Ceremonial Magick and Tarot

Abrac

DuQuette's book Tarot of Ceremonial Magick is a good one to have in one sense. He shows all the relevant correspondences on the cards and also lists them below each card. It has many charts and diagrams that are extremely helpful, especially for a beginner.

But it falls short in explaining how to perform a successful magic ritual or evocation. It gives the nuts and bolts but doesn't include an operator's manual.

There's no substitute for personal instruction when it comes to ritual magic. Simply observing a good ritual is better than books. But if all you have are books, I'd suggest LaVey's Satanic Bible. Whatever else you might think about him, his "Book of Belial" in the SB is probably the best available for a beginner to ritual magic. Read through the section "Devices Used a Satanic Ritual." Some of the items you may want to incorporate, others you can toss out. In your case you might want to include the appropriate tarot card(s).
 

foolMoon

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but there's also Tarot of Ceremonial Magick by Lon Milo DuQuette. The deck looks kinda crude, but there's also a book of the same name that you can buy separately. I haven't read the book, so I can't know for sure, but I've heard good things about it.

Thank you for your info. I have looked into the deck, and Yes, I agree with you in that the art of the deck seem rather crude, as if it is drawn by me LOL. I would rather prefer the Thoth Tarot with GODLEN DAWN and Hermetic Tarot to compliment my studies.

The books by LMD are always excellent, so I would imagine it is a good book, but if it is specifically written for LMD's ToCM, maybe it would be only for the people who bought the deck ?
 

Abrac

The Tarot of Ceremonial Magick book was written as a companion for the deck, but all the material is mostly drawn from the Golden Dawn and Crowley so it's very helpful if you want a better understanding of either system.
 

foolMoon

DuQuette's book Tarot of Ceremonial Magick is a good one to have in one sense. He shows all the relevant correspondences on the cards and also lists them below each card. It has many charts and diagrams that are extremely helpful, especially for a beginner.

But it falls short in explaining how to perform a successful magic ritual or evocation. It gives the nuts and bolts but doesn't include an operator's manual.

There's no substitute for personal instruction when it comes to ritual magic. Simply observing a good ritual is better than books. But if all you have are books, I'd suggest LaVey's Satanic Bible. Whatever else you might think about him, his "Book of Belial" in the SB is probably the best available for a beginner to ritual magic. Read through the section "Devices Used a Satanic Ritual." Some of the items you may want to incorporate, others you can toss out. In your case you might want to include the appropriate tarot card(s).

Thank you for your excellent info Abrac. Indeed.
I have just ordered a copy of the book. cheers.
 

foolMoon

The Tarot of Ceremonial Magick book was written as a companion for the deck, but all the material is mostly drawn from the Golden Dawn and Crowley so it's very helpful if you want a better understanding of either system.

I just have gone to the Amazon had a quick peek at the book, and you are right there as well. Surreptitiously ordered this book too. :) I am so glad these books weren't heartlessly expensive like some of AC's ;)
 

Barleywine

A couple of other suggestions:

Robert Wang's small, practical book, The Secret Temple, about setting up your altar, magical implements and other accoutrements. No tarot in it, though.

Willian Gray's Magical Ritual Methods, which has a little on tarot and a lot about the conduct of rites. Caveat, though: some people here don't like Gray. I liked his Ladder of Lights but was less thrilled by his other stuff. Still, this one covers the ground.

Robin Skelton's Talismanic Magic, which doesn't mention tarot, but specific cards could certainly be used as Abrac suggests, perhaps in conjunction with the astrological or gemstone talismans Skelton describes.

ETA: The book, "Astral Doorways," by J.H. Brennan, covers numerous types of "doorways" for entering the astral plane, one of which is tarot

Then there is Donald Kraig's "Modern Magick: Eleven Lessons in the High Maigickal Arts." It touches briefly on tarot but mostly covers the same territory as the above books in more detail. Some people love to hate Kraig, though, because they think he plagarized Francis Barrett's "The Magus." I have both books but haven't done my own comparison. Probably a bit advanced for what you're after, though.
 

Zephyros

I like Kraig. The only qualm I have with him, and actually a few other authors on the subject, is that the "what" but not the "why." For example, he says which God names to say in the LBRP, but not what they mean. But then, that part of the whole caboodle. Combining CM with Tarot is difficult specifically because it isn't like "this means that card." There is much that is implied, or can be deduced from simply reading a ritual while other things can only be arrived at with actually carrying it out. In some rituals the symbolic imagery is more blatant while in others it is muted but essential.

Remember that the Golden Dawn, and as an extension Crowley, dealt less with Tarot for its own sake and more with it as a "filing cabinet" for their ideas about Ceremonial Magick and the initiatory process. And they were all about those things.

Lon Milo Duquette has a book called "The Magic of Thelema," which I found very good. He is less funny in it that than in his Thoth and Qabalah books, but still retains his trademark clarity in explaining difficult material. It may have another name, if I recall it was reprinted and revised.
 

Barleywine

Maybe Tarot Talismans by Chic & Sandra Cicero is what you're looking for. As a link between Tarot and Ceremonial it's all right there in one book.

http://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Talisma.../ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/185-5397238-0057901

I think I'll take a look at that one, too!

Know anything about this one? I thought Tyson's work on The Three Books of Occult Philosophy was pretty good, so wondered about the credibility of this. (But I'm a bit skeptical of "new, easy" anything . . .)

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Magi...d_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0VXVHERG3DWEWCH6CD0Q
 

Aeon418

Know anything about this one? I thought Tyson's work on The Three Books of Occult Philosophy was pretty good, so wondered about the credibility of this. (But I'm a bit skeptical of "new, easy" anything . . .)
I had a copy of this one a few years ago, but I got rid of it during one of my periodic book purges. (Or I gave it away! Can't remember which?!) As far as I remember it was similar in principle to the Cicero book. Kind of like a variation on a theme. But where the Cicero's book is rooted in a sort of Golden Dawn-lite framework, Tyson's book is more 'street style' and personal. It did seem a little more accessible because of that though. The Cicero book might require a little bit more prep. But it should be a walk in the park for anyone with a basic grasp of Golden Dawn stuff.