Extra Magus Or Three Magi Continued

I am still very much interested in observations of these three images, so that they are seen and understood as repetitive and superfluous (beyond the one), or complementary and mutually enhancing. Beyond all the book declarations, let's take a good look. Looking is seeing, seeing is believing.
Personally, I find the included image strongly Mercury The Messenger. He is in a vertical, tip-toe stance, descending and hovering out of the Above. A down-pointing triangle, pale violet, is behind him. The two other images are not at all the same or very similar -- one dances sideways, on a horizontal plane, sun-eye beyond and baboon below ; the other has multiple arms (8) which reach out into creative tools, making symmetrical, wing-like sides. The coloration of each Magus significantly varies : the 8-armed is softly golden, the sideways one is copper-hued, the Messenger is radiant greenish golden. Three very different universes of the Magus ...

Thanks for starting this thread Frank.

I unfortunately do not have the addition cards to comment on the images, but I did just this afternoon re-disvocer this link to a page of scetches, or rejected versions of Harris' work on the Crowley deck.

http://www.caduceusbooks.com/occultartgallery/harris/harris.html

Alternate versions of the magician are included in the list.

I can't wait to hear peoples observations on the differences in the three cards.

Major Arcana

Check the "Glyphs" on ALL the cards, right and left.
There are Hebrew Letters and Astrological Symbols.

The 3 Magi are not alike in this regard, and the deck
has just two other cards that switch these around...

Can you guess which "one" is not like the others?

If you're interested in the theories advanced by the authors of De Tarot in de Herstelde Orde you can assign the extra Magus cards to Juno and Jupiter and play their game without having to buy their ugly deck.

Fulgour said:

The 3 Magi are not alike in this regard, and the deck
has just two other cards that switch these around...

Can you guess which "one" is not like the others?

Click to expand...

The card with the kneeling magi is the odd one out. That one has the hebrew letter and the astrological glyph on the opposite sides.

Deeper meaning ? In my opinion, none.

I never noticed before today that one of my copies of this particular card is called The Magus and not The Magician.

For those who do not have the deck with the 3 Magi, here is a link to the images:

http://www.astroamerica.com/t-3mage.html

I don't own a deck with the three magicians in it, but I have looked at scans of them a number of times.

Of them all, I like the normal one least.
He has this squashed, weak, simpering face.
There are days when I'd like to slap him.

I think I like the sideways one best.
The arms on the other one are a bit freaky.

Anyhow, I don't read anything into all this. There are a number of varients of cards.
The moon has a very nice alternative version that is hardly ever seen.

You get what you get when you buy the deck.
I like the big decks, and they never have the three magus's in.

And anyhow, what would I do with three of them? I'd have to keep taking two out!

Just the publishers using up the extra cards and making it into a selling point.

I'd rather have the hexagram.

I realise that people are at liberty to read what they will into these extra magician cards, but since these extra ones were added in by the publishers and not by Crowley then I give them little significance. I'm not convinced there is anything to be gained from studying cards which didn't measure up to Crowley's "Vanadium Steel yardstick".

Frank Hall said:

Three very different universes of the Magus ...

Click to expand...

I do find the variant Magi and other draft Thoth cards by Harris a fascinating glimpse into the creative and collaborative process between Harris and Crowley

Magus A, the approved card by Crowley, depicts a more "traditional" magician/juggler, and I agree is reminiscent of Mercury .

Magus B, the sideways kneeling figure, has a very ancient feel to it. His swatiska-shaped stance could represent the ongoing spiraling dance of the universe, evolution/involution, the balance of the opposites. Personally, I find this Magus to be my favorite of the three.

Magus C, with the 8 bizarre Mr. Fantastic arms and monkey/teddy bear silhouette in the background, seems like Lady Harris is experimenting and having a bit of fun.

Attached is a scan of yet another 8-armed variant version of the Thoth Magus. This appeared on plate 12 of "A History of Occult Tarot 1870-1970", by Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett.

Description is: 1940 photograph of unused study (Private Collection).