Thoth Tarot – Beginning My Study

I’ve purposely waited to acquire a Thoth Tarot deck. It wasn’t recommended for the novice, and since my focus has always been runes, I wanted to become used to the Tarot before learning this one. Thoth was the Egyptian god of wisdom and the deck created by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris, is beautiful beyond description. One can get lost in the colors used, the expression of the motion of creation contained within each card. We’re influenced by not only the people and situations before us, but also by primordial energies represented by the tarot. It’s an expression of how we move from the nonphysical realm into the physical one with all the influences and potentials waiting to interact and affect us along the Tree of Life. The only thing carved in stone is that each one of us chose to be here. The rest is up to us, and the planetary, zodiac, and elemental influences nudging us in one direction or another. That’s where tarot and other forms of divination apply. It’s not that they tell us the future, but of things to watch out for, influences we might feel, potentials to consider.

I intended to read everything I could find on Crowley’s deck before looking at a spread, but I couldn’t help myself. I looked at each card, shuffled the deck and cast my first spread. Then sanity prevailed, and I took a picture of the spread and then began my study. Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, by Lon Milo DuQuette, has been extremely helpful. His work includes quotes from correspondence between Crowley and Harris which are nothing short of delightful. It’s a peek into the mindsets of these two talented people, their interactions both simultaneously frustrating and hilarious.

And now for the spread:

I purchased Modern Magick, a book on ceremonial magick, shortly after its author and magician, Donald Kraig passed through the veil. Kraig is regarded as a Tarot Master and his book acquaints the reader with the Golden Dawn Qabalistic tradition, and given Aleister Crowley’s own involvement in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, I decided to lay out this first spread on Kraig’s book. I had been re-reading through the sections on the Tree of Life and I was hoping for some additional energy for the cards. In any event, the spread flows in the following manner.

The top card is the significator or focus of the spread. The next two cards indicate the influence of receptive and projective energies respectively on the significator. The final level gives the landscape of a situation, or basic influences or potentials of the reading.

The Queen of Wands begins the spread as Significator. Wands represent Fire, and the Queen corresponds to Water. A blending of the two suggests a nurturing woman, with steady, adaptable energy.

Ace of Disks (Pentacles in other decks), 7 of Cups, and the 9 of Wands make up the lowest level of the spread. The Ace in the Thoth Tarot deck is special, because each one represents our Elemental roots and provides a link between the smaller cards and the Princess from the Court cards in the Minor Arcana. From the Ace flow the smaller cards in the suit. On the Tree of Life, the Ace, Two and Three sit above the “Abyss” before the descent begins into physical form.

Earth energy flows from the Ace of Disks, grounding us to our physical presence in the material world, emphasizing security, peace and contentment. To the right of the Ace of Disks is the 7 of Cups. In the Thoth Tarot, additional information is provided at the bottom of the cards. A formula exists that combines the number of the suit with its corresponding planet in zodiac sign, and sometimes interesting qualities result.

Debauch is an interesting quality of the 7 of Cups. It speaks of guilt, betrayal, delusions, lack of fulfillment with Venus in Water sign Scorpio. Things might look pretty, but underneath it all may be something far more dark and treacherous.

The 9 of Wands receives its Strength from Elemental Fire, suggesting adaptability and change, providing structural support for the Ace of Disks. In a sense, the two balance the uncertainty of the 7 of Cups by blending adaptability with stability of life in the physical world. We need each other to survive this experience and negative energy brought about by the 7 of cups creates a hindrance. The middle level suggests further caution.

Moving up to the middle level the 8 of Cups represents energy that is receptive in nature, while the Knight of Cups provides the influence of projective energy. Indolence, a direct result of Saturn’s influence, suggests there’s no real energy left in the mix, or a sense of abandoned focus, possibly warning of too much receptive or non-resistant energy.

On the projective energy side, the Knight of Cups (the King in other decks), represents the influence of Water on Fire. In this deck, the Knight (or King) corresponds with Fire, the Queen (Water), the Prince (Air), and the Princess (Earth). And of course Cups corresponds to Water, so it’s the watery aspect of, or influence on, Fire. This Knight is a little passive, perhaps even passive-aggressive at times, but will get down to business if necessary.

The placement on the Tree of Life does nothing to help the 7 or 8 as it reflects imbalance. The 9, however, is in a more stable placement and creates a stable triangle with the Ace of Disks and the Queen of Wands.

No Trumps (Major Arcana) are present, and all suits other than Swords are represented. No sense feeding the fire of debauchery with an Elemental Air suit. I rarely have anything in mind when I use Tarot or runes. I let them guide the process. The world we see emanates from the collective us. Therefore, there is nothing outside of us, nothing that’s not a result of our interaction in physical form. Our own shifting focus exerts pressure against our alignment with Source. It’s not our crazy relative or co-worker that’s affecting us, it’s our perception of that individual or behavior that’s causing us difficulty. Divination tools like Tarot are nice because they alert us to the various personality types and influences in the world, while providing spiritual guidance via the archetypal structure of the Major Arcana.

So what’s a Queen to do.. The influential projective and receptive energies suggest we might tend towards distraction or even laziness, so keep the momentum going. Being a couch potato doesn’t get the garden planted. Visually, the suit of Cups, creates an inverted triangle in the middle of the spread, an inverted drama triangle, if you will with laziness and passive-aggression descending into debauchery. So, no whining either, the carrots won’t plant themselves.

It also occurs to me that we have two triangles, one pointing upward and one pointing downward. A Merkaba, our quantum energy field. In this case, it’s reflecting the descent into physical form at a lower level in the abyss, along with the archetypal energy of creation pointing upward. As above, so below. Well now, that’s very cool.

I love this deck. I’m only beginning to study it, but it’s fascinating. People spend a lifetime studying it and probably never understand all it has to offer. The attention to detail that Lady Harris gives to each card is worth endless study. But what I like the most is its expression on the Tree of Life. It illustrates the soul’s cyclical movement from nonphysical to physical existence and then back again, as well as the influences along the way. It’s a description of creative energy that as an empath I feel. There’s a resonance about it. As with the Tattva Tarot, the Thoth deck includes elemental influences as in the watery aspect of a particular card. I like that sensation of the various elements blending together to create something else. It feels interesting when simply observing the flow of it. Tarot systems such as Thoth Tarot express that synchronicity, that flow.

What an interesting way to begin the journey!

~Blessed Be the Wisdom of the Thoth Tarot!

 

Note: Modern Magick and Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot are both available from many pagan and witch booksellers as well as from Amazon, both welcome additions to any library.