Rosanne said:
Was it? I thought Crowley did not want the deck published.
Not as far as I know. I think there is a fair degree of evidence surviving that he was looking forward to the lion's share of the proceeds from the publication of the book and deck, but this didn't occur in his lifetime. And there really aren't any secrets in the deck or book that he'd not published elsewhere, not that secrecy is a real concern as it was his decided mission (he felt with the endorsement of the spiritual powers of his new Aeon) to publish and share what had previously been occult. The Book of Thoth was just the first time they were so neatly put in one spot, organized by the framework of the tarot.
Rosanne said:
I often wonder what explanation was given to the punters when the exhibition was mounted of the paintings. As an exhibition, I am picking, people off the street would have gone to take a look. I gather Harris did not want Crowley there because of his public persona?
I think that is true, Crowley was to keep a wide berth so as not to cause a scene for Frieda. But I would assume the only explanation was "this is a tarot deck, as yet unpublished". I'd love to see something of comments or response to early showing of the deck, with or without the context of knowing the full history of its creation.
Rosanne said:
Aye you are an honest man! Maybe the new guard will change this. There is my objection- if something was life changing how come that is not apparent to Joe Citizen? Social values are not all crap.
Ah, but some social values are entirely crap and should be stamped out. And it is apparent to Joe Citizen, its talked about everyday, in every public forum. It's just not 100%, nor expected to be.
I think the scope of measurement needs to be different when measuring success in this context. There are still clearly vestiges of old Isis Aeon matriarchal societies in the world, they've not died out despite an extra couple of thousand years between then and now (if we follow the progression of the Aeon's model). The (things that I personally see as) Osirian garbage is still around, though less and less dominant all the time, thankfully. It's not really all that long since you and I would have been burned at the stake Rosanne, and if we were still at the height of Osiran society, we certainly would be. We've not gone from 0->100 in a moment, or even a few decades. And with older social ethics dying, their last vestiges of control get louder and more obnoxious.
If you'll forgive me assuming that the Aeon of Horus is a certain fact, for the sake of this argument (though I know you don't agree with that assumption). And also please forgive the following fecal analogy also
My life experience is that I see 70% of my society, expressing a 70% alignment with Horian (still not sure if that is a word) thought, 70% of the time. And I'd like to increase that percentage within myself, as the 30% of me that is still plagued by old fashion prejudices and values is not helpful to me anymore, and is actually damaging I think. My Thelemic studies, and the Thoth deck are very helpful in that regard.
This 70% theory though still leaves a whole bunch of stinky rotten Osirian horseshit to accidentally step in, and I expect horses will still be turding up the footpath for generations to come. It's just my fervent hope that there will be less and less of these horses, and they'll be on increasingly restricted diets so they'll be less able to produce droppings
Hieromagus said:
Great a seer as he was, Crowley was very much a British Victorian man, of very “Osirian” sensibilities, already a kind of quaint dinosaur compared to our very progressive world. Who knows what the next millennium will bring?
This is very true. Crowley was a product of his time, and in many ways we've moved far beyond him as a person, and I think there are many people who are much more successful Thelemites than he was even. Perhaps we have the benefit of time and a supportive society that is more in tune with similar lines of thought, and to me that is the same as given the new Aeon objective reality as I see it all around me each day. Though
the man's shortcomings (as a person, and as a Thelemite) are not apparent in his writings in class A, i.e. those intended to represent truths and not personal understandings and failures and in them I see things that are beautiful and that I can learn and grow from. So I still see a lot of value in them, though I often disagree with
the man.
Rosanne said:
The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot?
Maybe! I don't touch the deck anymore, and find a lot of others that are based on it absurd, but it was certainly a magical item for me once upon a time. Though if we're talking re-imaginings and developments of the GD tarot, I think the RWS does not compete with the Thoth. But if we're measuring my social acceptance, then maybe Arthur gets the prize.