Thothy-ness

I've been thinking about this since my original post. I was wondering about dividing the Thoth structure from the philosophy. That seemed to be what I noticed in the Ancient Egyptian - some of the structure (GD? Thoth?) is there, but the Egyptian deities and their myths seem to be plugged in at face value, I mean the myths as metaphors are exactly what they say they are (the sun dies, the sun is resurrected) and cards like Judgment and the Hanged Man seem to reflect that. The Thoth uses the same gods as metaphors for something different. Thinking about it more, it seems possible to remove the philosophy from the structure, but once the philosophy is changed the structure must change to reflect it - Judgment becoming Aeon, the Hanged Man represents something completely different.

When I'm thinking through all this, I don't know enough about other aspects, like the Emperor/Star switch, and how that changes the significance and meaning of the cards, but I wonder if once Crowley's meanings are accepted, all aspects of the structure must change.

I've only just started learning and using the Thoth, so my apologies if all that seems muddled.

Break down a radio into its components, and you get circuit boards, transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc., but the components do not in themselves indicate the nature of the device from which they came. For example, they may have been part of a computer or television set. If the parts are combined in a specific way, you get a radio, not some other device. The whole is not merely the sum of its parts.

You can analyze and dissect Thoth to kingdom come, and you will find mostly bits and pieces of concepts and themes which are common to many Tarot decks. However, the whole is, of course, greater than the sum of the parts. It is uniquely the Thoth, and its message is rather specific.

If you separate the philosophical thrust of Thoth from its structure, you get Thelema. If you separate the basic structure of Thoth from its philosophical content, you get Tarot (a playing card structure which has been in existence for hundreds of years).

I'm reminded of the refrain from the old "Highlander" movie: "There can be only one!"

Its obvious GD underpinnings aside (and you can see where he came from if you read A Description of the Cards of the Tarot from The Equinox Volume 1, Number 8, published at the Autumn Equinox of 1912, and compare it to Israel Regardie's monumental compilation of GD material, The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic), I find the Thoth tarot to be "all-of-a-piece," and a perfect reflection of Crowley's unique genius, encyclopaedic knowledge and fertile imagination. The Book of Thoth is the obvious source for all things Thoth, but he also points back frequently to the Book of the Law, and if I recall correctly, occasionally to The Vision and the Voice, so those should be on the "Thothy's" reading list too.

As far as clones go, I have a few and I find them entirely superfluous. For the most part, they come across as "Thothy" in advertising spin only.

But you really got me going with that thread title! I can picture in my mind's eye an imaginary Thoth symposium with AC as the keynote speaker. I can just hear the MC introducing him: "And now, ladies and gentlemen, His Thothy-ness, the Master Therion!"

Marie-Bernard said:

I've been thinking about this since my original post. I was wondering about dividing the Thoth structure from the philosophy. That seemed to be what I noticed in the Ancient Egyptian - some of the structure (GD? Thoth?) is there, but the Egyptian deities and their myths seem to be plugged in at face value, I mean the myths as metaphors are exactly what they say they are (the sun dies, the sun is resurrected) and cards like Judgment and the Hanged Man seem to reflect that. The Thoth uses the same gods as metaphors for something different. Thinking about it more, it seems possible to remove the philosophy from the structure, but once the philosophy is changed the structure must change to reflect it - Judgment becoming Aeon, the Hanged Man represents something completely different.

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The Thelemic pantheon can be a little difficult to understand, especially as the gods aren't strictly Egyptian. They have their roots there, and Egyptian-sounding names, but they represent unique Thelemic concepts, and should be looked at as such. A first foothold, at least to give a general idea, is to see Nuit as Binah and Hadit as Chochma, with Ra-Hoor-Khuit as Tiphareth. That in itself is very inexact and shouldn't be taken as gospel, but rather taken as a general idea.

As to individual cards, these are best analyzed piecemeal, while keeping in mind their Thelemic significance. Like LRichard said, the sum is greater than its parts. However, one can't deny that study of the Thoth for its o
own sake does entail a great deal of non-Thoth, GD-centered study.

Marie-Bernard said:

When I'm thinking through all this, I don't know enough about other aspects, like the Emperor/Star switch, and how that changes the significance and meaning of the cards, but I wonder if once Crowley's meanings are accepted, all aspects of the structure must change.

Click to expand...

Yes and no, but it ultimately doesn't matter. The thing is not to accept his meanings, but to recreate them using the tools at your disposal. The Hanged Man can be seen as Jesus in his positive aspect, but the Thoth depicts him as a very different thing. After reaching a certain point in your structure-studies, you are at a far better position to understand what makes the Thoth unique, and not "just" another GD deck, like the Hermetic.