Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot (in English)

CHAPTER ZERO

THE BOOK OF THOTH – A MAGICK BOOK?

The Tarot is a pack of seventy-eight cards.There are four suits, as in modern playing cards, which are derived from it.But the Court cards number four instead of three. In addition, there aretwenty-two cards called “Trumps”, each of which is a symbolic picture with atitle to itself.
Atfirst sight one would suppose this arrangement to be arbitrary, but it is not.It is necessitated, as will appear later, by the structure of the universe, andin particular the Solar System, as symbolized by the Holy Qabalah. This will beexplained in due course.

These are the brilliantly concise openingwords of Aleister Crowley’s The Book ofThoth. When I first read them, I was filled with great expectations. Aslast, I thought, the great mysteries of the Thoth Tarot are going to beexplained to me – “in due course.”
At the time, I considered myself a serious student of tarot, having spent threeyears studying the marvelous works of Paul Foster Case and his Builders of the Adytum tarot and Qabalahcourses. As dictated in the B.O.T.A. curriculum, I painted my own deck oftrumps and dutifully followed the meditative exercises outlined for each of thetwenty-two cards. Now, with Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot and The Book of Thoth in hand, I knew I wasready to take the next step toward tarot mastery and my own spiritual illumination.
It took a bit of bravado on my part to arrive at this threshold. My firstintroduction to Crowley had not been particularly satisfying. In fact, I camevery close to shunning the Thoth Tarot and TheBook of Thoth as seductive works of the devil. I wrote about this embarrassingepisode in my book, My Life with theSpirits. Eventually, I came upon an early edition of Aleister Crowley’sThoth Tarot deck. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. The nameAleister Crowley sounded familiar and I vaguely recalled seeing his namefootnoted in a Qabalah book that I had read by Frater Achad. I referred to myoccult dictionary and discovered to my horror – “Aleister Crowley – famous ScottishSatanist.”
I may have been a wild and crazy heretic, but I sure didn’t want anything to dowith Satanism. Knowing my brother owned a copy of The Book of Thoth (the companion text), I promptly gave the cardsto him. Good riddance!
I was soundly disabused of this notion a few days later by our dear friend MadBob (a name that only begins to describe his bizarre and wonderful character),who had returned briefly from a Central American adventure. Bob had readCrowley’s autobiography and insisted I would love the man if I gave him achance. When I showed him what the occult dictionary had to say, he brushed itoff saying, “It doesn’t matter if Crowley was a Satanist, he was a good kind ofSatanist. You’ll just love him! Trust me.”
That was the strangest thing I had ever heard, but I respected Mad Bob’s opinion andtook the cards back from my brother and asked to borrow his The Book of Thoth. Bob was right. Eventhought I didn’t understand most of what I read, I could see that AleisterCrowley was brilliant, funny, and everything I was looking for. I boughteverything I could buy or concerning the man (precious little in those days)and eventually wrote to Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) at the addresspublished on the Caliph card included in the Thoth Tarot to ask for initiation.
And so began what (for good or ill) I must call my magical career. The Thoth Tarotbeing not only the catalyst that triggered my metamorphosis from dilettante tomagician, but also the talisman that obligingly provided the mailing address ofthe Holy Order that would remain my spiritual home and university for the nextquarter century.
Please don’t think that by relating the above story I am suggesting that everyone whowishes to understand more about the Thoth Tarot or The Book of Thoth need run right out and join the O.T.O. or anyother group, magical or otherwise. Occult societies are not for everybody, andno matter what any of them may suggest to new or potential members, noorganization has yet cornered the market on the wisdom of the ages. In fact,all the information one will ever need in order to master the subject hasalready been published and is readily available – more available, in fact, thanat any other time in history. At the dawn of the new millennium, it is not amatter of whether or not the answers are out there, rather it is a matter ofarriving at a place where one knows the right questions to ask.
Naturally, because no two individuals are alike, we should not expect to find the answersin the same places. For me, the answers most often come, not from teachers orfrom mystery school lectures, but from books – books, curiously enough, that Ihave already read (or thought I read) many times before.
Crowley’s Book of Thoth is one such book. Itseems to change miraculously as it rests on the shelf. I can say with certaintythat, in the last thirty years, I have read it cover-to-cover at least a dozentimes, and have referred to it hundreds of times. Yet every time I pick it up,I find something profound that I have never seen before. More often than not,this new intelligence is precisely that bit of information I have been combingmy brain or library for, or else it satisfies spiritual frustration currentlygnawing at my soul.
I used to blame this phenomenon on the fact that I am a slow learner and need tohave something drummed into my head many times before I start to “get it.”Nevertheless, over the years , I have spoken to so many students who tell methat the same thing happens to them (especially with books by Aleister Crowley)that I believe it to be a universal experience.
Of course, I don’t believe that the words on the page actually metamorphose intodifferent words between readings. Nor can I bring myself to think that I amcareless enough to leave unread great chunks of a book I passionately want tounderstand. Rather, I have come to realize that it is me who changes betweenreadings, and that the magical secret to learning more than I now know lies inmy ability to become someone who is more than I now am.
For this reason, I strongly recommend that, if you are truly serious about yourstudy of the tarot, you not only read TheBook of Thoth but reread it regularly. Leave it off the shelf and refer toit often. Keep rereading it until it falls apart in your hands, then go out andbuy a new one. It will be a different book every time you pick it up. It is amagick book. Respect it. Treasure it. Let it work its magick on you – not somuch for the reward of learning more than you now know, but for sake of yourspiritual destiny to become someone greater than you now are.
The idea that I should write an exegetic text on the Thoth Tarot and The Book of Thoth was first suggested byMiss Judith Hawkins-Tillirson at an informal meeting with me, Donald Weiser,and Betty Lundsted of Weiser Books. Judith’s proposition came as a completesurprise to me, and I sat speechless throughout most of her pitch. She pointedout the fact that, other than The Book ofThoth itself, there was no book that examined the Thoth Tarot from the pointof view of a Crowley “expert.”
She went on for only two or three minutes.When she was finished, she sat back in her chair and grinned at me. Don andBetty agreed that the book was a good idea and that I should send them somepreliminary material. That was that. I had hardly spoken a word. I went back tomy hotel and stared out the window at a glorious Chicago thunderstorm and askedmyself, “What in the world have I gotten myself into?”
While the definition of the term “expert” is certainly open to debate, it is probablyat least partially true that my credentials to comment on the subject are aspresentable as anyone’s. However, I must warn the reader that my understandingof Crowley, Thelema, and tarot is constantly changing. No matter how smuglysecure I may appear in my theories and opinions, please keep in mind that I amperpetually reexamining my theories and changing my opinions. I counsel you tobe prepared to do the same.

CHAPTER ONE

LITTLE BITS OF THINGS YOU SHOULDKNOW

It seems important that you shouldunderstand my motive. To me this Work on the Tarot is an Encyclopedia of allserious “occult” philosophy. It is a standard Book of Reference, which willdetermine the entire course of mystical and magical thought for the next 2000years. My one anxiety is that it should be saved from danger of destruction, bybeing reproduced in permanent form, and distributed in as many distant placesas may be. I am not anxious to profit financially; if I had the capitalavailable in this country, I should send (say) 200 copies to State Libraries inall parts of the world, and as many more to my principal representatives.
--Aleister Crowley to Mr.Pearson, Photoengraver, May 29, 1942

Every year since 1969, when the first coloredition appeared in bookstores and specialty shops worldwide, Aleister Crowley’sThoth Tarot has remained one of the best-selling tarot decks in the world. Thisis not surprising. In my opinion, it is quite simply the most stunninglybeautiful deck of tarot cards ever created. It took the artiest, the immenselytalented Frieda Harris, over five years (1938-1943) to complete theseventy-eight surrealistic masterpieces.
Today, the images remain as hauntingly evocative as when they were first exhibited.The popularity of the cards, however, shines in bright contrast to the blackreputation of the man who designed them and who relentlessly dictated everyaspect of their execution – a man maligned during his lifetime as a blackmagician, and branded by the press “the wickedest man in the world.”
Paradoxes seem to define the life and career of Edward Alexander (Aleister) Crowley. Yes,in many ways he was a scoundrel. There is no doubt that he wallowed shamelesslyin his carefully cultivated persona as England’s literary and spiritualbad-boy. At the same time, he took life and himself very seriously. Among otherdistinctions, he was a world-class mountaineer, chess master, painter, poet,sportsman, novelist, critic, and theatrical producer. He introduced America toastrology, Isadora Duncan to the I Ching,and the poet victor Neuberg to hiking and high magick. As an agent provocateur writing for anEnglish-language German propaganda newspaper in New York, he penned theoutrageous and inflammatory editorials that provoked a reluctant United StatesCongress to enter World War I on England’s side.
During World War II, at the request of friend and Naval Intelligence officer IanFleming, Crowley provided Winston Churchill with valuable insights into the superstitionsand magical mind-set of the leaders of the Third Reich. He also suggested tothe prime minister, if reports can be believed, that he exploited the enemy’smagical paranoia by being photographed as much as possible giving thetwo-fingered “V-for-Victory” gesture. This sign is the manual version of themagical sign of Apophis-Typhon, a powerful symbol of destruction andannihilation which, according to magical tradition, is capable of defeating thesolar energies represented by the swastika.
Astonishingly,Crowley’s adventures and achievements – more than any dozen men of ambition andgenius could realistically hope to garner in a lifetime – seem almost to bedistractions when weighed against his monumental exploits of self-discovery.His visionary writings and his efforts to synthesize and integrate the esotericspiritual systems of East and West make him one of the most fascinating culturaland religious figures of the twentieth century.
Even though his highly esoteric (and often ponderous) writings today enjoy a levelof readership and appreciation never approached during his lifetime, the numberof aspirants willing to take up serious study of his Scientific Illuminismremains relatively small. For those daring and tenacious students, his ThothTarot becomes the cornerstone of their study – a priceless and indispensabletreasure. It is nothing less than a full-color visual textbook of the wisdom ofthe ages – a living talisman that distills, in breathtaking pageantry, theessence of the spiritual education and insights of a modern master of theancient mysteries. Is it any wonder that such a rare and radiant magical deviceshould cast an irresistible spell upon nearly everyone with whom it comes incontract? For me, the answer is obvious. However, I think it is also fair toask if it is possible for someone to use and enjoy the Thoth Tarot, even ifthey have absolutely no interest in Crowley or the Qabalistic, astrological,and magical aspects of the cards.
My answer is an unequivocal “Yes!” The Thoth Tarot happens to be the preferreddeck of thousands of tarot collectors, students, and amateur and professionalreaders all over the world. Most with whom I have spoken tell me they choosethe deck because of its haunting beauty and its efficacy as a divinatory tool.Those who know something about Crowley and his work are usually polarized intheir opinions, but even those who consider him a perfectly dreadful individualstill maintain a healthy admiration for the cards. I was once assailed by avenerable tarot reader who voiced the opinion shared by many professionalreaders and fans of the Thoth Tarot: “I don’t care who Aleister Crowley was,and I don’t believe in his magick. I just know those damned cards and they work!”
  While it is undoubtedly true that only a small percentage of owners and users of theThoth Tarot will ever fully appreciate the esoteric value of the cards, it isalso abundantly clear to me that there are a great many people who wouldsincerely like to know more about them. If you find yourself in this group ofseekers, this book is for you.

In recent years, several fine books have been published that use the Thoth Tarotas illustrations. By and large, these books pay respectful attention to themore obvious features of the cards. They are good tarot books in their ownright, but they do not, in my opinion, deal satisfactorily with the profoundconcepts and revelations that make the Thoth Tarot so unique and important.There is, however, one book that does. It is a magnificent work written by theonly person truly qualified to comment authoritatively on the cards. Thesingular shortcoming of this magnum opus,however, is not that it doesn’t tell us enough – but that it tries to tells useverything.
Toward the end of his life, Crowley (writing as The Master Therion) wrote one of hisgreatest works, The Book of Thoth – A ShortEssay on the Tarot of the Egyptiants.He intended it as an “elementary treatise” on tarot in general and the ThothTarot in particular. As anyone who has read it, or attempted to read it, willtell you, it is anything but elementary. In fact, unless one is alreadyextremely knowledgeable in the fields of mythology, philosophy, and religion,unless one is thoroughly steeped in the doctrines of the Hebrew Qabalah, unlessone is intimately familiar with the immense body of magical and visionary workthat occupied Crowley for nearly fifty years, unless one if fluent in thecomplex and enigmatic nomenclature these visions spawned, The Book of Thoth is most definitely not a user-friendly expositionof the Thoth Tarot.
This is not to say that the uninitiated cannot benefit from reading it. On thecontrary, there is much in the text that is immediately comprehensible, indeed,profoundly inspirational. Nevertheless, if it is the reader’s desire to gainsome practical information about the Thoth Tarot quickly, he or she will mostlikely not read past the seventh paragraph:

One important interpretation of Tarot is that it is a Notariqon ofthe Hebrew Torah, the Law; also of ThROA, the Gate. Now, by the Yetziraticattributions – see table at end – this word may be read The Universe – the new-bornSun – Zero. This is the true Magical Doctrine of Thelema: Zero equals Two.Also, by Gematria, the numerical value of ThROA is 671 = 61 x 11. Now 61 isAIN, Nothing or Zero; and 11 is the number of Magical Expansion; in this wayalso, therefore, ThROA announces that same dogma, the only satisfactoryphilosophical explanation of the Cosmos, its origin, mode, and object.

Please do not think that I am deridingthe content of the above statement. It is remarkably lucid and perfectlyCrowley. I understand it (to a degree) and, given enough time (with breaks formeals), could explain it to any reasonably intelligent person. However, when Ifirst read it nearly thirty years ago, it made absolutely no sense to me. Iknew nothing about Qabalistic world subdivisions, Enochian Aethyrs, or magicalsocieties. I couldn’t get through one page of The Book of Thoth without encountering references to things I knewnothing about and reference books I did not possess.
Lady Harris was equally overwhelmed,and voiced her frustration in a January 1939 letter to Crowley:

In reference toyour books – I suppose you know that most of them would be easier for abeginner written in Sanscrit and that anyone reading them would go off theirheads. Therefore the wise (like myself) take them in snappy bits and only whenthey are feeling strong.

So it is with much of The Bookof Thoth. It is a masterpiece without equal, and the perfect companion tothe Thoth Tarot. While the latter can be appreciated the moment the cards aretaken out of the box, however, the former demands a significant investment oftime and study.
It would be many years before Irealized that, had I known only just a little bit about the magical lift ofAleister Crowley, just a little bit about his revolutionary spiritualworld-view and prophetic visions, just a little bit about astrology, just alittle bit about the Qabalah, just a little bit about alchemy, just a littlebit about the Golden Dawn and the Tree of Life, then The Book of Thoth and the Thoth Tarot cards would soon have yieldedmany of their most important mysteries. What I needed was another book – a bookthat might have been titled Little Bits of Things You Should Know beforeBeginning Yours Study of Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot.
Unfortunatelyfor me, no such book existed at the time. Hopefully, one does now.