan_chan

Grigori said:
A Verlag Thoth. Only 3 is just not enough to start with ;)

Alright Grigori, you win. The standard sized Konigsfurt Urania is on its way...
 

Grigori

All 3 USG's, a Greenie and a Verlag. That's a start at least ;) But I think it's worthwhile to get, at least to compare to the USG.
 

Nina*

Found it! Thanks again, Zan.

Will now read... :D
 

firefrost

Very interesting thread. I have a Thoth deck but not really used it, as I didn't think I could do it justice.

I was reading through okay until the qabalah came in - now I'm remembering why it just sits on my shelf looking pretty. I know the cards are all designated to paths, but still - :confused:

I'll keep reading...
 

Bat Chicken

How does one on the wrong side of the pond acquire and Greenie and/or Verlag?

Still in the opening chapter of the BoT. Lots of thoughts later this afternoon...
 

Professor X

anubis777 said:
Hello Professor X
There is so much more to the minor cards than people realize & certain people think perhaps my thread was rude or maybe without hope, but the truth of the matter is these cards do contain a lot of meanings which are derived from the astrology & sephira. Your 9/disks that you get also has to be looked at from the sephira Yesod which is where the Moon resides & its relation to the earth plane. So you really have Yesod in Assiah as well as the Venus decan of Virgo. So you have the emotions of the Moon which are now in the physical plane of earth which is assiah, so from an emotional side a person will be driven emotionally to all kinds of luxury & material things. That's just one aspect of looking at this card there is still the Venus aspect to approach as well as the sign of Virgo. Because this card has the Moon/Venus it has a very feminine energy that is why in the Waite deck you see a woman in the card in a lush garden. The Thoth deck is by far a very complex deck Crowley didn't come up with the astrology in the cards this all came from the Golden Dawn while he was a member. All the books & authors who have published books on the Thoth Tarot sadly know nothing of the deeper meanings of the cards & those that do will never publish or reveal the secrets of the deck except for giving very basic meanings. If the true knowledge was let out then tarot really would have no more mystery about it & everyone would be trying to cash in on it. As for as the Majors they also contain the hebrew letters which also play a very important role in the meanings. So the only true way to be able to learn the tarot from a deep level is by joining various Magical Orders that currently exist today.


When dealing with the cards I have been trying to analyze things in this way.The planet of what ever sephiroth the card is linked to does indeed influence how the energy in the decan reacts. Then you have the astroligical attributions that go with each planet and zodiac sign,hot/dry-cold/moist etc etc. Those play a factor as well to how the cards get their meaning. It can be indeed a little difficult to properly see how these different factors all work together.
 

Bat Chicken

zan_chan said:
BC - what are you making of Part 1 of the BoT? Makes enough sense, I suppose. The "Naples Arrangement" is thrown in there without much explanation, isn't it? He goes through the 1-10 well enough, but that whole 61=0 seems to go by without a word. Oh well.

How about, "There are very few people to-day who have heard of Plato and Aristotle." Was that actually true of 1944? I really can't imagine it could be...
I may be mistaken because I am still digesting this but the 61 =0, etc., are the AIN, AIN SOPH, AIN SOPH AUR - the nothingness/limitless potential. The reasoning for the Naples Arrangement is built up over earlier pages assuming you are referring to the run down on pg 32. The idea that it is a description of the Consciousness of the Universe is mind boggling. I assume that the assigned numbers are gematria, however, I haven't taken the time to understand the cause for each assignment of such. Not sure I want to go there quite yet.

I have read Part 1 in full, once, and I am in my second reading and taking notes as I go. I find little inconsistencies which may simply be 'by extension' in the numeric description of 'man'. Based on Al's approach, I would not expect any further explanation. The question then becomes, how do you see it? I am finding this a brilliant set of metaphors and analogies. It really resonates so far...

I am glad we didn't just jump into the cards. Good call Zan. This section is worthy of its own study! The foundation it should provide - or at least the doors it is revealing - should make the further study much easier to handle. And yes, I look at myself and think "Dah"! :laugh: It is Part 1 for a reason...

As for his comments on Plato and Aristotle, we are in special company here at AT. I bet the number who have read Plato or Aristotle especially in 1944 would have been few. How many realize Plato's cave is repeated frequently in modern stories and films? More people know about Freud and Jung. I bet only a fraction have actually read them as well.

I'll have a lot more to say - and ask - after I finish my second reading. Perhaps by tomorrow this will have soaked in a little... :) There is so much to think about and process!