thoth

I have never liked this deck (too dark and intense) or Crowley. Whenever I had a chance to be around or flip through it I was always turned off.
I still don't like it but lately it's been drawing me. Almost hitting me between the eyes - "pay attention to me!"
Has anyone had this experience with the thoth deck or any others?

Unfortunately, I have the same reaction. I also have the deck but hardly use it. I bought it years ago when I was under the illusion (or glamour) of becoming a great Qabalist (LOL). But I just don't resonate with it - but I notice it no longer gives me the creeps. I just feel indifferent to it.

Interestinggly, I never felt that this deck gave me the creeps. I have heard a lot of people mention that but I never knew what all the "creepy" stuff was about... (i know, i know.... some say b/c of Crowley's reputation,etc) However, this did not influence me. At first I wondered "what is wrong with me? why does this deck not scare me?" but then I realized that there was nothing wrong about feeling this way.
People react differently to different things and these symbols speak to all of us differently.
I agree that this deck kinda draws you in ....I guess that is why I like it so much. I agree that it is powerful! I am still curious about why people are turned off by it... I hear "too powerful and overwhelming" but I do not know in what sense. If any one wants to share....

i've never found the thoth overpowering or intimidating but some of my querents who knew its history didn't want me to give them a reading w/ it. my feeling has always been that it's a great deck. whether the deck is used in the present by its owner for good or evil is what's imp. i had one friend who had such bad feelings about aleister crowley, she tried in vain to talk me out of using it. evidently, it changed how she felt about me as a person for a while until she could come to some kind of internal acceptance that the cards aren't evil and something wasn't wrong w/ me b/c i was drawn to them. at the time i knew very little about crowley and the golden dawn. i just thought the cards were beautiful and i wanted to read w/ them. that was 15 years ago. i stopped reading w/ them 2 years ago b/c i was uncomfortable w/ what i read about crowley. that feeling is passing tho and i will prob be reading w/ it again soon.

I know people usually have very definite opinions on this deck.

What I was really curious about though was - how can a deck I dislike quite a bit draw me at the same time? I've never had a deck do this. Oh I've had that happen with certain cards which I didn't like but I realized they were trying to tell me something I didn't want to hear. But a whole deck??

i think there is either a thread about this, or was...
anyway, i too found myself drawn to this deck. i finally bought it several months ago. when i started looking through it, the energy of the deck overwhelmed me. the power of the images was intense. so much so, that the cards begun to feel hot in my hands. i put it down, and haven't looked through it since.

i've read a little of crowley, and while i appriciate his contributions, some of his stuff is just not me. yet, i guess i'm a bit ambivilent about him. certainly, he was heavily involved with the creation of his deck, but i don't think that's my issue with the deck. it's just too overpowering to me, and perhaps that has to do more with the artist than with him.

i wouldn't say this deck doesn't resonate with me - in fact, it might be that it resonates too well. but for now, i don't know that i could read with it - it's like the images cause too much emotion to interpret into words. and to be perfectly honest, feeling the cards actually heat up was a bit unsettling...

luv and light,
nexy

when I first became interested in tarot (around Dec. of this year), I went to my Dad and asked to borrow one of my mother's or his old decks. He gave me my choice out of the three he had - The Thoth, Rider Waite, and another, I think it was perhaps Marsalles, though I'm not sure. (I just remember it was small, with primary-type coloring.) I pawed through them all. When I opened the Thoth pack and flipped through the cards, I immediately felt a strong sense of "dislike." Later, I told my father that I didn't like the Thoth cards, at all. He responded that he wasn't surprized and pulled out a book about Crowley (think it may have been an autobiography, if one does exist) and told me a few things about Crowley that disturbed me.

>> fast foward to current day... approx. 9 months later...

I purchased the Thoth deck last week. I was intrigued by some of the remarks about it on the forums - but, more importantly, I have forgotten what I heard about Crowley! I know it wasn't good, but I can't remember what it was. ....something about his lifestyle...

Upon opening the deck and inspecting the cards, I felt none of the previously experienced negativity. In fact, quite the reverese. I felt each card was expertly designed and their symbolism and patterns (esp. the minors) seeming almost hypnotic!

I haven't worked with them yet. I am debating whether I should get a book - or allow them to impress their attributes onto me naturally. Does anyone have any reccommendations about this? I am also not consciously seeking any information on Crowley, as I do not want this information to taint the deck.

I am also interested in hearing more of others' experiences with this deck.....

"Almost Hypnotic" is the way I would also describe my experience with the Thoth. I really like this deck b/c it taps into my unconscious. It does so in a VERY different way than other cards such as my Soul Cards would, but ever nevertheless I feel it has this ability.

Of and on I worry about that though. Crowley's reputation did not prevent me from getting the cards, but like Joya, I purposely stay away from reading stuff about Crowley b/c I do not want that to change my view on the cards.

I think the media and fundies made Crowley out to be far worse/demented than he was in truth. He was decidedly different! True to himself - and that takes a lot of guts! I've read Israel Regardie's book he wrote about him - he actually knew him - and it was a real eye-opener - intitled "The Third Eye". Still, if Crowley were alive today - I know I wouldn't want to associate with him. He was too intense - I really like "Light" people - full of joy and true contentment.

I got the Crowley-Harris Thoth deck in the late 70's, when I first started to explore magick. I'll admit to reading a *lot* of Crowley's works back then, and although on a personal level he appeared to be extreme, intense and egotistical, on a magickal level his works show an incredible depth of exploration and an unyielding dedication to live and learn and promote the mystical path.

However, I also was a bit uncomfortable with the Crowley-Harris Thoth Tarot deck, and Tarot in general, so that deck sat unused on my shelf for over 20 years.

This year I was looking for ways to jump-start my creative endeavours, and finally reached for the Thoth deck. I found that the images resonated very strongly and positively with me, and none of the negative "Crowley" connotations surfaced at all. I now use the Thoth deck as my primary reading deck, and spring-board from it to several other decks for comparative readings.

The Thoth deck was a collaboration by both Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris, the artist. I find that Harris' evocative artwork on the Thoth deck is equally enticing and inspiring as is the depth of the insights that Crowley has given in the cards.

For more info, discussion, and book reviews on the Crowley-Harris Thoth deck, check out the Tarot Inspiration site, at:
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/2110/