Trump Poems

[BodhiSeed]

Forgive me if this has been posted elsewhere (I did try to do a search), but is there a thread that discusses each of the "poems" for the Thoth trumps?
As an example, here is the Fool's:

Know naught!
All ways are lawful to innocence.
Pure folly is the key to initiation.
Silence breaks into rapture.
Be neither man nor woman, but both in one.
Be silent, babe in the egg of blue, that thou mayest grow to bear the lance and the graal!
Wander alone, and sing! In the King's Palace his daughter awaits thee.

 

[Always Wondering]

These are my favorite.

Some of them are scattered in study posts, but they are not in one place here.

They are from The Book of Thoth, starting on page #126 here. . .

http://www.tarot.org.il/Library/Crowley/Book of Thoth.pdf

There has been no discusions on them per say that I know of.

AW

 

[Aeon418]

The little poems were not written specifically for the Thoth Tarot deck. They were written by Crowley many years earlier. They were first published in 1925 in the German edition of a book called, The Heart of the Master.
In 1938 the OTO published the first English edition of the book.*
http://hermetic.com/crowley/heart-of-the-master.pdf

(* The 1992 edition is illustrated with the Thoth Majors.)

I'm not certain when Crowley wrote the poems. But it's a safe bet that they were written a good 20 years or more before the existence of the Thoth.

 

[BodhiSeed]

Thank you very much, Always Wondering and Aeon418, for the information and the links you posted!

 

[Always Wondering]

I'm not certain when Crowley wrote the poems. But it's a safe bet that they were written a good 20 years or more before the existence of the Thoth.

I had no clue. Looks like I am going to have to break down and read one of those biographies.

Thanks.

AW

 

[Lillie]

The little poems were not written specifically for the Thoth Tarot deck. They were written by Crowley many years earlier. They were first published in 1925 in the German edition of a book called, The Heart of the Master.
In 1938 the OTO published the first English edition of the book.*
http://hermetic.com/crowley/heart-of-the-master.pdf

(* The 1992 edition is illustrated with the Thoth Majors.)

I'm not certain when Crowley wrote the poems. But it's a safe bet that they were written a good 20 years or more before the existence of the Thoth.

That's really interesting, Thanks!

I'd always liked them but never knew anything about them.
Just assumed they were written for the book!

 

[Aeon418]

I had no clue. Looks like I am going to have to break down and read one of those biographies.

If you want my advice, wait a couple of months and get this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Perdurabo-Rev...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271876013&sr=1-1

It's due for release on August 10th.

 

[Aeon418]

Just assumed they were written for the book!

I think a fair bit of material wasn't written specifically for the book. And I suspect that's where the controversy causing inconsistencies crept in.

 

[Ross G Caldwell]

If you want my advice, wait a couple of months and get this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Perdurabo-Rev...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271876013&sr=1-1

It's due for release on August 10th.

Thanks for the heads-up Aeon. I'm glad Kaczynski's coming back with a new edition! Its reputation has it as the best biography.

Placed my order already.

 

[Aeon418]

Its reputation has it as the best biography.

I would agree with that. I was one of the lucky 3000 that bagged a copy of the first edition. Hopefully this time the print run will be more substantial.

There's something ironic about the publication of Kaczynski's book. Why has Kaczynski had such a hard time getting a big publisher to take it on? It may sound cynical, but the publishing houses know what sells to a public fed on a steady diet of sensationalism, scandal, and gossip. A well researched biography won't appeal to that kind of ma$$ audience.