Thoth Study Group - Two of Wands

Emily

I think I mentioned on the other posting that was lost about the thunderbolts being transparent, you can't tell which is on top but both together they block the flames. Also we there a reason why horses heads were used on the end of the thunderbolts?

Edited:

I might edit this post later on when I've read up on this card - I'm calling the wands thunderbolts and have no idea why - so I'm going to check the books.
 

RedMaple

Re: Re: Thoth Study Group - Two of Wands

Centaur said:
'The virgin ovum', Crowley claims, 'must be broken in order to fertilize it'.

Funny how new scientific information makes these old readings obsolete. The ovum actually envelops the sperm cell - that is, it is the egg that is active at that point, not the sperm. Interesting that he sees the egg itself as "virgin" ...

I'd rather think of the card in terms of focus and concentration rather than dominion. Again, given the Crowley quote, does that mean male dominates female?
 

Dean

U.k

the Two of wands Two crossed Tibetan ritual sceptres fighting for Dominion.
 

Rose Lalonde

2 of Wands

[I thought I'd post to the study group threads instead of a separate IDS, but this one's 10 years old. Hope that's okay!]

Chockmah, primal element of Atziluth/Fire/Spirit and specific element Yod/Fire. Mars in Aries (with Mars ruling planet and the Sun exalted). -- Whole lotta fire.

Where Crowley says, "For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect," I think of Buddhist principles of non-attachment, which fits, since he's chosen a Tibetan Buddhist symbol as the focal point.

"The pictorial representation is two Dorjes crossed. The Dorje is the Tibetan symbol of the thunderbolt, the emblem of celestial Power..."

Two crossed Dorje create a diamond in the center of the card, though I don't know if that was an intentional reference to the fact that Dorje are Vajra, the (indestructible) diamond? It appears due to Harris painting the Dorjes occupying the same space instead of one being behind the other, but she does that in most of the cards in this suit.

The horse on the demon's head on the two Dorjes: Near as I can tell, this is Hayagriva Vajra, who's the swift and wrathful one - and the wrath is unpredictable and unconstrained, which makes me think of force not being directed or limited by form yet. I like that this Dorje reappears as the two front Wands in Oppression, where force is once again unconstrained, with different results.

Actual horse head Dorjes seem to have 2 snakes at the bottom just as they do on this card, but it looks like maybe Harris painted it so that the snakes on the bottom right corner on the 2 of Wands are set over a circle to look like their heads have just pierced it -- incorporating Crowley's "virgin ovum" quote in the posts above? I could be reading too much into it!

"Six flames issue from the centre. This indicates the influence of the Sun, who is exalted in Aries. This is the creative Will." -- I assume this is strictly a reference to Tiphareth at 6 as the sun. If it has additional meaning, I didn't catch it.

This is the first card in my study of each, so my thoughts are a bit all over.
 

ravenest

They are not Dorjes ... they should be as dorje equates to wand

They are phurbas, which equate to daggers or swords.

There is that old wand sword fire air mix up again ... in a different form now.

Dorje

http://taramandala.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/dorje-gold.jpg



double (crossed) dorje

http://www.exoticindia.es/brass/auspicious_vishwa_vajra_em80.jpg



Phurba

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/...ol-Bronze-Horse-Head-Phurba-Dagger-Holder.jpg

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=187&stc=1


'Someone' made a stuff up !
 

Rose Lalonde

Thanks. Hayagriva Phurba not Hayagriva Dorje. Still wrathful. Not thunder.
 

Deoiridh

I'd rather think of the card in terms of focus and concentration rather than dominion. Again, given the Crowley quote, does that mean male dominates female?

Realizing how word meanings and connotations can change with time, I looked up Dominion at the Merriam Webster site.

Yes, most of it is what I think we would assume it would be, but the first entry was another link to the definition of the root word:

Full Definition of DOMINION

1: domain
2: supreme authority : sovereignty
3 plural : an order of angels — see celestial hierarchy
4 often capitalized : a self-governing nation of the Commonwealth of Nations other than the United Kingdom that acknowledges the British monarch as chief of state
5: absolute ownership

Following the link to Domain, gave a list of many possible definitions, but the one that caught my attention was the fourth:

Full Definition of DOMAIN

4: a sphere of knowledge, influence, or activity <the domain of art>

That seems to get us a little closer to the meaning of the card, I think. Thoughts?
 

ravenest

I see it as the first manifestation of the element that we can perceive. (As in one energy of cups, being the emotive world, the highest manifestation we can perceive - or in this element 'feel' - is 'love' .) Wands being our connection to spirit ... here I mean 'our spirit' the thing that makes us an individual regardless of all other influences ( we see it in twins most easily; same genetic makeup, upbringing, environment influence, yet one can have a totally different personality than the other ... we even see it in a litter of puppies, not the 'runt' syndrome, but their own specific personality ) .

It is connected to individuation ( how that 'spirit' beds in and emerges ) a big part of the fire wand realm / journey.

That essence is first encapsulated in the 'field of one's being' .... like a condensation. The energy becomes 'yours' and your spiritual, or individual domain is set. This is the realm of wands and is reflected in similar developments of the psyche - so I would go with the first 1,2,3,and 5 above.

And not the second 4 - I would relate that realm to swords / air. Or even earth , as the definition is about the separation of things in their own domain.
 

Deoiridh

Thank you for your thoughtful response, ravenest. I've just started DuQuette's UACTT, and I'm trying to get a grip on all the different angles represented within the Thoth. So many systems, so many layers; it is dizzying.
 

ravenest

Only for a while. Persevere - continue the background studies ( Kabbalah and Tree of Life, astrology, color theory, correspondences ( especially the appendixes to 777 where some attempt at 'why is it so' is made ) ...

Then one day (not too far away) all those disjointed bits of jig-saw puzzle and the parts of the picture you have already assembled will come together and it will be like ; " OHHH ! Its a picture of a ..... "

From that point you will be zooming :) ... and have a valuable tool and outlook to apply to many other things, not just tarot.