The Thoth Tarot is a Tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. Crowley referred to this deck as The Book of Thoth, and also wrote a book of that title intended for use with the deck. The deck is widely used, and its complex symbolism makes it a favorite of presumably more advanced Tarot readers.


Background

Crowley originally intended the Thoth deck to be a three-month project aimed at updating the traditional pictoral symbolism, perhaps best demonstrated by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck; however, it was to span five years, between 1938 and 1943, as the scope of the project grew ever wider. Crowley and Harris were meticulous in their work; Harris painted some cards as many as eight times. The current printing of the deck actually includes two alternate illustrations of The Magus, each making use of markedly different style and symbols. Unfortunately, neither Harris nor Crowley lived to see the deck published; a follower of Crowley undertook the work of publication in 1969. This initial printing was of markedly inferior quality, and in 1977 Harris' paintings were rephotographed for a second edition; the current edition is based on a further update that took place in 1986.


Symbolism

The illustrations of the Thoth deck are noticably richer in symbolism than many decks, including the Rider-Waite deck. Crowley desired to incorporate symbols from many disparate disciplines, including science and philosophy, as well as to draw on his extensive knowledge of various occult systems. For example, The Hanged Man and The Moon draw from Egyptian mythology, and the Princess of Disks holds a disk bearing the Taijitu. The pip cards in the four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Disks) depict their objects in carefully-crafted positions; for example, the Four of Swords (which Crowley named "truce") shows four swords with their points toward the center of an imaginary square, suggesting a possibly tense peace. The card illustrations are uniformly stark and vividly illustrated throughout.


Order and Names of Trumps (the Major Arcana)

Crowley renamed several of the trumps, and also re-arranged the astrological and Hebrew alphabet correspondences of some cards, in accordance with his earlier book, Liber AL vel Legis:

The Minor Arcana

Crowley chose to name each of the minor arcana card besides the Ace; the names correspond to Crowley's intended symbolism, but not always to the traditional symbolism. The Seven of Swords, for example, is named "Futility", which does not correspond to the Rider-Waite symbolism that suggests furtiveness and stealth.

Additionally, the four court cards are named differently; the Rider-Waite deck calls them the Page, the Knight, the Queen, and the King, while the Thoth deck names them the Knight, the Queen, the Princess, and the Prince.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.