Thoth vs. Universal Waite

[InvisibleSoul]

Hi everyone!

I just got the Thoth deck last week and STILL have not taken them out of order! I can't stop going through them and studying and looking at the wonderful artwork! OMG I love and feel this deck!

I learned on the Universal Waite deck though, and I see several differences from the Waite deck in the Thoth deck, mainly the Court cards...

I havent been able to get a book to go with these yet, but I was wondering if anyone could help clear it up for me for sure.
Am I right in thinking that:

Crowley's Princess = Waite's Page
Crowley's Prince = Waite's Knight
Crowley's Queen - Waite's Queen
Crowley's Knight = Waite's King?


From what definitions I have found so far I have also noticed differences in the meanings...

Any insight y'all could toss my way would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Emily]

Hi InvisibleSoul,

I too learned on the Rider Waite, still use the Morgan Greer but am very interested in the Thoth. It used to throw me too that there was no King in the Thoth so I usually read them the same way that you have :-

Rider Waite Queen - Thoth Queen
Rider Waite King - Thoth Knight
Rider Waite Knight - Thoth Prince
Rider Waite Page - Thoth Princess

If you look at the Thoth Knights, they hold the energy of the King, they are dynamic cards - good companions for the Queens. Its easy to make this adjustment when you have the cards in front of you - and alot of other decks have Princess/Page cards.

Edited to add:-

Also when I bought my first Thoth, I took the Court cards out and layed them in order just to take a good look at them - and it felt natural to use the Knight as the King. I always feel with this deck though that the Queen should come first not the Knight - he is her consort.

 

[paradoxx]

Which Thoth.

aside from the pip/non pip comparison, differences between the Thoth and Waite could not be stronger.

While each Knight in the Waite is on a horse, the princes ride their chariots in the Thoth. Stronger zodiac symbols on the Thoth princes than the Waite Knights.

The Knights of the Thoth ride the horses, and all have spurs on their boots too! The Waite Kings are all sitting down on their thrones. Here the symbols of the zodiac are pretty open on both decks.

The princess/page and queen cards seem to parallell themselves farily well. Thoth portrays some extreme detail at times, but the Waite is deep in its own existence.

 

[Tzadkiel]

Hi everyone,

I think the right analogy is:

Thoth Knight = RW Knight
Thoth Prince = RW King

If you compare the images and the symbols used in the backround of the RW-images you will find similarities. For example the lion (Leo) on the RW King and the Thoth Prince, the butterflies (Faeries) on the RW King and the Thoth Prince or the bull (Taurus) on the RW King and the Thoth Prince.

And we schould not forget that both decks are Golden Dawn decks. And even though Waite didn't want to unveil all the secrets, I'm sure he wouldn't mix up the astrological attributions of the court cards.

(Though I have the feeling - for divinatory meanings - that the RW Knights are younger than the Kings, while the Thoth Knights are older than the Princes. But that impression might come from the description in common tarot literature.)

I also think that the RW Kings are far more airy and connected to Tiphareth than the Knights. (Which again connects them with the Thoth Princes.)

In the end I guess it's up to every individual to decide what feels and works best for them.

 

[Professor X]

When I bought my first deck It was indeed a Universal Waite deck,the deck and its colors is excellent as a first deck and a good introduction to the art of the Tarot.

 

[Jehane]

http://www.corax.com/tarot/
I have been wondering around and found that Raven helped a lot when explaining the thoth deck and gave a bit of a different insight on how the cards are laid out and meanings for each. However I like the story of the fool on this site. Hope the link helps a little with understanding the thoth deck a bit more. I am an extreme beginner and I'm supper excited to learn all I can.