Yelell
I'm guessing people have already seen this, but I just stumbled on it online and found it again searching here. It's just the funniest thing in the world-- don't bicker, girls, you're both pretty!
Crowley's review of the key to the tarot
Zephyros
Yeah, it's a positively brilliant piece. 
For a long time I didn't understand the Malted Milk mention, until someone here told me that was Waite's job,writing copy for a company that made it. He's basically helling him "don't quit your day job." Mighty cold thing to say.
For a long time I didn't understand the Malted Milk mention, until someone here told me that was Waite's job,writing copy for a company that made it. He's basically helling him "don't quit your day job." Mighty cold thing to say.
Richard
In order to inspire such a passionately ad hominem critique, Arthwaite [sic] must not have been a very pleasant person in real life.
Zephyros
I think they were both martinets, Crowley himself wasn't such an easy person to get along with either.
Aeon418
Despite all the scorn and ridicule I think Crowley was appreciative of Waite's words of encouragement when he was in the early stages of finding the Path. It was Waite who told Crowley to read Eckartshausen's, The Cloud upon the Sanctuary, which had a huge impact upon him.
Crowley recalls this episode in his Confessions (Chp.14). He had just read Waite's deliberately obscured and corrupted compilation of grimoire extracts, The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, just prior to contacting Waite. But even here Crowley can't resist having a dig at Arthur.
Crowley recalls this episode in his Confessions (Chp.14). He had just read Waite's deliberately obscured and corrupted compilation of grimoire extracts, The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, just prior to contacting Waite. But even here Crowley can't resist having a dig at Arthur.
Aleister Crowley said:
Desecrated
This is one of the few times crowley actually said something good.
Now, me personally think nothing good of crowleys tarot deck and his books are mostly rubbish, but he does raise a point or two against the "flaws" of the RWS.
And yes. Professor Waite was a dry stick in the mud and had the conversational abilities of a stone. Even when writing about subjects he himself truly enjoyed he makes it sound like a school lecture.
Now, me personally think nothing good of crowleys tarot deck and his books are mostly rubbish, but he does raise a point or two against the "flaws" of the RWS.
And yes. Professor Waite was a dry stick in the mud and had the conversational abilities of a stone. Even when writing about subjects he himself truly enjoyed he makes it sound like a school lecture.
Abrac
Waite goes on quite a bit about how the majors are on a level different from the minors, but then includes divinatory meanings for the majors and includes them in his divination examples. In doing this I think he did the himself a tremendous disservice. If the majors are on another level, he should've just kept them separate.
Crolwey's bombastic review is typical and really doesn't deserve serious consideration imo.
Crolwey's bombastic review is typical and really doesn't deserve serious consideration imo.
Richard
I think he was resigned to the fact that the majors were going to be used for divination anyhow, so he included some generic type meanings for the sake of completeness.
Yelell
If the Rider Waite deck was published for the general public, the typical buyer would probably have been someone looking for a casual exotic game, a fun diversion that felt just a little wicked. To be successful and widely marketable, wouldn't people have had to be given direction and meanings for the majors and the minors? I'd wonder if most people at that time took the rest of what he said seriously.
Richard
Probably few people at the present time take the rest of what he wrote seriously.
His style may seem somewhat daunting, but one should take into consideration that he was largely self educated, and his writing was probably heavily influenced by the archaic style of dusty tomes in the Library of the British Museum, where he did a great deal of research.
Of course there is no need to bother with his writings if one has no interest in mysticism or esotericism, which can be difficult reading even when written by the clearest of expositors.
