I just got this deck..

the art is overwhelming. nothing like i thought it would be from the pictures online.. my question now is what do i do now? what is the best way to study this? should i first go with my intuitive thoughts? any advice? also i got the standard size and it is quite large , any advice on how to shuffle? thanxs

Here are some 'just beginning with this deck' to get you started.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=16892

- there are some good web links within the thread.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=30501

- note Rusty Neon's link to Golden dawn material

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=28857

- study the books or read with intuition?

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=50924

- 'beginners' questions"

All of your questions except how to shuffle a large deck are discussed in these.

Shuffling a large deck can be done end-over-end, or by 'stirring' and selecting from a flat surface. Just turn them upright if you do not use reversals. Thoth is meant to be read with Elelmental dignities rather than reversals anyway.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=50944&highlight=Elemental+Dignities

Here are some threads/websites for you to look at with respect to elemental dignities:

http://www.supertarot.co.uk/lessons/beg.htm

http://tarotstudies.50webs.com/whats_new.shtml (on the left hand side is a menu with elemental dignities)

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=49437

I know that's a lot, but the first three threads anyway will get you started.

Marion

marion thanx you soooooooooooo much!!! that was very kind of you to give me all these links!! i will check them out.

*hugs*

My advice, for what it's worth, is to read it intuitively. Of course I read everything intuitively. LOL

From my own personal experieinces though,...I got the deck about a year and a half ago. I got two books with it, that I tried to read and even incorporate into my readings. I found I hated the book meanings. They did not ring true for me, and I found them overly pessimistic. I really thought it was the deck, that I could not read with it.

I tried to trade it here, but no dice. Suddenly last week I felt my Thoth was the deck I needed for a reading I was doing. I did it totally intuitively, and it worked wonderfully for the first time ever. The messages I got from the universe for this deck were that I was not meant to trade it (it is part of my path) AND that I need to ignore my books when it comes to this deck and go back to my intuitive reading only. That is my path anyway.

And it is such an evocative deck too, the imagery is deep and speaks volumes on its own,

Babs

I love the Thoth, it is one of my favorites

I think that the best way to learn it is on your own, with a symbol dictionary, occasionally refencing the Book of Thoth. Always pays to see what the creator of a deck has to say about it.

Excellent links, thank you.

I've found the best approach for me given my background in astrology was to look at the astrological correspondences and derive meanings from them. The problem is that all you get from that is one level of what is clearly a card that works on several different levels which is why I'm attempting to learn more about the Qabbalah and Gematria. I'd imagine these are better places to start as opposed to simply reading "card meanings".

I too recently got this deck and it is for lack of a better word awesome! As this is Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, I feel a need
to understand more about the man himself as well as Quabalah, the Rose Cross etc. So I am schooling myself and slowly moving into
a connection with the cards themselves. Just possesing this deck has already had an impact on me, the more I read about this deck
the more I want to understand and bond with it. Very exciting stuff!

This is a beautiful deck and I love it. I just got it a week or so ago and after an initial look-through I had to put it away and let it sink into my head - so to speak. I'd seen scans of it online, but they do come close to holding it in your hand and feeling it's energy.

I did try to read with it, as this is what I ususally do to get aquainted with a new deck, but it seemed to resist my efforts. It didn't feel right, so I put them back in order and put it away. Maybe I need to wait a bit. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this happen.

Yes, that was exactly my experience. I loved the artwork (one reason why I bought the deck), but when I first went to read with it, it didn't work well for me. I even went so far as to try and trade it here at AT, but no takers. I sensed that meant that the deck was still part of my path.

Then rather mysteriousy after owning the deck over a year, a few weeks ago I suddenly had a strong urge to use my Thoth on a reading I was doing. And it worked amazingly. After the deck never worked for me bofore, I had this amazing reading. Even the pips were speaking volumes, and I had always had a problem with them as I considered them not scenic enough.

But in the end the reading went amazingly, and I adore the deck now. Can't wait to use it again. I one thing I did find though, that it does seem to work best for me when I am truly relaxed, grounded, centered...Maybe that was what went wrong the first times, I was not relaxed enough?

Babs

congratulations on your possession of a Thoth Deck!!!

Wow Thanks Marion for providing such valuable links!