Aleister Crowley’S Thoth Tarot Deck: How To Interpret It?

The Thoth Tarot deck, also known as the Crowley Thoth Tarot deck, was created by British occultist Aleister Crowley. This unique and multi-layered deck features Art Deco imagery and is known for its intricate symbolism, vibrant colors, and deep connection to hermetic. Printed in China, it could be described as God’s Picture Book or a celestial game of chess, with the Trumps being the pieces to be moved.

The Thoth Tarot deck is deeply intertwined with hermetic and can be compared to God’s Picture Book or a celestial game of chess. It is referred to as The Book of Thoth by Crowley. Lon Milo DuQuette’s Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot provides a comprehensive guide to the symbolism and interpretation of the deck.

To learn the deck, one should separate the Major Arcana from the Minor Arcana and sort the Minor Arcana into suits. A reference book is recommended for reading the cards perfectly with the small book that comes with the deck. However, some tarot readers argue that Crowley’s Thoth deck should be avoided due to its beautiful and powerful artwork.

In conclusion, the Thoth Tarot deck, designed by occultist Aleister Crowley and illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, offers a unique and powerful interpretation of the Tarot deck.

Can anyone read tarot cards?

Tarot is a popular and accessible tool for anyone, according to author Michelle Tea. She believes that learning tarot involves becoming comfortable with the imagery, learning them by heart, and understanding how the cards interact. Tea’s book, Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards, provides a beginner’s guide to tarot, guiding readers through each card in a deck, sharing reading tips, and ways to incorporate tarot into self-care practices. Tea emphasizes that anyone can learn tarot, as long as they are comfortable with the imagery and understand how they flow into a story.

What is Thoth’s secret name?

Thoth, an ancient Egyptian deity, was known for his attributes of the ibis, a sacred animal. His name, ḏḥwty, originated from ḏḥw, which is the oldest known name for the ibis. The addition of -ty signifies that Thoth possessed these attributes. Thoth was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, symbolizing his reverence for these animals. His feminine counterpart was Seshat, and his wife was Ma’at. Thoth was the god of the Moon, wisdom, knowledge, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art, and judgment.

Is tarot card reading real?

Early French occultists claimed that tarot cards had esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indic Tantra, or the I Ching. However, scholarly research reveals that tarot cards were invented in Italy in the early 15th century for playing games, and there is no evidence of significant use of them for divination until the late 18th century. The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult properties, which was propagated by prominent Protestant Christian clerics and Freemasons.

From its uptake as an instrument of divination in 18th-century France, the tarot went on to be used in hermeneutic, magical, mystical, semiotic, and psychological practices. It was used by Romani people when telling fortunes and as a Jungian psychological apparatus for tapping into “absolute knowledge in the unconscious”, a tool for archetypal analysis, and even a tool for facilitating the Jungian process of individuation.

Can I learn tarot on my own?

Tarot reading is a powerful tool for understanding one’s relationship with the world around them. The deck consists of 78 cards, divided into 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 suits with different energies. Each card has a unique interpretation and takes on new meaning when combined with others. Professional readers can provide guidance on this journey, as everyone has their own tips. Keeping track of your tarot pulls can help identify patterns and themes to pay attention to.

As a professional astrologer and tarot reader, taking notes on your cards can help you identify patterns and themes that may be causing you to draw attention. Experts have provided tips for beginners and experts alike, ensuring a successful and enjoyable experience with tarot reading.

What powers does Thoth have?

Thoth, a god of wisdom and knowledge, has a near-immortality, making him one of the oldest living gods. His mind is his weapon, allowing him to deduce that Horus needs the answer to the Sphinx before the latter can. Thoth has the unique ability to create identical clones of himself, who follow his commands. He does not trust anyone but himself, so his clones act as his loyal servants. Despite being a god of wisdom, Thoth demonstrated his agility against the sphinx in Set’s pyramid.

However, Thoth has weaknesses. His vast intelligence can sometimes lead to incorrect answers, and his mind is vulnerable. Set’s ability to pull his brain out left him in a mindless state or possibly dead. Thoth must always tell the truth, regardless of the question or personal intentions. One of his worst traits is his arrogance, as he possesses tremendous levels of intelligence, making him overconfident at times.

What is the No 1 Tarot card?

The Magician, also known as The Magus or The Juggler, is the first trump or Major Arcana card in traditional tarot decks, used for game playing and divination. In the occult context, the trump cards are recontextualized as the Major Arcana and given complex esoteric meaning. In this context, the Magician is interpreted as the first numbered and second total card of the Major Arcana, succeeding the Fool. In French, Le Bateleur, also known as “the mountebank” or “sleight of hand artist”, is a practitioner of stage magic.

In Italian tradition, he is called Il Bagatto or Il Bagatello. The Mantegna Tarocchi image of the Magician is labeled Artixano, the Artisan, and is the second lowest in the series. 18th-century woodcuts of the Magician reflect earlier iconic representations and can be compared to free artistic renditions in 15th-century hand-painted tarots.

How many cards are in a tarot deck?

The modern tarot deck, based on the Venetian or Piedmontese tarot, consists of 78 cards divided into two groups: the major arcana (22 trumps) and the minor arcana (56 cards). The major arcana features pictures representing various forces, characters, virtues, and vices, numbered I through XXI. The cards are arranged in a series of order, from juggler to hanged man, death to temperance, devil to lightning-struck tower, star to moon, sun to last judgment, world to the fool.

The minor arcana consists of four suits of 14 cards each, similar to modern playing cards. Each suit has 4 court cards and 10 numbered cards, with the value progression from ace to 10. The adaptation of tarots to occult and fortune-telling purposes first occurred in France around 1780. Each tarot card is ascribed a meaning, with the major arcana cards referring to spiritual matters and trends in the questioner’s life, while the minor arcana cards deal with business matters and career ambitions.

The tarot deck is shuffled by the questioner, and the fortune-teller lays out a few cards in a spread pattern, with the meaning of any card modified based on its position in the spread and the meaning of adjacent cards.

What is the Thoth tarot?

The Thoth Tarot is an esoteric tarot deck created by Lady Frieda Harris, following instructions from Aleister Crowley. Crowley called the deck The Book of Thoth and wrote a 1944 book for use with it. The project, initially intended to be a six-month update to the traditional pictorial symbolism of the tarot, spanned five years between 1938 and 1943. The illustrations feature symbolism based on Crowley’s incorporation of imagery from various disciplines, including science, philosophy, and occult systems. The deck is displayed in museums and is a testament to Crowley’s commitment to updating the traditional pictorial symbolism of the tarot.

What is the world’s oldest tarot deck?

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot, painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan, is the oldest surviving tarot cards. In 15th century Italy, the set of cards included in tarot packs, including trumps, was consistent, with two main exceptions. Some late 15th century decks, like the Sola Busca tarot and the Boiardo deck, had four suits, a fool, and 21 trumps, but none of the trumps match tarot ones. The Visconti di Mondrone pack, one of the Visconti-Sforza decks, originally had a Dame and a Maid in each suit, along with the standard King, Queen, Knight, and Jack.

The pack also included three trump cards representing the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Despite a Dominican preacher’s criticism of the evil inherent in playing cards, no routine condemnations of tarot were found during its early history.

How to read tarot cards effectively?

To effectively use tarot cards, ask open-ended questions and keep an open mind. The goal is to gain a new perspective and see yourself or a situation more clearly. Trust your own wisdom and use language that you already have to see the tarot as a tool to facilitate talking about things. The four elements – earth, water, fire, and air – and numerology play a large role in the tarot, as most people already have some ideas about the meanings they can draw on. By doing so, the interpretations can be more personal and freer, as it allows you to draw on your own perspective and interpretations.

Intuiting is a key part of a tarot reading, as it allows you to see the tarot as a tool to facilitate talking about things rather than a source of secret meanings. By doing so, you can gain a more clearer understanding of yourself or a situation.

What is the most used tarot deck?

The Rider Waite Smith Tarot is a popular deck for tarot card reading, first published by the Rider Company in 1909. It was based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. Over 100 million copies circulate across 20 countries.

The images in the deck are simple but feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to earlier decks, but overall, the Waite-Smith card designs are substantially different from their predecessors. Christian imagery was removed from some cards and added to others, such as the “Papess” becoming the “High Priestess” and the “Lovers” card resembling naked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Minor Arcana is illustrated with allegorical scenes by Smith, unlike earlier decks.

Symbols and imagery in the deck were influenced by 19th-century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi and the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. To accommodate astrological correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck, such as changing the order of the Strength and Justice cards to correspond with Leo and Libra, and based the Lovers card on Italian tarot decks.