After the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, the Thoth Tarot Deck, developed by Aleister Crowley, is one of the most popular decks used by readers. In addition to working with Lady Frieda Harris on new art, he introduced new ideas into the iconography taken from Kabbalah and Alchemy. He also changed the order of the cards in the Major Arcana, changing the journey of the protagonist from The Fool to the The World. This article looks at the development of the Thoth deck and how it differs from other Tarot decks.
Brief History of the Tarot Deck
Playing cards were brought to Europe by Islamic soldiers that invaded Northern Italy, Sicily and Spain in the 1500s. They were used for a game called Malmuk. Unlike modern playing cards, the cards were hand-painted with intricate designs, more like Tarot cards than modern playing cards.
The Italians adapted the Malmuk cards in the deck that would eventually evolve into the Tarot deck. They were developed for a storytelling game played by noble Italian families called carte de trionfe (Cards of Triumph). The cards designed for this game were more opulent than their Malmuk forebears. They were used for an early form of bridge and also a game called tarocchi appropriati, where the cards were laid out randomly, and the players had to make up silly poems about one another based on the cards on the table.
French occultists, most notably Antoine Courte de Gebelin, adapted these cards for the occult practice of Tarot. His ideas were published in 1781, and he claimed that Tarot reading and the deck were an Egyptian invention and based on Egyptian religious texts and were brought to Europe by gypsies from Egypt.
Other occultists picked up on this idea and a variety of Tarot decks were developed by different occultists and artists. The deck from which most modern decks stem is the Tarot of Marseille deck, developed in the 17th century. Meanwhile, the most famous deck is the Rider-Waite deck, named for the publishers William Rider and occultist A.E. Waite. The deck was first produced in 1909 and has never been out of print since, even though the original plates and artwork were lost during World War II.
The Thoth Deck
The Thoth deck was developed by Aleister Crowley, a famous English occultist once branded the ‘Wickedest Man in the World.’ In 1898, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was a British occultist group, where he trained in ceremonial magic. He also studied Hindu and Buddhist practices in India and travelled to Egypt. During his Egyptian travels, he claimed to have been contacted by a supernatural entity that gave him the information to create the religion of Thelema. He then spent his life promoting this religion.
As part of his new movement, Crowley also decided to redesign the Tarot deck to incorporate the facets of his religion. He steered away from the Christian themes embedded in the imagery of the cards and incorporated occultist themes, including Kabbalah and alchemy.
The cards themselves were painted by Lady Frieda Harris, whose artwork is notably more psychedelic than previous decks. Crowley would approve all the cards, and some of the cards were repainted as many as eight times. What was intended as a six-month project in the late 1930s took on a life of its own, and neither Crowley or Harris lived to see their deck published. Their work was continued by the disciples of Crowley and eventually published only in 1969.
How is the Thoth Deck different from previous decks
There are several differences between the Rider-Waite deck, the most famous of the traditional decks, and the Thoth deck.
For example, in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, whether the card bodes good or ill depends on whether it was laid upright or reversed. Crowley removed this approach from his deck and instead used something called elemental dignity to determine the essence of the card. When dealing the cards the reader must notice the relationship that the card has to its neighbours. If there are cards of opposite elements of suits adjacent, it makes the card ill-dignified, which is similar to reversed.
As well as changing the imagery of the cards, one of the biggest changes that Crowley made was to rename and reframe eight of the Major Arcana.
The Magus
The Magician in the Rider-Waite deck becomes the Magus in Crowley’s deck. Here, the Magus is connected with Hermes, the Greek god of communications, and Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, to become the patron of astrology and alchemy.
The Priestess
The High Priestess in the Rider-Waite deck becomes simply the Priestess in Crowley’s deck. She is represented by the moon goddess Isis and embodies unrestricted independence, as well as intuition and trusting your inner voice.
Lust
The traditionally named Strength card in the Rider-Waite deck is substituted for Lust in the Crowley deck. Crowley renamed it as he felt it represented not only strength but joy, passion, and the sense of intoxication that strength can bring.
Crowley also changed this from the eighth card of the Major Arcana to the eleventh.
Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune in the Rider-Waite deck is simplified to Fortune in Crowley’s deck. The artwork for the card is a glyph for how the universe works expressed as the three alchemical principles spinning the will of life.
Adjustment
Crowley also renamed the Justice of the Rider-Waite deck as Adjustment. The card is still about finding balance, but it speaks to the type of small adjustments that are needed when you are standing on a knife’s edge.
Crowley also changed this from the eleventh card for the Major Arcana to the eighth.
Art
Temperance is changed to Art in the Crowley deck and has strong alchemical symbolism. It focusses on the ability of forces to blend and transform and the ability to transform something plain into something precious.
The Aeon
The Judgement card in the Rider-Waite deck is renamed the Aeon in Crowley’s deck. The central theme of the card is embodied by the Egyptian star goddess Nuith, who provides the night sky, and her companion Hadit, who represents the view from all sides at once. The Aeon card points to the need for well-thought-out judgment.
The Universe
The World card of the Rider-Waite deck is expanded to the Universe in Crowley’s deck. It closes the circle of the Major Arcana and speaks to a great task that has been brought to completion
Leave a Reply