meaning of the lords in thoth type decks?

Here is someone's ideas about the 'Lords' of the Minors:

http://artstrology.com/decans.htm

Surely we haven't forgotten about the 'Images of the Decans' ( 'Faces') ?

The two 'Lords' and a Lady from the 3 decans of Aries:

http://beyondtheheaven.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/decans-of-aries-from-astrolabium-magnum.jpg

[ Actually the whole site is a blast ; http://beyondtheheaven.wordpress.com/tag/vettius-valens/ ]

Tracking further back ;

http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterOne/Images/Denderah36Decans.gif

'Lords' ... or even then; Gods and Goddesses ... Neteru ... or at least Nomes.

Variant forms of esoteric astrological systems personify, deify, knight, consecrate and give title to planets, constellations, and decans. There could even be a link in this to the Trumps titling (in the area of the Trumps relationship to elementary, planetary and zodiacal energies ) ... but I haven't checked that out.

leafing through the book of thoth, i'm starting to wonder whether it simply means, "this card rules ....". if that is the case, the question should perhaps be turned on its head: why are the other cards NOT called "lord"?

Well, if you're thinking about the Trumps, I think the designation of each is uniquely suited and made up for it. Oftentimes "Lord" would be wrong or inaccurate. Each of the Trumps' names must be taken piecemeal, as every designation has its own reasoning. From a cursory look at Book T I can hazard a guess that some names refer to the card's mythology, some names refer to its astrological attribution while others seem wholly Kabbalistic. Some may be due to the card's angelic attribution. Still others, whether they are "lords" or "children" may be influenced by their activity or passivity. All three elemental cards are "the spirit of etc." The Moon's reflective light is well illustrated by its name, "The Ruler of Flux and Reflux: the Child of the Sons of the Mighty." It's a great guessing game, finding the reasoning behind each name, but I can't discern a set rule that would account for all of the Trumps.

Also, since the Trumps are on the paths, they could refer to ordeals that must be passed in order to reach a given Sephira; in essence, in order to "pass" Death, you have to feel what it is to be the Child of the Great Transformers. Conversely, to pass an ordeal of Fortune, this is where you magically take control of the "fate forces of life." Just throwing random thoughts out there.

Yes, I agree with this. Each card has an outer title but the inner or esoteric title is meant to stimulate an 'esoteric' or deeper level of meditation and contemplation. Just as their other attributes are shown obviously and also in a deeper analogy .

some really stimulating ideas here. looking forward to following up on them. i guess the fact that i feel barely lukewarm about astrology doesn't help in understanding the thoth. but then i wasn't that interested in kabbalah until two years ago (and especially since i "met" lon milo duquette) so i guess there's hope.