Advice on Thoth book (not DuQuette's)

Hi,

I have just bought a large Thoth, to go with my standard size deck.
So glad I bought the large ones- the details really come across.

Anyway, I already have the "Understanding the Thoth Deck" book by Don Milo Duquette (not sure if I have spelt his name right!).

It's a good book, but it concentrates on the history, concepts, background, etc.

What I want now is a book (or two) that is a more contemporary, "positive" take on the cards; and their use "today".

I have narrowed my shortlist down to:

Angeles Arrien The Tarot Handbook
Gerd Ziegler Mirror of the Soul
The Thoth Tarot Handbook by Akron, Hajo Banzhaf
The Crowley Tarot by Akron-Hajo Banzhof ISBN 0-88079-715-0

(Not sure if the last two are actually the same book???)

Any comments on any of the above? I'm after something with plenty of depth, but still in layman's language if that makes sense- I want the equivalent of "78 degrees", for the Thoth!
Would like a book which covers the images, symbolism, divinatory meaning and its uses for personal development. I hope I'm conveying the type of book that I am looking for?

All help much appreciated.

Regards,
Ian

Not sure if this is the answer you want, but I offer my opinion.

The first book I read was Crowley's "Book of Thoth". I understood nothing from it

I got Duquette's book. I got a lot out of it, but still couldn't read with the cards. I'd still recommend this as the place to start from.

Then I read Zeigler's Mirror of the Soul. Despite its frequent recommendations I found it very contradictory to what I little I knew and didn't gain much from it because of that. The info on each card is to short to get into much depth, but too long to look at quickly. A bad combination for me.

Akron, Hajo Banzhaf's "The Crowley Tarot" was next. I really got a lot out of the book. It is also a bit different that Crowley, but I found the very lengthy discussion on each card extremely valuable. I think this one might suit you best.

I also have the Banzhaf "Keywords for the Crowley Tarot" Theres very little in it beside what is in the larger book (and a lot less). It has contibutions from as astrology author, but I didn't find them valuable. Its probably good if you want something to look at quickly while reading for others. Its a quick summary in charts kind of set out.

I then read Duquettes book "The Chicken Qabalah" and Pollack's "Kabbalah Tree" to learn about that. They were very valuable. I also got a book on Astrology with a page or so of info on each sign, planet etc.

(clearly I read too many books, but I'm nearly done )

Since then I 've re-read Crolwys book twice and gotten much more from it, and understand most things he says (at least superficially). I found it to be the most valuable book over all, but I needed a lot of other books before I could get anything out of it.

I guess my advice is Duquette first. Then "The Crowley Tarot" Then study up on astrology, kabbalah, magick or whatever you need. Then don't forget to come back to Crowley.

(PS I've not read the Arrien book. I had a quick flick through someones else copy and it seemed good)

similia said:

(PS I've not read the Arrien book. I had a quick flick through someones else copy and it seemed good)

Click to expand...

Read it more closely and you'll find that Arrien admits that her interpretation is not Crowley's but her own.

fyreflye said:

Arrien admits that her interpretation is not Crowley's but her own.

Click to expand...

She does indeed. The question is, does that mean that the book is not good?
What Ian is looking for is

IDN said:

a more contemporary, "positive" take on the cards; and their use "today".

Click to expand...

and

a book which covers the images, symbolism, divinatory meaning and its uses for personal development.

Click to expand...

I think that Arrien's The Tarot Handbook fits those specifications.
The book is far from perfect- it contains an unusually large number of typos, has some repetitive phrasing and badly constructed sentences- and, of course, diverges greatly from Crowley's interpretation. I think that nonetheless it is a very useful resource in approaching the Thoth for the purposes of divination or personal development.
It definitely offers a positive take on the cards, with an eye toward transformation of and moving through the difficult psychological states which some of the cards can be taken to represent.
It presents ways in which the cards can be related to one another.
It provides practical divinatory interpretations.
Much of its interpretation is astrologically based.
It has a section which describes what kind of psychological state a person may be in when drawn to a particular card, which I have found to be surprisingly accurate.
It contains the "soul card" and "life cycle calculation" methods, which I have found to be accurate and useful.
It presents a take on the Thoth which I have not seen elsewhere.

The Tarot Handbook. Is it good? For learning more about Crowley's ideas? No. For what you're looking for, Ian? Yes.

Keywords is good for a short, meditative card look...

Keywords for the Crowley Tarot...Kind of a flash-card identification approach to some of the symbols, what the divinatory meaning could be for that symbol and a suggestion of what to do with the card meaning for a personal action item that day...

Gerd Ziglar's Mirror of the Soul is kindly in terms suggesting personal improvement and attitude adjustments using one card as a basis for meditative thoughts.

But I felt like I stopped liking those two approaches after awhile...still, those books were nice segways after giving away the Angeles Arrien book to someone else. After awhile I've never felt like replacing the Angeles Arrien, Banhoff or Gerd Ziglar's books...once I did get a gift/replacement of the Mirror of the Soul and just realized it wasn't for me anymore.

Ian's looking for a book:...which covers the images, symbolism, divinatory meaning and its uses for personal development...

Let us know what you decide...

Cerulean

Many thanks for all the replies and advice.

I have just ordered...

Angeles Arrien The Tarot Handbook
The Crowley Tarot by Akron-Hajo Banzhof

from Amazon.
Will let you know how I get on.

Regards,
Ian