I'm totally new to Thoth---three Magus cards?

[Grizabella]

I'm totally new to the Thoth. But I got a Thoth for Christmas and have been shuffling and shuffling ever since I got them. I started right in shuffling without going through the cards first.

This morning I was doing my usual 7 cards in the morning and I drew all three Magus cards! I didn't know I even had more than one.

My question is, what do you do with three Magus cards? Leave them in the deck? Choose one and leave it in the deck?

If you leave all three in, then what do you do about reading three in the same draw?

I know this forum is probably for people a lot more educated and experienced in Thoth than I am, but it took me so much by surprise that I just have to ask, in hopes someone is patient enough to try to explain to a dumb newby.

 

[gregory]

They are three versions said to have been included to use up the card, I believe. Only one is "intended" (in theory) for use: this one

I know there are some here who prefer to use one of the others instead. I certainly only use one at a time myself. I don't know anyone who uses all three at once, but I'm sure someone will show up.

 

[Grizabella]

Thanks, gregory. I just went to the study group and read all the threads there and I did see someone say they prefer to use all three but most folks say it wasn't intended that they be kept in the deck. It also told how the three came to be used and it really was just to fill the two extra cards. The one you included the scan of is the one that was meant to be in the deck, as you say. I'm not sure what I'll do about it yet.

There was a link given in one of the threads I read that led to a website where someone was saying the three represent three stages of a person's life that was kind of interesting if one were to want to include all three in the deck. Some of the links in the study group threads are dead and outdated, though.

 

[Zephyros]

I know this forum is probably for people a lot more educated and experienced in Thoth than I am, but it took me so much by surprise that I just have to ask, in hopes someone is patient enough to try to explain to a dumb newby.

Please let me never read you write that again

The forum is for everyone who wants to learn, and everyone does. I've been reading with the Thoth intuitively for several years now, but it's only recently that I have begun to "book learn" it and let me tell you, it's a fascinating journey.

I've said it in another thread; I envy people just starting out with the Thoth, I wish I could learn everything for the first time all over again!

 

[gregory]

Please let me never read you write that again

The forum is for everyone who wants to learn, and everyone does. I've been reading with the Thoth intuitively for several years now, but it's only recently that I have begun to "book learn" it and let me tell you, it's a fascinating journey.

I've said it in another thread; I envy people just starting out with the Thoth, I wish I could learn everything for the first time all over again!

Amen. I use the Thoth sometimes with no "book" meanings and I know NOTHING (I have tried but so far I still know nothing !)

 

[Grizabella]

Having read a couple things about Crowley himself, I used to think I'd never want to have the Thoth in my house, but now that I've been drawn to learn it, from what I've seen so far, I think I like it better than RWS.

The reason I said that in my first post is because, in skimming through some of the thread titles here and actually reading part of a few threads, it looks like everyone is so scholarly about it and I'm not. I don't know if I ever could be. I've got the book that's with The Complete Tarot Kit and the one by Angeles Arrien and one by someone named Snuffin available to me but I peeked into one about the Golden Dawn and it's totally over my head. I don't do well with really deep stuff. I don't even understand the Tree of Life and if I do ever figure it out, it's my bet that that's about as far as I'll ever get with that kind of thing. I'm an intelligent person, but I do have what I call "dumb spots" and the scholarly stuff is one of them. So is astrology and Kabbalah.

 

[gregory]

Having read a couple things about Crowley himself, I used to think I'd never want to have the Thoth in my house, but now that I've been drawn to learn it, from what I've seen so far, I think I like it better than RWS.

The reason I said that in my first post is because, in skimming through some of the thread titles here and actually reading part of a few threads, it looks like everyone is so scholarly about it and I'm not. I don't know if I ever could be. I've got the book that's with The Complete Tarot Kit and the one by Angeles Arrien and one by someone named Snuffin available to me but I peeked into one about the Golden Dawn and it's totally over my head. I don't do well with really deep stuff. I don't even understand the Tree of Life and if I do ever figure it out, it's my bet that that's about as far as I'll ever get with that kind of thing. I'm an intelligent person, but I do have what I call "dumb spots" and the scholarly stuff is one of them. So is astrology and Kabbalah.

You are right alongside me. Have some couch. I shall continue to TRY with reading up on the Kabbalah - but the astrology - I just can't get my head around it....

 

[Zephyros]

Posting a forum is like a test with books open, I usually talk about the Thoth with the books open in front of me, it helps me learn.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=169039

This thread details different books to learn the Thoth from (I won't repeat what is said there), and I agree with you on this, I prefer it to the RWS. However, I would counsel you to stay away from Angeles Arrien, just like I would tell you to stay away from Zeigler at first. Those books do add a lot of insight into the deck, but they are based on the authors' subjective thoughts. I've read Zeigler and I'm happy I did, but only after Lon Milo DuQuette, which I think is the Thoth book around, other than the Book of Thoth.

In the end, though, the most important thing to remember about the Thoth is to take your time. You won't learn Kabbalah in one sitting, or astrology either. It's a very long but rewarding journey.

 

[gregory]

This thread details different books to learn the Thoth from (I won't repeat what is said there), and I agree with you on this, I prefer it to the RWS. However, I would counsel you to stay away from Angeles Arrien, just like I would tell you to stay away from Zeigler at first. Those books do add a lot of insight into the deck, but they are based on the authors' subjective thoughts. I've read Zeigler and I'm happy I did, but only after Lon Milo DuQuette, which I think is the Thoth book around, other than the Book of Thoth.

Snuffin is good too. I agree about Arrien - and I am not happy with Ziegler either. But Duquette's Chicken Qabalah is good and very funny, for that side of things

 

[frac_ture]

Grizabella, you are not alone -- not in being new to Thoth, and not in finding a good deal of it currently out of reach. I was one of the people taking part in that discussion thread that closrapexa linked to, and I still haven't made much headway (although to be fair, I'm concentrating on a few other books at the moment, and haven't been working actively on Thoth very much). So far, I can say that the DuQuette book has seemed pretty helpful and accessible when I have dipped into it.

Oh, and I feel totally gypped: I have the large Thoth deck, and there was only one Magus card in it (the one gregory linked to). What's that about??!

By the way, several of us have been discussing a graphic novel called Promethea in the Tarot Books & Media forum, and that was the work that introduced me to the Tree of Life concepts. I was able to at least somewhat get my head around them because 1) they were incorporated into an interesting work of fiction, and 2) absorbing them in pictorial form was probably way easier than trying to dope them out through purely textual means ("Oooh, look at the pretty pictures!"...). If you have any interest whatsoever, it's a great read, and the author, Alan Moore, is into Crowley and Thoth, as well as Tarot in general, astrology, magic...