Why is the Thoth deck so popular?

Padma

Originally Posted by Aleister Crowley
"the Tarot will lose all its vitality for one who allows himself to be side-tracked by its pedantry."

Loved this! So true. Thanks for posting that snip, Zephyros!

ETA if you lose your sense of wonder and awe, I think you lose the opportunity to truly "see" something as it really is...
 

FLizarraga

It's one of the classics. Even if one doesn't like it, it will enrich one's perspective.
 

EmpyreanKnight

Personally, it is among the top 5 of my absolute favorite Tarot decks. Aside from the art and the esoterica, it reads like a dream. It is just so very accurate.
 

FLizarraga

Because it scares the crap out of my mom. :D

Best reason EVER. :laugh:

Seriously, though, it just struck me that it's not really a particularly popular deck for a number of reasons --some of them are pretty silly, but there you have it.
 

Luna's Crone

The depth of symbolism in the Major Arcana and the highly evocative semi-illustrated pips that support an "energy flow" method of reading as opposed to a pictorial one. The artwork in general, though not uniformly for all cards. The Book of Thoth as a key to understanding the deck. Also, it was the first deck I bought back in 1972.

what he said except for the book part. I have the book of thoth on kindle, but its not connecting with the intellectual part of my brain. Actually its not connecting with any part.
 

Zephyros

Much of it is uses specialized Thelemic and Qabalistic metaphor, and so is written for a rather informed audience. I wonder, how are you approaching it?
 

foolMoon

I like it because it can go very deep and wide in conjuction with astrology, kabala and crawley etc. It looks cool with abstract art and mysterious colours, but of course it reads well too.
 

Thoughtful

Also I think because you know it will reward, you know there are depths that will connect you to other, greater things. It is tarot that takes you beyond tarot. I have a feeling with the Thoth that its energies take you beyond the confines of the card. I like that feeling.

With other decks, I sometimes have the feeling that however deeply I go, I will only ever go deeper into this particular deck. If I decide to dedicate myself to the Cat People - for example - I will only ever really get acquainted with the universe of the Cat People as envisioned by that deck and I question why I would do that. With the Thoth, I get a feeling of going way above and beyond a tarot deck. Having said that, so much of it eludes me and yet something in it urges me to go one because the next layer (what's that T.S Eliot quote, "like the layers of an onion"? All these analogies - pomegranate, onion.) will make things clearer.

And besides all this, even if you aren't hyper-knowledgeable about decans and Hindu mysticism and astrology and Egyptology - you can still read well with it. I think one has to be careful not to be intimidated by the erudite mists which hang around the Thoth and put people off. It's one of those decks you need to barricade yourself away with (with this and the Book of Thoth) and just not listen to anyone else. I'm a great believer in this.

Well put as always Le Fanu

Get it, get it, get it.

I felt like this. I still feel like this a little, but that's true of tarot in general. I find the Thoth very flexible. You can read with it with minimal knowledge and the deck itself will expand your knowledge and then your understanding of it will grow and deepen. The Thoth is a tarot that teaches.
l agree with the Thoth teaching you as l am finding that very much.

The art is beautiful, unique, fascinating. You can approach it from many angles, it's never pedestrian or boring. There is not one weak card in the whole deck.

The intellectual, spiritual, aesthetic, esoteric, philosophical and historical value of this deck is incredibly high. There's a whole world of meaning in every card. I had my first reading with a Thoth deck in 1984, bought my own in the early 90s, and I still discover new things every time I look at it.

And in readings - it's eloquent, honest and gives you food for thought.

For me, the Thoth is in a league of its own. I have a number of decks that I like very much and value highly, and there are others I find fascinating and may wish to own one day... but the Thoth is really special. It's so RICH - in Hebrew we say, it's full like a pomegranate - full of seeds and ideas.

Beautiful words that sum up all that l feel about the Thoth.

l have spent a few months with Duquette's book and the Thoth Tarot. As a new Thoth owner and reader l find it a wondorous, beautiful addition to my little collection. l cannot put the Thoth down there is always something to see and sense within the cards. l am not getting bored with it or wanting to use my other decks at all lately, which is a first for me. l love my other decks but they are on such a different level, its as though they come to a halt. With the Thoth its a never ending magical journey which gets more exciting and deeper the more you work with it.
Its the tarot l have always wanted a tarot to be, one that travels the road with you, never stops teaching you and always takes you further.
 

Barleywine

Jim Morrison of The Doors had a few pithy words that describe the experience of connecting with the Thoth:

"The gate is straight
Deep and wide
Break on through to the other side"

The "straight" part may not resonate with you, as it's hardly "milk for babes," but I had a decent grounding in qabalistic principles and literature when I first encountered the Thoth, so it was like "meat for strong men" to me.
 

Richard

.....ETA if you lose your sense of wonder and awe, I think you lose the opportunity to truly "see" something as it really is...

Einstein:

"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed."

"My sense of god is my sense of wonder about the universe."​