Do you have any book recommendations for learning basic Astrology, Numerology and the Elemental Dignities? I understand the Astrology used is different from the Astrology I can find books on at Barnes and Nobles.
Elemental Dignities are fairly uncomplicated, in my opinion, once you get the basic gist; I really like this resource:
http://taroteon.com/elemental-dignities/an-introduction-to-the-elemental-dignities-compendium/
Numerology is a bit more "personal", I think, because people count numbers in different ways; though a string of numbers will always reduce to the same single-digit number, but how one got there can be different.
(This is really more relevant when you start looking at dates/birthdays/year numbers, than with Tarot spreads).
Also, there can be variations on the meanings for the numbers; the basic numbers are 1-9, but if I'm looking at them from simply a numerological perspective the interpretation can be slightly different than what I see when I relate the numbers to the Tarot Majors (for example), or the Kabbalah.
You can get a basic impression of the "Tarot vibe" for numbers 1-9 here on this forum:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/
Astrology, is quite complex, of course and can take a lifetime of study.
But actually, the Astrology used in the Thoth deck is pretty much the same as what you would find in Astrology books that don't deal directly with the Tarot!
I would start by simply memorizing the:
- Meanings and order for the 12 Signs of the Zodiac
- Planet(s) associated with each Sign
- Meanings for the 12 Houses (not absolutely necessarily for basic understanding of the Thoth deck, but still useful!)
What's great about the Astrological connection to Thoth, is that the associations are right there on the card, as part of the image -- like a Cheat Sheet
Take the 7 Swords, for example: at the very top of the image is the symbol for the Moon, with the Aquarius symbol at the very bottom (Moon in Aquarius).
Analyzing the implications of this placement can convey quite a bit of info to someone who is familiar with Astrology.
There's a book that breaks down astrology fairly concisely, in relation to the Tarot, which is nice to have on hand as a reference when you're 1st starting out (
http://tinyurl.com/Tarot-Astrology); but in all honesty all the info in the book is also available on the Web.
Another good way to start getting a grasp on Astrology is to look up your chart -- there are plenty of free Natal Chart generators -- and just start going through which Planets are in which Sign/House, learning as you go along.
As you can see, there's still a fair amount to learn about the various systems employed in Thoth, even if you don't go the Crowley/Golden Dawn route.
But I think each of these systems (Astrology, Numerology, Elements) is very useful on its own, or in other Tarot applications -- whereas with the Golden Dawn stuff, I'm not so sure whether it would ever come in handy outside of understanding the Thoth deck.