I need great suggestions on learning Duquotte's book, PLEASE !!!

To Abrac

Abrac,

WHAT EXACTLY I WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS BOOK ?

I just want to understand the cards, the symbols, just to get a connection, a feeling with the cards, that's all.

And I dont think it's a good way to learn just by memorizing the definitions/meanings of the cards without understanding the images.

hmm

I think like anything, praticing guitar, learning to play poker, learning astrology..

it takes time, patience, study , and who knows what else depending on the individual.
it wont' happen over night, myself it tooks two years before i felt comfortable enough to read without a book and that was with the wiate. but we are all differnt.

take what we suggested and make your own work plan, as only you know what is comfortable for you.

heck one toth tarot card with all its symbolism can have a week spent on it alone or more.
the symbolism behind the toth tarot designs itself isnt' easy to learn over night by no means either.
one is looking at the astrology, kabbalah, and i have no idea what else.
one of those subjects alone takes all the things for the tarot system mentioned above.

sunstallion said:

Abrac,

WHAT EXACTLY I WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS BOOK ?

I just want to understand the cards, the symbols, just to get a connection, a feeling with the cards, that's all.

And I dont think it's a good way to learn just by memorizing the definitions/meanings of the cards without understanding the images.

Click to expand...

Maybe the Thoth deck isn't the deck for you.

HOLMES said:

heck one toth tarot card with all its symbolism can have a week spent on it alone or more.
the symbolism behind the toth tarot designs itself isnt' easy to learn over night by no means either.
one is looking at the astrology, kabbalah, and i have no idea what else.
one of those subjects alone takes all the things for the tarot system mentioned above.

Click to expand...

Well, it took Crowley and Harris two years to make it and it was the culmination of a life's work for Crowley. And we expect to know it, to feel it, to understand it, to "connect with it" in less time than it took them? Sigh. I mean - it's like starting the violin and saying - why can't I play Tchaikovski's violin concerto? - I've been studying for weeks and I used to play the guitar...

Man, I just spent hours over the Ace of Disks, which I got in a one-card draw. It's so rich! It didn't answer my question immediately. But I'm getting there...because in the thinking and trying to understand, I am peeling off layers and layers of the situation - and of that card.

"In this essay, and in these designs, is given an analysis of the general character of each card; but he cannot reach any true appreciation of them without observing their behaviour over a long period; he can only come to an understanding of the Tarot through experience. It will not be sufficient for him to intensify his studies of the cards as objective things; he must use them; he must live with them. They, too, must live with him" -Book of Thoth-pg250

I just love this quote, and I thought it fit into the mood of this thread. Time and Experience! That's a BIG part of it. You can and should read but don't expect to understand everything at once, because you wont. Read the BOT, Duquotte and others. Do daily Thoth draws, meditate on the card. Do full size spreads, use elemental dignities see how the cards compliment each other. Time, experience, more study, more meditation. Evolve! When all else fails, walk away for a while, come back to it later.

Can I get a witness!

Crowley was many things, but he was not dumb.

S

sunstallion-

My suggestion to anyone wanting to use the Crowley tarot is to read up on Crowley himself, get a feel for the man and his mission - find out what he is all about. The Thoth tarot is a visual representation of Crowley's magickal philosophy. The more you know about him and his life, the more the cards make sense. There are a lot of good books out there on Crowley's tarot including DuQuette's, but the best place to start is with Crowley himself if you ask me.

I reccomend you READ the book cover to cover, then take out your deck and re-read it, and source the book of thoth where needed (corwley actually makes duquette as lucid as duquette does crowley).

A bit of background on qabalah and astrology, and Thelemic principle helps, but part one of the book gives the gist of it.

Keep at it! Its not a book of card meanings. it is a book that helps you understand the Thoth tarot. once you do that, the meanings kindda come right from the cards themselves.

its a bit like reading the Book of the Law. You are not going to get all of it straight away and you will keep getting more new things out of it for years on end. at least you will never get bored with it (and giving up because it seems to difficult isnt actually boredom), if its the deck for you it could become a life long companion.

SunStallion,

If DuQuette's book isn't doing it for you, you're kind of in trouble.

I'm also starting to study the Thoth Tarot, and I couldn't be happier with DuQuette's book and The Book of Thoth itself.

Just keep at it. Don't expect to understand and master everything all at once!!! You won't understand the card images the way you want to until you learn the SIGNIFICANCE of them, and for better or worse, this will require a great deal of study and effort.

I'm only just begining, but thanks to DuQuette's book and the BOT, I have a great map of the territory I must cover in the next . . .oh . . . SEVERAL LIFETIMES.

Don't be discouraged. It's a wonderful endeavour. Enjoy the quest and the sweat.