Thoughts on The Hermetic Tarot

The RW small cards are not incompatible with the GD Decan titles, but their primary purpose seems to have been to illustrate certain Grail and Masonic themes which are unique to the RW and similar decks.

For a straight GD deck, I prefer the stark simplicity of the Regardie-Wang for practical use. The "training wheels" of the Hermetic can be a hindrance as well as an asset when it comes to interpretation.

Hmmm, well, I guess it depends on where your personal interests lie. To me, a GD buff, the differences positively scream out, but I guess someone who doesn't share that interest would say that the Hermetic is more similar to the Thoth than the RWS. But then, to me, all Marseilles decks look alike, while others would burn me in the village square because I couldn't care less about this or that squiggle or different shade of blue. Even calling them all Marseilles decks is heresy in some circles.

Thing to remember, is that the RWS is a wholly different animal, being influenced by the GD, but also by Waite's personal brand of Christian mysticism, which can be gleaned from his other books (which aren't the PKT), and also because of its purpose, that of depicting esoteric ideas exoterically. It isn't so much that the Hermetic is like the Thoth, but rather that the RWS is like neither. The RWS is the odd one out here. The grasping hands and all the rest are signature Golden Dawn elements, which of course the Wang deck is faithful to. The Hermetic actually shares more similarities with the Wang than with the Thoth, at least ideologically and structurally, while being closer to the Thoth visually. While all three are based on the same Tree of Life, it is the RWS that most departs the basic GD handbook in the way that it portrays that Tree.

On the other hand, many of the Hermetic minors show copies of Thoth minors, especially in the Cups suit, so stylistically it is very influenced. How much any of this matters depends on, well, how much anyone cares. I know I do, and at least in a theoretical discussion like this one, I can't help nitpicking, since that's the point of a discussion.

I guess you could say that the Hermetic is a Golden Dawn deck that's trying to look like the Thoth.

A deck that I find interesting, and might buy someday, is the Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn. It is a deck wholly based on Book T, but the artist was unaware of other interpretations of it, so it might in fact be "purer" GD than any other, and a comparison between it and other GD decks might prove very interesting. However, from the scans, it can be seen that it is at least in part influenced by the RWS.

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/initiatory-golden-dawn/

closrapexa said:

The grasping hands and all the rest are signature Golden Dawn elements, which of course the Wang deck is faithful to. The Hermetic actually shares more similarities with the Wang than with the Thoth, at least ideologically and structurally, while being closer to the Thoth visually. While all three are based on the same Tree of Life, it is the RWS that most departs the basic GD handbook in the way that it portrays that Tree.

On the other hand, many of the Hermetic minors show copies of Thoth minors, especially in the Cups suit, so stylistically it is very influenced. How much any of this matters depends on, well, how much anyone cares. I know I do, and at least in a theoretical discussion like this one, I can't help nitpicking, since that's the point of a discussion.

I guess you could say that the Hermetic is a Golden Dawn deck that's trying to look like the Thoth.

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Oh it's not nit-picking at all, I find it very enlightening. I suppose I have picked up on the visual similarities and leant more in that direction. The Minors always seemed very Thothy to me but then RWS-based decks tend to copy the story-telling aspects and very little of the theory and textual influence. I think the "stylistically" counts for a lot in tarot as so many readers tend to begin their explanation of their tastes with "you see, I'm a very visual person". Who isn't? After my holidays I shall take a closer look at the Hermetic and see where it takes me.

But it isn't nitpicking. If you can't analyse details without it being considered nit-picking then where on earth have we got to?

Oh, I meant nitpicking in a good way, it is something I enjoy very much. Still, all three decks are very similar in structure and in meaning. Let's take a rather unpleasant card I got today, the Seven of Swords.

RWS: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Swords07.jpg
Thoth: http://www.corax.com/tarot/cards/thoth/swords-7.jpg
Hermetic: http://www.albideuter.de/html/hermetic_56.html

The Golden Dawn title for this card is Lord of Unstable Effort, Netzach in Yetzirah, Luna in Aquarius. Crowley changed the title to Futility. The RWS card shows what appears to be a thief stealing some swords from an array that was there previously. The PKT describes this card as

Pictorial Key to the Tarot said:

A man in the act of carrying away five swords rapidly; the two others of the card remain stuck in the ground. A camp is close at hand. Divinatory Meanings: Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance. The design is uncertain in its import, because the significations are widely at variance with each other. Reversed: Good advice, counsel, instruction, slander, babbling.

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This passage, together with the image, would seem to suggest to me the very unstable effort the title suggests. Energy is missing, perhaps "watered down," no perseverance, the full potential is far from being used. Under these circumstances, efforts are doomed to fail with no stable base (a look at the card connected to all sevens, the Tower, would suggest this to be the case).

http://www.tarotofcolor.com/img/79.png

Now, the Thoth card shows six small small swords attacking a larger one, emphasizing the futility of the endeavor, as they, marked as the planets, will never be able to overcome the larger sword, marked as the Sun. Since we are in the suit of Swords, this would seem to suggest unstable, scattered thought, unable to focus and unite to wield the sword of the mind in order to succeed. Once again, little good can come out of this, and our Tower is inevitable.

Book of Thoth said:

The Seven of Swords is called Futility. This is a yet weaker card than the Seven of Wands. It has a passive sign instead of an active one, a passive planet instead of an active one. It is like a rheumatic boxer trying to "come back" after being out of the ring for years. Its ruler is the Moon. The little energy that it possesses is no more than dream-work; it is quite incapable of the sustained labour which alone, bar miracles, can bring any endeavour to fruition. The comparison with the Seven of Wands is most instructive.

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I honestly don't understand what the Hermetic shows, but it does conform to Liber Theta to the letter. This portrayal is rather less obvious than the two previous, and I must admit I understand less the choices made here. Certainly it is the least "user friendly" of the the three. Still, the similarity with the two other cards is still there:

Liber Theta said:

Two Angelic Radiating Hands as before, each holding three swords. A third hand holds up a single sword in the centre. The points of all the swords "just touch" each other, the central sword not altogether dividing them.
The Rose of the previous symbols of this suit is held up by the same hand which holds the central sword: as if the victory were at its disposal. Symbols of Moon and Aquarius.

Partial success. Yielding when victory is within grasp, as if the last reserves of strength were used up. Inclination to lose when on the point of gaining, through not continuing the effort. Love of abundance, fascinated by display, given to compliments, affronts and insolences, and to spy upon others. Inclined to betray confidences, not always intentionally. Rather vacillatory and unreliable.

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Once again, futility, unstable effort doomed to fail, scattered thoughts, etc.