Hard to switch from RWS to Thoth?

[Stark Raven]

I have had in my possession for a few years a brand new Thoth deck. Lately I have had an itching to work with it. I haven't before. Is it easy or not to switch (from what you know, re the average person) from reading with RWS to reading with Thoth?

 

[Zephyros]

It really depends who you read, what you read, and what you want to get out of the Thoth. If you read intuitively, i.e., by using the images alone, then it doesn't really matter what deck you use; you can read any. However, if you go by the traditional meanings, and the ways they are expressed, then the RWS and the Thoth aren't that different, even though they may look radically so. However, the Thoth lends itself far better to advanced study, and that is what I would recommend to anyone studying it. Not to learn meanings by heart, but to learn why those meanings are what they are.

 

[Richard]

The esoteric symbolism of both the Rider-Waite and Thoth ultimately derives from the same source: the Golden Dawn. Thoth takes it a step further. For example, Temperance in the Rider-Waite suggests the consummation of the Hieros Gamos (marriage of Sun and Moon), whereas the corresponding Art card in the Thoth actually depicts the Rebis, the Mercurial Hermaphroditic offspring of the Hieros Gamos. If one is not into esotericism (the situation with most Rider-Waite users) the Thoth might possibly have a tendency to lead one in that direction. However, if one's interest in Tarot never goes beyond exoteric fortune-telling, any deck should do as well as either Thoth or Rider-Waite, in my opinion. In any case, the Thoth is still worth some attention, if only for the absolutely stunning images!

 

[Fianic]

It depends what you learned whilst using the RWS. Most of the users of the RWS have not learned its Golden Dawn teachings.

If you have been learning Golden Dawn material in tandem with the RWS the transition should be easy. If not, you have a lot of unlearning to do depending on how long you've used the RWS.

You'll find that any card you found ambiguous in the RWS will be clarified by the Thoth. You might also find that you might have been misinterpreted some cards completely due to how ambiguous the RWS is.

 

[nicky]

My only suggestion is not to think this card equals this card from deck to deck. I have a mental RSW deck which was hard to ignore while learning the Thoth..

enjoy!

 

[Richard]

It depends what you learned whilst using the RWS. Most of the users of the RWS have not learned its Golden Dawn teachings.

If you have been learning Golden Dawn material in tandem with the RWS the transition should be easy. If not, you have a lot of unlearning to do depending on how long you've used the RWS.

You'll find that any card you found ambiguous in the RWS will be clarified by the Thoth. You might also find that you might have been misinterpreted some cards completely due to how ambiguous the RWS is.

Excellent observations, Fianic. The main reason I got into the western esoteric tradition underlying the Rider-Waite is because I knew that it was the basis for the design of the deck, and I am more interested in the philosophic aspects of Tarot than in divination as such.

Of course, the deck is ambiguous for at least three reasons. (1) Waite wanted to retain as much of the imagery of the previous historical decks as possible, in the interest of continuity of Tarot tradition. (2) There was a reluctance to risk revealing too much of the Golden Dawn material, as he had taken oaths of secrecy regarding it. (3) I think that Waite was not immune to the lure of profit from fortune tellers who might purchase the deck for use in their profession, because of the illustrated minors, but otherwise had no interest in the esoteric aspects.

In a sense, the RWS is transitional between exoteric historical decks, such as the Marseille, and the blatantly esoteric Thoth.

A careful reading of Book T and Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot clears up a lot of the ambiguity about the RWS.