Traps in the Thoth Deck?

" 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

I think this was also a warning against actual deification of the Thelemic pantheon. It almost seems that the student must simultaneously revere them as any gods and perform acts in their honor yet retain a certain objectivity and accept them as mere ideas. I find great elegance in this, that it really is immaterial if they exist or not, but when it is advantageous one "pretends" they do in a very directed and specific way. It is certainly much easier to love a great archetypal mother than the concept of empty space.

There also doesn't seem to be a custom of placating the gods in order to win favors. True Will is its own reward.

Liber Astarte is said to be a 'dangerous practice'. It is basically using the 'technique of religion' as a magician (a type of 'Bhakti Yoga' ). One cant do it fully unless one 'lets go' ... but to fully let go one ceases to become a magician and becomes a religious adherent.

Pretending wont work one has to believe and have faith ... yet the 'Magician' is beyond that ... it seems to be about the separation and interplay of Mercury and Venus in the psyche ... it might help to use that outlook when reading cards as well ?

ravenest said:

Liber Astarte is said to be a 'dangerous practice'. It is basically using the 'technique of religion' as a magician (a type of 'Bhakti Yoga' ). One cant do it fully unless one 'lets go' ... but to fully let go one ceases to become a magician and becomes a religious adherent.

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LOL, your dammed if you do, or dammed if you dont, (this trigged the image of the Mary EL - Hierophant card in my mind, I'll post an image of the card)

ravenest said:

Pretending wont work one has to believe and have faith ... yet the 'Magician' is beyond that ... it seems to be about the separation and interplay of Mercury and Venus in the psyche ... it might help to use that outlook when reading cards as well ?

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Yes and No, for me as strange as this sounds, the Magician has control of his soul in the physical vessel (body), the Magician can also control the soul to leave the physical vessel (body), when the Magicians soul leaves the body, is when you need to believe and have faith, what your physical (body) goes through in the transition, but you need to go through each physical reaction to separated your soul from the physical (letting go) of The Heirophant. your soul is in the same reality, yet its different, your senses (touch, smell, vision, etc) then the shock comes, when you see your body resting, (The Tower) to some this is traumatic, they think they are dead, when they are not. This is when the Magician needs to pull out all the stops he or she has learned. You can move around touching the walls, you may not feel brave enough leave the room your in, either out of fear, etc. but you can, you can do anything, go anywhere you want, into space, travel the world, visit family and friends, etc. but you need to be in control. (This is called Out of Body Experience or Near Death Experience) Once you have experienced this, you then have experienced (The Tower) card, and then many other cards, (The Aeon), etc.

Any ways, that maybe a bit off topic. But yes it does help to use that outlook when reading the cards.

ETA: Just wanted to add; The brain has 2 hemispheres, right and left, Tarot teaches you to bring balance between the 2 hemispheres, some people in the New age use the right hemisphere more than the left. In the corporate world they use the Left hemisphere more than the New age. anyways use the tarot to help you bring balance "Bridge" the 2 hemispheres of consciousness.

Trap or Trick ? Right side or Left side? Live in a box? live out side the box? Free yourself and your mind.

closrapexa said:

Well, it certainly isn't safe. One day, you're buying a deck to spite someone who told you to stay away from it, next thing you know you're a devil-worshipping, sex-crazed, occult-wielding crazy person having wild magickal orgies into the night, and saying thanks to a Star Goddess during... well, during happy fun time.

Or am I projecting a bit too much?

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Hehe. I love the Thoth. I don't know of any traps as such in this deck. Will read the rest of this thread to see what others have said.

Here is a pretty good video on AC which will help you to understand AC better and that there are no Traps or Tricks in his deck or Books, as one might think/assume there are.



here is another video

Really? I actually saw it a few years ago and found it was one of the worst things I ever saw. It's full of lies.

closrapexa said:

Really? I actually saw it a few years ago and found it was one of the worst things I ever saw. It's full of lies.

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Really Then fill me in, If the video is full of lies, give me the truth, inquiring minds want to know

I have read lots of AC books and writings.

I feel that those videos are a good intro into AC, people make him out to be a bad person when he really wasn't as bad (Satanist)

In my Mind AC was not a Satanist. He was a very spiritual man, on his spiritual journey. he opened the doors to new ways of thinking and gave us freedom and our rights back, and to freely express ourselves. Does that make him a Satanist, setting up traps or tricks. NO, is my answer.

However that is IMO others may differ.

All I can suggest, is read, read, and discern for yourself.

ETA: check this out, this is interesting have a listen

Robert Anton Wilson might have a better view on him ... but he himself is a bit of a trickster too ( he is a Discordian after all - Hail Eris )

I like this bit from one of his books : (which might be relevant to the thread ? )

The Devil's Masquerade

When the shadows slink and slither,
And the goblins all parade;
Then reason is a broken reed
At the devil's Masquerade.

Don't believe the human eye
In sunlight or in shade.
The puppet show of sight and sense
Is the Devil's Masquerade.

Demons Drink from human skulls
And souls are up for trade.
Take wine and drugs and join us in
The Devil's Masquerade.

Only a Magus and a Knight trueborn
And a virgin unafraid,
Can walk unharmed amid the dance
Of the Devil's Masquerade.

Another way to approach the deck (and tradition) might be via ; "The pentacle of valour, the wand of intuition, the sword of reason and the cup of sympathy."

The Wilson video really is better. While Wilson speaks of Crowley with admiration, he still retains enough objectivity to call him out on bull. The other video I haven't seen in a while, but I remember it being quite sensational, and swinging between inaccuracies and outright lies. It is also surprising that they interview a priest, who's opinion almost seems to be scripted, so blatantly predictable it is. If I remember correctly, the film also refers to Ra-Hoor-Khuit as an evil spirit that possessed Crowley when he played with forces he couldn't control. In addition, it speaks of the Abramelin as a forbidden ritual hidden away by magicians for centuries. There was also something about the way the film dealt with Victor Neuburg that bothered me, although I don't remember why. Also it rehashes the same stories about Raoul Loveday which, although terrible, aren't actually terrible in the way they tell it.

Sorry I can't remember any more, I haven't seen it in a while, that's just what I can remember. I saw both the Loch Ness video and the Wickedest one about two years ago, and together, so I may be doing a little copy/paste between them. Both are pretty tabloid films, in my opinion.