Taking a look at the Thoth Princesses (translate to Pages for RWS-style decks, or Knaves for the Marseille). Aleister Crowley and his artist partner, Lady Frieda Harris, have built a rich set of symbolism over the traditional archetypes in the Tarot, and the Princesses are a very special part of that symbolism. The inimitable Alison […]
Thoth
Thoth Journal: The Fool 0
I’ve recently gotten back to my Thoth Tarot and thought it would be good to revisit and expand upon my initial impressions of this multi-layered take on the Tarot system. I find the deck both fascinating and challenging to use. It’s got this “in your face” very direct set of messages, and does not shy […]
Thoth Journal, Virtues II: Temperance and…Prudence?
Thoth is back! Back in September during my Tarot study group where I was taking the challenge to understand the Thoth Tarot, I wrote about the first two of the four virtues in the Adjustment/Justice and Lust/Fortitude cards. You can review that post here. In my study group, we were asked to relate the High […]
Thoth Journal–Virtues I: Justice and Fortitude
The so-called cardinal virtures of Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and Prudence are at least partially represented in the Tarot deck. Only three are explicitly given as cards, so between this post and the next, we’ll look at what’s visible, and what may be invisible. First, we’ll explore Justice and Strength (Fortitude). We go from cool and […]
Thoth Journal–The Yin/Yang Couple
Comparing Empress (3) and Emperor (4) in the Thoth. Talk about your study in contrasts! Lady Frieda Harris, the painter, decided to go all out. I think I can see her feelings about men here, although Aleister Crowley dictated a lot of what went into the cards. In total contrast to the cool greens, blues, […]
Thoth Journal–Magician Comparative
Comparing Magus from Thoth with RWS (Universal Waite version) and Druid Craft magicians today. The Thoth will always be a contrast to most other decks, particularly these two RWS types. Overall, just a contrast between concrete and abstract, working with objects in a scene in the real world vs. playing with alchemy and objects suspended […]
Thoth Journal–Three of Wands
Just a quick one, but our lovely study group tutor for my Thoth deck exploration gave us a haiku assignment for our description of the Three of Wands (the keyword on this card is Virtue). So, herewith, my attempt at the haiku form: gold lotus aflame solar ram ignites the will virtue tempers pride Please […]
Thoth Court–Princess of Disks
In Alison Cross’s lovely Tarot Kaizen group on Facebook, we’re still working our way through a deck to learn all its ins and outs, in my case, the Thoth deck. We’re busy with the court cards (Kings, Queens, Knights, Pages), so I thought I’d share my insights from the exercises we’re doing. First up, […]
