Confused over not connecting with Thoth

arbor vitae

Hi,
I've used RW for about 15 years and it's been fab. A few years ago I bought Thoth to try, but never got the feel for it and felt it wasn't as accurate as RW. (I only do readings for myself). So for all sort of reasons it's not been used, as I haven't had the time to read at all last 2 years or so. Anyway, decided to pick Tarot up again and thought - well now it's a good time to connect to Thoth again slowly.

Fair enough, so did a reading yesterday. A simple past, present, future for the day which has been very accurate before with my RW. But honestly it was just not on the ball at all.
To demonstrate: the card that ends the day was 3 of Swords (with clarifiers: 5 of Swords, 5 of Cups, Knight of Swords). So I really expected a bit of bad news or event that would put me in a bad mood or something like that. Nothing. At all.

To compare the two decks I also did a RW which had the magician in the same position as 3 of Swords which made totally sense to me when the day was over.

What am I missing with Thoth? It must be some sort of a connection issue? I mean - I am only a beginner regarding Thoth but trying to read up on it but it still doesn't make any sense to me. Must be something I'm doing wrong. Any tips to connect?

A.V.
 

smw

Hi,
I've used RW for about 15 years and it's been fab. A few years ago I bought Thoth to try, but never got the feel for it and felt it wasn't as accurate as RW. (I only do readings for myself). So for all sort of reasons it's not been used, as I haven't had the time to read at all last 2 years or so. Anyway, decided to pick Tarot up again and thought - well now it's a good time to connect to Thoth again slowly.

Fair enough, so did a reading yesterday. A simple past, present, future for the day which has been very accurate before with my RW. But honestly it was just not on the ball at all.
To demonstrate: the card that ends the day was 3 of Swords (with clarifiers: 5 of Swords, 5 of Cups, Knight of Swords). So I really expected a bit of bad news or event that would put me in a bad mood or something like that. Nothing. At all.

To compare the two decks I also did a RW which had the magician in the same position as 3 of Swords which made totally sense to me when the day was over.

What am I missing with Thoth? It must be some sort of a connection issue? I mean - I am only a beginner regarding Thoth but trying to read up on it but it still doesn't make any sense to me. Must be something I'm doing wrong. Any tips to connect?

A.V.

I might have another look at the Magician (RWS) and the 3 of swords to see if anything comes to mind - as that is what you have noticed overlapping. Here is a clip for the 3 of swords from the Book of Thoth.

book of Thoth said:
The symbol represents the great Sword of the Magician, point uppermost; it cuts the junction of two short curved swords. The impact has destroyed the rose. In the background, storm broods under implacable night.

There seems here a suggestion to me of something (a decision?) on it's way, possibly that you might not necessarily have been party too. Maybe a contrast with your interpretation of the Magician from the RSW.

I'm a beginner myself so just a possible thought.
 

Richard

The Thoth is a beautiful deck, and it conforms to my philosophical proclivity. However, I have never used it for readings, preferring instead the imagery of the Marseille or Rider-Waite. I suppose I am just more of a traditionalist regarding conventional Tarot use.
 

arbor vitae

I might have another look at the Magician (RWS) and the 3 of swords to see if anything comes to mind - as that is what you have noticed overlapping. Here is a clip for the 3 of swords from the Book of Thoth.



There seems here a suggestion to me of something (a decision?) on it's way, possibly that you might not necessarily have been party too. Maybe a contrast with your interpretation of the Magician from the RSW.

I'm a beginner myself so just a possible thought.

Sounds perfectly logical as I was waiting for an exam result, which I only got today so maybe that's what it was. Thank you, I would never have picked that up. I'll try and look into this deeper and compare. I'm guessing I've got a long journey ahead of me ;)

A.V.
 

arbor vitae

The Thoth is a beautiful deck, and it conforms to my philosophical proclivity. However, I have never used it for readings, preferring instead the imagery of the Marseille or Rider-Waite. I suppose I am just more of a traditionalist regarding conventional Tarot use.

I do like the help from the imagery it's so vivid!
I'm trying to see if I can go beyond and maybe get a deeper knowledge I never knew I had :D

A.V.
 

Zephyros

The Thoth can be difficult to read in the same way as the RWS because they are different decks. While it can be read intuitively, I wouldn't really recommend it. It is at least important to do it justice and see what it is all about even if you don't go deeper into its esoteric symbolism. How are you going about studying it?

Plus, as an aside, this is where I put on my scary moderator hat, forum rules dictate that when looking for help with a reading an attempt must be made to interpret every card in the opening post. Since your post was asking mainly about your connection with the deck I didn't intervene. Just keep this in mind in the future, that the rules for readings in Thoth are the same as those in the rest of the forum. Read the Forum Rules as well as the guidelines in Your Readings.
 

Barleywine

I would venture to say that, for many people, the Thoth isn't the best choice for more routine or casual reading. Its intricacies aren't for everyone. But having read solely with it for several decades along with my study of the Book of Thoth, I find that it does build interpretive "muscle," persistence and stamina; once you unlock the symbolic keys provided by the correspondences (astrological, numerological, chromatic, cultural, mythological, philosophical, etc.), it blossoms wonderfully for reading in a way the RWS can't really match (although I won't deny the latter does have its own narrative strengths). But it can sometimes feel like swatting a gnat with a sledgehammer.
 

arbor vitae

The Thoth can be difficult to read in the same way as the RWS because they are different decks. While it can be read intuitively, I wouldn't really recommend it. It is at least important to do it justice and see what it is all about even if you don't go deeper into its esoteric symbolism. How are you going about studying it?

Plus, as an aside, this is where I put on my scary moderator hat, forum rules dictate that when looking for help with a reading an attempt must be made to interpret every card in the opening post. Since your post was asking mainly about your connection with the deck I didn't intervene. Just keep this in mind in the future, that the rules for readings in Thoth are the same as those in the rest of the forum. Read the Forum Rules as well as the guidelines in Your Readings.

Thank you. And yes you are absolutely correct, I did not ask for reading assistance.

Regarding my study of the Thoth I've been trying to build up my own experience with the technique described in my opening post. Along with understanding Crowley book and different websites.

A.V.
 

arbor vitae

I would venture to say that, for many people, the Thoth isn't the best choice for more routine or casual reading. Its intricacies aren't for everyone. But having read solely with it for several decades along with my study of the Book of Thoth, I find that it does build interpretive "muscle," persistence and stamina; once you unlock the symbolic keys provided by the correspondences (astrological, numerological, chromatic, cultural, mythological, philosophical, etc.), it blossoms wonderfully for reading in a way the RWS can't really match (although I won't deny the latter does have its own narrative strengths). But it can sometimes feel like swatting a gnat with a sledgehammer.

Maybe I should just be patient and keep going and eventually the penny will drop. Thank you!

A.V.
 

smw

Plus, as an aside, this is where I put on my scary moderator hat, forum rules dictate that when looking for help with a reading an attempt must be made to interpret every card in the opening post. Since your post was asking mainly about your connection with the deck I didn't intervene. Just keep this in mind in the future, that the rules for readings in Thoth are the same as those in the rest of the forum. Read the Forum Rules as well as the guidelines in Your Readings.

oops...as the OP said, they didn't ask for a reading interpretation, that was me. I was thinking of connecting to a deck which for me I guess, interpreting or having a go at a reading can be one way of doing that. Thinking of something occurring in your life related to the cards, I find helpful as a way to hook in alongside theory learning.