Thoth Nine of Disks - whose effigies are stamped on the six coins?

OH Mary! Did not permission get sought? I think I would be worried to be in a discussion group where my words were filched for someone's gain- speaking of gain and this card....I was looking at the cards from a different angle (of the sun of course ) and saw a code of sorts. Lady Freida Harris's declaration of love to Mr Crowley. In fact it got to be that I was feeling somewhat embarrassed at peeping around an intimate curtain. Regardie called Crowley 'the King' apparently, and here was LFH depicting The King of Beasts- the Lion as gain. Then here I see she might have depicted herself as the Moon and Virgo. Kwaw has explained the astrological significance to me, and I see that now- but I think the Artist was oh so yearning, nevertheless.
Here it is the card LFH painting the light of her Life, the centre of her Universe. ~Rosanne

Newbie, Hi...

Hey everyone, I'm new here, first post! I was trancing out on this card last night and saw some interesting things which I have never taken account to. Check out the "Mark of the Beast", it can be seen in the 5 of Wands, as well as the Prince of Wands, supposedly this is created by Crowley and designed to incorporate the sun and moon into a phallic symbol. Don't take my word for it, I'm just extrapolating and conjuring up my own idears here.

So, that phallic symbol has three circles, the middle being the phallic and the two bottom ones the testies. Now, look at your 9 of Disks if you will. Do you see this symbolism, but excluding the moon? Another little tip off, hehe, is the way which the color scheme is painted. Pink/ peach for the phallic middle circle, then green and blue for the testes below. Finally, look at the center of the pink phallic circle. Hmmm, why don't the other two circles have a mini center circle of it's own color? I oh so wonder why.

There is a defect in the blue circles coloring too, and I do not think it to be intentional symbolism of any sort. Can anyone make out anything?

I'd just like to say that I think Crowley and Harris really pumped a lot of subliminal symbolism in this deck. Like, it's totally obvious to a paranoid like me! But, does anyone else see this? Help me! Ahhh

And a final question for all of you, where do you see this lion/ sun symbolism? I couldn't figure that out, may anyone be of assistance to me in enlightening my mind?

Thx, love you all, tty soon sum more!...

Rosanne said:

OH Mary! Did not permission get sought?

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I asked Angie if she had seen the book and was she going to sue. She was not interested in going through a European law suit (the publisher is in Germany) so she never did anything. She's done well enough for herself in life and has earned the respect of her students and co-workers - why bother?

I was looking at the cards from a different angle (of the sun of course ) and saw a code of sorts. Lady Freida Harris's declaration of love to Mr Crowley.

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Personally I don't agree with Angie's story. I've never seen any evidence of it in Harris' letters to Crowley. She admired him greatly for his intelligence and magical expertise, but he was very ill for much of the time she worked with him and he was always begging money from her. Also, I don't think Regardie was around at that point.

Mary

willamagus said:

And a final question for all of you, where do you see this lion/ sun symbolism? I couldn't figure that out, may anyone be of assistance to me in enlightening my mind?

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Welcome to the forum willamagus (Now I wonder what influenced your name )
If you look at the 9 in question, those inner three circles form the abstract nose and two cheeks of a lion, with his itsy mouth mouth below-the two coins directly above look like the lions eyes (mars and saturn). He looks ready to spring lol. he is a grumpy lion I think.
Now to the point of my post. I feel like a cabbage! I have spent several hours at the library reading up about Lady Freida Harris- and I guess I would have to say there is no evidence to think that this was a love affair. What Mary had to say is true

She admired him greatly for his intelligence and magical expertise, but he was very ill for much of the time she worked with him and he was always begging money from her. Also, I don't think Regardie was around at that point.

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My further reading has not endeared or changed my views on Crowley the man personally, but his ideas found marvelous expression in her deck. I guess in fact, I think in the main ,she hacked her own way through the Jungle.....I guess in the end Crowley would have admired her even when he threw hissy fits about the publishing of the cards.
I think on the blue wisdom disk there was something painted over- maybe a scarab beetle, another nod to the Sun? that is not there. My apologies for flights of fancy about a relationship. ~Rosanne

Rosanne said:

My apologies for flights of fancy about a relationship.

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I don't think there's anything to apologize for. You were following information from a book that unfortunately didn't come from primary resources. The great thing about this forum is that there are lots of people with bits and pieces of the puzzle - so we get to work it all out together. You checked out the details and now have more information to go on. Good job.

Mary

Reading this thread I get the sense there are many more details in the deck that pertained specifically to Crowley and his immediate circle, like a bunch hidden little in-jokes. For reading purposes, I almost think we are better off not knowing anything about these.

Rosanne said:

Lady Freida Harris's declaration of love to Mr Crowley.

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Rosanne said:

there is no evidence to think that this was a love affair.

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these are two different things really, no? they don't seem to have had a relationship, but that doesn't have to mean that she didn't love him, and if she did, she may well have encoded it in the cards.

i don't know much about Harris and Crowley, so i may be off here.

firemaiden said:

Reading this thread I get the sense there are many more details in the deck that pertained specifically to Crowley and his immediate circle, like a bunch hidden little in-jokes. For reading purposes, I almost think we are better off not knowing anything about these.

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I think maybe you are right firemaiden! Unfortunately my nature is not like that. I try to see what the artist was depicting- and that is one of the things that stopped me using the deck- but since jmd sent me looking at Projective synthetic geometry the beauty of the cards has changed my mind. ~Rosanne

Yay!!

I can see the lion.

If there was a little 3 person cameo there I'm sure Israel would have been included, he was a big part of Crowleys life for a while and visa versa. I remember Regardie writing when he got off the train to meet Crolwey for the first time it went something like this ...
Crowley, "Got any money on you Regardie?"
Regardie, "Um..yes."
Crowley, "Well, hand it over then."

I've always seen the heads on the coins as a type of 'icon' ior representation of those Gods associated with the specific planet; Apollo / youth = Sun, helmed man = mars, etc.