Gonna learn Thoth if it kills me - Majors

nicky said:

Would that mean then the Magician does not know he is not the One? I recall the Demiurge thinks He is Diety, not from diety.

If so then our Magus has a hell of an ego.

Nicky

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I think that's a fair statement. As I understand it, the Magus is ego, pure and undirected. There's no reference point with which to compare itself, so ego isn't a *bad* thing. It could be characterised as total self-awareness.

IMO.

\m/ Kat

nicky said:

Would that mean then the Magician does not know he is not the One? I recall the Demiurge thinks He is Diety, not from diety.

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I often see the magician this way also, though as an alternate idea....

The Magus is Beth, the path that joins Kether (the first sphere on the tree of life) to Binah (the third sphere) which introduces structure (3's being the triangle or the first shape). So the magician is the thing that conducts the highest energy into structure. But this is all happening above the abyss where the first three sphere's are. Usually the demiurge is associated with the 4th sphere, which is the first one below the abyss. (i.e. the 4th Sphere looks upwards and sees only the abyss, so thinks he is the first).

The 4th Sphere is connected to Jupiter, and other similar gods (Jove, Zeus, Jehovah etc..). Though in at least one version of the mythology all of these gods know there are others gods, and most have stories about their parents. So maybe they all have a case of teenage rebellion "I hate you, I have no parents!" *pout*

Cheater Deck

There is a deck for Crowley/Thoth lovers that is never spoken of.

It is full of cheat notes and such.

I seem to be the only one who loves it.

The Magickal Tarot.

I loved this deck before I ever saw a Thoth.

Call me whatever thou will.

The Goose That Laid The Cosmic Egg

gregory said:

Hamsa tells us nothing of the ART.

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That seems like a random thing to say; and I can tell you put a lot of thought into it. But, since you brought it up...

It is interesting to note that Atu XIV: ART is included in constellation 5: STAFF (14 = 1+4 = 5) and Hamsa is both arabic and hebrew for “Five”
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa ); though that may have more to do with the five fingers of a Hand than with reaching through the Prop (depending upon how you "manipulate" the formula).

What is perhaps more poignant to our “discussion” is the relevance of the Hamsa swan (or, goose हंस ) to...

9: BRIDGE
..................................................
................9.............9..................
..............cups......wands...............
.........9...............................9.......
.....swords........................disks.....
..................................................
...IX.....................................XVIII
..Yod....................................Qoph

(see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9cSuXLlOtA )

Not that you should take any of this too literally; I'm just suggesting a method of approach. By all means, if it suits your taste, focus on the minutiae of the cards' imagery. I like picture books too.

Yg, this is one of those times.

Yygdrasilian said:

By all means, if it suits your taste, focus on the minutiae of the cards' imagery.

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You see, it isn't a question of taste or "minutiae"... folks are actually speaking to the topic of the thread. This thread is actually about Nicky's desire to study the details of the cards and the reasoning behind the symbols. Not only is that not tangential, it is the central point of discussion. Not your constellations, not a grand overarching mystery, not a Holy of Holies of Thelemic wonderment. Plan old "picture book" symbology. It's not a question of "taste"; it is a question of relevance.

No ones wants to get into metadiscussion, but your posts are off topic.

S

The Priestess - This card is assigned to Gimel, and we see our Camel below –
I love the multiple correspondences... the moon being watery and the camel being a water vessel of sorts. Is that camel living in an oasis with the flora down there?

This is one of the cards I really like art wise. I love how she appears to pull the webbing of the universe with outstretched hands.

Bow and arrow on her lap may refer to Artemis and her pure state, being as our Priestess presides above the abyss.

What is with the beer goggles?

Nicky

I love this !

And don't forget that Camel/Gimel crosses the Desert the way the High Priestess crosses the Abyss.

nicky said:

What is with the beer goggles?

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Yes, I've always wondered about her mask/glasses. It seems much like a lemniscate, as we often see on the Magician and the Strength card in the Marseille and RWS based decks. A symbol in infinity, or balance (the HP is the upper part of the middle pillar).

But they always look a little out of place to me. I'd love to hear some theories about them.

Projective Geometry 101

nicky said:

When I look at the art on this deck I am either uncomfortable or mesmerized.. there is no middle ground.. and I have in the past been quick to say not for me.. the unsettling art was off putting enough to keep me from attempting to tackle the parts of the deck that mesmerized. LFH was brilliant; the way she can make space look like it is being pulled. The colors are sometimes horrid, but I understand that is due to the color scales she was asked to use. I read somewhere AC had her redo some of the cards up to 8 times. Amazing.

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If you haven't seen this yet, it may help understand the art a little better:
http://user.cyberlink.ch/~koenig/dplanet/stephen/claas/olive_e.html

Much mahalo to Mary K. Greer for providing the link.
Hamsa Shaka!

The "goggles" have the appearance of a lemniscate, but in this context it seems to me to more closely reflect the symbolism of the ouroboros, that is, cyclical time. Frequently nowadays the lemniscate takes on an almost spiritual quality as seen in some tarot cards as a type of halo. I don't really see that in The Priestess. I see her as eternal truth wearing a mask of change.