Zan and BC's Excellent Thoth Adventure: The Magus

Ok, here we go. The Magus:

Initial thoughts to get this thread started: Definitely a lot different from the RWS or TdM Magician/Bateleur, that's for sure. I simply cannot look at this card without seeing the Empire State Building. Something (the line work? the light?) look so much like New York City architecture. There's even a monkey involved to remind me of King Kong climbing to the top of the building! When I think of the Empire State Building, I think of human achievement and perseverance, our ability to control natural forces and the elements.

Even the Magus himself reminds me a bit of Rockefeller Plaza's Atlas statue - which is funny because another immediate connection I make to this card is the work of Ayn Rand. Something about this image screams Dagny Taggart and John Galt to me. There seems to be so much ingenuity, so much forward motion in this card - it all feels so reminiscent of the progress the "good guys" in Atlas Shrugged hope to make. I suppose they are products of the same decade, though...

And who doesn't love monkeys??

Anyway, just getting this thread started...

A couple of thoughts as we start on The Magus. In the BoT, Crowley titles the section on The Magus, as The Juggler and often refers to the card as such. This always strikes me as odd, given the specificity of title changes and his focus there for other cards. I wonder if there is some relationship there with Crowley's own self-identity?

Re-reading Crowley's description of The Magus recently was really interesting to me, and with the more expanded understand on Crowley's cosmology from our BoL study and also the previous thread on The Fool, the duality aspect of The Magus stands out in a way it never really did for me before. I see that futher emphasized in The Lovers also, which being attributed to Gemini is ruled by Mercury (The Magus). The duality in The Lovers was something I really struggled to understand when I first started with The Thoth, especially with my background in the much simpler RWS variation. Though now I much prefer the Thoth version, and its complexity and find that really well complimented by The Magus.

At a practical level, with Thoth being the god of writing, I think it bears mentioning that the papyrus in this card always looks more like a laptop to me, and has come up that way in readings also. A very modern card for me

Thanks for that Grigori By suggestion of Kat, I'm going about this one in the opposite order from The Fool, so Banzhaf, Snuffin, and DuQuette first, and THEN, only after I understand the basics from those guys, Crowley. We'll see which way I think works better... Hopefully I'll have something intelligible to say by this time tomorrow...

I think that's probably a good idea Zan, DuQuette is specifically designed to get you ready for Crowley so I think his book would certainly help. Snuffin I think assumes a lot of previous knowledge as does Crowley, but maybe breaks the symbols down in a more accessible way than Crowley did, with a greater "reading" focus.

Hey Batty - if you're out there, I couldn't help but think of you when I saw William Blake referenced in relation to the Magus. This book "The Crowley Tarot", by Banzhaf, has a bizarre list of artistic, written, and musical references for each card, and for the Magus, it lists Blake's "Elohim Creating Adam" as one of them. Take a look at it here:

I am a bit behind you here Zan. Yet another book to get! I'll try to catch up for tomorrow...

Well, since I seem to be shameless in exposing my naiveté where all this is concerned, I think I'll post my thoughts and observations of the Magus before cracking a single book on him... I seem to be learning well through exposing my utter ignorance, so why stop now? I seem to get a lot out of being kicked in the a**... Who knew?

I am beginning to see a pattern of the intellectual, and deeper, more spiritual level of these cards. Each one has layers to it and for me, the intellect is the gate to the house, even if it only gets me to the front door in this card as well as the last.

OK - so "Mercury" is pretty obviously present here with the tools of each suit/element. Along with the caduceus... There is something odd about the way his feet are positioned on it. It feels reminiscent of Jesus on the cross. The tails of the snake appear to bind him!

The staff also appears to be the track of the path the downward facing dove is following. *ignorance alert* - it makes me think of the descent of the Holy Guardian Angel. On either side of the wings are two other objects - one looks like a scroll - Torah? and the other I cannot identify. Mercury appears to be juggling the cosmic egg??

The other big mystery for me is the baboon? Monkey?

Finally, the geometric pattern on the card is interesting. It looks like something expanding from a hyperbola- and I begin to think of the 'limits' in calculus. Geez, If I did not get that message the last time!! There is so much bending and folding, but only one curve...

The only thing that keeps sticking in my mind is Aeon's comment about the Magus telling Lies and Truth simultaneously. I guess duality is a key element in this card. Wondering if I should be reading the Book of Lies, for some reason?? On to the DQ and Bot....

OK Aeon, you can uncover your eyes...

A key question; why was this Magus (I refer to the standard Magus as Majorette surfer dude) chosen over and above the others? This Magus must have something which the other two rejected Magus cards don't have and I would like to be able to distil it for my own understanding of the deck, as it is such a key card.

I definitely feel a difference in the movement & energy of the image, but more and more I have come to prefer the 8-armed Magus and now my most used Thoth tends to be the 3-Magus versions (I have three copies of them). I know I'm at odds with Crowley but there is something about those Shiva arms and the looming baboon which really gets me. I like the fact that he is really multi-tasking whereas the standard Magus has his tools and accessories airborn.

Just thinking out loud.

I was under the impression that there were many cards that were painted multiple times and the Magus just happens to be the one with surviving alternates. No? Anyway, with 78 cards to not understand, asking "why" rather than "why not" feels somehow more consequential at the moment

zan_chan said:

And who doesn't love monkeys??

Click to expand...

The Egyptian baboon greeted the sun at dawn to warm themselves, they sit upright and hold their arms and palms towards the sun to feel its warmth. This is the source of the Egyptian pose (or God-form) for worship, both hands held forward, palms outward, one back from the other. I find it very effective and like to start Liber Resh with it.

Thanks for that 'monkeys'.