IDS: The Thoth. (We are not afraid of you!)

As there are some people using the Thoth for the IDS (Intensive Deck Study), I thought that it'd be a good idea if we had a thread were we could discuss our approach/ suggestions/ facts, etc. A place to cry too (grrrr.... elemental dignities!!!)

(Moderators: I don't know if this thread belongs here or in the Deck Study section. If it's necessary, please move it).

I started with the IDS last weekend. Actually, I started studying my Thoth last year, but then I quited, and now I'm starting again.

What am I working with?

* my deck (AG MÜller)

* my journal. It's a school notebook (used here in primary schools). It has 200 pages, a hard cover and it has the size of a book. The color is red, and the paper of the cover is "papel araña", it has spider-web patterns. I wrote "The Thoth Journal" in the spine, with a black marker (and even though my main language is Spanish I wrote it in English... I feel comfortable with both languages.)

* Internet. As I don't have a reference book, except for the LWB that came with the deck, I'm using a couple of websites I found interesting:

http://www.tryskelion.com/tryskelion/major.htm

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/libro_thoth.htm

My approach: I want to make my journal (Actually the pages reserved for each card - I have several blank pages for other purposes) my companion book. The LWB is not very helpful, so I want to have the meanings, symbols and interesting facts in a book - my journal. Before doing any reading, I want to write down all the info for each card.

My main goal is to be able to do readings with the Thoth.

What is your method? What is your objective?

missycab said:

(Moderators: I don't know if this thread belongs here or in the Deck Study section. If it's necessary, please move it).

Click to expand...

This is the Study Forum for the Thoth deck. The three backbone decks each have their own Study Forum. All the remaining decks are under the umbrella Forum, Tarot Study Groups.

Marion
Moderator, Thoth Forum

Hi missycab,

I don't exactly belong in this thread, as I'm not doing the IDS right now, but I thought I'd post anyway. Maybe I'll be inspiration for y'all? I did an IDS-like thing with the Thoth for the last ODW--I always seem to be one step off from where everyone else is. Here's the thread I posted to start that, with a few suggestions from the Thoth crowd.

My goal was more to understand the esoteric meanings of the cards than to do readings. The original plan was to do one card a week, but that got scrapped in a hurry. It ended up taking about six months to get through the majors. I still intend to spend some serious time with the minors someday.

I feel like I know a lot more about the deck now, although a lot of what I learned is how much I don't know. This deck could be a lifetime study--probably will be.

So good luck to you and any other Thoth IDS-ers. It's a lot of fun!

Also, kind of randomly, I have compiled threads that cover beginners questions, and the Forum has an index, which I don't keep up anywhere near as well as I should, but there is a lot of information.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=27324

Thanks for the links Formicida & Marion!

As an update in the IDS: I'm studying one card a day (sometimes two). Yesterday it was the 8 of cups, and today I have to study The Chariot.

Yay, Missycab! I was thinking that one of us ought to start an "IDS: Thoth" thread. I'll post with more details about my plan of study soon. Right now I just have time to pop in and say hello!

Welcome Mosaica! Thothers of the world - unite!!!

See you tomorrow... I've just had classes today (and I've been also studying for my next exam), and I'm soooo tiiiiiired... going to bed in a couple of minutes. I couldn't study any card today, but I don't feel guilty!

Hello,

I saw this thread started and I thought I would pop by and say that I will be watching and might be joining in on the discussion. I am ISDing with the Thoth Clone Liber T. I am using this deck to study the Thoth since I like the Major Trumps, the Courts and the Aces a lot better in this deck. Though the pips drive me a little crazy I am willing to deal with it.

Looking forward to a good three months.

Peter.

Here's my plan of study. I've been working with the Thoth deck for about three weeks, working my way toward using it as my sole deck, which began yesterday with the official start of the IDS. I have both the regular sized deck (which I use for shuffling) and the large Swiss (which I use for studying).

I'm doing a random daily draw, journaling both on paper (three-ring binder) and online (blog). I may at some point decide to go through the cards in order, probably in addition to my random draw. I am also doing readings when I feel the need, desire, or when I have the time, but I have no set goal for the number of those that I do right now.

I have five deck-related books, with two more on the way. (I'm a little worried about overwhelming myself with too much information, and keep trying to remind myself to take it slow.) I feel almost like I've begun my tarot studies anew, when there was so much information to take in and learn. It's like looking at the tarot through the eyes of the Fool all over again, with new symbols and a whole new "system" to master.

My ultimate goal, like missycab, is to make my own companion book and develop a working understanding of the deck, so that I can confidently read with it.

Fellow Thoth Studier

Hi Everyone

I started studying the A.C. Thoth last week. I'm not officially doing an IDS, but I would love to post here to go along with my studies, if that's OK.

I purchased "Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot" by Lon Milo Duquette to go with it and I'm also using a journal. My plan is to get through the book and deck together card by card understanding all the symbolism and esoteric explanations offered by the book before I even attempt to read with the deck.

So far I've just looked at the deck card by card, then I read the first part of Duquette's book (so much info!!), now I'm on the second part of the book that actually begins going over the individual cards.

I'm currently on The Hierophant. As far as how many cards I study a day depends on how much free time I find myself with during the day. I work at home, so it's not hard to make some time. I plan on doing a meditation on each card too, but I think I'll do that at the end of going through the cards with book in hand. I really want to understand as many aspects of the cards I can and make those understandings "mine", so to speak, before I attempt a reading.

Hope we can all give some insight to each other on this rich, rich deck