Interesting Thoth tarot Book

Hello all,

recently I have bought and purchased a book called 78 steps of Wisdom.

Its by a german author and in original you can find it on amazon.de as

Der Crowley- Tarot. Buch und 78 Karten. 78 Wege des Wissens. (Broschiert)
by Susanne Peymann.

I find the book to be most fascinating. Its just so different to anything else I have read.
She is a psychologist, and she has the most original outlook on the cards.

For example she sees positive in the cards which are usually all negative and vice versa.
She has also read Thoth tarot books by Gerd B. Ziegler,
Evelin Bürger und Johannes Fiebig, Hajo Banzhaf und Brigitte Theler etc.
She makes references to their seeing of the individual cards and builds on that, so I would say she knows what she is talking about.

For example her explanation of The Star is the most unique one. Apart from the usual she adds a text about how the star could also be too self absorbed, as in I am the biggest star of them all and who is shinier than I am, explaining that sometime this card could also mean narcicism and why. She says that she has never seen anything negative about this card in any book, but her opinions stand on a good ground and I could see where she was going with her interpretations.

Her explanation of the symbolism of the cards reads well, it is not too esoteric mumbo jumbo, but it tells you well why is what in which card. So the author has a deep knowledge of the cards, their symbolism, astrology etc and she helps to understand the cards perfectly.

I think it could make a valuable and original read for anyone interested in Thoth, I am not sure it is published in EN though.

Nininka,
Thank you for sharing that information!
Its a shame its not in English, though! It sure would have been worth the money to get ahold of it!
I would rather have a positive take on the Thoth. Guess I will stay with the intuitive!

Barb

Nininka said:

For example her explanation of The Star is the most unique one. Apart from the usual she adds a text about how the star could also be too self absorbed, as in I am the biggest star of them all and who is shinier than I am, explaining that sometime this card could also mean narcicism and why. She says that she has never seen anything negative about this card in any book, but her opinions stand on a good ground and I could see where she was going with her interpretations.

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Thanks N. I think there are a lot of people that see posatives in some Thoth cards that others see negatives in (and indeed in the whole of Crowley's work!). Her understanding although of the Star does not seem unique to me. It sounds like she is looking at one side of Aquarius? ... And relating that to the Star.

Hi Ravenest,

well I am not experienced with tarot yet, I have read about 7 books only, 3 of them on Thoth.
All of the books always seemed to agree more or less on the meaning of the cards, to some extent it was like a repetition.
So for me the book I mentioned was a fresh view.
Then again, I do not know about planets and astrology and I do not know much about esoteric things etc., so for me only what I read in the tarot books sheds light on the cards.
So for me personally something like the negative aspect of The Star is a different and new view to other tarot books
I hope it helps to explain why I am pleasantly surprised with the book.
I also think that given the fact it is written by a psychologist it can serve as a useful tool for self insight and self growth, and the descriptions of the cards in the book are slightly different than classical divination, more focused on the psychological aspects on your mind.
Kat