Thoth vs. Liber T for Kabbalah

JonMAblaze

Hi there,

I'm drawn very strongly to the Thoth deck's style, but I'm also intrigued by the elaborated Minors in the Liber T deck. I'm wondering if any of you could tell me which deck would be better for someone whose strongest mystical grounding (and interest) is in Kabbalah. I know that the elaborations in Liber T are to build on astrological and other esoteric symbols, which sounds good, but the simple, evocative pips in the original Thoth seem to be pretty Kabbalistic. I'm thinking of the 10 of Cups, the 8 and 10 of Coins, and others.

What do you think?
 

magpie9

I think if you are interested in the LeiberT you had best get one now. Word is out that it is now OP.
 

JonMAblaze

Thanks for your prompt replies. It seems from that fascinating review that the Liber T Minors have some imagery that could be confusing or distracting for me, for my purposes. I have seen images of the cards, and they look beautiful, but obviously my ability to read them is far more important. It seems like the regular Thoth deck might be a better fit for me.
 

Scion

Hey JonMAblaze,

As many folks will tell you I'm the Liber T's biggest advocate here on AT. That being said, based on your original post, I think the original Crowley-Harris Thoth is what you're wanting to work with, along with a copy of The Book of Thoth and 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings. All the things that I love about the Liber T I love because they add other occult research to the phenomenal base document created by Crowley and Harris... Qabalah is there, but that is not the source of the deck's innovation.

While the LIber T follows the Majors and the Courts pretty closely, and incorporates Harris' pips into the Decan images, the Thoth is more strict in its use of Qabalistic coloring and symbolic attributions. Furthermore, if you're focussing specifically on the hermetic Qabalah, you won't do better than the Thoth as a study deck or a working deck. It pretty much sets the bar as far as esoteric "magical" decks go: for purposes of study, pathworking, divination, research, ritual, etc etc.

You want the Thoth. Buy the largest edition you can find (i.e. the current US Games greenbox edition). And buckle your supernal seatbelt... :D

Scion
 

JonMAblaze

Thanks, Scion. I found your aforementioned posts fascinating, it just doesn't seem to indicate what I'm looking for in a deck at this phase in my Tarot adventure, which is a very early phase.

My interest is actually in bona fide, old-school, Jewish Kabbalah, but I don't think there's a whole lot missing from a Hermetic understanding that would leave a gaping hole in a Tarot deck. I can fill in the religious gaps myself; it's what I do with Tarot, anyway, and it's fun. It's more divination to do. The obscure little Jewish things that pop up every once in a while on the RWS cards give me a much richer reading, and the imagery of that sort in the Thoth deck is everywhere. And I think Hermetic Kabbalah enables a clearer link between the Kabbalistic themes and the other esoteric stuff going on in a Tarot deck than a religious leaning would. Someday, I'll get that Kabbalah Deck (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/kabbalah-deck/) if I want religious Kabbalah cards.

Anyway, that was a tangent, but hey, it's my thread. Thanks for your advice.
 

celestia

Do you know Tree of Life Tarot?

Hello, I have similar interests and I found interesting Tree of Life Tarot.

You could have a look at Tarot Garden website, where there are some pictures of the deck and, also, you could eventually buy it at Amazon websites.


Lovely Regards