posted March 17, 2013 01:44 AM            

What does one have to know? The colour symbolism?

What's your experience of using it? I've only owned a rider so far but I'm strangely attracted to this one for some irrational reason

posted April 05, 2013 04:34 PM            

I use the Thoth deck in two ways (I only read for myself):
for the abstract minor arcana cards I tune into my reaction or thoughts as the card presents itself and I take a written note. If I'm not getting anything, I will refer to the book (I would skip The Book of Thoth and go to Lon Milo DuQuette's excellent Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot.I have Keywords for the Crowley Tarot but rarely refer to it - although it's a good primer if you plan on giving readings for others, has lots of layouts etc.)

With the Major cards, I have learnt the "meanings" and, as there are many layers to the Thoth deck (myth, Cabbala, occult/thelema), I choose what's relevant by what resonates with the question. The Thelemic mythos doesn't really resonate for me so I tend to ignore that layer of meaning.

I hope this helps! And, yes, it is a beautiful deck

posted April 10, 2013 10:35 AM            

Because i've been seriously scared of getting involved with anything Crowley touched. I consider him an idiot and an overstatement, but nonetheless the man's energy repels me very much. Some people say it's Harris who made it and whose idea it essentially was, I wouldn't be surprised if Crowley's name was only used to increase the sales (Andy Warhol style uh-huh)

Also yeah the book of thoth is about 60% golden dawn studies, 15% iching structure and the rest is just stupid pathos. From my experience, the best book ever on the MAjors is "the key to great mysteries", it spells everything out.

I just FEEL like these cards CAN communicate something to me on a level different from Rider, meditation/emotive level sort of thing. And I've got 3 generations of cartomancy-gifted women in my family and witches blood and whatnot, so I really have to watch out, I can't slip and end up on the wrong side, I can only do things that do not go against the grain of God and what's good. My mother is really dissuading me from even experimenting with Thoth, she hates all things Crowley, so the fact that he only acted as a consultant to Lady Harris doesn't seem like a valid excuse to her.

And I had those funny dreams in which I was falling upwards into Thoth imagery and it felt obscene and seedy, and I woke up in convulsions, so my mother said it was a warning and that I should stay away.

And Rider is well all right, but emotional impressions come from nowhere, they are too fleeting, whereas I feel that w Thoth I'd see/feel much more. And well I don't know if we're even allowed to learn that sort of thing.