Is it a 'Male Tarot'?

[AnneLien]

I was wondering: is the Toth tarot a male - tarot?
I mean, is it a deck that most men use, or are there women who use it too?

I'm a bit 'afraid' to buy it, i've read negative comments on the deck: his dislike of females and so on. That's why I ask this question.

 

[gregory]

The person I know best who is most devoted to the Thoth deck and rarely uses any other is Lillie. As girl as they come. She has used it almost exclusively since she was about 17.

She is now - well, let's just say she has a child older than that !

I use it too, and so do MANY other women here. I don't care what Crowley thought of women - and don't forget the ART was done by a woman - Frieda Harris - but anyway - the deck stands on its own; you don't need to buy into Crowley's life choices to use it. His writings about the DECK are not woman hating, in my opinion.

 

[thorhammer]

I'm female and I use the Thoth as my main reading deck - have done for a long time now. There are quite a lot of us here that do.

My sagest advice regarding Crowley's writings is to read them widely yourself, not take others' agendas at face value regarding his feelings about women, or Jews, or black people, or child sacrifice, or any other conflagratory topic. Much of what Crowley wrote about women was a breath of fresh air for Victorian times; other things he wrote were absolutely at home in those times. He was (un?)fortunate enough to live on the brink of massive social change; add to that his natural flair for and love of controversy, and you begin to understand that his writings cannot be taken at face value or out of context.

I'm not a Crowley apologist, really. I realise that he was a mongrel of a man for much of his life and he did badly by a lot of people. But the single-minded witch hunts that are propagated against him on the internet are blown entirely out of proportion and he offered much that is of value to the world of magick and philosophy.

I hope someone with a better memory than I can quote or link his words regarding women from (I think?) his Commentary on the Book of the Law.

It's a wonderful deck, with infinite depths and much to chew on that could keep you busy for the rest of your life, no matter how old you are! I hope that you give it a chance, if it catches your eye at all.

\m/ Kat

 

[AnneLien]

A (perhaps) stupid question: the images, are they 'evil'? I've heard a lot about where he got the inspiration... I don't want negative decks in my collection, i'm very sensitive. All my decks are positive. But for some reason this deck keeps coming up in my mind....

 

[thorhammer]

They're not evil at all, at least I don't think they are. They are evocative, and very expressive; but not at all evil. Even the Devil is a much more positive/pro-active image than most decks show. Death is beautiful, and the Tower is almost exciting.

Not evil. But then, I'll admit I am biased.

\m/ Kat

 

[AJ]

My sagest advice regarding Crowley's writings is to read them widely yourself, not take others' agendas at face value .\m/ Kat

Read a book before you buy the deck?

If you believe the cards tell the truth you don't have all positive decks in your collection as life isn't all rose covered cottages. Sometimes the cottage is a pile of cinders. And the cards will say that from any deck unless you refuse to see it.

 

[gregory]

No, the images are not evil. As thorhammer says - a lot of the stuff one hears about Crowley is sensationalist rubbish - he wasn't always very nice (who is ? ) but much of what he said was only designed to shock anyway - it was a time when people rather needed shocking.

The images are - taken entirely alone - quite stunningly beautiful. And as I said - Harris painted them, not Crowley. If you don't choose to read his work, you can appreciate the pictures as pictures anyway - they are well worth it. But the Book of Thoth - the book he wrote that goes with the deck and explains it is not scary or evil at all. You can even read that on line to see if it bothers you. It certainly doesn't bother me

 

[gregory]

Read a book before you buy the deck?

I think more - Kat meant don't read what others say about the guy, read what he said about himself. Before or after buying the deck - that isn't the issue. It's like not believing what you read in the newspapers; that is far from reliable as fact !

I think...

 

[fyreflye]

delete

 

[Moonbow]

The Thoth Tarot is perfectly readable without knowing anything about Crowley or Thelema because in Tarot you learn to read images. However, as I understand it people who study the deck, its creator and his works, and the system that the deck follows discover more depth in the cards. You only have to read the passion that comes across in posts by Lillie, Grigori, Aeon, ravenest, Thorhammer & co, to see that. And actually that is exactly what I would recommend that you do before you purchase the deck, particularly if you are a sensitive person. Spend some time in the Thoth forum first.