Thoth and Crowley

Aeon418

fools_fool said:
The one thing Crowley is remembered for probably more than anything else is his Book of the Law with its dictum - "Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."
The exact phrase is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." And despite what many people think it does not mean "do what you want".
fools_fool said:
This would certainly be threatening enough, but other things about Crowley (his self-proclaimed title, Great Beast 666, and the press's label of him as the wickedest man in the world) sealed the deal.
Some people find Crowley threatening, some don't. Lon Milo DuQuette sums it up nicely in The Magick of Aleister Crowley:
Is it dangerous to study Aleister Crowley?

Aleister Crowley was by no means perfect. He was not good with people and often alienated those who loved him dearest. His bold explorations of human sexuality and drugs (always meticulously recorded and analysed) are fascinating to study, but were never intended to be casually emulated. I have never encountered anyone who new him that did not disapprove of some aspect of his character or behaviour.

But he is dead. For us, only his works remain as a measure of the man and they are currently more accesible to the general public than at any time during his life. His influence on the modern world of art, literature, religion, and philosophy is now widely acknowledged even by his most vehement critics.

But is it dangerous for some people to study Aleister Crowley? I guess I have to say yes. For those whose belief in a God of goodness hinges upon the reality of a devil who is equally evil; for the superstitious, the ignorant, the lazy, the immature, the unbalanced, the mentally ill, the paranoid, the fainthearted; for anyone who for any reason cannot or will not take responsibility for their own actions, their own lives, their own souls; for these people Aleister Crowley is still a dangerous man.
 

a_shikhs

Thanks a lot for the lovely information. I guess im gonna buy this deck as i am suddenly attracted to it again.. I feel as if this deck has some mysterious power to it.. :) I am planning to buy the pocket version of this deck. How is the mini version??
 

Abrac

Aeon418 -

Your correction of my misquote is duly noted.

Just out of curiosity, if "do what thou wilt" does not mean "do what you want," what exactly does it mean?

-fof
 

Grigori

I'm glad your going to get the deck a_shikhs :thumbsup: Its a great deck, and I think a must for any collection. I admit sometimes I think Crowley is a bit of a freak :D, but I'm a fan of his deck anyway, and also some of his other work.

I'd suggest you get the larger copy if you can. The Large on is a bit too big to shuffle, but the details are great. The regular size is good, easy to use and not so small that the details are lost.

I've only seen the mini one briefly. It wasn't hard to see, but I am glad I started with a larger one.
 

rainwolf

Theres a solution to that--just cut the borders off and corner cut the cards. They'll be much more attractive and you'll have almost an inch less to shuffle. They're a really nice size afterwards.
 

Aeon418

a_shikhs said:
Thanks a lot for the lovely information. I guess im gonna buy this deck as i am suddenly attracted to it again.. I feel as if this deck has some mysterious power to it.. :) I am planning to buy the pocket version of this deck. How is the mini version??
When it comes to Thoth bigger is always better. But the mini-Thoth is still a nice little deck. Even though the cards only measure 8.9cm x 5.6cm the image quality is still very good.

Is that the size you are planning to get? Some people confuse the pocket deck with the standard size deck because that only measures 11cm x 7cm and is a little smaller that most other Tarot decks. More playing card size really.

The large one is the best for study and looking at small details. But the 14cm x 9.5cm card size is a little large for some people to shuffle.
 

Aeon418

fools_fool said:
Just out of curiosity, if "do what thou wilt" does not mean "do what you want," what exactly does it mean?
Do what thou wilt basically means follow your true nature or path in life, whatever that may be. Crowley's books on Magick and Yoga are instruction manuals on how these techniques can be used to strip away the layers of the ego to reveal the True Self of the individual man or woman.

Doing what you want is completely different. Want's are cravings of the ego and are therefore a transitory whim of the moment that may or may not benefit you. And even when you get what you want, you will probably want something else afterwards.
It's like our modern consumer society. We can buy anything we want but we still feel empty inside unless we have meaning or pupose in our lives.
 

Abrac

The Book of the Law itself advocates ego gratification through passion and violence. Crowley himself had a difficult time accepting its message. For years after transcribing it he remained on the path of Yoga, Buddhism, and other forms of transcendentalism, even losing the original manuscript until rediscovering it years later. Here are some quotes from the Book of the Law:

"We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit; let them die in their misery. For they feel not. Compassion is the vice of kings; stamp down the wretched and the weak; this is the law of the strong; this is our law and the joy of the world."

"To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, and be drunk thereof."

"Be strong, O man! Lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture; fear not that any God shall deny thee for this."

"Mercy let be off; damn them who pity! Kill and torture; spare not; be upon them!"

Aiwass, who seems almost totally lacking human moral feeling, appears to be more Devil than Angel. Indeed Crowley would eventually come this conclusion himself.

"And Her(the Scarlet Woman's)Concoction shall be sweet in our mixed mouths, the Sacrament that giveth thanks to Aiwaz, our Lord God the Devil." - Ailester Crowley, The Magical Record, 22 July, 1920

-fof
 

a_shikhs

Aeon418 said:
When it comes to Thoth bigger is always better. But the mini-Thoth is still a nice little deck. Even though the cards only measure 8.9cm x 5.6cm the image quality is still very good.

Is that the size you are planning to get? Some people confuse the pocket deck with the standard size deck because that only measures 11cm x 7cm and is a little smaller that most other Tarot decks. More playing card size really.

The large one is the best for study and looking at small details. But the 14cm x 9.5cm card size is a little large for some people to shuffle


Actually i wanted a mini version so that it is easier to carry it around. But i think i'll go in for the large thoth and then trim the sides. :)
 

Aeon418

fools_fool said:
The Book of the Law itself advocates ego gratification through passion and violence. Crowley himself had a difficult time accepting its message. For years after transcribing it he remained on the path of Yoga, Buddhism, and other forms of transcendentalism, even losing the original manuscript until rediscovering it years later. Here are some quotes from the Book of the Law:
I think I will let the book speak for itself at this point:
The fool readeth this Book of the Law, and it's comment; & he understandeth it not.

Ever heard of the dangers of literalism? ;)
Can you name one religious scripture from around the world that you would be prepared to take at face value? Can you name me one scripture that is not written using metaphor and symbol?
If not why do you insist on a literal reading of the Book of the Law?

Many of the worlds religious scriptures are full of dark and threatening imagery. The Book of the Law is just one among many.
See the Tibetan Book of the Dead with it's description of the Hrukas and Dakinis who make Ra Hoor Khuit look like a pussy cat.
The Bible is full of violence, most of it commanded by God himself! Nearly everyone the hebrews meet they are commanded to kill.
How about the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna urges Arjuna to start killing all his friends and relatives!

Is this all supposed to be taken as literal truth? Brain dead fundamentalists of all creeds like to think so. ;)
fools_fool said:
Aiwass, who seems almost totally lacking human moral feeling, appears to be more Devil than Angel. Indeed Crowley would eventually come this conclusion himself.

"And Her(the Scarlet Woman's)Concoction shall be sweet in our mixed mouths, the Sacrament that giveth thanks to Aiwaz, our Lord God the Devil." - Ailester Crowley, The Magical Record, 22 July, 1920
Your quote proves nothing. Crowley's use of the word devil is never meant in the negative Christian sense. It only has meaning within the self-referential theology of Thelema. See Crowley's description of the Devil in the Book of Thoth.