The thoth tarot is a divinatory tarot deck painted by lady frieda harris according to instructions from aleister crowley. Thoth, the scribe of the gods, as the ibis with a maat feather the metropolitam museum of art new york. When you are learning tarot, the court cards can be tricky to fully understand. Her crest is the head of the ram, and her sceptre descends into the earth. Verum est, certum et verissimum, quod est, superius naturam habet inferioram et ascendens naturam descendentis. Crowley referred to this deck as the book of thoth, and also wrote a 1944 book of that title intended for use with the deck. The princess of disks, the last of the court cards, represents the earthy part of earth. We also look at the description of the courts in book t to the rws. The major arcana of the tarot greater secrets ancient. The court cards are knight, queen, prince, and princess. So the book of thoth is the companion book to crowleys tarot deck, a prognosticator of a rather intense nature, im told.
The thoth tarot deck would not be commercially published until 1969. Crowley altered the names of all the court cards which can cause some confusion for people used to the more common decks. Thoth tarot deck is accompanied by a guide book to help users are equipped with. A while back, as a service to the online thoth community, i went through every paragraph of the court card section of the book of thoth, trawling crowleys moral characteristics for words and phrases that could be compiled into a robust keyword list derived from his own words.
Thoth app shuffle and deal cards online book of thoth. With artist lady frieda harris, he condensed the core of his teaching into the 78 cards of the tarot. There is there fore no mention of the three veils of the negative, which was discussed in the description of the tree of life. The comparison of tarot court cards based on the crowley thoth tarot. The cards include plenty of astrological and elemental symbols to help guide you through a reading. It was created by the famed occultist aleister crowley and the artist lady frieda harris between 1938 and 1943 both later died before it was published. The book of thoth egyptian tarot download ebook pdf. Exploration of the court cards in aleister crowleys book of thoth. The tarot illustrates, first of all, the tree of life in its universal aspect. Where to find the information and how the cards are structured through the tetragrammaton or. The book of thoth is an essay on the tarot of the egyptians.
The book of thoth the complete guide to the tarot, magick. Feb 04, 2014 exploration of the court cards in aleister crowleys book of thoth. This page dispays articles on the thoth court cards in written and video format, as part of a series on alesier crowleys thoth tarot deck. In the order of the thoth deck the line knight queen prince princess represents the line father mother son daughter. Although crowleys own book of thoth provides insight into. Several methods of reading are available, including the famous 15card thoth method. My free book on tarot card meanings true to the cards coming soon. The book of the archer the principles of discordian magick energy the concept of order applied magick advanced i ching. Oct 25, 2018 court cards in the tarot are often the most complex and confusing cards to interpret. If a tarot reading is predominantly made up of the minor arcana tarot cards, you are dealing with.
Duquette skillfully explores the similarities and differences between crowleys thoth tarot and golden dawn tarot attributes. The first article, exhibition of playing cards the tarot book of thoth, 78 paintings is probably edited by lady frieda harris from crowleys cards, and the second article exhibition of 78 paintings of the tarot cards, written by lady frieda harris for an art exhibition at berkeley galleries. The comparison of tarot court cards based on the crowley thoth. This book describes how to use the thoth tarot cards, a divinatory tarot deck. The reason for this unexpected court card astrological association is the balancing of energies between the rank of the court card and the 3 gunas or three qualities virtues of nature. Aleister crowley and the metaphysical thoth tarot gaia. The book of thoth is a site that is dedicated to uniting the principles of knowledge, method and wisdom with the purpose of finding the true path to enlightenment. Egypt is the spiritual home of crowleys liber al, and the book of thoth his legacy. Tarot card explanations and analogies based on the thoth tarot of aleister crowley. It helps in situations where the court cards clearly represent people. She is strong and beautiful, with an expression of intense brooding, as if about to become aware of secret wonder. A treatise about court cards in tarot, here the thoth tarot, why they are personal cards but no persons the courts cards are a very special part of the minor arcana, and ever since tarot readers went and interpreted persons into them such as a dark stranger will come into your life etc. Exploring her personality and comparing her with the tarot queens has enabled me to see at first hand, the attributes associated with them in a way i can relate to, bringing them and the rest of the tarot court cards to life.
Playing cards contain the court cards king, queen and knave jack in each suit tarot cards contain the court cards king, queen, knight and page in each suit. A little rant about the tarot court cards and how i correspond the golden. In addition, there are twentytwo cards called trumps, each of which is a symbolic picture with a title itself. The basic idea of associating the court cards with signs of the zodiac is not a new one. As a ubiquitous deck in germany, it is no surprise that the first attempt was german ziegler, 1984 and two other major attempts are also german. The youtube video can accessed by clicking the image below. In fact, all of the content of this post will be mindnumbingly familiar to thoth readers. The book is recorded in the vernal equinox of 1944 an ixviii sol in 0 0 0 aries, march 21, 1944 e. A short essay on the tarot of the egyptians is the title of the equinox, volume iii, number 5, by english author and occultist aleister crowley. His original idea had been to execute a pack after the tradition of the mediaeval editors, corrected in the light of the descriptions given in the equinox i, vii and viii. Husons book in particular is a necessary read for those who want a historical context and a broader picture of the development of using tarot for divination prior to the golden dawn. Thoth court cards by the book july 31, 2017 july 20, 2018 parsifalswheeldivination a while back, as a service to the online thoth community, i went through every paragraph of the court card section of the book of thoth, trawling crowleys moral characteristics for words and phrases that could be compiled into a robust keyword.
Most of the card designs follow the rider waite format, but there are also influences from crowleys thoth deck, particularly in the strength card and the court cards which include princes and princesses rather than knights and pages. The court cards the book of thoth the libri of aleister. Crowley describes the symbolism and concepts behind the choice of symbolism in a detailed, if not. A little rant about the tarot court cards and how i correspond the golden dawn and thoth courts to the rws and marseille courts. Despite the lockdown life goes on, and a tarot reading from me can be very inspiring. There are four suits, as in modern playing cards, which are derived from it. The thoth tarot is a classic in modern tarot games, it has been one of the most popular tarots for many years. The corona virus is making meeting face to face difficult, so now i do many tarot readings online or vie telephone.
Free card keywords and spreads free tarot reading book. A tarot reading is a great way to find inspiration in these difficult times. Crowley renamed and reordered several trumps, renamed several court cards, and added titles. This book describes the philosophy and the use of aleister crowleys thoth tarot, a deck of tarot cards designed by crowley and codesigned and painted by lady frieda harris. A treatise about court cards in tarot, here the thoth tarot, why they are personal cards but no persons the courts cards are a very special part of the minor arcana, and ever since tarot readers went and interpreted persons into them such as a dark stranger will come into your life etc especially on flea markets. The book of thoth egyptian tarot download ebook pdf, epub. The minor arcana including the court cards the minor arcana.
In my tarot office on brighton seafront by great p. It is also one of the most original interpretations of the tarot, incorporating astrological, numerological, egyptian, and. The subject of the bookthe tarot is called the book of thoth or tahutiis the influence of the ten numbers and the twentytwo letters on man, and his best methods of manipulating their forces. Crowley referred to this deck as the book of thoth, and also wrote a 1944.
The tarot has been called the oldest book known to man papus, 1970. There is an introductory video at the beginning as the court cards have many astrological and elemental correspondences along with a close relationship to the thoth minor arcana cards. Apr 28, 2017 the basic idea of associating the court cards with signs of the zodiac is not a new one. Each suit of 14 minor or small cards has number cards from one to ten, and four court cards instead of the three found in playing card decks.
Tabula mundi tarot an inspired thoth based tarot deck by m. Qlickable qabalah tarot and the tree book of thoth. Theory of the tarot the book of thoth the libri of. The whole idea of sacrifice is a misconception of nature, and these texts of the book of the law are the answer to it. I t is not inconceivable that the earliest tarot cards could originally have been the illustrated book pages from such a book of knowledge. Tarot, possessed in her own right the essential spirit of the book. The book of thoth, contents part one the book of thoth egyptian tarot by aleister crowley contents and part one partly linked, mostly proofread originally published in an edition limited to 200 numbered and signed copies, 1944 reprinted by samuel weiser, inc. Leeza robertson helps us to really understand the court cards of tarot. Find out how to read the court cards like an expert. Like most mystics, he shrouds his intent behind allegories and clues and outright denial. She is consequently on the brink of transfiguration.
How to finally conquer the tarot court cards tarot elements. This page is my visual argument one of my pet peeves in published tarot writing. The thoth tarot deck is referred to as the book of thoth, and has a companion book by the same name. If you are new to tarot cards, the first decision youre likely to make is between these decks or possibly their clones. The rich symbolism in the thoth deck, and comparisons of crowleys archetypes to their corresponding major arcana cards, has been accomplished in duquettes book. The court cards tend to be trickier to read than any of the other tarot cards.
They can be viewed in the relevant section of the book of thoth here. Since crowley produced the book of thoth, there have been several attempts to provide further clarifications, commentaries or more introductorylevel guides to the deck. In the meantime, i hope you will be able to start reading tarot straight out of the box with these keywords and spreads. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time i comment. It is confusing, but they were also called knight, queen, king and princess. Where to find the information and how the cards are structured through the tetragrammaton or yhvh, the four elements, earth, air. The thoth tarot has become one of the bestselling and most popular tarot decks in the world. Jul 19, 2016 a little rant about the tarot court cards and how i correspond the golden dawn and thoth courts to the rws and marseille courts. You really did an outstanding job with all of this hands down the most inspired and thoughtfully executed deck ive seen. Since the book of thoth comes with a small library of recommended reading material to familiarize ones self with the deck, learning to read tarot with the rider waite or rwsinspired deck is a nobrainer. This article gives you an introduction to the thoth court cards by way of a youtube video and.
Understanding the court cards in the book of thoth youtube. Written by aleister crowley for use by frieda harris in designing the book of thoth tarot cards. The fool major tarot card attributions in liber 77. This section explores in detail the court cards of the thoth tarot deck. Duquette makes the thoth tarot more accessible to those new to the deck. The cards depicted in this book are only one set of the many that have appeared during the long history of the tarot.
Here the triple currents of mysticism, magick and the tarot combine as one force. How to read the tarot court cards like an expert biddy tarot. From this first edition, only a handful of cards have survived, however, a student of etteilla, had a complete version printed in 1804. This website is dedicated to providing tarot readings using aleister crowley and lady frieda harris book of thoth in its purest form, using crowleys original meanings. An authoritative examination of the worlds most fascinating and magical tarot cards by suggesting that everyone who uses the thoth deck do themselves a favour and buy this book. That said, a look at the fool card, the alpha and omega of any version of the major arcana, is an example of the contrast of traditional interpretation to crowleys vision. This book is definitely something you want to read if you plan on working with tarot to do readings, or even just for selfstudy. The book of thoth etteilla tarot is a reproduction of a nineteenth century tarot deck based on the deck created by etteilla, who was the first to create a deck solely for divinatory use. The rider waite tarot deck has one simple instruction book about the cards which can be referred to easily during any reading. Its generally recommended by pretty much every intrototarot book on the market. The cards major arcana, minor arcana, court cards tarot. I just received my tabula mundi deck last week along with the book and decans pack.
So many of us say that the ranks of page, knight, queen, and king are not relevant to our experience and make no sense. Keywords, divinatory meanings and attributes of the book of thoth court cards. Waite in his book the pictorial key to the tarot 1910, and they have become standard for most of the englishspeaking world. Book of thoth queen of swords court card meanings supertarot. Thoth was the ibisheaded god of wisdom and knowledge of the ancient egyptians. Our solution in this book is to decide that queens husband will. Ive been planning to buy this deck for a while, and i wasnt disappointed when i finally got it. You can also check out my blog to read about different tarot decks you can get for the best readings. Thoth court cards by the book parsifals wheel tarot.
If a tarot reading is predominantly made up of the minor arcana tarot cards, you are dealing with issues which will not necessarily having a lasting influence on your life. Book of thoth queen of disks court card meanings supertarot. Aug 20, 2009 exploring her personality and comparing her with the tarot queens has enabled me to see at first hand, the attributes associated with them in a way i can relate to, bringing them and the rest of the tarot court cards to life. Together they bent their energies to the formidable task of preparing the 78 cards of the book of thoth. Click download or read online button to get the book of thoth egyptian tarot book now. Introduction to the thoth court cards esoteric meanings.
Crowley began selling subscriptions to the book of thoth in may 1944 and found takers in mcmurtry, sutherland. Although crowleys own book of thoth provides insight into the cards, it is a complicated, dated book. Aleister crowleys thoth tarot was his final opus, the culmination of a lifetime of occult study and practice. A guide to books on the thoth tarot the tarosophy tarot.