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Reviews: Tarot Decks
Tarot & Cartomancy Deck Reviews
by Bonnie Cehovet
Tarot Master
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The Book Of Thoth
review by Bonnie Cehovet, TM
author: The Master Therion (aka Aleister Crowley)
original publication: Ordo Templi Orientis, 1944
Samuel Weiser reprint: 1969
U.S. Games Systems Inc.
2002
ISBN #0-913866-12-1
The Book Of Thoth, by Aleister Crowley, acts as a companion book for the Thoth Tarot deck, authored by Aleister Crowley and illustrated by Frieda Harris. Both the deck and the book have become Tarot classics, and "must have's" for any Tarot reference library.
In Part One, The Theory of Tarot, Crowley addresses the origins of Tarot, the correspondence between Tarot and the Qabalah, and Tarot as it relates to the universe (through devices such as the Naples arrangement, the Tree of Life, the Atu of Tahuti, Tarot and ceremonial magick, Tarot and animism, and the cards of the Tarot as Living Beings). No doubt you have heard some of these terms being bandied about - here you get to study material coming straight from the proverbial horses mouth.
One of the views of Tarot that Crowley held was that Tarot was a pictorial form of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. If you take the time to place the 78 cards of the Tarot in the form of the Tree of Life, this line of thought becomes much clearer, much more graphic than any philosophical discussion would take you. It is worth the time it takes to do this.
In Part Two, The Atu (Keys or Trumps), Crowley directly addresses the Tarot Trumps. Excerpted from the presentation on the Tarot Trump The Fool:
"The "Green Man" of the Spring Festival. "April Fool" The Holy Ghost
This tradition represents the original idea adapted to the understanding of the average peasant. The Green Man is a personification of the mysterious influence that produces the phenomena of spring. It is hard to say why it should be so, but it is so: there is a connection with the ideas of irresponsibility, of wantonness, of idealization, of romance, of starry dreaming.
The Fool stirs within all of us at the return of the Spring, and because we are a little bewildered, a little embarrassed, it has been thought a salutary custom to externalize the subconscious impulse by ceremonial means. It was a way of making confession easy. Of all these festivals it may be said that they are representation in the simplest form, without introspection, of a perfectly natural phenomenon. In particular are to be noted the custom of the Easter Egg and the "Poisson d'avril". (The Saviour Fish is discussed elsewhere in this essay. The precession of the Equinoxes has made Spring begin with the entry of the Sun into Aries the Ram, instead of Pisces the Fishes as was the case in earliest times recorded.) 1
In Part Three, The Court Cards, Crowley addresses the sixteen court cards of the Tarot. There is quite a good discussion of the court cards, elemental attributions and personality types. From the book:
Queen of Wands
The Queen of Wands represents the watery part of Fire, its fluidity and colour. Also, she rules in the Zodiac from the 21st degree of Pisces to the 20th degree of Aries. Her crown is topped with the winged globe and rayed with flame. Her long red golden hair falls down upon her armour of scaled mail. She is seated upon a throne of flame, ordered into geometrical light by her material power. Beneath her throne the surging flames are steady. She bears a wand in her left hand; but it is topped with a cone suggestive of the mysteries of Baccus. She is attended by a couchant leopard upon whose head she lays her hand. Her face expresses the ecstasy of one whose mind is well in-drawn to the mystery born beneath her bosom.
The characteristics of the Queen are adaptability, persistent energy, calm authority which she knows how to use to enhance her attractiveness. She is kindly and generous, but impatient of opposition. She has immense capacity for friendship and for love, but always on her own initiative.
There is as much pride in this card as in the Knight, but it lacks the spontaneous nobility which excuses that error. It is not true pride, but self-complacent vanity and even snobbery.
The other side of her character is that she may have a tendency to brood, come to a wrong decision thereon, and react with great savagery. She may be easily deceived; then she is likely to shew herself stupid, obstinate, tyrannical. She may be quick to take offence, and harbour revenge without good cause. She might turn and snap at her best friends without intelligible excuse. Also, when she misses her bite she breaks her jaw!
In the Yi King, the watery part of Fire is represented by the 17th hexagram, Sui. It indicates reflection upon impulse, and the consequently even flow of action. There is great capacity for lucid conception and steady prosecution of work, but this is only at the bidding, and under the guidance, of some creative mind. There is a tendency to be fickle, even disloyal; the ideas which she obeys make no permanent impression. She will "cleave to the little boy and let go the man of age and experience" or the reverse (lines 2 and 3) without realizing what she is doing. There is liability of fits of melancholy, which she seeks to cure by bouts of intoxication, or by panic-stricken outbursts of ill-considered fury." 2
In Part Four, The Small Cards, Crowley addresses the pips (the Ace's through Tens of the four suits of the Tarot). The cards are first addressed by groups of numbers (i.e. Ace's, Two's etc), and then by suit and number (which helps us to see the story line of each of the suits). From the book:
The Four Aces
The Aces represent the roots of the four elements. They are quire above, and distinct from, the other small cards in the same way Kether is said to be symbolized only by the topmost point of the Yod of Tetragrammaton. In these cards is no real manifestation of the element in its material form. They form a link between the small cards and the Princesses, who rule the heavens around the North Pole. The Meridian is the Great Pyramid, and the Elements rule, going eastward, in the order of Tetragrammaton, FIre, Water, Air and Earth. Thus, roughly, Aces-Princesses Wands cover Asia, Cups the Pacific Ocean, Swords the Americas, Disks Europe and Africa. To make this relationship clear, one may go a little into the symbol of the pentagram, or Shield of David. It represents Spirit ruling the four elements, and is thus a symbol of the Triumph of Man.
The idea of the element of Spirit is very difficult to grasp. The letter Shin, which is the letter of Fire, has to do double duty by representing Spirit as well. Generally speaking, the attributions of Spirit are not clear and simple like those of the other elements. It is very remarkable that the Tablet of Spirit in the Enochian system is the key to all mischief; as, in the Hindu system, Akasha is the Egg of Darkness.
On the other hand, Spirit represents Kether. Perhaps it was never in the mind of the Exempt Adept or Adepts who invented the Tarot to go so far into this matter. The point to remember is that, both in their appearance and their meaning, the Aces are not the elements themselves, but the seeds of those elements." 3
If the main material wasn't enough, there are wonderful illustrations contained throughout the book; a section entitled The Atu: Mnemonics that provides a series of associations for each of the Atu, or Major Arcana; an appendix devoted to the use of Tarot as a divinatory art, containing the Five Operations; and a second appendix which contains some highly usable charts on Tarot and correspondences.
The Book of Thoth is well known for being ambiguous at times. Some things are very clear, some are not. This is a book to be studied, a book to be used as a solid reference source, so the areas where Crowley is unclear, or ambiguous, are simply part of the package: of the book, and of who Crowley was as a person. Crowley is very good at explaining both the esoteric and the exoteric sides of Tarot, using his own personal background of Golden Dawn experience (he does make some corrections to what he considers errors on the part of the Golden Dawn); studies in mythology, Eastern philosophy and Qabalah.
At least a beginning background in the Tarot, Qabalah and astrology will go a long ways towards understanding Crowley's writing. I found this book to be as much about the man as about his teaching. Don't expect to fully understand, or appreciate this book at first glance. This is material that has to be worked with - each time you return, you take away another level of wisdom.
Footnotes:
1. ibid. pages 55-56.
2. ibid. pages 152-153.
3. ibid. page 177.
Tarot of the New Vision
review by Bonnie Cehovet, TM
author: Pietro Alligo
illustrators: Raul and Gianluca Cestaro
Lo Scarabeo
2003
ISBN #073870413-X
Tarot of the New Vision is intended to act as a compliment to the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck. In essence, the cards of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck have been turned 180 degrees, so that we can see what lies in front of them (or behind them, as the case may be). Some license has been taken in viewing the figures that are seated sideways in the pictures, and in some instances the veils have been pulled back half-way so that there we get a fuller view of the scene.
Some new symbols were added, and some license was taken in dealing with pictures that included thrones (for the Court Cards and for figures in the Major Arcana). In many cases what would have been shown from the front is shown as being engraved in the back of the throne. The style of art is pen and ink, with the coloring being somewhat pastel and subdued. The illustrators for this deck, Raul and Gianluca Cestaro, are brothers. I find this interesting, because it would seem that what one brother did not see in a card, the other brother would. I think the pairing of the deck and the illustrators did not happen by chance.
The cards themselves are approximately 2 5/8" by 4 3/4", on quality cardstock. They can be handled well, if not easily, by smaller hands, and are sturdy enough to stand up under extensive use. The backs show a 1/4" white border, followed by a 1/2" Celtic knot type border in blue and white. The image in the middle of the card is of the Ace of Pentacles - a hand coming out of a cloud, cupping a disk with a pentagram on it. Under the hand is a small scene of rolling hills, with mountains in the background. On top of the mountain, to the left hand side of the card, sits a castle. There are two sets of images, so that you cannot tell when the card is drawn whether it is upright or reversed.
The face of the card shows a 1/4" white border, with a thin black border around the graphic itself. At the top of the card, in the middle, is the card number. On the bottom of the card is the card title, in English. In the upper left hand corner is the card title in Spanish and Italian, in the upper right hand corner is the title in French and German.
The LWB (Little White Book) that accompanies this deck is indeed a little white book - very small, with very small print. Even so, it manages to carry translations of the material presented for all five languages. Quite the feat there! The meanings of the cards are presented with the use of one or two keywords - there is no discussion of the cards, or the suits, elemental qualities etc.
Two systems of doing readings/divinations are included. The first method is called The Cards of Meditation. It is essentially a card-a-day draw, with journaling of the days events at the end of the day. For those that are easily influenced, it is suggested that the card drawn in the morning not be turned over until the evening, and then compared with the days events.
The second method is called The External Cards and the Internal Cards. The deck is shuffled (seven times), the Seeker cuts the cards (once), and six cards are drawn. Cards number 1-3 represent, in a past/present/future format, how the Seeker is dealing on an external level with the issue/situation under question. Cards number 4-6 represent, in the same past/present /future format, how the Seeker is dealing with an issue/situation on an internal level. Once these cards have been interpreted, a seventh card is drawn. This card acts as a bridge between these two sets of cards - which reflect that which we are (the inner cards) and that which we reveal (the outer cards).
There are several cards in this deck that drew me to them. The monkey standing behind the Magician, tugging at his robes, and the crowd in front of the Magician take us from a solitary figure to one involved in community. The Hanged Man shows a crowd beneath him - showing the outside influences on how we view ourselves.
The burning buildings and advancing foot soldiers in the background of the Knight of Swords certainly add a more definitive energy to this card. The relief on the back of the throne of the Queen of Pentacles, which shows a benevolent female figure, standing, surrounded by several kneeling figures, brings home the sense of responsibility over others.
The Angel with winged feet in the background of the Eight of Wands gives one pause - especially when you notice the Wand being held like a short spear in one hand, and the stance of one foot on the ground and one held in the air. The Nine of Swords is also rather jolting - in the background we see a Devil coming through the air to assault the grieving, seated figure. The Five of Pentacles shows the two seated figures as being inside the church, with light coming down on them through the stained glass window. The Six of Chalices shows the outline of a Grandmother/Grandfather type couple in the sky - as if they were spirits watching over the two children.
When I first looked at these cards, I was not impressed with the concept. I thought it was just "too cute for words", and representative of one person's way of looking at things. After actually working with the deck, I fell in love with it! Tarot of the New Vision could definitely be used as a stand alone reading deck. It is indeed a wonderful compliment to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, and could be used to advantage in comparative reading; or, if there were one or two difficult to interpret cards in any reading, pulling those cards from the Tarot of the New Vision for clarification and/or a new way of looking at the card in question.
I recommend this deck for those who like to experiment, as well as for those who want to deepen an existing connection/understanding to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.
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Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master, and Reiki Master/Teacher.
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Bonnie Cehovet is a Tarot Master, professional Tarot reader and Reiki Master/Teacher.
Bonnie has been reading the Tarot professionally for over ten years. She has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, including Secretary and Web Assistant For Links. She is currently Certification Director and Secretary for the American Board For Tarot Certification. Bonnie is also a founding member of the World Tarot Network.
Bonnie has had her work published in the ATA newsletter, in Geraldine Amaral's "Celebrating The Tarot" print newsletter, on the World Tarot Network and other internet sites. She is editor for her own monthly newsletter "Gateway To Tarot" (Yahoo Groups).
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