An Introduction to the Thoth Trumps

[ParsifalsWheel]

Welcome to the Thoth card-by-card discussion sub-forum. i will be the master of ceremonies for this excursion into "the whole of his (that is, Crowley's) Magical Mind" as depicted in the cards of the Thoth deck and elucidated in the Book of Thoth. I intend to keep this sprightly and will focus more on our impressions of the cards than the text, too meticulous an analysis of which can reduce things to a crawl rather quickly when tackling some of its more arcane ponderings. (That's something I know well from past experience.)

I intend to start each card-specific thread with a condensation of some of the key points from the BoT, with an eye toward practical usage. After that, the discussion can go anywhere we choose to take it, but it will move generally in an esoteric direction since that was Crowley's forte.

The Thoth Atu (Major Arcana) cards are Crowley's crowning achievement and comprise the bulk of his detailed exposition in the Book of Thoth. Most of them can be traced back to his apprenticeship in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, although his epiphany in Cairo in 1904 caused him to rethink and rename a few of them. I don't plan to intentionally venture too far into his Thelemic writing, the Book of the Law, qabalistic mysticism or magical/magickal practice, but nothing related to the cards is off-limits if there is enough interest.

I recognize that many of the Thoth Major Arcana are steeped in references to the Book of the Law, but my long experience with that volume has convinced me that it holds half-a-dozen nuggets of pure brilliance and a truckload of euphoric faux-Egyptian window dressing. So I won't dwell overlong on Crowley's more visionary (and opaque) pronouncements in the BoT. My goal is to "keep it real" within the bounds of his broader metaphysical worldview.

Oh, and of course to have some fun doing it. My sense of humor is never far below the surface of my more serious side.

[CharlotteK]

I am looking forward to this card by card discussion enormously

[Nemia]

So am I

[Joan Marie]

I am as well. I just got into Thoth fairly recently and am really enthusiastic about it and about learning more from such an experienced practitioner as ParsifalsWheel and all the great contributions from everyone here.

I am so happy that PW has agreed to lead this card-by-card study. This is a very busy time for him between now and the end of the year but he has informed me that he will try his best to get this going and to keep up with this study group.

Like so many I look forward to his next post and the discussions that will follow.

[Amoroso]

I've been into the Thoth for some time. Still learning new things about it. I'm in.

[sharmaakshay]

informative topic