Is it a 'Male Tarot'?

Don't forget the Triune of Thlema: Male and Female energies combine to promote and complete the Great Work as force and form. Just see the Trumps and read the Book of Thoth, nothing "evil" about it as well and the whole deck goes around sex magick to begin with.

AnneLien said:

I was wondering: is the Toth tarot a male - tarot?
I mean, is it a deck that most men use, or are there women who use it too?

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There are stacks of women who use it, including me; and for someone I know who sells Tarot decks and therefore can have her pick, it's the only deck she will use.

AnneLien said:

I'm a bit 'afraid' to buy it, i've read negative comments on the deck: his dislike of females and so on. That's why I ask this question.

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His? The deck was painted by Freida Harris, a woman. Aleister Crowley, a man, engaged her to do the job and taught her a series of codes of symbology and what he wanted each card to "mean", but left the designs completely to her. She would illustrate several very different versions for him to look at, and he would pick the one he liked best. That's why there are three Magus cards - he never decided between those three, so they were all kept in.

The idea of a man, but the work of a woman, including the form the symbolism took and how it was expressed in pictures.

The Pagans I hang out with now are okay with the deck, but the Pagans I used to hang out with by and large hated the deck. They completely discounted Frieda Harris' work, and because there were aspects of Crowley's personal life and the self-aggrandising and largely undeserved publicity he created around himself as "the Beast". They had never so much as looked at the images, because "it might corrupt them". They didn't credit themselves with very much strength of mind, IMO.

I find the images full of light and air and energy, space and form. They glow. They are delightful.

I didn't originally have this deck on my wish-list. Then I won a copy of its clone, the Liber T, in a competition here (Thank you, Wendywu!) - and I am so-o-o glad I did! The Liber T itself is an interesting deck that repays time spent on it, but as a direct consequence of being given it, I then developed a great curiosity about the Thoth that I wouldn't have otherwise developed. Someone else then gifted me with the Thoth (Thank you, Sulis!), and I haven't looked back.

I'm a woman, and Freida Harris was a woman. It's a woman's deck.

More to the point, it's a gender-nonspecific intelligent person's deck. It requires and demands thought and seriousness. It is utterly delightful and a dream to use.

nisaba said:

His? The deck was painted by Freida Harris, a woman. Aleister Crowley, a man, engaged her to do the job and taught her a series of codes of symbology and what he wanted each card to "mean", but left the designs completely to her.

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Not quite. Crowley was very specific about the design of the cards and asked Harris to paint several verions of most of them until they where right. He did leave minor details and ornamentation up to Harris though.

Abrac said:

The Thoth was created deliberately as a tool for propagating Crolwey's "Law of Thelema."

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Absolutely! But it's not exactly the first time that Tarot has been used as a propaganda tool, is it?

Abrac said:

I think the Thoth gets an evil rap because Crowley went out of his way to incorporate as much "evil" symbolism as he could from the Bible, especially Revelation.

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Evil symbolism? Where?

Aeon418 said:

Evil symbolism? Where?

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Exactly. People want to believe that, so they do. But it's cobblers !

(Reminder. I am a female person ! And Motherpeace is VILE.)

Strong and memorable impressions perhaps?

Hello Annlien,

I saw you mentioned the term masculine in feeling and then a question relating about your sensitivity to images.

I remember how different visual art studies were attractive to me when I focused on color first-- because I found color affected my perceptions and suggested feelings or moods. I did learn things about line and form after. But at first on a page, how color is used to hit my eyes and splashes an impression, then the shape of a form and bold/delicate use of line.

For me, the cards have an incredible range of color and if the mood of one card is strong---words such as bold, dark, bright come to mind. Some cards have vivid contrasts and jagged edges or strong images--the Tower's eye and lightning in the Thoth is as vivid as the Lord of the Rings movie image of Morder's Eye and Tower to me. It is true such vivid colors are bold and can stay in one's memory. I have used the term masculine sometimes to describe such charged energy, but it was a personal association.

If in the 1940's there might have been more art appeal in strong images and use of color to fit the tastes of those moderns, I believe the strength of the art or bold use of color is in the Thoth. Yes, the card colors are memorable and I would say the impressions of the images stay strong in my mind.

I think the men that I have heard of using the deck tend to favor their Thoth as their main deck because they enjoy its versatility. Not all of the guys that I know use their Thoth exclusively, but I did notice a theme. If their journey with their deck was such that Thoth was their chosen tool--their work with the deck was a profound one--and ongoing.

I would say the Thoth can be a rugged, strong--and some lovely cards as the Empress, or Star have also their quieter and deeper strengths and impressions. Again, my personal associstions. If there are some cards in the Thoth you come to like quite a bit, then you might want to note what about the color and forms and lines say to you...and in time move on to looking at some of the cards that you find challenging. Their colors and forms might not be your favorite depictions, but you may find that you enjoy the study of the deck over time.

Hope the response to your questions were helpful and if you do end up getting the Thoth, it becomes an enjoyable one for you.

Cerulean

AnneLien said:

A (perhaps) stupid question: the images, are they 'evil'? I've heard a lot about where he got the inspiration... I don't want negative decks in my collection, i'm very sensitive. All my decks are positive. But for some reason this deck keeps coming up in my mind....

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I'm glad this got so many responses. It was very helpful.
Maybe tomorrow I'll visit the store where I saw the deck.... If it feels good, it's my next tarot in the collection.

AnneLien said:

I was wondering: is the Toth tarot a male - tarot?
I mean, is it a deck that most men use, or are there women who use it too?

I'm a bit 'afraid' to buy it, i've read negative comments on the deck: his dislike of females and so on. That's why I ask this question.

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I would say in my experience that Thoth is the deck of choice for most males readers I have came into contact with.


Freddie

How odd. It is also the deck of choice for ALL the female readers I have actually met in real life.



MAYBE it is just a damn good reading deck

gregory said:

How odd. It is also the deck of choice for ALL the female readers I have actually met in real life.



MAYBE it is just a damn good reading deck

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This. Almost every woman reader I came across uses it, and it is deck I use both for professional readings and divination.