Mirror of the Soul

ZenMusic

Essential is the Crowley Thoth book (profound)

I do strongly second the recommendation for Banhhaf's book, called The Crowley Tarot, The Handbook to the Cards, it's great.

and of some help (but overrated) is the Duquette
 

Aeon418

ravenest said:
Because fat, balding, middle age guys are cool and sexy, ie. they rule!
I love a good sense of humour. :laugh:
 

AbstractConcept

Ooooh by the Qabalistic tarot I meant the book, not the deck (I didn't know there was one, but it doesn't really suprise me).
And I didn't mind the Cicero deck, but something about them irks me. I guess one day I'll have an inflated tarot library full of decks I never look at or use, and others which are little inch square tabs of worn card stock. one day....
 

Aeon418

AbstractConcept said:
(I didn't know there was one, but it doesn't really suprise me)
Oooops!! My mistake. The deck is actually called The Tarot of the Sephiroth. I always think of it as the Qabablistic Tarot for some strange reason. :laugh:

The book, The Qabalistic Tarot, is very very good indeed. Hope you can track a copy down. I know that Marcus Aurelius Press republished it in a very nice hardback a couple of years ago. I've got one. :D
 

cheekyinchworm

I recently bought the USG purple box Thoth deck, with the two extra rejected Magus cards, and I just love it. I'm amazed.

Funny, too, I read somewhere not to start with Crowley's own Book of Thoth, but I did anyway, because it was local and available and I started reading it over coffee in Barnes and Noble, and I was just blown away. It's an amazing book. I had to stop after only a dozen or so pages to let his talk on gematria wash over me before continuing.

Anyway, a bit later on I got DuQuette's book and Mirror of the Soul. I started with the DuQuette book, and I'm just stunned by how good it all is: the DuQuette book, the Crowley book, the deck itself. What an incredible way to focus ones ENTIRE occult study: the Thoth tarot: astrology, quabala, tarot, and so much more. The chapter in DuQuette's book on the Rose Cross truly was worth the price of admission all by itself.

Then I turned to the Mirror of the Soul book.

What a disappointment. I was hoping that maybe you all were going a bit hard on it. But no. It's pretty much worthless. What a waste of money. :( In case anyone wants my opinion, that is.
 

Aeon418

cheekyinchworm said:
What a disappointment. I was hoping that maybe you all were going a bit hard on it. But no. It's pretty much worthless. What a waste of money.
Pretty much worthless is pretty much spot on. :laugh:
I'm convinced that Gerd Ziegler must have flipped through the Book of Thoth, took a half page of notes, and then just made the rest up. Some of the stuff he says is so laughable sometimes. :rolleyes:
And then there's Zieglers interpretations. What's the point? Reading his interpretations you are learning more about Gerd Zieglers psyche and his individual reactions to the cards than about Thoth Tarot itself.

(There's a paragraph in Lon's book where he specifically says that he wanted to keep himself and his own views out of his own book. How very wise.)

Akron & Hajo Banzhaf do exactly the same thing as Ziegler in their book, The Crowley Tarot. In their defence they do at least have a good go at trying to explain the symbolism of the cards so that the student can develop his/her own interpretation from a base of knowledge. But then they go too far and present a load of personal interpretations that are of limited value. And to top it they seem to ignore much of Crowley's symbol system and other things that are stated plainly in The Book of Thoth!

For example Crowley is very clear about the relationship between certain Tarot cards and the I Ching hexagrams. Akron and Banzhaf completely ignore Crowley on this point and others, such as the correspondences found in 777 which have been carefully worked into the Thoth Tarot by Crowley and are the bedrock upon which it rests. Instead they give their own set of correspondences which they obviously think fit better than the actual deck creators. Very New Age. :rolleyes:
 

Ross G Caldwell

The only book really needed with the Book of Thoth tarot is the Book of Thoth itself.

There might be easier ways to explain the astrological symbolism and system used in it, which comes from the G.D., but the meaning or interpretation of the cards overall can only be grasped by studying and restudying the Book of Thoth.

Crowley's writing in the BoT comes from a lifetime of experience - it isn't the mechanical imposition of a system of symbolism. Everything is integrated and blended and made into a whole picture, a mature understanding of the universe. When you study the Book of Thoth, you are studying a wise magician's mind.

If you have to take a shortcut, take DuQuette's - at least he tries to get the essential principles. But when you have got them, go for the meat - the Book of Thoth.

Better yet, fight and struggle with the Book of Thoth and wherever it leads you - usually to getting a few dozen more books by Crowley - and then you can really savor it, as a real connoisseur and not a dilettante.
 

Nininka

2 good books

Hi,

I own several books on Thoth, and out of those I find these two below to be very helpful.

Angeles Arrien - The Tarot Handbook. This is a very complex work. It deals with the symbolism, the astrology, it has got very detailed explanations on every card and how they relate to the other cards in the readings, every card is offered the symbols explanation, self growth explanation, affirmation, challenges, how it mirros you etc. Its not all fluffy and new age at all, its quite practical and useful reference to the meaning of the cards.
Its got quite a complex chapter on reading layouts, special chapter on court cards, chapter on astrology, chapter on the symbols...
The books makes sense, its not like you read the card explanation and are none the wiser about the actual meaning, which in particular is my problem with "The Mirror of the soul book", which I find it too vague, not offering particular answers.
Check it out on amazon and read the reviews, people are very happy with this book. I find it surprising the book is not mentioned on this website or in the threads, as it is actually a book to really work with.

The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols (Paperback)
by Angeles Arrien

The other book I like is Suzanne Peyman's "78 Paths of Wisdom".
She is a psychologist, and I find the insights into the cards to be quite deep, not brushed up. It often offers negative meanings to cards which are usually considered stark positive and wise versa. Its an interesting read even if you did not own the deck.
The psychology and mythology and symbolism behing every card is also explained well. She is a german author and I dont think its translated into English yet. I talk about this book in a recent thread I started.

Take care all,
Kat
 

Aeon418

Where as Ziegler, Akron, and Banzhaf put their own personal spin on Crowley when interpreting the Thoth Tarot, Angeles Arrien completely ignores him.
From page 13 of The Tarot Handbook:
I read Crowley's book that went with this deck and decided that it's esotericism hindered rather than enhanced the use of the visual portraitures that Lady Frieda Harris had executed. I instantly felt that a humanistic and universal explanation of the symbols was needed so that the value of Tarot could be used in modern times as a reflective mirror of internal guidance which could be externally applied.
So, in other words, she read The Book of Thoth and didn't like it, so she threw it out the window and made up her own meaning for the symbols instead. In this single paragraph Angeles Arrien is practically saying that Crowley and Harris didn't know what they were doing, but she knows better. :rolleyes:
 

Nininka

Hm I would not read into her statement the same way as you do.
I do not see anywhere in that statement anything which would imply that Arries thinks Crowley and Harris did not know what they were doing.
I think it does not disrespect the creators at all, on many an occassions in the book she shows how much she admires the work of Crowley and Harris.
She loves the cards and the symbolism they contain.
I think it is simply the fact that for many the Book of Thoth is way too esoteric.
I think Arries is not the only one who feels that way.
I have read The Book of Thoth and could not really make much out of it.
Kudos to those who possess the knowledge needed to understand it, but for someone like me it is too estoteric and not applicable to practical readings.
I do not feel that Arries ignores the book, she merely builds in it and makes it more "human" for common people.
Thats just my opinion though :)