Thoth Tarot - best/most helpful book for beginners?

not sure what I should pick up to go along with this deck.

suggestions?

I'm no expert on the Thoth but you could try this one:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/books/understanding-thoth-tarot/

He has a way of making things clear.

I looked around and I think I'm going to go with The Thoth Companion: The Key to the True Symbolic Meaning of the Thoth Tarot by Michael Snuffin

Hi Crystal.

It depends what way you want to work with the Thoth really. If you really want to understand it, as it was intended, then the Duquette book is the best place to start in my opinion. It will help you work out the qaballah, astrology, etc.. All the different structures in the deck.

The Snuffin book would be the next book, once you understand the structure then Snuffin's book is great for looking more at the details on the cards and what they may mean in the context of Crowley's ideas. After these two books, you should find Crowley's own book much more readable.

If your not interested in learning so much about the magical side of the deck, then there are other books that might suit you better. The Crowley Tarot by Akron-Hajo Banzaf is a very good one.

I personally don't like it, but Zeigler's Mirror of the Soul has quick references for what each card means if you want somethign simple and fast to consult.

Or come check out the Thoth forum here, there is lots of information there.

the Thoth forum here was my 1st stop (just like with everything else)

Borders didn't have the Snuffin book so I picked up "mirror of the soul" by Gerd Ziegler to hold me over until the Snuffin book comes in.

Thanks for the suggestions

On the suggestion of some posters here, I picked up the Duquette book. I highly recommend it, especially if you don't know anything about Crowley.

Ziegler is a bad idea. It will teach you the basics according to Ziegler. Sadly this has little to do with Thoth..... Duquette and Snuffin get my vote.

gregory said:

Ziegler is a bad idea. It will teach you the basics according to Ziegler. Sadly this has little to do with Thoth..... Duquette and Snuffin get my vote.

Click to expand...

The Ziegler is a revisionist Jungian interpretation of the Thoth. It is not the Thoth as designed by Aleister Crowley. Zeigler's symbolic interpretations differ considerably from Crowley's and Zeigler virtually ignores the Qabalistic basis of the Thoth Tarot.

An example of this is Zeigler's analysis of the Fool. Zeigler identifies four spirals surrounding the Fool, signifying, in his view, the four planes of human existence: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical.

Both DuQuette and Snuffin identify three, not four, spirals. They both agree that the three spirals correspond to the three negative veils of existence - Ain, Ain Soph, and Ain Soph Aur - above the Qabalistic Tree of Life.

So which one did Crowley intend? In the "Book of Thoth," Crowley identifies three spirals which "suggests the Threefold Veil of the Negative manifesting, by his [the Fool's] intervention, in divided light." Duquette and Snuffin both know their Crowley. Zeigler either hasn't bothered to study Crowley's "Book of Thoth" or has deliberately decided to ignore Crowley and invent his own symbolic analysis for the Thoth.

I agree that DuQuette and Snuffin are the best choices, along with Crowley's own Book of Thoth. I would start with the DuQuette, use the Snuffin as a supplementary text, and then eventually plow through the Book of Thoth. Incidentally, if you need more background on the Qabalah as used in the Thoth Tarot, I also recommend DuQuette's "The Chicken Qabalah."

Alan

Yes, Chicken Qabalah is great. Qabalah for those who simply don't get it.

I still don't, but it is a GREAT read !

I'll be picking up the Duquette book today. Thanks to all!