Those new to tarot have many symbolic puzzles to solve when confronting the archetypes presented in the Major Arcana, but one that arises promptly is why there are two trump cards that seem to be about the same thing: Justice and Judgement. One of the simplest and most satisfying explanations I've seen is that Justice … Continue reading The Trial and the Verdict
Esoteric Tarot
Force, Strength or Lust?
The Lady and the Lion: Trump #11 in early decks and also in Aleister Crowley's Thoth but Trump #8 in decks based on A.E. Waite's model, this card has variously been titled Force (or Fortitude), Strength and Lust. Tarot de Marseille decks customarily show a woman opening the jaws of a lion, apparently without having … Continue reading Force, Strength or Lust?
Christopher Hyatt and the Opening of the Key
During my recent exploration of the Opening of the Key (OotK) method as described by Aleister Crowley in both the Book of Thoth and in his 1912 release of the Golden Dawn tarot material in The Equinox, Volume 1, Number 8 (which he also identified as "revised and improved" from the version "given to students … Continue reading Christopher Hyatt and the Opening of the Key
Counting with the OoTK: The Ultimate Solution?
As I discussed in a previous post, the Book of Thoth is silent about how to count and pair the cards when the Significator is at or near one end of the line, such that the full count can't be reached and pairs may not be achievable. In Israel Regardie's Complete Golden Dawn System of … Continue reading Counting with the OoTK: The Ultimate Solution?
Numerological Fun with the Trumps
I was thinking today about the ways that the Major Arcana cards tie together numerologically. Except for the Fool, all of them have what Phillip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm call "numerological counterparts:" trump cards whose numbers when subject to mathematical reduction result in a lower-numbered card with which the original card can be seen as having … Continue reading Numerological Fun with the Trumps
How to Read the OotK Pairs
Another question that the Book of Thoth leaves completely unanswered is how one goes about actually reading the paired cards on either side of the Significator at the end of the First Operation of the "Opening of the Key" (OotK) method. "Make a story of these cards." OK, Al, but are they to be read as … Continue reading How to Read the OotK Pairs
Thoth Pip Cards as Emotions
A couple of years ago one of my Aeclectic Tarot forum mates conducted an exercise to explore how the Minor Arcana, or "pip" cards, of the Thoth deck might be categorized as a range of emotional expressions: Joy, Anger, Love, Grief, Surprise, Fear, Trust and Anxiety. Because the Thoth pips have titles on them as … Continue reading Thoth Pip Cards as Emotions
A Crowded House, or Where Do I Put All Those Planets
For those old-timers like me who may wander in here, the title of this post should bring back fond memories of William Conrad's narrated taglines to the animated Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes, which invariably went "Be here next time, when . . . " followed by a tongue-in-cheek pair of amusing but not always obviously … Continue reading A Crowded House, or Where Do I Put All Those Planets
Trump Card Elemental Assignments
Among writers on the Golden Dawn's version of the esoteric tarot, there is general agreement that each of the twelve so-called "zodiacal" trump cards can be assigned one of four classical elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) according to the quality of the sign to which they correspond. The three trump cards associated with three … Continue reading Trump Card Elemental Assignments
An Opening of the Key First Operation Template
Those who are interested in the Golden Dawn and Thoth methods of divination have the complex and lengthy Opening of the Key (OotK) series of "operations" to entertain them. This includes a relatively straightforward initial operation that provides an overview of the querent's situation at the time of the reading. It is followed by three … Continue reading An Opening of the Key First Operation Template
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 