Hi, I'm enchanted and intimidated...

[jdev]

I'm also Jagadeesh. I just picked up the Thoth tarot at a local mom and pop and I am so IN LOVE with this deck. I have NO IDEA what it means but I love these images. The depth, the fact that there is so much to see, all these esoteric systems in one deck, it's just overwhelming. Honestly, I'm afraid I've bitten of more than I can chew.

I just wanted to introduce myself as a new Thoth reader (I just shuffled them for the first time after removing the two extra Magus (by the way, is that pronounced with a long or short "a"?)) and rubbed my beautifully faceted lavender quartz on it. I look forward to learning a lot.

Now - I'm off to see if I can procure a copy of The Book of Thoth, as the deck box says that all the things Uncle Al (as I've heard him called) explains in depth in it are represented in this deck.

Any advice for a true beginner??

 

[Richard]

By all means get The Book of Thoth, but if you are new to the esoteric traditions underlying the deck, you also might really appreciate Lon Milo Duquette's Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot. Congratulations on getting a great deck! By the way, the Latin plural of Magus is Magi (I think ). Anthony Quinn pronounces it May'-gus (hard g) in the movie The Magus (based on the John Fowles novel of the same name).

 

[jdev]

I ordered The Book of Thoth. And also Tarot: Mirror of the Soul: Handbook for the Aleister Crowley Tarot by Gerd Ziegler; they were each like a dollar on Amazon. heads over to Tarot Trading to trade deck for the book you mentioned.

 

[Richard]

Hey, if you're broke, there's no hurry. All of the esoteric background material you need is online somewhere for free.

 

[jdev]

I just went and canceled the latter book I mentioned. The reviews on Amazon said it was way to happy-go-lucky in every interpretation. I'm gonna save for the book you mentioned.

You say there's tons of stuff? Can you point me in the right direction? Your favorite sites?

 

[Richard]

I wouldn't know where to begin. Thelemapedia is a good reference site, but it doesn't focus much on introductory material. I'll check through my links and see if I can pick out some good places to start. What little I know about this stuff was gotten haphazardly, with lots of backtracking, repetition, and dead ends. I didn't have Duquette's book for guidance. Maybe some other folks on this forum can help steer you in a productive direction.

 

[jdev]

No, no! Don't go to any trouble. I thought you may have links handy. I can research myself. You're great to offer, though.

 

[Grigori]

Alta has collected some great links in the index to the Thoth forum here.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=27324

I'd recommend Duquette's book also when you are able, its well worth the price. Any beginners astrology book should be helpful also, or website of course.

Welcome to the Thoth section

 

[jdev]

Thank you, Grigori. I will definitely look at that link (if it's the table of contents, I already have - well, skimmed).

I've not put this deck down for six hours now. I can't keep my hands off of it. Something's going on.... XD

 

[Craxiette]

Hello jdev!
I'm also fairly new to the Thoth, I got it in january and didn't have a clue about anything related to it basically...except life itself I guess, which is what it's all about in the end, right? ;-)

I started off with the book of Thoth, to me it didn't matter that I didn't understand at all about what Crowley was expressing, I still found it to be a very good place to start, to get the "feel" for where the deck is coming from. But if I had only had that I would have given up I think. The internet is a gold mine and I think part of the process is to actually look up the sources by yourself, there are lots of stuff out there that will be useful for YOU that other's won't think about recommending, or don't know about. This forum alone is packed with interesting and useful stuff. If you need a place to start however, I would warmly recommend this site: http://www.corax.com/tarot/
The pages and artwork on them are really beautiful, I love the short but deep descriptions of the cards and the whole site is just very well done IMO.

I don't have the Duquette book that seems to be a standard beginner's reference book, so I can't give you any advice on that one.

And yes, watch out, because the Thoth is really addictive!
Good luck!