AUTHOR'S NOTE: In yesterday's post I set myself the task of "taking a deep dive" into the Thoth Tarot, an esoteric deck I've been using since 1973. I will approach it more systematically in future essays, so here I'm only going to outline a few important details. My ultimate goal is to avoid repeating the … Continue reading Thoth Preliminaries (and a Few Particulars)
Tarot Decks
Thoughts on Thoth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about the Thoth deck many times in the past but lately, as I roam the online tarot community, I've encountered Thoth novices who have just discovered it and who, while fascinated by its esoteric depth, are nervous about having anything to do with its co-creator, Aleister Crowley. (They have yet to … Continue reading Thoughts on Thoth
Old Wine, New Wine, Wrong Bottle
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I've been studying and working with tarot for over 50 years, I still occasionally dip into the literature. My chosen subject matter is most often from the traditional canon but once in a while the material is of more recent vintage just to assess how the world of tarot is evolving in … Continue reading Old Wine, New Wine, Wrong Bottle
Red and Blue: “Living and Knowing”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Except for the traditional block-printed Marseille decks, I get very little mileage out of color symbolism in the tarot. Even then, I stay mainly with the three primary colors red, blue and yellow (along with black and white), scarcely noticing the uncommon secondary hues of green, orange and purple, and even less so … Continue reading Red and Blue: “Living and Knowing”