[Thoughtful]

Well l mention the three because on the box l looked at it says comes with the three magus. Won't matter much either way as long as l have one

[Thoughtful]

l have just received my pale lavender box set of Thoth. l am so pleased to find its a Belgium printing as l really like the cardstock they produce. The cards are just the right size for my small hands to shuffle. l have only skimmed the lwb but see there are two essays written by Lady Frieda Harris which should prove interesting. l did open up the deck with a little trepidation and awe not quite knowing what to expect. The artwork is wonderful so much detail. l will spend the weekend looking at the cards and hopefully getting to know it a little, l am now waiting for the book by Lon Milo DuQuette to arrive. Had a summary read on Amazon of the contents, l found it very readable so do not feel too daunted by it.
This is going to be an exciting and new turn for me as regards tarot, am looking forward to it all. Meanwhile l shall still use my Roots of Asia who when asked "how would l get on with the Thoth" replied in very encouraging terms!
l have been drawn to the Thoth for such a long time and at last l have it. l know it will be a while before l am ready to read with it. In the meanwhile l shall be haunting the threads here and gleaning as much as l can.

[Tanga]

Who can resist the breathtaking power and magic of Lady Frieda's art??
Who wouldn't want to read with the gripping power and composition of those pip cards?
I'm too dumb to read with the Thoth - but it is so beautiful - I have several copies and was eyeing the newest one with a green border. :-

Originally Posted by Nemia

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.

Originally Posted by Thoughtful

...One thing puzzles me, why do some decks have 3 Magus cards and what is their purpose in a reading, would you keep them all in the deck for a reading.

No reason. Just for interest as the 2 "extra" cards that come with most decks. Lady Frieda painted 3 versions of the Magician - Aleister accepted one.

Originally Posted by gregory

...NO decks put out nowadays have all three, BTW.

Shame. I was most disappointed that my pocket version only had "the one".
For some reason, having all three makes it more intriguing and "complete" for me - as my first deck had
all 3.
The "Golden Surfer" is beautiful - but the other two are equally enchanting.
(I'm rather partial to the "brass running man" myself).

[Zephyros]

Originally Posted by Tanga

I'm too dumb to read with the Thoth - but it is so beautiful - I have several copies and was eyeing the newest one with a green border. :-

From what I know of you, you're exactly the opposite of dumb. (:

But the Thoth can be used in any way, at any level. I myself owned it for years and years and used it only by the short explanations given by Harris in the LWB and the titles. In fact, as passionate as I am now about using it "by the book," I used to be just as passionate about using it the exactly opposite way, and I did that for a much longer time.

I know the Thoth forum can be a bit "highbrow" at times, giving the impression that the deck is solely in the realm of the elitists. Heaven knows I myself am guilty of not a little pretentiousness. But beyond all such triviality lies the deck itself which is quite above such concerns. It laughs at the petty attempts of armchair occultists such as myself that claim to use it "right," I can assure you. Even if you do everything I myself would be scandalized at, it is still several cuts above any other deck. Please, use it, have fun with it, abuse it to death. It will always surprise and challenge you.

Originally Posted by Aleister Crowley

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

[Bridget]

Originally Posted by Zephyros

But the Thoth can be used in any way, at any level. I myself owned it for years and years and used it only by the short explanations given by Harris in the LWB and the titles. In fact, as passionate as I am now about using it "by the book," I used to be just as passionate about using it the exactly opposite way, and I did that for a much longer time.

I know the Thoth forum can be a bit "highbrow" at times, giving the impression that the deck is solely in the realm of the elitists. Heaven knows I myself am guilty of not a little pretentiousness. But beyond all such triviality lies the deck itself which is quite above such concerns. It laughs at the petty attempts of armchair occultists such as myself that claim to use it "right," I can assure you. Even if you do everything I myself would be scandalized at, it is still several cuts above any other deck. Please, use it, have fun with it, abuse it to death. It will always surprise and challenge you.

What a lovely post, Zephyros.

[Thoughtful]

That's most encouraging Zephyros specially for a beginner with Thoth like me. Having looked through the cards l now want to get a larger deck so l can see the details better. Any recommendations to the best deck to get.

To add: l asked the deck what our working relationship would be like and Lust came up which startled me at first LOL.
Having read the LWB l am very happy

[Tanga]

Originally Posted by Zephyros

From what I know of you, you're exactly the opposite of dumb. (:

Flattery...will get you everywhere. Thankyou.
I frequent a Tarot group full of Thothies... I'm sure this will rub off properly eventually maybe.
('London Tarot Study Group' found on the social media site "Meetup" - in London)

Originally Posted by Zephyros

I know the Thoth forum can be a bit "highbrow" at times,

Doesn't stop me popping in to check out what everyone is "highbrowing" on about.
Many thanks for your encouragement.

[smw]

Originally Posted by Tanga

I frequent a Tarot group full of Thothies... I'm sure this will rub off properly eventually maybe.
('London Tarot Study Group' found on the social media site "Meetup" - in London)

*envious* I hadn't heard of Meet up before... unfortunately nothing, not a whisper of any Tarot groups at all in my area. There is generally meditation and positive thinking type things though and at the other end a traditional witchcraft group with associated coven. rural witches.....curious.

[Barleywine]

Originally Posted by smw

*envious* I hadn't heard of Meet up before... unfortunately nothing, not a whisper of any Tarot groups at all in my area. There is generally meditation and positive thinking type things though and at the other end a traditional witchcraft group with associated coven. rural witches.....curious.

I signed up to (and paid for) Meet-up for a while when I was trying to get a group going locally, but all I could find was meditation and yoga classes, with some wiccan groups a bit farther away. Zero action in the areas of tarot and astrology, my main interests, and nobody responded to my posts. So I dropped it.

[Tanga]

Originally Posted by smw

*envious* I hadn't heard of Meet up before... unfortunately nothing, not a whisper of any Tarot groups at all in my area. There is generally meditation and positive thinking type things though and at the other end a traditional witchcraft group with associated coven. rural witches.....curious.

Yes there are some rural witch/wicca groups around the UK. (several of my wiccan friends moved out of the city to raise their kids. The one-and-only argument that might ever convince me to move out of London - to be nearer some of them. Lol.).

Originally Posted by Barleywine

I signed up to (and paid for) Meet-up for a while when I was trying to get a group going locally, but all I could find was meditation and yoga classes, with some wiccan groups a bit farther away. Zero action in the areas of tarot and astrology, my main interests, and nobody responded to my posts. So I dropped it.

Shame. Did you look again recently?
Thank the source (was just about to write The Goddess ) we're all saved by AT!!!

(And in my case - I wasn't even really looking, and bumped into this stuff on MeetUp.
It's my luck - London really has everything one can think of if you know where to look.
There are astrology MeetUp groups in London now too, I noticed.)