ravenest
" As the flame of the sun, as the roar of the sea,
as the storm of the air,
As the quake of the earth--let it soar for a boon,
for a bane, for A SNARE,
For a LURE, for a light, for a kiss, for a rod,
for a scourge, for a sword--
Bring us thy burden of bliss--
Bring us the word of the Lord! "
(my emphasis)
Often the 'trap' as some say, is in the mind, and often it exists before one passes the threshold ... maybe it was even an IMPULSE to send one towards the door in the first place. Once you are 'in' Crowley 'plays' with 'that which can become a trap in your own mind' , in a variety of ways.
Reminds me of a technique I saw an 'Indian Guru' use; one day - dont be stupid, I cant be your guru, you have to be your own guru, the next moment; yes, I am your Guru and I need ANOTHER Rolls-Royce by the way!
One of the biggest problems we seem to have (being dualists) is we keep insisting on an either/or interpretation. Many spiritual teachers (Mullah Nasruddin comes to mind) SEEM to demonstrate strange 'conflicting' scenarios ... little cameo acting perfomences and various characters in their lives.
Now I am OT as I dont think there is much of that 'in' the Thoth deck but one must see the whole system and the Thoth deck is linked.
Consider, in relation to Crowley, the objective and philosophical validity he and many others after him seem to give to the Book of the Law and its claims, and this passage , advocated and recommended by Crowley himself, as a basic prerequisite and corner stone of proper magical practice;
" In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist.
It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them."
'Trap' ... or 'trick' ?
I suppose one could say that going seriously into the Thoth deck is like walking along a rocky shore with rockpools , holes, beautiful fish, octopus , sting-rays .... they aren't traps any more than anything else is - life's like that if you don't like that stuff fine ... use these;
http://elensentier.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/tarot-cards-cartoon.png?w=900
as the storm of the air,
As the quake of the earth--let it soar for a boon,
for a bane, for A SNARE,
For a LURE, for a light, for a kiss, for a rod,
for a scourge, for a sword--
Bring us thy burden of bliss--
Bring us the word of the Lord! "
(my emphasis)
Often the 'trap' as some say, is in the mind, and often it exists before one passes the threshold ... maybe it was even an IMPULSE to send one towards the door in the first place. Once you are 'in' Crowley 'plays' with 'that which can become a trap in your own mind' , in a variety of ways.
Reminds me of a technique I saw an 'Indian Guru' use; one day - dont be stupid, I cant be your guru, you have to be your own guru, the next moment; yes, I am your Guru and I need ANOTHER Rolls-Royce by the way!
One of the biggest problems we seem to have (being dualists) is we keep insisting on an either/or interpretation. Many spiritual teachers (Mullah Nasruddin comes to mind) SEEM to demonstrate strange 'conflicting' scenarios ... little cameo acting perfomences and various characters in their lives.
Now I am OT as I dont think there is much of that 'in' the Thoth deck but one must see the whole system and the Thoth deck is linked.
Consider, in relation to Crowley, the objective and philosophical validity he and many others after him seem to give to the Book of the Law and its claims, and this passage , advocated and recommended by Crowley himself, as a basic prerequisite and corner stone of proper magical practice;
" In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist.
It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them."
'Trap' ... or 'trick' ?
I suppose one could say that going seriously into the Thoth deck is like walking along a rocky shore with rockpools , holes, beautiful fish, octopus , sting-rays .... they aren't traps any more than anything else is - life's like that if you don't like that stuff fine ... use these;
http://elensentier.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/tarot-cards-cartoon.png?w=900