List of Thoth books

Grigori

ZenMusic said:
*** Crowley: The Book of Thoth
*** The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy, by Robert Wang
*Duquette: Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot
*Michael Osiris Snuffin: The Thoth Companion
*Hazo Banzhaf and Akron: The Crowley Tarot
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I would agree with these books, though suggest reading them in this order:

Duquette (to work out what the hell is going on)
Banzhaf (to get some comfort with meanings so you can start applying the information in readings)
Crowley (you should understand most of it by now)
Snuffin (points out some good things you missed)
Wang (compare to other traditions and review the above)

Amon, the Snuffin book does not have a lot of unique content, but I really liked that it dissects individual features of the cards, and gives the origin of the symbol etc. I also liked that it gave some Thelemic slants on individual cards, that I didn't pick up elsewhere before (e.g. where the light falls on the Emperor, that I'd only related to the paths, and not thought about what was being highlighted and what was falling into shadow)
 

Amon

similia said:
I
Amon, the Snuffin book does not have a lot of unique content, but I really liked that it dissects individual features of the cards, and gives the origin of the symbol etc. I also liked that it gave some Thelemic slants on individual cards, that I didn't pick up elsewhere before (e.g. where the light falls on the Emperor, that I'd only related to the paths, and not thought about what was being highlighted and what was falling into shadow)
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Ok, thanks. I will buy the book when I can afford it. Right now, ebay is draining my resources.
 

ravenest

Nina* said:
I completely agree.
AND Banzhaf's/Akron's

I definitely don't like James Wanless' though - too new agery to me.
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James Wandless (snicker!)
 

planetmoon

Re: the Snuffin book.

Sorry folks but I do not like this book very much at all. It feels very cobbled together. It is not a book for a beginner, it assumes too much prior knowledge. Luckily I already know a little bit about the Kabbalah and a good book for getting to know Tarot from a Kabbalistic perspective is Tarot and the Tree of Life which deals incisively and inspirationally with the Minor Arcana. There are many others I am sure, but I think I wasted my money here.

On the other hand, I just took delivery of the Lon Milo Duquette book and that is superb, it gives a really useful flavour of Crowley's life and background (Lady Frieda isn't left out either) and just encapsulates something of the spirit of the Thoth deck. I like the asides, he is talking to us as fellow students. My advice - get this one!
 

Aeon418

planetmoon said:
It is not a book for a beginner, it assumes too much prior knowledge.
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To be fair Snuffin himself does say very early on that his book is not for the complete beginner. Some little prior knowledge is assumed on the part of the reader. Personally I liked it for that fact. I don't see why every single Thoth book has to be inclusive of novices to be considered "good". It's a symptom of modern publishing practices and the need for high volume sales. If you cut out the newbies, sales will be smaller. That's one reason why we hardly ever see any advanced Tarot books. It's a real shame. :(
 

gregory

Yeah - that is why I didn't get it till AFTER I had done some other reading. (Duquette). I like it. Not that I am at all au fait yet, but I am working on it !
 

crystal dawn

The Complete Guide to the Kabbalah - will parfitt

for more info on the kabbalah i have found The Complete Guide to the Kabbalah by Will Parfitt a very informative book - this is ideal for begininers or for people who dont know too much about the kabbalah its full of exercises and attributions and goes into depth and a light read at the same time. Everything of course corresponds to crowleys philosophy and the author even reccomends buying a pack of the thoth tarot to help further your studies.

blessings

crystal dawn
 

rachelcat

In preparing for my IDS with the Thoth, and I was a little surprised to find I have FIVE books about the deck. Then I did an Amazon search and was surprised that there are so many MORE books about the deck!

My recommendations mirror the most-learned Scion, so I know I must be right! I have and recommend:

Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot by Duquette. I recommend this as a first book to use in conjunction with the Book of Thoth. It gives enough background to get you started. And it’s humor and ease of reading encourages a beginner!

Book of Thoth, of course. It’s no shame to realize that you need lots of background--in alchemy, astrology, and kabbalah, especially--to fully understand what you read here. Keep reading and studying everything in sight, and it starts to make sense!

Thoth Companion by Snuffin. I agree this is not for a beginner. I have found it very interesting, and especially useful for pinning down specific symbols/images on the cards. And colors! Plus it has in very abbreviated form the Golden Dawn attributions (astrological, kabbalistic, hashemphorash, etc.) you need to know about. (I trimmed the Pisces sign off the bottom of my 10 Cups. So I was like Mars in ??? Snuffin saved me quickly and easily!)

I also recommend GD tarot books for the GD basics: Book T, the book for Duquette’s Tarot of Ceremonial Magick, the book for the Ciceros’ Golden Dawn Magical Tarot, The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn by the Zalewskis.

I have but don’t completely recommend:

The Crowley Tarot: The Handbook to the Cards by Banzhaf. When I first started studying the Thoth, I was using this with Book of Thoth. (Duquette was out yet!) It gave me some good ideas, but now when I look back into it, some of the many, MANY references and attributions tend to muddy the waters. It might be good to expand your “tarot thinking” through using the Thoth, if you know what I mean.

Keywords for the Crowley Tarot also by Banzhaf. I haven’t really used this very much. It is short and sweet, but I have a feeling it’s not ABOUT the Thoth, it’s more about tarot through the Thoth. (I have his Keywords for Astrology, which is a great short reference!)

I don’t have:

Tarot as Your Companion, also by Banzhaf. I wonder it this is rehash of Keywords combined with RWS stuff, too?

Tarot: Mirror of the Soul by Gerd Ziegler. People say it’s a little thin on content?

New Age Tarot by James Wanless. Had this. Gave it away. Definitely thin!

The Tarot Book by Jana Riley. No idea!

The Tarot Handbook by Angeles Arrien. There is a long controversy thread about this book here. I have avoided it because I had her book on Muses and IT was VERY thin, so I didn’t want to go down that road with the Thoth.

Integral Tarot by Suzanne Wagner. No idea. Does anyone know anything about this one? Enquiring minds want to know!

Tarot for the New Aeon by P.C. Tarantino. Enquiring mind on this one, too. Does anyone know about this? Looks interesting . . .

And are there other Thoth books out there we need to know about?

(Now enough work avoidance! On to my card study work. The Lovers await!)
 

gregory

rachelcat said:
Tarot: Mirror of the Soul by Gerd Ziegler. People say it’s a little thin on content?
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It is also - well, I don't think the forum allows that word, but I would strongly un-recommend it ! I got it very cheap indeed. But not cheap enough. I think free would have been too expensive.....
 
BoT Replacement Who bought the incomplete greenie on ebay ?