Another New(ish) Thoth Book

Babalon Jones

When that other recent thread popped up about a new "ultimate" Thoth book, I was excited to have new material to read, until I went and looked at it using Amazon's Look Inside feature. I knew pretty quickly that it wasn't for me and that I probably would not like it or get much of value out of it.

But on the spur of the moment that day, I decided to splurge on another book that was in my "save for later" list for quite some time, maybe a couple of years, and I am glad I did.

It is Phyllis Seckler's "The Thoth Tarot, Astrology, & Other Selected Writings" which is rather new having come out in 2010 published by the College of Thelema.

Now this is more like it! I have only just started reading it methodically but have browsed through all of it, and am enjoying it.

It starts with a biographical sketch of Seckler (Soror Meral) and then has four chapters. The first two are the real meat of the book. The first is on the Thoth trumps and psychology, but also brings in qabalah, alchemy, and magical symbolism. Next is about the Thoth tarot and astrology, which brings in addition to the Zodiacal trumps the court cards and decanic minors. The astrological descriptions of those with the Sun in each decan are quite good, as are the descriptions of those ruled by each court card.

The third chapter consists of letters to and from her and related OTO others, mostly Karl Germer, Jane Wolfe and some from Crowley. The last chapter is an interview the editors (her former students) did with her, which was her last major interview before her death in 2004 at 86.

While it is not light reading and is probably best for those with some familiarity with the topics, that is what I like about it and it is very readable. While it isn't a beginner's book I think it is accessible enough to be of value to anyone.

All in all so far I highly recommend. I only hesitated so long to buy it as it was a bit pricey. But what I didn't know until getting it is that it is an edition of only 777 copies. I got number 711. So that explains the higher cost I guess, and it is a hardcover. If it is in your wishlist too, I would say get it while you can.
 

thorhammer

MM, thank you for bringing this to my attention! I love any book that involves letters and personal correspondence - hence Magick Without Tears is one of the best books I've read not just for its occult material, but for its entertainment value.

I will definitely put this on the "to get sooner rather than later" list. Thanks again :)
 

elektrius

this one has been on my wishlist for some time now. glad to hear it's good!

in one of the issues of "the black pearl" which was one of the journals of the college of thelema there's an add for a book of poetry written by phyliss seckler aka soror meral. it's called "strange heart" and is a "true love story about a woman and an angel in five dozen poems written over a half century". i would love to read that one! she was the one to open the college of thelema and publish one of it's journals "in the continuum", i believe the book you bought is a collection of her writings from the journal. duquette was a student of hers in his early years.
 

Zephyros

Yeah, Seckler's great. Should be a good book.
 

Michael Sternbach

Imagine the BoT fused with Nichols' Jung and Tarot. That summarizes the book well.
 

Babalon Jones

Yup, those from "In the Continuum" are the same essays in Chapter I and II. They reformatted them for the book and added the additional material. Thanks for posting them, Aeon. Glad to know they are available for download so more people can read them, but also glad to have them in book form.

Thanks for posting the audio link elektrius. Off to check it out with my morning coffee :)
 

Aeon418

Yup, those from "In the Continuum" are the same essays in Chapter I and II. They reformatted them for the book and added the additional material. Thanks for posting them, Aeon. Glad to know they are available for download so more people can read them, but also glad to have them in book form.

There is a small problem though. Despite what the website says, the Thoth Tarot essays begin in Vol III, no.6. And unfortunantely the section on the Fool is incomplete. (The page count suddenly jumps from 3 to 10.) But I think the rest of the essays are present and correct.

Better something than nothing. :)
 

smw

Thanks for the recommendation :) it's been on my wish list too as it is pricey. Only seven copies for sale on Amazon uk...Thanks also for the link Aeon, I downloaded to sets of volumes - thought I would print one - 218 pages! I think I'll have to make a donation