Secrets of the Thoth Tarot VOL II: Bricks of a Living Temple 1790936233, 9781790936236

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THE SECRETS OF THE THOTH TAROT

VOL II BRICKS OF A LIVING TEMPLE THE MINOR ARCANA, GEOMANCY & COLOUR SYMBOLISM

Marcus Katz

Copyright © 2018 by Marcus Katz All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the author c/o P.A.

Forge Press: Keswick 2018. Website: www.marcuskatz.com Email: [email protected]

Permissions Although I have received, over several years, courteous replies from the O.T.O., owners of the Thoth Tarot copyright, I have been unable to receive permission to use the Thoth Tarot images in this work. It is impractical to use a clone version of the deck, given the detail I have provided in the text for specific symbols within every individual card. I trust readers will have their own Thoth Tarot deck to hand as they reference this book or use any of the innumerable images of the deck online. I have also provided a mailing list for distribution of supporting images and graphics for the book.

DEDICATION In Memory of Alex Arthur Calvert, Esq. M.M., the Magician’s Cat (? - 2018). You fought a werewolf and won. Little cat.

And as ever, and above all, this book is spiritually dedicated to Antistita Astri Argentei The Priestess of the Silver Star She whose light leads the way to the Arcanum Arcanorum, the Secret of Secrets Vos Vos Vos Vos Vos V.V.V.V.V. Discover the Western Esoteric Initiatory System® www.westernesotericism.com

Acknowledgements I am indebted to first readers of the manuscript for this book, Soror C.L. and Soror R. A note on Abbreviations Throughout this book and the accompanying two volumes, I have referenced a large collection of books written by Crowley. In order to simplify repeated references, I have abbreviated selected titles, such as BOT for Book of Thoth. The corresponding title and edition can be found in the bibliography. FREE THOTH TAROT MATERIALS If you would like to receive additional graphics and free insights into the Thoth Tarot and be the first to be notified upon the availability of the third book of this trilogy, please join our Arch of Bou-Saada mailing list: http://eepurl.com/dyxZOz

Introduction I invoke thee, I A O, that thou wilt send H R U, the great Angel that is set over the operations of this Secret Wisdom, to lay his hand invisibly upon these consecrated cards of art, that thereby we may obtain true knowledge of hidden things, to the glory of thine ineffable Name. Amen.[1] In this second book of the Secrets of the Thoth Tarot trilogy, we continue to explore Crowley’s philosophy on divination and provide insights and interpretations of the Minor Arcana. I will detail the symbolism of each card and present a guide for their interpretation in everyday reading. The original interpretations of the Minor Arcana from the Book T of the Golden Dawn will also be provided as a comparison. We will also look at the role of geomancy, colour symbolism and schemes of correspondence as they are utilised throughout the Minor cards. This book can be taken as a stand-alone guide to the Minor Arcana, however, it is best read following the first volume which introduces and explains many of the terms to be found in this present book. This book is written on the assumption that readers have the first book. As we saw in our first book, the Thoth Tarot is a multi-layered deck and was designed using Book T (written by S. L. Macgregor Mathers) as a basis. Book T derived many of its interpretations through earlier cartomancy (primarily Etteilla), further refined through the lens of Kabbalah. It added another layer by using the sixteen Geomantic symbols as a layout. In doing so, it replicated the European pip decks which were the cards actually used by members of the Order.[2] Ironically, neither the Golden Dawn founders or members ever used a Golden Dawn deck, and Crowley never used a Thoth deck. Frieda Harris then portrayed these designs through additional layers of projective geometry, colours and sigils – magical patterns – using the correspondences of these to astrological and planetary forces. As with the Majors, Crowley and Harris worked closely on the design of the Minors, and unlike the Waite-Smith Tarot, we have a written record of their process. Crowley provided Harris copious designs and notes from which to work, and in turn, Harris raised suggestions and questions. At one point, Harris tried to gather and collate the notes, complaining that they really should have a full set – she was a very equal manager of the art and deck. She often worked alone and laboured to get her paintings properly mounted and even insured – although she failed to find anyone who would convince the insurers of her valuation. She also continued to deflect Crowley’s requests for money and later, attendance at the gallery, fearing he would make a scene. It seems that Crowley was often making financial suggestions and demands, to which at one point she retorted: How difficult you are, so hopelessly muddling your finance is unbearable & so is mine. Please do not explain & try to make matters clear. They are not.[3] She even suggested an artistic and creative marketing for the deck and book which was ahead of the time: I have been thinking that the book would be lovely if it had opposite the different trumps & playing cards [text/image] a place like a photo-album where the card could be slipped in instead of a separate pack.[4]

Crowley was as mercurial as ever throughout the whole process, and Harris worked hard to manage their relationship. The effects of stress were noticeable, particularly as she worked on the Swords. To Harris, this Suit appeared to be directly connected to the events of the war. As we will see, Crowley also found the Swords troublesome, reflecting his own mental states. At one point Harris wrote: All the Swords are finished & the 10 of Cups nearly, but I have difficulty in getting the cards stretched … I find all this a bit up-hill. I am in solitary confinement, doing my own housework etc., not too bad only when I emerge from this concentrated effort to do the cards & feel very peculiar. Now for the pantacles.[5] Once the cards were created, it was not for a while that Crowley turned to the writing of the Book of Thoth. We know that Crowley wrote the text on the Minor cards in a rush, cramming into them all manner of symbolism and correspondence. In some cases, he neglected to write about any interpretive meaning altogether, leaving the reader of the Book of Thoth absolutely bewildered. Further, he had already envisioned the Minor cards as part of his own complex philosophy, resulting in a perfect storm of confusion. When Crowley wrote much of The Book of Thoth, he was aged 64 and living in Torquay; he had moved because of his doctor’s advice to get out of London, and to Torquay on the advice of the I-Ching – an oracle he used far more than the Tarot throughout his life. His friend Gerald Yorke had sent him a secretary to assist the completion of the work, however it was still a long job. He wrote in 1940: Polished off the last bit of the blasted tarot book and took it to be typed. Later, discovered that I still have to do the other 56 cards. SHIT.[6] This may, in part, account for the fragmentary nature of the Book of Thoth, as a guide being somewhat random and chaotic, with the Enochian visions in one section, the summary of the Aces to the Tens in another, general divinatory meanings at the back, illustrations at the back, the cards in Court card order at the front, with uneven descriptions of the Majors interspersed with numerology extracts. The biographical section which introduces the Book of Thoth is just another example of the patchwork nature of the book. At the end of two pages of high praise for Crowley in the “formidable task” and “colossal burden” of producing a tarot deck, it is signed off in a humorous manner, by its apparent author: The accompanying booklet was dashed off by Aleister Crowley, without help from parents. Its perusal may be omitted with advantage.[7] S. H. Soror I.W.E. 8=3 A.A. Soror [Sister] I.W.E. [Ich Will Es, ‘I Want It’] was the magical name of Martha Küntzel, who became a student of Crowley with her partner, Otto Gebhardi, in Berlin during the mid to late 1920’s. However, she died in 1942, aged 85 and Crowley had parted ways with her over political differences by 1935, some five years before starting work on the Thoth Tarot.[8] It seems more than likely that Crowley penned this biography himself, although it is unclear why he would have associated her name to it unless as a snide joke. Be that as it may, he laboured on completing the text over eighteen months in total, continuing to make correspondences between the Tarot and the systems of Geomancy and the I-Ching. As we will see, he was convinced these would prove the nature of Magick as demonstrating the deepest realities of nature. His writing also seems geared towards making an impression of his erudite thinking and prophetic status to the academic circles that he no doubt visualised would be viewing his work. As a result, the

descriptions are brief but complex, succinct yet full of links to a diverse range of subjects from mountaineering, poetry, science and philosophy. Whilst Crowley may have sometimes gone off-piste with the Minors, as tarot readers we can usefully support our reading of the Thoth cards by also studying the Golden Dawn meanings found in Book T, the text on Tarot within the Order. Although Crowley extended and, in some cases, modified these meanings for the Minors, he generally kept to the same schema of Kabbalah and Numerology, resulting in a similar interpretation at source. We will also look at a sample reading of Minor cards and then return to conclude with the Court Cards, further astrological considerations, colour symbolism and a full set of unique reading methods in the third and final book of the trilogy. However, first, we will commence this book with a look at a lesser-known method of divination - but one which is intrinsic to the Minor Arcana of the Thoth Tarot - Geomancy.

Contents Geomancy & Tarot The Titles of the Arcana Colour Symbolism The Golden Dawn Astrological Correspondences The I-Ching and Tarot The Secret of the Minor Arcana LIBER CCXXXI A Further Design THE DISKS Ace of Disks Two of Disks: CHANGE Three of Disks: WORK Four of Disks: POWER Five of Disks: WORRY Six of Disks: SUCCESS Seven of Disks: FAILURE Eight of Disks: PRUDENCE Nine of Disks: GAIN Ten of Disks: WEALTH THE SWORDS Ace of Swords Two of Swords: PEACE Three of Swords: SORROW Four of Swords: TRUCE Five of Swords: DEFEAT Six of Swords: SCIENCE Seven of Swords: FUTILITY Eight of Swords: INTERFERENCE Nine of Swords: CRUELTY Ten of Swords: RUIN THE CUPS Ace of Cups Two of Cups: LOVE Three of Cups: ABUNDANCE Four of Cups: LUXURY Five of Cups: DISAPPOINTMENT Six of Cups: PLEASURE Seven of Cups: DEBAUCH Eight of Cups: INDOLENCE Nine of Cups: HAPPINESS Ten of Cups: SATIETY THE WANDS Ace of Wands Two of Wands: DOMINION Three of Wands: VIRTUE

Four of Wands: COMPLETION Five of Wands: STRIFE Six of Wands: VICTORY Seven of Wands: VALOUR Eight of Wands: SWIFTNESS Nine of Wands: STRENGTH Ten of Wands: OPPRESSION Crowley on Divination A Sample Reading of the Minor Arcana CONCLUSION APPENDIX The Aces Bibliography

Geomancy & Tarot Can you get me any book which is simple on geomancy & Watkins will send me the book if you would order it.[9] In order to appreciate the design of the Minor Arcana of the Thoth Tarot, we must first look at Geomancy, a method of divination which Crowley would have first encountered in the Golden Dawn. The Order not only taught Geomancy but used the sixteen symbols of that system as a basis for the arrangement of components within the Minor Arcana cards.

ILLUS. The Sixteen Geomantic Figures.

Crowley wrote that he did not use Geomancy, nor thought much of it: All systems of divinations which have any claim to be reasonable are based upon a map of the universe, or at least the Solar system, and 16 is really a rather limited number of units to manipulate it.[10] However, as a basic structure, it did play an important part in the design and interpretation of the Minor Arcana in both the Golden Dawn designs and subsequently the Thoth Tarot. Geomancy is an ancient form of divination likely brought into Western practice through Arabic and Persian systems, first translated by medieval scholars. The result of the method is the construction of sixteen figures, comprising four lines of single or double marks. These are created by making sixteen casts of a random amount of marks in sand or earth (or with a pen on paper) and counting the marks to result in an odd or even number. If the number of marks is odd, it creates a single mark for the figure, and if even, a double mark.

ILLUS. Geomancy Reading.

If this is practised on sand or a bowl of earth or ash, for example, the practitioner then levels out the surface before making the next casting, until sixteen results are created, from which the first four figures (of four lines each) are drawn. If practised by pen and paper, the practitioner can simply make sixteen lines of marks, usually about twelve or more for each line to ensure there is no conscious counting. Once these four ‘mother’ figures are drawn, the remaining twelve figures are derived by simply reading across the first four figures in lines, to reduce each line to another single or double mark, which creates the line of the subsequent figure. In turn, having created four ‘daughters’ from the four ‘mothers’, these are written in the same row as each other, and the same reduction is made from the line of eight figures to create four ‘nieces’ below them. These four figures are similarly reduced to create two ‘witnesses’ and these two witnesses reduced again to create the single ‘judge’ figure. The final ‘judge’ figure can be read, according to a set interpretation of each of the sixteen figures, or the first twelve figures can be placed in astrological houses and read accordingly, with the two witnesses and judge adding a final summary. So, one of the figures, Albus, might mean “tedious diseases” in the sixth house and “a beautiful wife (who will not bear children)” in the seventh house. The method is a lot easier to perform after a few practices than to describe by text or illustrate. I have provided a reference to Hartmann’s book for those who wish to study the subject in more depth. The sixteen figures find their way into the Minor Arcana through astrological correspondence. The whole subject was brought into the Golden Dawn through the publication of Franz Hartmann’s Astrological Geomancy: The Art of Divining by Punctuation (1889), the year following the foundation of the Order.[11] Hartmann cites Agrippa, who would have also been familiar to the founders of the Order.[12] Agrippa notes, in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1531): They [the Geomantic figures] also being engraven or imprinted under the dominion of their planets and signs, do conceive the virtue and power of images; and these figures are as a middle betwixt images and characters.[13] We can see this half-way nature of the sixteen figures in that the figure of Via, for example, looks like a straight path, road or journey. The figure of Carcer, or ‘prison’, is that of a circular enclosure. Other of the sixteen symbols are slightly more abstract; Amissio, or ‘loss’ is said to be two cups turned upside down, emptied of their contents.

ILLUS. Via (a way or straight road).

ILLUS. Carcer (prison).

ILLUS. Amissio (Loss, two cups upside down).

The Golden Dawn took these figures, astrological correspondences and their physical arrangement as another template or layer for the Minor Arcana. It is a testament to the synthesizing genius of Mathers and the relentless logic of magical correspondence. In the Six of Pentacles, for example, the Golden Dawn image is described as an arrangement of the Pentacles in three lines of two marks. This accords with the Geomantic figure of Populus, meaning ‘people’. Then, we read in the Book T interpretation “Success and gain in material undertakings, power, influence, rank, nobility, rule over the people”. The card is layered and aligned through the astrological correspondence of Moon in Taurus (‘social standing in material things’), Kabbalistic correspondence of ‘6 of Pentacles’ being Tiphareth in Assiah (‘beauty in the world of action’), and even its design in two columns reflects the corresponding figure of Populus, ‘a gathering of people’. We see these layers in the Thoth Tarot – including the construct of the Geomantic figure (which has also been made more circular to accord with the symbolism of Tiphareth) – clearly and beautifully rendered in other cards such as the Six of Disks; ‘Success’. The slightly more negative card of the Seven of Pentacles, which is ‘Success Unfulfilled’ is arranged, in the Golden Dawn description, as three marks in an upsidedown triangle upon a block of four marks. This reflects the reverse triangle of ‘loss’ in the Geomantic figures upon a block representing ‘success’, hence a subtle symbolic representation of wasted effort or frustration. This is carried over into the design of the Seven of Disks in the Thoth Tarot; ‘Failure’. We will see in our analysis of individual cards how the language and structure of the sixteen Geomantic figures provides not only the design of the card but also a visual cue to deeper interpretation.[14] We can also note that the sixteen Geomantic figures may correspond to the sixteen Court Cards. In the next sections, we will look at the astrological and I-Ching correspondences also providing levels of interpretation for the cards. The following two tables may be of reference to the reader as we explore the Minors.

Planet Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Lunar nodes

Geomantic Symbol Fortuna Major Populus Albus Puella Puer Acquisitio Tristitia Caput Draconis

Geomantic Symbol Fortuna Minor Via Conjunctio Amissio Rubeus Laetitia Carcer Cauda Draconis

Table 1. The Planetary Correspondences, each having two Geomantic Figures. Geomantic Symbol Puer Amissio Albus Populus Fortuna Major Conjunctio Puella Rubeus Acquisitio Carcer Tristitia Laetitia

Description

A Boy Loss White People Greater Fortune Conjunction A Girl Red Gain A Prison Sadness Joy Tail of the Cauda Draconis Dragon Head of the Caput Draconis Dragon Fortuna Minor Lesser Fortune Via Way

Element Fire Earth Air Water Fire Earth Air Water Fire Earth Air Water Fire Earth Fire Water

Sign Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Cauda Draconis Caput Draconis Leo Cancer

Planet Mars Venus Mercury Moon Sun Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Saturn Jupiter Mars & Saturn Venus & Jupiter Sun Moon

Table 2. The Geomantic Figures and their Correspondences.

The Titles of the Arcana Before we cover further correspondences, we can suggest to the reader that as a starting point, we can simply read the keywords given on the cards. This is a simplistic but is certainly the basic voice of the Thoth Tarot. One might find oneself saying “There was ILLUSIONARY SUCCESS in the past and now there is only INTERFERENCE which will result in DISAPPOINTMENT”. The Thoth is a beautiful but brutal deck. The original titles of the Minor Arcana, which are un-named in the Waite-Smith tarot, were developed by S. L. Macgregor Mathers in the Golden Dawn. The cards were titled by their correspondences, so the Seven of Cups is “Illusionary Success” as the Court Card of the Knight of Swords is “The Lord of the Wind and the Breezes: the King of the Spirits of Air”. Harris looked rather dimly upon these titles: I do not find the names of the Cards in the Index you have sent at all illuminating in fact it took me hours to sort which was which. They are much too flamboyant, & I prefer the old names don't you. I hate all those rushing words & feel I've alighted in Taliesom (sic). What am I to print in the surrounds, because I won't do them wrong, it is very hard work.[15] It was Harris who decided to place the numbers and suit titles on the framework of the cards. She wrote to Crowley: I am sending you a sample of the top of the surround of the card as I have written “Swords” at the top. I find people cannot tell Trumps from Swords or Cups from Disks so I propose to write Swords, Cups, Disks, Wands, Trumps at the top.[16]

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

WANDS

CUPS

SWORDS

DISKS

DOMINION VIRTUE COMPLETION STRIFE VICTORY VALOUR SWIFTNESS STRENGTH OPPRESSION

LOVE ABUNDANCE LUXURY DISAPPOINTMENT PLEASURE DEBAUCH INDOLENCE HAPPINESS SATIETY

PEACE SORROW TRUCE DEFEAT SCIENCE FUTILITY INTERFERENCE CRUELTY WORRY

CHANGE WORKS POWER WORRY SUCCESS FAILURE PRUDENCE GAIN WEALTH

We will use the titles given by Crowley as he modified a few from original Golden Dawn. We will now look at further correspondence systems used in the Minor Arcana.

Colour Symbolism Why haven't I got living fire which could weave musically these beauties. I can't do it with pigment I want poetry & music & light, not coloured chalks.[17] The Golden Dawn system contains an entire set of correspondences for colours to the Tree of Life which is used in ritual, pathworking, the design of talismans, robes, wands, and most importantly for our present purpose, the tarot. The colours were organised into four sets which corresponded to the four Kabbalistic worlds, from top to bottom; Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah and Assiah. Whilst this may seem pedantic, the structure of these colours provides us a powerful symbolic language. In the use of a talisman for example, by placing a different scale of colour on the physical object than the scale used for the robes and for visualisation, we automatically signal the level of manifestation of the desire. That is to say, the talisman uses the most ‘physical’ scale of colours, Assiah, to resonate with the other scales and symbolise the absolute connection between what is invoked and what is made manifest. Unlike the design of the Waite-Smith Tarot, in the Thoth Tarot, both Crowley and Harris were acutely aware of this colour symbolism in the Minor Arcana and throughout the deck. Harris wrote to Crowley about the difficulty of using natural colours and colours which were in the cards based on their elemental or zodiacal correspondence: No. 2 Disks is on the stocks, is the serpent's eye to be red? It is a bit awkward, as there are several colours introduced in that card which do not belong to Jupiter and Capricorn, I mean the 4 element colours and they make inharmonious patches. [18]

The colour design was to generally use the Golden Dawn scales of colour for the decan, i.e. the planet and sign, which correspond to the card, combined with the scale of colour for the Sephirah, i.e. for Geburah for the Fives. When we look at the Five of Disks, then, we have the Princess scale colour of Geburah (5), “Red, Flecked Black” and the Scales for Mercury in Taurus, being “Yellow, Purple, Grey and Indigo flecked with Violet” for Mercury and “Red-Orange; Deep Indigo; Deep Warm Olive; and Rich Brown” for Taurus. However, by the time of the finished design, we have Crowley describe the colour of the background as “an angry, ugly red with yellow markings”.[19] The other colours of the card generally correspond to the scales, particularly the yellow and purple. Harris was also aware of the difficulties in changing colours once the artwork was completed, without restarting an entire illustration. She struggled to get the pigments and textures exactly as she intended, particularly in the Suit of Swords, which were the darkest. Crowley attempted to assert his credit for the colour scheme when things briefly became acrimonious between the pair; “in every case the design and meaning of the card and the particular colours to be used have been entirely my work”.[20] A fragment of a letter from Harris to Crowley notes how they were certainly working to a table of correspondences: I have marked out in my colour scheme–

Bright Pale Yellow Sky Blue Blue Emerald green, Emerald flecked gold but surely I can use the purple dark blue, pale blue green, yellow, orange, red of the rainbow. At the top of the chart are 10 colour sequences which we don't seem to have used much. We did combine them in the 1st plain card of wands & then what with the governing planet & zodiacal sign we stopped. Anyhow I can't paint brilliance, white brilliance, can you? She was working from a copy of 777 in addition to other notes and works by Crowley: Also Mrs Ashment has my 777. Which I want here. You will not confuse it with yours as when I lent it to her I red pencilled the things she had to copy for the index. [21]

The colours provide another layer of symbolic language which can be utilised during a reading or in meditation using their correspondence to the Tree of Life. We will return to look at the colours of the entire deck in the concluding book of this present trilogy.

The Golden Dawn Astrological Correspondences Throughout the Minor Arcana we will see a layer of symbolism and colour derived from the astrological correspondences of the cards to the planets and zodiacal signs. We can use simple keywords to derive a meaning for a card which accords with the Golden Dawn and much of the Book of Thoth. We will add this layer in the third book of this trilogy in favour of concentrating on the analysis of the descriptions and interpretations of the Minor Arcana in this present book. We should also remain aware that Crowley had his own Thelemic model of correspondences running beneath the cards, which we will explore in a following section. We will also now look at the I-Ching, an oracle that was Crowley’s preferred method of divination and used by him in explaining many of the cards in the Minor Arcana.

The I-Ching and Tarot The Chinese system is therefore, in every way, equivalent to our own Qabalah, and it is most interesting to observe that they equally reach the idea of our own systems of initiation without invoking any other formula than that of the dyad.[22] The I-Ching is an ancient system of divination arising in China between 600 and 400 years B.C. It uses a simple system of two components - a ‘Yang’ or ‘Yin’ - to produce patterns of six lines called Hexagrams. These are composed of two Trigrams each of three lines, of which there are eight variations; the first is three unbroken Yang lines, representing ‘heaven’ and the final is three broken Yin lines representing ‘earth’. The trigrams are paired to create the 64 hexagrams, so one might have a hexagram of six broken lines which would be ‘earth over earth’. The I-Ching was translated first into Latin in the 1730’s, but it was the English translation by James Legge in 1899 that would have been influential on Crowley. Legge had first translated the I-Ching in volume 6 of the 50-volume series, The Sacred Books of the East, in 1882. Crowley published his own summary of the Trigrams, Liber Trigrammaton XXVII in 1907, following his “Walk Across China”. He later published his own version of the interpretations of the Hexagrams, the Tao Te Ching, in 1923. The I-Ching is also given as an appendix entry and diagram in the Book of Thoth as “the Chinese Cosmos”.[23] It was woven into his own divinatory framework as much as the tarot, in fact, likely more so. Crowley wrote of the oracle, “The Yi King is mathematical and philosophical in form. Its structure is cognate with that of the Qabalah; the actual apparatus is simple, and five minutes is sufficient to obtain a fairly detailed answer to any but the most obscure questions”.[24] To Crowley, the I-Ching (which he termed the Yi King after Legge rather than Wilhelm’s later translation) served as a philosophical cosmology and a practical oracle, far more so than the Tarot. He utilised I-Ching readings sometimes several times a day, with questions ranging from; “I want an idea for a new picture”[25] to “Shall we go on to Algeria at the Summer Solstice?”[26] We should note that some of his titles for the hexagrams may be at slight variance to those as translated in contemporary books. He also used it for health questions; asking of his newly-born daughter, “I asked the Yi, by the way, for the issue of Poupée’s present illness, and got [Hexagram 15] which might well mean release from Earth”.[27] Anna Leah (Poupée) Crowley died six months following that reading. The I-Ching itself originates from a divinatory text referred to as the “changes of Zhou”, and is said to have been created “in order to become thoroughly conversant with the numinous and bright and to classify the myriad things”. It is one of the oldest oracles extant, dating back to at least the 10th to 4th century B.C. The traditional method of the oracle is to use coins or sticks to produce one of 64 Hexagram patterns, composed of six lines, each of which is a Yin (broken) or Yang (complete) line. These are further seen as sets of trigrams or three lines, so a Hexagram is composed of two trigrams.

As we have noted, the trigrams each have meanings, such as “field”, “open”, “penetrating”, and the resultant combination of two trigrams gives meaning to the Hexagram, such as the 8th Hexagram, Bi, being composed of the “field” trigram below and “gorge” trigram above. This signifies that the stream is above the earth, leading to an interpretation that relationships are dissolving and similar ideas.

ILLUS. I Ching Hexagram, Bi.

Whilst we can read the whole Hexagram as a single meaning or oracle, composed of its two trigrams, we can also refer to the line-by-line reading of the Hexagram, as an enigmatic series of stories, symbols and metaphors have been attached to each line, deepening the power of the oracle. In the case of the 8th Hexagram, the first line is a broken Yin line, so in context of the whole meaning is read as a “connection which fills the earthen vessels to overflowing”. As such, it encourages us that the beginning opens us to even more, so we must give new things room to grow, and allow old ideas to be washed away. The further five lines of the Hexagram continue this theme and provide more detail and insight to guide our action in response to the oracle. The Yi [King] was a familiar friend to Crowley, although as many before and since, the enigmatic advice of the oracle sometimes eluded him. In Tunisia he had wildly consulted his own oracular system, using quotes from the Book of the Law, and then the I-Ching, asking “Shall I seek a rich wife in Tunisia (Jewish or not)?” The Yi had provided him Hexagram IV (4), Mang, the Earth and Moon. Crowley recorded with exasperation in his journal, “Hell! I can’t interpret things like this!” and went to ask his student, Norman Mudd, Frater O.P.V., for a second opinion. Mudd’s comment to Crowley’s search for a wife in Tunisia was simply “No”, although it appears that in “further discussion,” Crowley extracted an “alert for the advances of some woman” and indeed he should take “steps to discover a suitable person”. It appears even Crowley was oft able to bend the oracles to his will. In 1923 Crowley had just left – actually, just been ordered to leave – Italy and was in Tunis. The I-Ching had directed him there, firstly with Hexagram 41, Sun. He had interpreted it classically, line by line, from the bottom upwards; prepare to move, be steady, prepare to reconstruct, seek relief from friends, accept substantial assistance and turn the situation to advantage by increasing sympathisers. In fact, the specific location was also chosen by the I-Ching; Hexagram 18, Kû, which was interpreted by Crowley as “cross the water – to an uncivilised country; a country where the family is more important than the state”. Crowley consulted the oracle for questions ranging from daily affairs to publication of his books. He was not shy of stating its support for his own ambition. In a question regarding the draft of The Spirit of Solitude, his autobiography which was later published as The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, he interpreted Hexagram 26, Tâ Khû, as advising that “the publication of the book will bring 666 [Crowley] into his proper place as in command of the Galaxy of Free Men and Women” although he was also advised to “make it absolutely clear that the Great Work of 666 is not dangerous to the true interests of Mankind”. Furthermore, in a more practical piece of advice, line 4 of the Hexagram was interpreted to suggest “Cover risks by insurance, perhaps”. It was not only Crowley’s life which was directed by the oracle in this way but also those of his immediate circle – letters were written to direct his students based on the readings, and legal cases pursued on similar advice. There is an entry in the diaries which suggests that Crowley used “sticks” for the IChing, certainly during 1923. There is a description of these sticks that were said to be the originals in the possession of Grady Louis McMurtry (1918-1985), although apparently, they have since been lost: There were only six small wooden sticks that were stained very dark. Each was approximately 4 ½ inches long by only a half inch wide and maybe an eighth inch

thick at best. One side was left blank and was considered to be the yang or male energy while the other side of each stick had a small groove of maybe a quarter inch wide cut into the middle of each as if to divide the stick to produce the divided or yin energy. When Crowley wrote his own version of the I-Ching, as Liber CCXVI [216], he patently had these sticks in mind for the apparatus of divination: 1. Thou shalt obtain 6 Chinese coins. Five shall be of one metal and the sixth of another. One side ye shall call Yang, and the other Yin (Heads and Tails). 2. These coins should be kept in a wrapped black cloth, and no other should lay his hand upon them. For they swell with thine aura when used with sincerity and repetition. 3. Hast no coins? Six sticks will serve. Paint one side solid and the other broken. One of the six is especial; It should be made unique by painting one end on both sides. Care for thine sticks as though they were coins. The special stick is to denote it as a “moving line”, that is to say, it is changing from being a Yin to a Yang, or vice-versa. The I-Ching is not a ‘static’ oracle as we might consider tarot or runes, which produce a singular snapshot or illustration of a situation. The I-Ching is based on Taoism, so even the answer itself is part of a constant flow, and an oracle may be two oracles or Hexagrams, moving from one to the other - as we watch. When moving lines are present, we read those lines in particular, and see that the Hexagram we receive is in flux to the Hexagram which results when those moving lines have changed to their opposite. To have just one stick marked as a moving line is not entirely reflective of the original system as it will only ever produce one moving line, and every reading will have one moving line. In the original system of using coins or yarrow stalks or sticks, it is possible for many variations of moving lines, or to have no moving lines at all in the final Hexagram. To compensate for this limitation, Crowley apparently would swipe several sticks to one side on a whim to produce several moving lines. This was not the only method that Crowley developed to utilise the oracle. In one set of archives exist a previously un-noticed and un-published artefact which contains ‘coins’ that Crowley created out of cardboard, hand-cut, and on which he drew the Hexagrams. There are 21 such paper coins, with Hexagrams – and in some cases their correspondences to Astrology - on both sides of each piece. These have been reproduced by the present author for use in everyday divination, as the I-Ching Counters.

ILLUS. I-Ching Coins Reproduced from an Original Idea by Aleister Crowley.

As seven of the Hexagrams are the same either way up, the remaining Hexagrams are depicted with their two different numbers, depending on which way up that face of the coin is seen. Having looked at the various systems to which Crowley makes a correspondence in the Minor Arcana, we will now look specifically at his own thelemic philosophy as it relates to the structure of the cards.

The Secret of the Minor Arcana In the archives of the Warburg Institute, London, resides a small notebook of great importance to the life and work of Aleister Crowley. It is called by the title written on the front by Crowley, The Invocation of Hoor. The contents of this red vellum diary have not yet been published in full, although Crowley himself published extracts and references to it in Equinox of the Gods (1936), his account of the reception of the Book of the Law. The recent biography of Aleister Crowley written by Tobias Churton also includes references to the notebook.[28] The notebook, written mainly in 1904, includes the invocation and notes used by Crowley immediately ahead of his reception of the Book of the Law. It includes brief notes on his first use of sexual magick, years ahead of his publicly stated ‘realisation’ of the subject. It also includes information that potentially changes the date he ‘received’ the Book of the Law, amongst other hand-written notes that add a great deal of context to this most critical time in his life. It is clear from the notebook that he fully intended to beat the Golden Dawn at its own game, declare a new Equinox, place himself as a prophet with a fully-contacted ‘secret chief’ and destroy the Order – which in effect, he set about doing and succeeded. However, there is a fascinating and overlooked section of the notebook which Crowley himself refers to in later references as merely a “long and futile tarot divination”.[29] Whilst it is not possible to publish the actual text which is certainly neither “futile” nor entirely a “divination”, I would like to present an analysis of the structure which Crowley seemed to formulate in this currently unpublished material. The overall theme of the Suits in Crowley’s mind at the time appears to have been as follows: Wands: God and Religion in all its forms. Cups: The Grail and the Temple as a sanctuary of the Grail. Swords: War in all its forms. Pentacles: Earth in a terrestrial sense, as a planet. We should remember that at this point, we are in 1904, a decade prior to the First World War. There is a substantial amount of prophetic writing on protracted periods of war and terror (in the future) in Crowley’s notes and correspondences throughout the Invocation of Hoor notebook and the Book of the Law. These warnings and intimations of social change were to have a huge impact on Crowley’s life as they repeatedly came to pass within the years following his prophesies. We can also discern in his thoughts that he had taken the Golden Dawn planetary and zodiacal correspondences – the entire concept of correspondences – and turned them to his own nascent philosophy. I provide below my own interpretation of his associations: Sun: Triumph, Resurrection, Temple of the Grail, Rule. Mercury: The Mind, Reason, Persecution, Affliction. Venus: Babalon Moon: Imagination, the Blood of the Saints. Mars: Wrath, War, Fire & Flame. Jupiter: The Father, Lust, Wisdom.

Saturn: Ending, Rest, Repose, Terror. We can also abstract a system of correspondence and themes relating to the zodiacal signs. In these cases, although they are sometimes simply the description of the sign, in Crowley’s mind they take on a wider significance. When he talks about Taurus as ‘Earth’ he means the whole planet throughout time. It is in these correspondences that Crowley blends several systems, such as the sign of Cancer being the charioteer (through its correspondence to the Chariot card in the Major Arcana) that bears the Arthurian Grail; Leo being the “Beast” of the Apocalypse in the Bible; and Gemini being the twin-warrior forms of Horus, the ancient Egyptian deity. This conflation of so many systems demonstrates his eclectic magical perspective: Aries: The Lamb, Christ, Son of God, the Bride of the Lamb. Taurus: Labour, Earth. Gemini: Twins, Dual Force, Two Wands of Power, Horus. Cancer: Chariot, Charioteer, Grail. Leo: The Beast. Virgo: The Virgin. Libra: Balance, Ma’at. Scorpio: The Great Dragon. Sagittarius: The Rainbow. Capricorn: The Goat (of Mendes). Aquarius: Purification. Pisces: The Night, Darkness of the Temple, Shadow. We are now able to generate a piece of mythic narrative from the combination of these correspondences according to the decan of each Minor Arcana, as Crowley might have seen them in 1904, three decades ahead of his work on the Thoth Tarot. The Ten of Swords, for example, we can unlock by first looking up its zodiacal correspondence, which we see is the Sun (triumph) in Gemini (twins). We then take the keywords for that correspondence and merge it with the keywords of Crowley’s Aeonic correspondence, in this case Kingdom/Earth (10, Malkuth) and War (Swords). When we put these two together, we might get ‘war upon the earth’ and ‘the twins triumphant’. We can carry out this analysis for all the Minor Arcana; the Five of Disks would be Mercury in Taurus and 5 (Geburah) of Disks (Earth); The Mind (Mercury) in Labour (Taurus). It is no surprise then to find this card thirty years later as “Worry”. The reader is advised to play with these suggested attributions and explore Crowley’s original concepts of the Minor Arcana. We can also see how this system of correspondences influenced – and indeed is likely the secret structure of - the Book of the Law. When we read in the Book of the Law, “Hail! ye twin warriors about the pillars of the world! for your time is nigh at hand” [III.71] we might reverse-engineer the ‘twin warriors’ to Mars (war) in Gemini (twins), which reveals this line as structured on the Nine of Swords.[30] The Book of the Law follows this underlying structure, which we see time and again in Crowley’s writing; an extemporisation on a series or sequence of correspondences. If we take the Three of Pentacles using the 1904 model, we get the correspondence of ‘Mars in Capricorn’ and the keywords of ‘Wrath’ and ‘Goat’, so this is a very earthy and angry energy – but when applied, a very constructive one and capable of breaking through any limitations or constraints. When Crowley wrote about this card thirty years later, he writes:

It is ruled by Mars in Capricornus; he is exalted in that sign, and therefore at his best. His energy is constructive, like that of a builder or engineer.[31] He goes on to say: The pyramid (on the card image) is situated in the great Sea of Binah in the Night of Time … the sides of the pyramid have a strong reddish tint, showing the influence of Mars.[32] This is based on further concepts from the 1904 model that Crowley brought into his Tarot, based on a mapping of the Tree of Life through the lens of ancient Egyptian initiatory myth. He saw the cards arrayed from Ten at the bottom, corresponding to the area of the ‘Abomination of Desolation’, arising through the Nines to the Fours through the ‘Chambers of the Pylon’ to the ‘Temple of The Abyss’ which marks the division from the lower (higher numbered) cards to the Threes, Twos and Aces, which dwell in the upper part of the Tree where is the ‘City of Pyramids’. The whole of the Minor Arcana in the Thoth Tarot were pre-designed from Crowley’s thinking in 1904 as he shunted the astrological decans and the system of correspondences into his own synthesis of thelema, kabbalah, grail myth, alchemy, ancient Egyptian myth and comparative religion.

LIBER CCXXXI A further publication on the tarot by Crowley, Liber CCXXXI, is omitted in his introductory piece to the Book of Thoth which otherwise lists all his earlier references to the Tarot. This missing reference is to an enigmatic and short piece of work which nonetheless is a “Class A” publication graded by Crowley, the most ‘inspired’ type of writing which “may be changed not so much as the style of a letter”. Whilst it refers to the Major rather than the Minor Arcana, we will look at it in this present book in order to complete our references to the Majors in Crowley’s work and it is important to highlight it rather than have lost it in the overall descriptions of the Major Arcana in our first book. Liber CCXXXI is a short illustration and list of the forty-four “genii” or spirits of both the upwards path of the Serpent and the downwards (or obverse) paths of the Qlippoth (shells) assigned to the Hebrew letters and paths of the Tree of Life. These are illustrated by forty-four strangely hand-drawn sigils entitled “Liber XXII”.[33] The overall title also includes a piece of text, likely added later, which is importantly termed “a technical treatise of the Tarot”, wherein “the sequence of the 22 Trumps is explained as a formula of initiation”.[34] The ‘book’ (which is just a few pages in length) has a long title, of which the main part is Liber Arcanorum (‘book of secrets’) and was originally written in 1907 and 1911. It was published in the Equinox Vol.I. No. 7 (1912).[35] It is four years after the writing on Tarot in Crowley’s 1904 notebook and some thirty years before he started the Thoth tarot. The textual piece draws heavily on a tarot section in prose from an earlier piece, entitled AMBROSII MAGI HORTUS ROSARUM.[36] It is of great interest as it shows an early development of Crowley’s thinking on the tarot, more advanced from his nascent system of Thelema as shown in his 1904 work and yet the echoes of which can be discerned in his far later 1944 production of tarot in the Book of Thoth. The textual part of Liber CCXXXI is based on the twenty-two Hebrew letters and their corresponding tarot cards, each of which is numbered and has a few sentences written upon it. These bear some resemblance to the unpublished notes in his 1904 notebook some four years earlier. I have quoted the text section below and added the title of the corresponding Tarot card for ease of reference: 0. A, the heart of IAO, dwelleth in ecstasy in the secret place of the thunders. Between Asar and Asi he abideth in joy. [FOOL] 1. The lightnings increased and the Lord Tahuti stood forth. The Voice came from the Silence. Then the One ran and returned. [MAGUS] 2. Now hath Nuit veiled herself, that she may open the gate of her sister. [HIGH PRIESTESS] 3. The Virgin of God is enthroned upon an oyster-shell; she is like a pearl, and seeketh Seventy to her Four. In her heart is Hadit the invisible glory. [EMPRESS] 4. Now riseth Ra-Hoor-Khuit, and dominion is established in the Star of the Flame. [EMPEROR]

5. Also is the Star of the Flame exalted, bringing benediction to the universe. [HIEROPHANT] 6. Here then beneath the winged Eros is youth, delighting in the one and the other. He is Asar between Asi and Nepthi; he cometh forth from the veil. [LOVERS] 7. He rideth upon the chariot of eternity; the white and the black are harnessed to his car. Therefore he reflecteth the Fool, and the sevenfold veil is reveiled. [CHARIOT] 8. Also came forth mother Earth with her lion, even Sekhet, the lady of Asi. [STRENGTH] 9. Also the Priest veiled himself, lest his glory be profaned, lest his word be lost in the multitude. [HERMIT] 10. Now then the Father of all issued as a mighty wheel; the Sphinx, and the dog-headed god, and Typhon, were bound on his circumference. [WHEEL] 11. Also the lady Maat with her feather and her sword abode to judge the righteous. For Fate was already established. [JUSTICE] 12. Then the holy one appeared in the great water of the North; as a golden dawn did he appear, bringing benediction to the fallen universe. [HANGED MAN] 13. Also Asar was hidden in Amennti; and the Lords of Time swept over him with the sickle of death. [DEATH] 14. And a mighty angel appeared as a woman, pouring vials of woe upon the flames, lighting the pure stream with her brand of cursing. And the iniquity was very great. [TEMPERANCE] 15. Then the Lord Khem arose, He who is holy among the highest, and set up his crowned staff for to redeem the universe. [DEVIL] 16. He smote the towers of wailing; he brake them in pieces in the fire of his anger, so that he alone did escape from the ruin thereof. [BLASTED TOWER] 17. Transformed, the holy virgin appeared as a fluidic fire, making her beauty into a thunderbolt. [STAR] 18. By her spells she invoked the Scarab, the Lord Kheph-Ra, so that the waters were cloven and the illusion of the towers was destroyed. [MOON] 19. Then the sun did appear unclouded, and the mouth of Asi was on the mouth of Asar. [SUN] 20. Then also the Pyramid was builded so that the Initiation might be complete. [LAST JUDGEMENT] 21. And in the heart of the Sphinx danced the Lord Adonai, in His garlands of roses and pearls making glad the concourse of things; yea, making glad the concourse of things. [WORLD/UNIVERSE] Interestingly, the switch between Strength and Justice is not made by Crowley at this time, as Strength appears in eighth position, as it was in the Golden Dawn and before Crowley switched it based on Liber Al. Crowley also suggests, in the table of sigils, that we compare pairs of the sigils from the twenty-two illustrations found on the ‘mercurial’ side to those found on the ‘qlippothic’ side, commencing with “Compare Aleph to Tzaddi”. This would compare the following pairs of tarot cards listed below. The first card is on the positive/light or ascent side, and the second card on the negative/shadow or descent side. We can consider the second card as ‘reversed’ in terms of tarot card reading. 1. Fool & Star

2. Magician & High Priestess 3. High Priestess & Magician (*) 4. Empress & Devil 5. Emperor & Chariot 6. Hierophant & Wheel 7. Lovers & Empress 8. Chariot & Emperor (*) 9. Strength & Last Judgement 10. Hermit & Hanged Man 11. Wheel & Lovers 12. Justice & Temperance 13. Hanged Man & Temperance 14. Death & Last Judgement 15. Temperance & Lovers 16. Devil & Blasted Tower 17. Blasted Tower & Moon 18. Star & Fool (*) 19. Moon & Blasted Tower (*) 20. Sun & Lovers 21. Last Judgement & Strength 22. World & Magician Where marked (*), these are pairs that are repeated in reverse, so they get swapped in terms of their side on the positive/negative poles, i.e. “Magician & High Priestess” is a positive Magician and negative High Priestess, and “High Priestess & Magician” is a positive High Priestess and negative Magician. I will now provide a simple ritual practice for working with this text in a dynamic way. This is a simple format which can be adapted to any piece of writing on the Tarot. The Ritual of the 22 Chambers 1. Take out the Major Arcana from the Thoth Tarot. 2. Over a period of about three weeks (22 days), starting on a New Moon (if you wish), take each pair of tarot cards listed, placing the second card in reverse and contemplate them during the day. Write any impressions of how you read those two cards together and any events of the day which might correspond to your interpretation. 3. When you have concluded this preparatory stage, review it for any patterns you may notice, significant changes or events, and relationships between the pairs, particularly those given in two forms. 4. Next, wait three days, or until the Full Moon, (if you wish) and arrange the Major Arcana of the deck in numerical order, commencing with the Fool and ending with the Universe. Prepare time and space and then recite the whole of Liber CCXXXI whilst turning over each card in sequence. Pause for each line and card. You may ritualise this activity, such as banishing, purification, consecration and invocation (of HRU, Apollo or other divinatory deity), use of appropriate candles or incense as you wish. 5. Record any first impressions, and particularly any dreams or significant events.

A Further Design There is also further artistic design to the cards, which is down to Frieda Harris – along with her projective geometry covered in our first book of this trilogy. On close examination and review of the Minor Arcana, we note that the Suits are built from a simple but perhaps unnoticed design – the relationship of two objects. Whilst we know that Harris built sigils into the cards, she may have also created a dynamic sense to the illustrations by placing in each of them a pattern of two elements in contrast to each other. In the Cups, we see that each card has a changing relationship and design to two elements; the Cups themselves and the Lotus flowers. In one card, the cups may be formal and artificial, in another, more organic and flowery. In the same or another card, the Lotus flowers may be full or tight, abundant or wilted. In combining these two elements in different phases, Harris creates a symbolic alphabet that can respond to Crowley’s Kabbalistic design. In fact, as with the Sephiroth of the Tree, the combination of these two design components in various forms gives rise to the nature of the stream of water that flows between them – as the Sephiroth do to the paths of the Tree. In no other deck can we see so clearly illustrated the relationship of the Sephiroth and the Paths of the Tree of Life. It further illustrates the essential nature of the Cups as depicting relationship – by using two changeable items in relationship. Similarly, in the Swords, there is an opposition set up between one or more central Swords and other smaller swords, which may support the main component or even entirely shatter it. This allows Harris to depict the nature of dualistic thought, illustrating the range of human intellect from logical precision to confused contradiction. The Disks are contrasted with their geometric arrangement, commencing with the singular Ace of Disks and then being presented as their respective numerological shape; a pair, a triangle, a square, a pentagram, until they bloom into organic structures and arrive at the Tree of Life in the Ten of Disks. The dynamic is provided by their relationship to the shape created by their number. It is the perfect mechanism to express different types of security. The Wands find contrast in their arrangement, as with the Swords, and against their background, far more so than the other Suits. The dynamic is created by their arrangement with each other giving rise to the flames we see in the Suit in varying degrees. In this fourth variation of contrasting pairs, Harris sets up the mechanism for expressing the varying degrees in which our Will has impact on our surroundings. In arrangement, contrast and symbolism, Harris has layered design elements to present a coherent view of the nature of each card – to stunning effect. In this present author’s opinion, it is yet another piece of evidence in the case for her genius in the design of the Thoth Tarot. We will now explore each individual card and provide suggestions for interpretation in a reading with comparison to the original Book T text from the Golden Dawn.

ILLUS. Tree of Life Showing Numbers (of Minor Cards) & Names of the Ten Sephiroth.

THE DISKS Ace: ROOT OF THE POWERS OF EARTH Two: CHANGE Three: WORKS Four: POWER Five: WORRY Six: SUCCESS Seven: FAILURE Eight: PRUDENCE Nine: GAIN Ten: WEALTH

Ace of Disks Image: A series of geometric shapes are placed inside a circular disk from which emerge wings and concentric ovals. The centre of the image contains three circles bearing the number 666, whilst the ring of the disk bears the Greek letters spelling TO MEGA THERION.[37] Elemental Correspondence: Earth. As the Aces are to be considered as a set in themselves, we will return to their general nature in an appendix of this present book. The Ace of Disks includes the largest text of all the Minors which is not directly helpful to us as a reader, as does the Ace of Wands.[38] We will first look at the text which assists us understand the card in symbolism and reading, and then follow with a summary of Crowley’s “essential theoretical theses”.[39] The Ace of Disks is basically the simple Energy of Earth. At least, it is the introduction of that energy; as we will come to see, every Ace is the seed of the element, not a manifestation of it. The Ace is the pre-beginning, as the Ten is post-completion, in this model – based upon numerology and Kabbalah. This makes the Twos the main ‘starting points’ and the Nines the main ‘finishers’. We might look at it as a marathon where the Aces are the starting blocks, the Twos the starting pistol, the Nines the finishing line and the Tens are the recovery tent. In designing the card, Crowley took up the tradition that the Ace of Disks (or Spades) would carry a publisher (or tax) symbol, making this card his “personal Hieroglyph”.[40] His magical name as “The Great Beast” appears around the central circle of the card, and the numbers 666 in the centre. We saw in our first volume that Crowley identified with these biblical references as a complex response to his early religious background. We referred to his outright critique of previous decks and authors, which takes up part of his text on the Ace of Disks, in our first book. The whole design is an interlaced geometry and numerology of Heptagrams, Pentagrams, and a living Wheel of ten spokes, held within six wings; a statement of the essential unity of matter and spirit, male and female, shape and number, all within the seed of matter – which is ultimately Kether, the singular point of all. His notes for the card were obviously as complicated as the text he eventually came to write about this one card. In a letter, Harris writes to Crowley, with a sketch: I am sending you the notes on the aces. I haven't got them quite clearly in my head. You say in your note on the Disc Ace. Inside 0-10. “ 10 heptagrams “ 7 [drawing of mark of beast] That is not clear to me.[41] The primary thrust of this card is that matter is in motion; the Old Aeon concept of a universe fixed in God, unalterable by man, is dead. This Ace is both Earth and Sun, matter illuminated by spirit, the darkness suffused with light. The universe is alive, here declares Crowley – there is nothing truly which is not alive. Nor should we revile the

material world or our bodies; “the old conception of the Earth as a passive, immobile, even dead, even ‘evil’ element had to go”.[42] This Suit is of Disks not Coins, and those disks are whirling; “Naturally so; since it is now known that every Star, every true Planet, is a whirling sphere. The Atom, again, is no more the hard, intractable, dead Particle of Dalton, but a system of whirling forces, comparable to the Solar hierarchy itself”.[43] This is a card that suggests what matters is matter, and that matter is alive. There is a joy to be had for those who understand this essential theory; spirit and matter are conjoined, there is no difference. The appearance of the Ace of Disks in a reading is a good start – an essential one, but there is still work to be done once it has been recognised as such. When reading this card, as with any of the cards in the Minor Arcana of the Thoth tarot, we might also benefit from returning to the interpretations offered by the Golden Dawn. We must remind ourselves that Crowley has uplifted the meanings into his own Aeon of Horus, but there will be some commonality of interpretation. In Book T we read (and repeat below for all cards) that the Ace of Pentacles signifies; “material gain, labour, power, wealth, etc.”[44] Golden Dawn: It represents materiality in all senses, good and evil: and is, therefore, in a sense, illusionary: it shows material gain, labour, power, wealth, etc. In a Reading: This card also symbolises the matter at hand, which may appear fixed but is actually – as with everything – a “whirling sphere”.[45] There is no stability or definitive result here, there is only the seed of creation. It may be the earliest of early days, whatever is the source of the enquiry is a long way from happening. It may even be something that is never going to happen, certainly not without a lot of change and disruption. It is good to focus on what is realistic, in a spiritual situation, or on what is the highest spiritual level of the matter, in a mundane situation.

Two of Disks: CHANGE Image: A crowned snake is coiled vertically in two loops, biting its own tail. As with all the Minor Arcana, the planetary and zodiacal correspondences of the decan are shown, in this case the signs of Jupiter and Capricorn. The symbols of Yin/Yang are placed inside the two loops, bearing inside themselves the four elemental symbols. Astrological Correspondence: Jupiter in Capricorn. In this card we see more easily defined the philosophy also expressed in the Two of Swords. It is the fundamental change of spirit into matter and matter into spirit. Whilst simply expressed, of course, this is the essential mystery of existence; what is spirit? How is matter – you and I – aware of itself? What is awareness? What happens when we die? All this is bound in the card called simply ‘Change’. Crowley simplifies the Golden Dawn title of ‘Harmonious Change’ because he does not see change as exhibiting - or requiring - harmony. This is similar to his belief expressed in the Two of Swords, which is an essential comparison to this card. As in a tarot reading, the Aces, Twos, Nines and Tens are more closely bound together than the Minor cards in the middle of the numeric sequence, such as the Fives and the Eights. Here the linkage is through the Disks as primal matter, in their correspondence to Earth, then the Princesses of the Court cards, finally to the Hebrew letter Heh (final) which is the ‘end of the road’ in the formula of Tetragrammaton (YHVH). However, Earth is also “the throne of Spirit”, so the whole loop starts again, depicted in “the symbolism of the serpent of the endless band”.[46] This card is then the endless change of existence, which is one thing in essence. It is an illustration of the Platonic thought that time is “a moving likeness of eternity”. When the father who had engendered it [the universe] saw it in motion and alive, a shrine brought into being for the everlasting gods, he rejoiced and, being well pleased, he conceived the idea of making it more like its model. Accordingly, as that model is the ever-existent Living Being, he set about making the universe also like it, as far as possible, in that respect. Now the nature of that living Being was eternal, a character with which it was impossible fully to endow a generated thing. But he planned as it were a moving likeness of eternity; and, at the same time that he set in order the Heaven, he made, of eternity that abides in unity, an ever-flowing likeness moving according to number – that to which we have given the name Time. [47]

— Plato, Timaeus, 37 c-d. The illustration of this doctrine, that “Change is the support of stability”, is found in the Yin and Yang symbol into which the two disks have been placed.[48] Whilst Crowley briefly discusses this doctrine in the Book of Thoth, “One may in fact consider the card as the picture of the complete manifested Universe, in respect of its dynamics”[49] it is better described in Magick Without Tears. This is the mystical concept embodied by “0 = 2”, the equation that seeks to answer how existence can both exist and yet there be ‘not existence’ in which existence exists.

This is a paradox that is at the heart of magick: When you have assimilated these two sets of Equations, when you have understood how 0 = 2 is the unique, the simple, and the necessary solution of the Riddle of the Universe, there will be, in a sense, little more for you to learn about the Theory of Magick.[50] Crowley goes further and notes that even beyond magick, this is the work of the mystic: You should, however, remember most constantly that the equation of the Universe, however complex it may seem, inevitably reels out to Zero; for to accomplish this is the formula of your Work as a Mystic.[51] So, whilst the Two of Disks may represent simple “change” in any reading, it also illustrates the fundamental dynamic of the universe, its greatest mystery, and our work as both magician and mystic. The Green Serpent upon the card is further detailed in Liber 65, which Crowley specifically references: 17. Then I beheld myself compassed about with the Infinite Circle of Emerald that encloseth the Universe. 18. O Snake of Emerald, Thou hast no time Past, no time To Come. Verily Thou art not. 19. Thou art delicious beyond all taste and touch, Thou art not-to-be-beheld for glory, Thy voice is beyond the Speech and the Silence and the Speech therein, and Thy perfume is of pure ambergris, that is not weighed against the finest gold of the fine gold. 20. Also Thy coils are of infinite range; the Heart that Thou dost encircle is an Universal Heart. - Liber LXV, Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente, III. 17-20. We see here explicitly that Crowley is referring to the snake as a symbol of time, wrapped about matter. The whole of Liber LXV is a paean to unity beyond divisibility, “For the colours are many, but the light is one”.[52] Frieda Harris found the challenge of the card in the detail: No. 2 Disks is on the stocks, is the serpent's eye to be red? It is a bit awkward, as there are several colours introduced in that card which do not belong to Jupiter and Capricorn, I mean the 4 element colours and they make inharmonious patches. Did you say anything about jewels on the serpent? I think you will like him. The vile lettering will have to start again, it makes me cross and ache all over.[53] The astrological correspondences of the card are to Jupiter and Capricorn. There is a conflict between this planet and sign in that Jupiter is expansive and Capricorn is conservative. So, Crowley writes, “in practical matters the good Fortune of Jupiter is very limited”.[54] There will be change, as Jupiter also corresponds to the Wheel of Fortune, but it will be within existing limits. This may be a very good thing if we would like stability and surety during a period of change, rather than chaos and uncertainty. Golden Dawn: The harmony of change, alternation of gain and loss; weakness and strength; everchanging occupation; wandering, discontented with any fixed condition of things; now elated, then melancholy; industrious, yet unreliable; fortunate through prudence of management, yet sometimes unaccountably foolish; alternatively, talkative and suspicious. Kind, yet wavering and inconsistent. Fortunate in journeying. Argumentative.

In a Reading: There is movement and change in the past, present or future, dependent on the position and context of the card. The change will develop in harmony with the existing situation and any constraints or opportunities. It may also unite elements that were somewhat opposite, be they people or apparently conflicting expectations or aims.

Three of Disks: WORK Image: A pyramid is viewed from above, seemingly split on the outside edges. It is semi-transparent, and we see a red wheel at each of its triangular bases. The surrounding background is of coruscating dunes or waves. Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Capricorn. Crowley saw this card as an entirely positive influence. The astrological correspondence of Mars in Capricorn, in which sign Mars is exalted, gives it the best combination of Fire and Earth; Crowley often seems happier with these two elements than Water and Air. The Three of Disks is the basic form of the universe, the “material establishment” of creation.[55] The structural aspect of Binah, ‘understanding’ is applied to the realm of Assiah, ‘action’. In a sense, the literal interpretation is that Work is simply the understanding of action, or rather ‘understanding in action’. Crowley wrote that the essential Great Work was the knowledge and conversation of our Holy Guardian Angel, and other ‘gods’ or ‘Masters’ who might assist us transcend ourselves. He felt that society was likely to suffer yet another evolutionary collapse, this time due to knowledge being “loose, without control of Will and of Intelligence”.[56] The design of the card provides us with the pyramid which we see utilised as a symbol in much of Crowley. It stands as a representation of Binah on the other side of the Abyss which separates the awareness of separateness from that of unity. In the Three of Disks, in ‘Work’, the pyramid “is situated in the great Sea of Binah in the Night of Time, but the sea is solidified”.[57] Our understanding has become one with the Work of all Creation; there is no division between what we are doing and that of which we are aware. In this state, even time is stilled; everything stops, and the “clouds are astonished”.[58] The pyramid stands on three wheels, representing all forms of trinity; the elements of Air, Fire and Water (the Pyramid is Earth); the alchemical Mercury, Sulphur and Salt; the Hindu Sattvas, Rajas and Tamas; and the Hebrew mother letters of Aleph, Shin and Mem. In the Three of Disks we see the colour scheme used to dramatic effect. The background is mottled with dark grey, with waves or dunes of indigo and green. The edges of the pyramid are green, although Crowley describes them as having “a strong reddish tint, showing the influence of Mars”.[59] It could be that Harris painted the Wheels in red to show this influence. Golden Dawn: Working and constructive force, building up, creation, erection; realization and increase of material things; gain in commercial transactions, rank; increase of substance, influence, cleverness in business, selfishness. Commencement of matters to be established later. Narrow and prejudiced. Keen in matters of gain; sometimes given to seeking after impossibilities. In a Reading: The nature of this card is constructive, so it brings work and progress to any situation. It means that there will be an increase of the matter in a structured manner. In a relationship, this would be in terms of gifts and influence – the giving or receiving of them, as token of the emotional bond.

Four of Disks: POWER Image: A square fortress is viewed from above, each tower bearing a symbol of the four elements. Three gates and a portcullis are set about the castle, with walls forming an additional defence about the moat. Astrological Correspondence: Sun in Capricorn. The work on the Disks or Pantacles followed the Swords and probably the Cups, as Harris worked through the Suits. As she plodded through the Pantacles, she wrote: “I have been stodging up the remaining cards. The fortress or 4 Pantacles is well on the way”.[60] We see this Fortress clearly in the card, which is modelled on the diagram of the four Watchtowers in the Enochian system of John Dee and Edward Kelly. This system of communicating with Angels was taken up by the Golden Dawn and as we saw in the first volume of this present trilogy, found expression in the Major Arcana of the Thoth Tarot. The card represents the Sun in Capricorn and has the keyword of Power. It is the power of structure and order in matter. Much like the Four of Swords representing Truce, this card represents a power which is the “Law, the Constitution, with no aggressive element”.[61] It is a card of negotiation, arrangement, accord, and agreement; a stabilisation of the four quarters. Crowley suggests this card is not, however, stationary, it is in movement; it is the “dead centre” of Engineering. In this, he is as ever exact; the ‘dead centre’ of any form of reciprocating engine is the point at which the piston is closest to or furthest from the crankshaft. It is the point when we are pedalling a bicycle and the pedal is at the top or bottom of its movement. A moment when we cannot exert any turning force but must either apply force tangentially or from another crankshaft in a sequence; the basis of a piston engine. The card brings security in power, a rightness to argument, a firm hold on the present matter. It encourages us to organise and make firm arrangements without any ambiguity. It is a practical card of practical matters, even in an emotional question. Crowley adds to this card that it corresponds to the Hexagram Khwan, which he then compares to words in English which sound the same and represent the feminine, such as Queen. His chain of thought then takes him to words deriving from the root ‘cas-‘ such as ‘castle’, then ‘chest’, ‘chaste’ and ‘incest’.[62] He concludes that these words have a root guttural sound, reminding him of Gimel, Cheth, and Kaph and hence the Moon, Chariot (Grail) and Wheel; and from there, that they symbolise the two passages of the body; the throat and the channels of “reproduction and elimination” at the other end of the body.[63] This may relate to “power” or castles, or the Sun in Capricorn, however it is something that perhaps a tarot reader may never know they have missed, nor have much impact on our readings. Golden Dawn: Assured material gain: success, rank, dominion, earthy power, completed but leading to nothing beyond. Prejudicial, covetous, suspicious, careful and orderly, but discontented. Little enterprise or originality. According to dignity as usual. In a Reading: Take time to organise yourself and build up a defence for later protection. You may be in the calm before a storm, so batten down the hatches and

prepare for battle. Make certain of your friends, settle any minor debts or agreements, bring everything to rest – in this you will gain the necessary power. Imagine you are the Emperor and bringing order to your empire – be sure and certain, taking any other cards in the reading as good counsel.

Five of Disks: WORRY Image: Five disks bearing the symbols of the Tattvas are arranged in a reversed pentagram. They are placed upon other disks which are in turn supported by cog-like disks. Astrological Correspondence: Mercury in Taurus. There is a negativity in all the Fives of the Thoth, corresponding to the influence of Geburah in the Tree of Life, which brings disruption and a halting to the steady expansion of the Fours. The nature of this might be compared to putting on the brakes on a car, giving it control, slowing down a dangerous or unmaintainable acceleration, whilst at the same time causing the car to shudder and potentially lose – rather than gain - control. Being in the world of manifestation, this card shows the long-term stability of a situation which is always on the edge of disruption. It is the edge of a catastrophe cusp; the moment before initiation and change. Crowley points out that the disruption of this card is illustrated well by the inherent and elemental difference between Mercury and Taurus; the decan of the card. It is an earthquake in slow-motion; a slow seismic shift of attachment. It causes concern and worry because one can literally feel the ground slipping away from underneath. Something trusted, taken for granted, virtually forgotten as a concern, is shifting. In a straight-forward way, it requires that intelligence (Mercury) is applied to labour (Taurus). It suggests a re-think of one’s effort and time, and subsequent – even if worrying – changes. Whilst putting on the brakes, we may either have to pump them in short bursts or turn the steering wheel and adjust our course in conjunction to the braking. There is a strain implied in the card, particularly if you intend to hold the bare bones of the situation together. This may be possible, “yet the symbol implies long-continued inactivity”.[64] It could be that you must seek other alternatives, whilst placing the current situation in a long-term holding pattern, perhaps waiting for a better time or opportunity. Crowley describes the background of this card as “angry, ugly red with yellow markings”.[65] The disks are arranged in the form of a reversed pentagram, showing the instability which is already built into the matter. There is the possibility to maintain the essential elements of the situation, suggested by a correspondence to the five Tatvas. [66]

Golden Dawn: Loss of money or position. Trouble about material things. Labour, toil, land cultivation; building, knowledge and acuteness of earthly things, poverty, carefulness, kindness; sometimes money regained after severe toil and labour. Unimaginative, harsh, stem, determined, obstinate. In a Reading: The whole matter is remorselessly shifting to a different state. Rather than worry, it might be best to strip it down to its essentials and wait for another time. Whatever you decide, unless abandoned completely, it will slowly drain resources and cause concern.

Six of Disks: SUCCESS Image: Six spheres are arranged in a circle about a glowing Rose-Cross design in the centre of the card. The whole makes a hexagram, from which six rays emit against a background of concentric circles and rays. Astrological Correspondence: Moon in Taurus. The Six of Disks is called by Crowley “Success” and follows the Golden Dawn title of “Material Success”. In astrological terms, this is the card of the Moon in Taurus, in which sign the Moon is exalted and therefore positive. Tiphareth, the sixth Sephirah, means “beauty”, and is at the heart of the Tree of Life. It is seen as the ‘son’ and corresponds to the ‘Sun’, and as such corresponds further to the redeemer, the Messiah, the reconciler and the harmonious equilibrium of the universe. It has a central function between Kether and Malkuth and holds all things in connection. However, this is a very delicate and pure balance. It can be easily disturbed. The design of the card shows - at first glance - little of the projective geometry and strange non-Euclidian swirling of many of the other cards. However, there is a perspective-shift in obvious view on the card. The card itself shows a top-down view and a sideways view of a Rose-Cross Altar at the same time. It is an embodiment of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram as seen by the Adept, where one has drawn the Tree of Life around oneself in a flat horizontal plane and then by implication of the ritual wording, the Tree then becomes a vertical plane at the same time. This impossible state must transcend the critical faculty and exist in pure awareness without conscious thought or reactive emotion – the state of Tiphareth. It is the altar in the temple which also corresponds to Tiphareth, the central self upon which the four elements are maintained. The symbol of the Rose-Cross is in its simplest manifestation, a sign of growth and hence success. So, the card means success, yet it is a success that is instant and pure, without attention. We must not be attached to it, for (like the Moon) it is transitory and in constant change of phase-state, even in the earthy Taurus. We must mutter, “this too, will pass”. Crowley captures the optimum state of this card by his dictum of working ‘without lust of result’. We are advised to find ourselves fully in the moment as it arises and then be constantly in that flow. This is obviously harder to do than to suggest. The card shows how the six planets are only manifestations of the central solar light – they are not things in themselves. If we try to grasp this “success” it will vanish like a mirage – and much less are we advised to go and chase it further into the desert. In the Book of the Law, Crowley mentions “success” three times, most well-known in the phrase, “Success is thy proof: argue not; convert not; talk not over much!”.[67] It is of note that success is combined with silence and courage here, which are both repeated in association with the two other mentions of success; “Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any!”[68] and “Yet to all it shall seem beautiful. Its enemies who say not so, are mere liars. There is success. I am the Hawk-Headed Lord of Silence & of Strength; my nemyss shrouds the night-blue sky”.[69]

This is a success that we must neither shy away from nor grasp, a success that is assured by its very appearance, not by our speaking of it, a success that is silent and swift. It is present in every moment of creation when we are most still, and in that stillness is seen “how brief a halt on the Path of Labour”.[70] Golden Dawn: Success and gain in material undertakings. Power, influence, rank, nobility, rule over the people. Fortunate, successful, liberal and just. If ill dignified, may be purse-proud, insolent from excess, or prodigal. In a Reading: This wholly positive card is most welcome in a reading unless it appears in the past and is followed by negative cards. It signifies literal success, in a manifest or financial manner. There is a warning that we must not get carried away with it and enjoy it for its own sake – use the time to take stock of the future, perhaps. In any question, this card bodes well, and heralds a quiet time when things will appear balanced. It is not a time to rock the boat, dwell on the past or act. Keep it simple whilst there is time for it.

Seven of Disks: FAILURE Image: Blackened leaves hang upon a symmetrical and stylised plant like feathers, barely bearing the seven disks which hang upon them. The whole is arranged in the geomantic sign of Rubeus. There is a sense of spoilage to the image which is set against a black background. Astrological Correspondence: Saturn in Taurus. The Sevens of the Thoth Tarot are entirely negative with respect to their position on the Tree of Life. They are further down the Tree and unbalanced on one pillar. At least the Eight’s get to balance them, even if they too are off-centre. Whilst the Sevens all correspond to Netzach, which means “victory”, it is always a lower victory and a transient one. Netzach also corresponds to Venus, the feminine and the lower reflection of Saturn and Binah. In the first of the Sevens working up, the Disks, we have the base and earthy Seven, to which applies Saturn in Taurus. When combined with the lower nature of Venus, this card is pure failure. It is, as Crowley puts it, a situation when “there is no effort here; not even dream; the stake has been thrown down, and it is lost. That is all. Labour itself is abandoned; everything is sunk in sloth”.[71] The card itself carries this meaning with an image of blight, poison and spoil. This card to me is “Ruination”. Crowley suggests the Pentacles, forged in Saturnine lead, show “bad money”.[72] Whatever evil has entered one’s garden has finished its work of destruction and there is no rescue, resurrection or return – it is time to leave, burn and start afresh. In Geomancy, the figure of this card, the way the Disks are arranged, is called Rubeus. This means “red” and it signifies great evil; “passion, deception, violence and vice”. Again, a ruination of the natural senses and pleasures. I particularly like that it is figured as a cup, reversed, turned on its head. That carries for me the deep meaning of this card, that one has totally emptied oneself, lost oneself, and whatever is left is therefore empty and meaningless. When this card appears, I wonder what values have been upturned for the situation signified by this card to have “failed” so totally. Golden Dawn: Promises of success unfulfilled. (Shewn, as it were, by the fact that the rosebuds do not come to anything.) Loss of apparently promising fortune. Hopes deceived and crushed. Disappointment, misery, slavery, necessity and baseness. A cultivator of land, and yet a loser thereby. Sometimes it denotes slight and isolated gains with no fruits resulting therefrom, and of no further account, though seeming to promise well. In a Reading: As the previous card in the Disks is entirely positive, so this one is entirely negative. It can often be a fine line between success and failure. In this card we read that the matter will fail, if it has not started to do so already. There can only be blight and poison from this card if it signifies a choice or action. It is very similar in reading to the original Book T description of this card as a farmer who has lost his only crop. It is time to burn everything to the ground or simply walk away to a new field, learning what lessons we can from this disaster.

Eight of Disks: PRUDENCE Image: A small trunk unfurls into eight flowers which are designed to contain spinning solar wheels. It is set against a verdant mountainous background but most of the background is a simple yellow or golden light. The green leaves of the plant are slightly wilted in the sun yet curl around to protect the flowers. Astrological Correspondence: Sun in Virgo. Here’s what Crowley says, of Prudence, the Eight of Disks; “there is a sort of strength in doing nothing at all”.[73] I’m not sure that Crowley himself understood that dictum, but it is certainly the one he puts for this card. He goes further to describe the atmosphere of the card: One thinks of Queen Victoria’s time, of a man who is ‘something in the city’ rolling up to town with Albert the Good advertised by his watch-chain and frockcoat; on the surface he is very affable, but he is nobody’s fool.[74] The card is about the calculation of risk - it has the sense of investment as well as engineering. It is “intelligence lovingly applied to material matters”.[75] Each of the fruits of the Tree can be seen as one of the eight components of Prudence, in terms of philosophy: Memoria — Accurate memory; that is, memory that is true to reality Intelligentia — Understanding of first principles Docilitas — The kind of open-mindedness that recognizes the true variety of things and situations to be experienced, and does not cage itself in any presumption of deceptive knowledge; the ability to make use of the experience and authority of others to make prudent decisions Shrewdness or quick-wittedness (solertia) — sizing up a situation on one's own quickly Discursive reasoning (ratio) — research and compare alternative possibilities Foresight (providentia) — capacity to estimate whether a particular action will lead to the realization of our goal Circumspection — ability to take all relevant circumstances into account Caution — risk mitigation When we receive this card in a reading, we can use it to ensure we have all eight elements of “prudence” fully considered before making any judgement. As Crowley says of all the Eight cards in the Minor Arcana, they somewhat correct the mistakes of the Sevens.[76] Golden Dawn: Over-careful in small things at the expense of great: "Penny wise and pound foolish": gain of ready money in small sums; mean; avaricious; industrious; cultivation of land; hoarding, lacking in enterprise. In a Reading: It is time to take time. A new cycle is starting, the tide is turning, which will be beneficial if you keep hard at work. There will be gain to patience, and reward for prudence. You may feel as if there are things you need to do, but it is a time for retirement from the situation. Keep an eye on it, let it develop and you will know when it is time to take the harvest. Things are going well, just leave it as it is, rather than prodding at it.

Nine of Disks: GAIN Image: Against a green and geometrical background, three circles are arranged in the centre of this card. The six remaining disks are placed about these central disks and are adorned with sketched portraits created from the planetary symbols. The central circles irradiate outwards, illustrating that these three become the six, creating the nine. Astrological Correspondence: Venus in Virgo. Thee four Nine cards in the Thoth Tarot are low enough down the Tree to be solid, yet not at the end, so they are the state that “everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”.[77] Crowley finds great delight in describing this card; “it purrs with satisfaction at having harvested what it sowed; it rubs its hands and sits at ease”.[78] When reading the Thoth Tarot, looking at some of these abstract images, don’t be afraid to hear the sound they are making. Crowley and Harris designed and painted them as illustrations of the entire engine of creation – it makes a noise. This card is “good luck by good management” according to Crowley and it shows more deeply the descent in matter of the original energy of manifestation, now somewhat exhausted and taking on form, structure and solidity.[79] As the energy of a Suit drops down from the Ace to the Ten, it both degrades and becomes more complicated, according to Crowley. The Nine of Disks is shows three ‘pure’ circles and six actual ‘coins’, denoting that our idea of ‘gain’ is partly abstract and mainly physical. In a reading, we might describe this as showing a gain yet also counselling that we recall the origination of our desire – have we gained but lost something in doing so? There is a wonderful design upon the coins of this card by Harris, who has taken the symbol of each planet and created a portrait around it, suited to the nature of the planet. Hence, Mercury is a young figure with the symbol of Mercury forming a lunar crown and a pendant, whereas the symbol of Jupiter forms a regal crown and elderly portrait. We can also characterise these planetary forms as different attitudes to finances; the entrepreneurial Mercury to the well-established and expansive Jupiter; the cautious and reflective Moon, and the pleasure-loving Venus. When this card appears in a reading we might wish to identify which planets are active in gain and which might be losing out. Golden Dawn: Complete realization of material gain, good, riches; inheritance; covetous; treasuring of goods; and sometimes theft and knavery. The whole according to dignity. In a Reading: In the way of the later cards in the Disks, the Eight shows increasing good luck in material affairs. It is a time to keep managing the situation as you have already done and finding favour with others as a result. This card basically says, “keep up the good work”, and you are being recognised. There may be a danger that the initial enthusiasm for the situation is wearing out or things are inevitably more complicated at this stage, but you are within sight of the finishing line and gaining ground.

Ten of Disks: WEALTH Image: The ten disks are here clearly coins, golden and green, arranged in the figure of the Tree of Life. They each bear a different type or level of correspondence with the Mercurial symbol, such as their divine name, alchemical correspondence or astrological attribution. The coins are laid out on a background of similar coins, in a contrasting purple against the yellow disks. Astrological Correspondence: Mercury in Virgo. In the Ten of Disks we see the Tree of Life in plain sight. Crowley writes for this card: The Ten of Disks is called Wealth. Here again is written this constantly recurring doctrine, that as soon as one gets to the bottom one finds oneself at the top; and Wealth is given to Mercury in Virgo. When wealth accumulates beyond a certain point, it must either become completely inert and cease to be wealth or call in the aid of intelligence to use it rightly. This must necessarily happen in spheres which have nothing whatever to do with material possessions, as such. In this way, Carnegie establishes a Library, Rockefeller endows Research, simply because there is nothing else to do. But all this doctrine lies behind the card; it is the inner meaning of the card. There is another view to consider, that this is the last of all the cards, and therefore represents the sum total of all the work that has been done from the beginning. Therefore, in it is drawn the very figure of the Tree of Life itself. This card, to the other thirty-five small cards, is what the twenty-first Trump, The Universe, is to the rest of the Trumps.[80] When this card appears in a reading it is not only wealth that we must consider, but the application of wealth. What is it the client must do with the wealth or situation to reignite it, to avoid stagnation. This is a card right on the edge of resource, it is a dangerous house where the wealth can become a trap, a loss of freedom, an end with no beginning. Each of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life here have the symbol of Mercury, the communicator but also the God of merchants (and thieves). In a reading we can say that our life has become full of opportunity to recognise wealth and yet that has a price – in every area. There is only one Sephirah where the symbol of Mercury does not appear – Hod, itself corresponding to Mercury. Here we see the six-pointed symbol of the Sun. Crowley writes: These disks are inscribed with various symbols of mercurial character except that the coin in the place of Hod (Mercury) on the Tree is marked with the cipher of the Sun. This indicates the only possibility of issue from the impasse produced by the exhaustion of all the elemental forces. At the end of matter must be complete stagnation, were it not that in it is always inherent the Will of the Father, the Great Architect, the Great Arithmetician, the Great Geometer. In this case, then, Mercury will represent the Logos, the Word, the Will, the Wisdom, the Eternal Son, and Virgo the Virgin, in every implication of that symbol. This card is in fact a hieroglyph of the cycle of regeneration.[81]

It is Mercury as “the Word”, the Will, that has descended all the way into matter, and must be sparked again as a new Sun to restore the world. In everyday terms, this means we must recall ourselves, our original plans and ambitions, become aware of ourselves and then use our resources to create. When this card appears, it is a reminder that we have (or will need, or are) to look intelligently at what we can accomplish with the wealth of the world on offer. A new beginning. Golden Dawn: Completion of material gain and fortune; but nothing beyond: as it were, at the very pinnacle of success. Old age, slothfulness; great wealth, yet sometimes loss in part; heaviness; dullness of mind, yet clever and prosperous in money transactions. In a Reading: As the final card of the Disks, the Ten signifies a completion or end to the matter. It may simply be interpreted as wealth, but there is not much future in it. It could be a wealth of time, money or resources, a wealth of love, even, but it is given and done now. The response to this card is to ask what are you going to do with it? Whether it is a predictive card or a retrospective one, the same question applies; what to do? In terms of the Tree of Life, it is perhaps advised to communicate your wealth by doing something with it; if it is a wealth of time, use it to start something new; a wealth of money, invest or spend it; if a wealth of relationship, engage with it fully.

THE SWORDS Ace: ROOT OF THE POWERS OF AIR Two: PEACE Three: SORROW Four: TRUCE Five: DEFEAT Six: SCIENCE Seven: FUTILITY Eight: INTERFERENCE Nine: CRUELTY Ten: WORRY

Ace of Swords Image: An upright sword, upon which is written THELEMA in Greek characters, pierces a radiating crown. A crystalline pattern is set behind it, which in turn is outlined by clouds. A snake coils around the handle of the sword, and the hilt is composed of three spheres and two lunar crescents. Elemental Correspondence: Air. The uneven writing of the Book of Thoth is very much apparent in the Aces; the Ace of Wands has more external references than content, the Ace of Pentacles holds two or more pages than the others, full of Gematria to demonstrate Crowley’s New Aeon, the Ace of Cups is merely a passing comment based on the Golden Dawn card, and finally, the Ace of Swords contains another complex and confusing treatise on the nature of mind and spirit, to which even Crowley himself admits: The student must be referred to some less raw, cursory, elementary and superficial Treatise than this present bat-eyed, penguin-winged, bluebottle-brained buzzing.[82] Harris also wrote in some confusion about the detail of the card to Crowley: About the Sword Ace. You mention an inscription to be done on the blade. Arabic Damascened work. What is it? I have your weather chart-design.[83] There is further complexity to be found in the concept of hierarchies, as we have seen already in the Aces. Crowley notes that “The study of the subtle and gradual degradation of the planes is excessively difficult”.[84] Golden Dawn: It represents, therefore, very great power for good or evil, but invoked; and it also represents whirling Force, and strength through trouble. It is the affirmation of Justice upholding Divine Authority; and it may become the Sword of Wrath, Punishment, and Affliction. In a Reading: From the Golden Dawn, we can use the interpretation of this card as “strength through trouble”, also “a very great power” if it is deliberate and willed thought – if it is “invoked”.[85] It is a good thought or an evil thought, which if acted upon, if the hilt is grasped, will cause definite impact.

Two of Swords: PEACE Image: Two swords are crossed in diagonals against a whirling geometric pattern. The swords pierce through a Lotus in the centre of the image and their hilts are extremely decorative. Upon the hilts are placed two praying angels, one upright and one reversed. Two smaller daggers are included at the top and base of the card, supporting the two symbols of the zodiacal and planetary correspondences. Astrological Correspondence: Moon in Libra. In this card we particularly take a tour in the Book of Thoth through Crowley’s complex worldview. In the brief section on the “Four Twos” we are asked to locate and read two other essays by Crowley; given a Latin quote from the Roman poet Catullus (whom we have met before); greeted in passing by an ancient Egyptian deity; and provided an analogy using the scientific concept of isomers. This is even before we get to the card description elsewhere in the book, which relies on Kabbalah, Astrology, Numerology and a dash of Rosicrucianism to describe the detail of the image, all in another single and dense page. It is no wonder readers may find the Book of Thoth inaccessible. It may be that Crowley himself had some difficulty with the concept of peace; he sees it here as a dynamic process rather than a static state. All the swords, he writes, being ‘intellectual’ are “complicated and disordered”.[86] We can only wonder if this was how he himself experienced his own intelligence. Frieda Harris complained that one night she had been “haunted all night by your [Crowley’s] complicated mind”.[87] Not only that, but the photograph being used by Harris for the Two of Swords was lost along with notes that she had taken when they were dictated to her by Crowley in the garden of Morton House. These notes included all the Sword cards other than the Three of Swords and Harris suspected they had been taken out of her briefcase during a “war-minded” search at the House.[88] Nonetheless, the Two of Swords “manifests the very best possible idea” of the Swords; it is a comparative calm, existing above the “onslaught of disruption”.[89] So, the card might be considered a simple idea, an innocence or purity that exists in the early stages of a thought process or project. There is an antagonism, natural to any thought, logic or decision, but it is presently held in a state of harmony. The rose in the design represents the influence of Binah, waiting to receive the energy from Chockmah, which relationship creates the geometric patterns on the card and a state of equilibrium. Golden Dawn: Contradictory characters in the same nature, strength through suffering; pleasure after pain. Sacrifice and trouble, yet strength arising therefrom, symbolized by the position of the rose, as though the pain itself had brought forth beauty. Arrangement, peace restored; truce; truth and untruth; sorrow and sympathy. Aid to the weak; arrangement; justice, unselfishness; also, a tendency to repetition of affronts on being pardoned; injury when meaning well; given to petitions; also a want of tact, and asking question of little moment; talkative. In a Reading: Think carefully and quietly, it is not time to disturb the peace. Do not rush into decisions, keep the peace for now. Maintain a calm and patient attitude,

allowing other elements or people to take action and reveal themselves. Hold your nerve and keep your silence, it is a waiting game – for now.

Three of Swords: SORROW Image: Against a dark background of cloudy waves and jagged triangular spurs, a central sword is placed upright, piercing a white rose. The rose is shedding petals and two small curved swords pierce it from either side. The hilt of the central sword is as others of these cards, based on the Solomonic grimoire design, whilst the two smaller swords bear strangely curved handles. Astrological Correspondence: Saturn in Libra. Crowley makes the point that this card is not one of individual sorrow, as it is above the Abyss, and belongs to Binah. He describes it as “Weltschmerz”, a universal sorrow – a sense of melancholy. The term, coined by German author Jean Paul (1763 - 1825) means not just a ‘world-weariness’, the literal translation, but rather the sense that the physical world cannot meet the expectations of the mind and imagination. It was thus a popular concept for the romantics and decadents, who influenced Crowley. He refers us also to an “extremely difficult doctrine” to be found in The Vision and the Voice: Aethyr 14. In this vision of Binah and the dissolution of the mystic into a state of negation, Crowley writes: And the Beatific Vision is no more, and the glory of the Most High is no more. There is no more knowledge. There is no more bliss. There is no more power. There is no more beauty. For this is the Palace of Understanding: for thou art one with the Primeval things. We see in this verse, as through the whole of the vision, a summation of the grades of initiation leading to the uppermost states of mystical consciousness; the “beatific vision” is assigned to Tiphareth on the Tree of Life and the grade of the Adeptus Minor, the “glory of the Most High” is the connection of Tiphareth to Kether at the top of the Tree. There is a negation of knowledge (Da’ath), bliss (Chesed), power (Geburah) and beauty (Tiphareth). This is true understanding – Binah. Crowley is not hiding these secrets in his text and visionary material, these are the literal translations of the titles of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life. Most specifically, this vision of the 14th Aethyr includes the call-back to which Crowley is referring, some thirty-five years later - the Vision and the Voice was recorded in 1909, the Book of Thoth was written in 1944; And I was about to answer him: "The light is within me." But before I could frame the words, he answered me with the great word that is the Key of the Abyss. And he said: Thou hast entered the night; dost thou yet lust for day? Sorrow is my name, and affliction. The conclusion of the vision also demonstrates how Crowley saw the Three of Swords as illustrative of its doctrine some thirty-five years later: And as a flaming sword is it dropt through the abyss, where the four beasts keep watch and ward. And it appeareth in the heaven of Jupiter as a morning star, or as an evening star. And the light thereof shineth even unto the earth, and bringeth hope and help to them that dwell in the darkness of thought, and drink of the poison of life. The whole card is an inversion (a mystical one) of the usual state of mind; even an initiated mind seeking the “light that shineth in the darkness”. In the higher levels of

mystical consideration, the light becomes darkness again, and thought reaches an abyss of comprehension, beyond which is only dissolution and understanding, followed by wisdom and unity. Overall, the card suggests that whilst there may be a “intense lurking passion to create”, nothing good can come of it. Everything is too held back and the secrecy has bred discontent.[90] Golden Dawn: Disruption, interruption, separation, quarrelling; sowing of discord and strife, mischief-making, sorrow and tears; yet mirth in Platonic pleasures; singing, faithfulness in promises, honesty in money transactions, selfish and dissipated, yet sometimes generous: deceitful in words and repetitions; the whole according to dignity. In a Reading: In a reading, this card is “dark and heavy”, nothing may be created from it - despite the urge to do so. Anything created will be formless and chaotic. The operative advice may be to “under-stand”; to literally “stand under” whatever is arising and submit to it, no matter how dark it may appear. In doing so, at least we have a little agency – the last possible agency; the “great sword of the Magician” has “destroyed the rose” and in the background, “storm broods under implacable night”.

Four of Swords: TRUCE Image: Four swords are laid out in a St. Andrew’s Cross, their points meeting in the centre of a stylised rose of forty-nine petals. The Swords are encompassed by a green cross which is set against the background of interlocked geometrically shapes. The rose appears to radiate out from the points of the swords. Astrological Correspondence: Jupiter in Libra. In Crowley’s sight, the “truce” of this card is a relatively martial one. As with the “power” of the Four of Disks, this truce is dynamic, is a force held in abeyance, and not at all passive. The correspondence with Air in the Swords makes a “masculine” energy, so the truce is “the strong man armed, keeping his house in peace”.[91] The quote is biblical: 21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Luke 11:21 Crowley further sees the card as an illustration of the “military clan” system of society; an idea he referred to earlier in his works when writing about the development of Freemasonry: For the "sacrifice of the Innocent" celebrated alike in Lodge and in Cathedral is this identical Murder of the Master by the Fellow-Craftsmen, that is of the Father by his Sons, when the ape-system of the "Father-horde" was replaced by the tribal system which developed into the "military clan"![92] He had written about the “military clan” elsewhere, during his political writings in New York, during World War I. He called for an “enlightened feudalism” and took a provocative stance on national identities. However, he did conclude: But we shall never begin to talk peace till we begin to think peace; and we shall never begin to think peace till we have got ourselves into thinking, instead of feeling. And we shall never do that until we realize that the two things are different. [93]

Golden Dawn: Rest from sorrow; yet after and through it. Peace from and after war. Relaxation of anxiety. Quietness, rest, ease and plenty, yet after struggle. Goods of this life; abundance; modified by dignity as is usual. In a Reading: This card declares a truce only if you are in charge and the person to call the truce. It suggests taking a position of strength and owning what is yours to own. In every case, the appearance of this card suggests a return to base; perhaps a return to first principles or a hiatus in a relationship to allow time to gather the facts. There needs to be a re-ordering of thoughts and a halt to decision-making. It is a card that suggests we take a step back and a deep breath before continuing with any situation.

Five of Swords: DEFEAT Image: This card bears a terrible and disjointed background of chaotic shapes and colours. The five swords are placed in the position of a reversed pentagram, and a further shape is made by the disintegrated petals of the rose in the previous card. The swords are curved or jagged, each with a different handle. Astrological Correspondence: Venus in Aquarius. In this card, Crowley suggests that it is a growing weakness that has led to defeat, rather than a fight which has been lost. The defeat, he proposes, is due to pacificism and enfeebled sentiment, rather than taking up a cause and being overcome in a challenge. There may even be “treachery” involved in the situation.[94] The card suggests that we have become weak and allowed our state to be disrupted, through a lack of care and attention, management, and empowered acts. It is the negative side of Aquarius, Venus and Geburah; passive love rather than active love, universalism rather than utility, an allowance of decay to set in against an original virtue. In everyday terms, we have been too soft and as a result, someone or something has taken advantage and defeated us. It is almost entirely negative, in that “The quarrel has actually broken out”.[95] At least, to some extent, the issue is manifest, there is likely no more dirty laundry or skeletons in the closet; the card shows a stage beyond any previous truce. Crowley explains that the Five of Disks and the Six of Swords are both “equally evil”. [96] The worlds become more prone to disruption as they manifest; in this case, the worlds of Atziluth and Briah (Emanation and Creation), which correspond to the Wands and Cups, have created Yetzirah (Formation) which corresponds to the Swords. In turn, the world of Assiah (Action) or Disks has then become manifest. This has created a duality represented by Yetzirah and Assiah – which is imperfect, meaning that the Swords and Disks are quite negative in the universe of the Thoth Tarot. We might also see this as the inevitable difference between what we think (Swords) and how the world actually is (Disks), or how our model of reality is limited. Whilst this may seem entirely abstract, in a reading it can be a useful consideration. Where there are plenty of Disks and Swords in a reading, particularly if they are Fives, there is a disconnect between how the world actually may be and how the client (or ourselves) is seeing it. This may even indicate that the way in which they have explained their situation, the people involved, and their own feelings, may be totally different to the real situation. In this poisonous card, Crowley makes one his most directly racist statements; he refers to the fables “of the vilest of the parasitic races”, almost certainly referring to the Jewish people. This statement has been deliberately ignored – even redirected to a more positive (but unrelated) statement by Harris, in at least one book on the Thoth Tarot. Crowley uses racist, sexist and anti-religious language throughout his writings, such as referring to the ‘Heathen’ as “Christians and other troglodytes”, etc.[97] How we respond to this is an individual matter – we can also see that other esotericists demonstrated similar language, including Dion Fortune. As we saw in Volume I of this present series, Crowley’s socio-political view was ‘radical conservative’ and might now

be termed ‘anti-liberal’. Above all, he considered himself a thelemite – one defined by his own individuality. Taking this statement to one side, when writing about this card, Crowley is referring to the fall of civilisations and cultures in a regular pattern, corresponding to the Four and Five of Swords. He suggests we draw parallels from historical events such as the fall of Rome and the decay of idealistic religious or political intent, to his current time and the “cognate phenomena displayed before the present generation”.[98] Golden Dawn: Contest finished and decided against the person; failure, defeat, anxiety, trouble, poverty, avarice, grieving after gain, laborious, unresting; loss and vileness of nature; malicious, slanderous, lying, spiteful and tale-bearing. A busybody and separator of friends, hating to see peace and love between others. Cruel, yet cowardly, thankless and unreliable. Clever and quick in thought and speech. Feelings of pity easily roused, but unenduring. In a Reading: Whatever ideals you may hold will be – or have already been – disrupted, subject to the location of the card in a reading. There may have been people working behind your back, who no longer feel that you are in control of the situation. You have allowed yourself (or may) to become passive, which is being seen as weakness. It is probably already too late to change the situation, so it may be best to look at other cards for solutions and escape strategies, rather than dwell any further on the matter at hand.

Six of Swords: SCIENCE Image: Against an array of intersecting graph-like lines, six rapiers are arranged in a hexagram which is upon a circle and square. The points of the blades meet in the centre of a rose-cross. The graphical motifs of Air – a stylised pin-wheel design - are scattered across the intersections of the geometric background. Astrological Correspondence: Mercury in Aquarius. In the Six of Swords, we meet the card of Science. Crowley calls this card “Science” and other than a few cursory comments in the Book of Thoth about intelligence winning to its goal, leaves it at that. A definition of the card is given as “the perfect balance of all mental and moral faculties”.[99] However it is to Magick in Theory and Practice we can turn for insight into Crowley’s take on Science. In a footnote, buried in the chapter on ‘Clairvoyance and the Body of Light’, to an aside on the nature of Oracles – and particularly the Tarot – Crowley writes this: The main difference between a Science and an Art is that the former admits mensuration. Its processes must be susceptible of the application of quantitative standards. Its laws reject imponderable variables. Science despises Art for its refusal to conform with calculable conditions. But even to-day, in the boasted Age of Science, man is still dependent on Art as to most matters of practical importance to him; the arts of Government, of War, of Literature, etc. are supremely influential, and Science does little more than facilitate them by making their materials mechanically docile. The utmost extension of Science can merely organize the household of Art. Art thus progresses in perception and power by increased control or automatic accuracy of its details. The MASTER THERION has made an Epoch in the Art of Magick by applying the Method of Science to its problems. His Work is a contribution of unique value, comparable only to that of those men of genius who revolutionized the empirical guesswork of "natural philosophers". The Magicians of tomorrow will be armed with mathematical theory, organized observation, and experimentally-verified practice. But their Art will remain inscrutable as ever in essence; talent will never supplant genius. Education is impotent to produce a poet greater than Robert Burns; the perfection of laboratory apparatus prepares indeed the path of a Pasteur, but cannot make masters of mediocrities.[100] Whilst admitting to Crowley’s grandiose vision of himself, we see here the nature of the card as “facilitating art”, the art of creation. The Rose-Cross in the centre of the card is the mystery of creation, blooming outwards from the central mystery of the Universe. It is science – the mind – that measures and compares, contrasts, and concludes the patterns of the rose. This card was called “earned success” by the Golden Dawn, and Pamela ColmanSmith and Waite had a ferryman punting passengers to a further shore, signifying a journey by water or an expedient. This variation to Crowley is because Waite took his keywords generally from the Golden Dawn, originally written by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, who in turn had taken many of his interpretations from Etteilla.[101] Golden Dawn: Success after anxiety and trouble; self-esteem, beauty, conceit, but sometimes modesty therewith; dominance, patience, labour, etc.

In a Reading: The Science of the Six of Swords signifies the requirement for measured evaluation in a situation. As with the Four of Swords, it suggests a calm and literally measured approach to a challenge. We should take time and observe what is growing, what is not, and what patterns are connected, and what are not. It is a call to measure up and be absolutely realistic in the situation, even if it is hard to do so, particularly in regard to a relationship.

Seven of Swords: FUTILITY Image: In this card the motifs of Air are larger than in other designs – we see that they are created from extending a square in four angles. Against this backdrop is placed a single upright sword, down against which are arrayed six smaller swords, each with a handle denoting a planetary force. Astrological Correspondence: Moon in Aquarius. When we look at the Seven of Swords, we might at first be tempted to see the peaceful and tranquil blue background, almost dream-like, as a lulling and gentle serenity which eases us to rest. The Moon resides in Aquarius, the dreamy vision of the future, it’s so very, very, easy … to fall asleep. Of course, this is exactly why Crowley rails against the card and (following the Golden Dawn) calls it Futility. There is toleration in this card, with the Swords of the Mind being in the realm of Seven, Netzach, the instincts. There is appeasement, compromise, vacillation – the strategies of passive diplomacy. Whilst admitting this may produce results, “with miracles”, Crowley also points out that there will always remain doubt, because of the possibility of attack from “violent uncompromising forces which take it as a natural prey”.[102] This card is thus one of tolerance, however it is a “fluffy bunny” hope that everyone else will tolerate too. Crowley suggests it is instructive to compare the card with the Seven of Wands, where there is ‘Valour’ but the potential to fight a lost cause and waste energy in the battle. We might imagine the smaller Swords in the card are all stabbing at the larger Sword, which ignores them completely. This is the animation of the card. When it comes to oneself, it is a card that shows that you have already made up your mind, despite the jabs from other parts of yourself. You are set in motion, “resistance is futile”. Golden Dawn: Partial success. Yielding when victory is within grasp, as if the last reserves of strength were used up. Inclination to lose when on the point of gaining, through not continuing the effort. Love of abundance, fascinated by display, given to compliments, affronts and insolences, and to spy upon others. Inclined to betray confidences, not always intentionally. Rather vacillatory and unreliable. In a Reading: In terms of divinatory meaning, we can see this card as a ‘snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory’, particularly as “victory” is the literal meaning of the sephirah to which this card belongs - Netzach. It bodes ill for projects that are appearing strong, and perhaps well for weaker projects which may well be better advised to quit ‘throwing bad money (the Seven of Disks) after good’.

Eight of Swords: INTERFERENCE Image: The two rapiers pointed downwards and placed parallel to each other are set against six shorter blades each of which are unique to a particular country. The background is made of triangular designs that demonstrate interference. Astrological Correspondence: Jupiter in Gemini. This card is called “Interference” and I love Crowley’s succinct definition of the type of situation it encapsulates; “it is simply the error of being good-natured when goodnature is disastrous”.[103] I think we may all know that one. Jupiter here is the expansive optimism of the mind, and Gemini the tendency to see both sides of an argument. As a result, like two ripples on an otherwise still pond, we get interference patterns. You can see this card when you ask someone “Do you want to go out to the movies or to a restaurant?” and they start an internal dialogue between themselves – “well, I’d like to see that film, but on the other hand …”. This is “noise” and not “signal”, an interference pattern arising from two thought processes. Of course, this is entirely necessary, however, it must be earthed, otherwise one might be taken advantage of or lose an opportunity to act. Crowley says, “Good fortune … attends even these weak efforts … yet the Will is constantly thwarted by accidental interference”.[104] The two Swords placed in the centre of the card are the divided Will, and the six Swords crossing might be considered the interference patterns. Crowley notes that they remind us of different countries or cults, i.e. belief systems. At a deeper level, one might consider this card the inherent danger of choosing to adhere to one belief more than any other; no matter how “good” the belief might appear. If we were to activate this card in our daily life, any decision, any thought process, any weighing up, any discussion, would be simply decided immediately – or better, acted upon suddenly. We would make no noise nor sit and listen to it. We would create and follow our own signal, cutting through the day like a single Sword, pointed in one direction. This is advice we can offer our client should the card come up in a reading. Golden Dawn: Too much force applied to small things: too much attention to detail at the expense of the principal and more important points. When ill dignified, these qualities produce malice, pettiness, and domineering characteristics. Patience in detail of study; great care in some things, counterbalanced by equal disorder in others. Impulsive; equally fond of giving or receiving money or presents; generous, clever, acute, selfish and without strong feeling of affection. Admires wisdom, yet applies it to small and unworthy objects. In a Reading: In a reading this card shows the nature of a divided mind, which whilst it appears to be progressing, is possibly about to come undone. It is certainly a warning card, cautioning us to also be aware of those who might be accidentally or deliberately causing us problems with our plans. We should take time to work out what is not happening, despite what people say should be happening. Who is dragging their feet, diverting the issue or otherwise getting in the way of progress?

Nine of Swords: CRUELTY Image: Ten swords, with jagged and bitten blades, are arrayed downwards, each dripping blood. In the background, white droplets fall against the Air motifs which in this card are stretched and extended outwards, as if losing cohesion. Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Gemini. The Nine cards are placed in Yesod on the Tree of Life, and as such are the “crystalisation of energy” and the full strength of their elemental suit, in material form.[105] The Nines put on the brakes, whereas the Tens get were carried away with themselves. We see in another Suit, for example, that the Nine of Disks is about gain, harvest, and avoiding over-stepping our resources, braking in the material world so we can enjoy the fruit of our labours – but what happens when we do the same in the World of Swords, or thought? According to the Golden Dawn and Crowley, we get ‘cruelty’ and Harris has certainly done her best to represent that foreshortening of the intellect. It is the Ruach (mind) which has consumed itself and it is left to the conclusion that all is Despair. We can easily see the connection back to the earlier Waite-Smith Tarot version of the figure in mourning, failing to see any point to the Swords and their thoughts. The description Crowley gives us doesn’t improve matters; he uses the phrases “psychopath”, “inquisitor”, “fanatic”, “martyrdom”, “revenge”, “heartless passion”, and “crude rage”.[106] It is through the text descriptions of the Suit of Swords that we come to see much of Crowley’s own mental state and outlook; a complex and furious process, restless and relentless. In everyday terms, this is a card of self-cruelty or poverty of thought. We torture ourselves with doubt, denial and all the other tricks of the exhausted mind. It can be just resistance to turning over a new leaf or re-examining a document or other intellectual requirement. Perhaps it can also require a change of mind about a subject. Crowley makes a passing but important reference to the poem ‘The City of Dreadful Night’ by Thomson, saying that he has “very adequately” described the card.[107] This is James “B.V.” Thomson (1834 - 1882), a Scottish poet who wrote this long piece on melancholy between 1870 and 1873. The poem is a dire description of a depressed mind, which has been condemned to a realisation of its own limits. This is what Crowley describes as the “acrimonious taint of analysis”, that “nothing can lead anywhere” in the realm of thought.[108] The word “despair” comes from the Latin, ‘removed hope’. Sometimes this is painful and cruel; sometimes it is a necessary reality check. In our work as Tarot readers, we have to carefully communicate this card, so it can be heard when it appears in a reading. The card also represents Mars in Gemini; the “agony of the mind”, according to Crowley.[109] Is there anything at all good to say about this card? Perhaps we might suggest to our client or ourselves, ‘necessity being the mother of invention’ or ‘the courage born of desperation’? Golden Dawn: Despair, cruelty, pitilessness, malice, suffering, want, loss, misery. Burden, oppression, labour, subtlety and craft, dishonesty, lying and slander. Yet also

obedience, faithfulness, patience, unselfishness, etc. According to dignity. In a Reading: This is a painful card and whilst it can indicate cruelty from someone else – or the potential to be cruel to someone, it is often the case that it shows selfcriticism. The mind has turned in on itself, and the other cards in a reading can be consulted to see how it can be released from this downward spiral. In a relationship question, this card is particularly toxic and unequivocal – the cruelty is present and must change before it gets worse.

Ten of Swords: RUIN Image: Ten swords are arranged upon a Tree of Life layout, however the central (sixth) and tenth swords are shattered. The outskirts of the image are filled with the Air motifs, which appear to be replicating in themselves. A heart design is placed towards the centre of the whole and each sword bears a Masonic-type symbol appropriate to the ten Sephiroth. Astrological Correspondence: Sun in Gemini. The Ten of Swords is not a card you want in your reading unless it is in a position representing some great enemy. Before we look in detail at the card, it is timely to refer to Harris’s experience in creating the deck, particularly this Suit. On November 3rd, 1939, Frieda Harris wrote to Crowley: I think it would be a good plan if you could arrange to come here one day next week & see the Swords. I have a superstitious horror of bringing them all unbalanced to London… She further went on to say: I only hope the Swords are alright for I can't do them again. I have followed your instructions with meticulous care.[110] The work was certainly hard, in an undated letter she had written: I am working hard, have done No 10 & No 9 Swords & nearly No 6. I get frightfully stiff what a bore.[111] And even more: I haven't written in as those Swords are plaguing the very devil with me. I can't get on - I've just finished the 8 - now 10-9-2-8 are done also nearly finished 3 but I keep on first with headache & frightful fatigue, then fall down & cut my leg then burn my thumb then your furniture aerial raid & the folk what fixes the gas stove so that I am constantly driven to brandy or lying on my bed.[112] In that same letter, she signed off as “yours in distress” and wrote: Yes I sympathize with your lethargy over the Tarot. I can scarcely bear these small cards, so difficult to do so [?…], & all the time such awful listening-in to the world conflict that I could scream. No I think I must go thro with it & get them all done. The Lord of Science isn't bad to do & interesting. The 3, the Briah dark sea, seems to me to be most unpleasant! What about her? Send a line. I am going to do the 6 & 7 at once – if I can stop getting sick & see too. Early blackening is such a bore…[113] Crowley at some point suggested changes to the Suit as a whole, to which Harris replied: Please don't frighten me with the Sword suit. I have obeyed in every way. I can't see how they can be wrong. The 3 was a fair horror & great suffering. I am glad to be seated on a pantacle but there are streets of work to do. I ought to be printing the names & not writing letters at all.[114] They were even more troublesome in the world at large, for Harris remarked on Monday September 18th, 1939:

I have done the 10 of Swords & promptly Russia takes up arms. Where are we going![115] This was because the day before, the Soviet army had invaded Poland – without a formal declaration of war. Despite these events, the deck was finished, Swords included. In the Ten of Swords we see the ten Swords with their hilts in the positions of the Tree of Life. His first introduction of the card says it represents “the disruption and disorder of harmonious and stable energy”, or “reason divorced from reality”.[116] Whilst the card is brutally titled “Ruin”, we find in Crowley’s comparison of the card to the I-Ching that there is a ray of hope. He writes, “it counsels the ruler to purge the state of unruly officers”.[117] The card illustrates that our ideas have ground to a halt – they have been taken to an extreme and broken. What was certain – so very certain – is now overturned. We are only ruined because we thought so highly of our thoughts. Like all the Tens, this card is at the end of the road, and needs something new, totally new, to return to the cycle. In this case, the ‘unruly officers’ are our own thinking about a matter, and we have to ditch the old ideas and learn something new. In a sense we could see a parallel with the journey of Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings, whose journey and acceptance of his role (and ideas about himself) are bound to a shattered sword. It is the Sword of our own thinking and responsibility that must be re-forged, and then it becomes the new and redeemed Ace, the new and returned King. Golden Dawn: Almost a worse symbol than the Nine of Swords. Undisciplined, warring force, complete disruption and failure. Ruin of all plans and projects. Disdain, insolence and impertinence, yet mirth and jollity therewith. A marplot, loving to overthrow the happiness of others; a repeater of things; given to much unprofitable speech, and of many words. Yet clever, eloquent, etc., according to dignity. In a Reading: Another clearly negative card in the Thoth tarot, where we find most of the negative cards in the suit of Swords. Here it is the final nail in the coffin – actually, not just one nail but ten of them, all dripping blood. Whatever is at question should be released otherwise it can only bring ruination. Any disruptive elements must be removed from the situation as otherwise, no good can come of anything that happens.

THE CUPS Ace: ROOT OF THE POWERS OF WATER Two: LOVE Three: ABUNDANCE Four: LUXURY Five: DISAPPOINTMENT Six: PLEASURE Seven: DEBAUCH Eight: INDOLENCE Nine: HAPPINESS Ten: SATIETY

Ace of Cups Image: In this most feminine of symbols, a pale white light shoots down into a grail, designed along the shape of the female genitalia. A Lotus supports the Grail and arises from an abstract sea of coruscating colour. The waves above the horizon of the card appear to form a webbing such as found on the inside of a shell. A layered infinity/triple moon/knot symbol is drawn upon the Grail. Elemental Correspondence: Water. The root of the powers of water, the Ace of Cups is the essential form of the Holy Grail, the complement of the staff of the Ace of Wands. It is again, only the potential of water, able to transmute itself into blood or wine, dependent on the requirement. This contains a sexual allusion to the feminine elixirs, “consecrated” by the male elixir illustrated by the white dove. It is a primordial emotion, almost prior to taking on any specific form; it can equally be enraptured by joy or suffering. The Dove of the Holy Ghost descends upon the Cup, “consecrating” it. This symbolises the lunar receptivity of water, passive, able to conceive and then create. The card is thus the boundless possibility of creation, the matrix of manifestation, from which any energy can penetrate and from which any form can emerge. As Crowley enigmatically puts it, “Upon the dark sea of Binah, the Great Mother, are Lotuses, two in one …”[118] The Lotus symbol is here used to represent Chockmah, the duality that has emerged from the unity of Kether. The Ace of Cups is not only the root of water but holds the trinity within it; ready to manifest itself into creation. Again, we might turn to the Golden Dawn interpretations to offer a more practical angle to this card. Golden Dawn: It symbolizes Fertility - productiveness, beauty, pleasure, happiness, etc. In a Reading: The Golden Dawn gives “Fertility, Productiveness, Beauty, Pleasure, Happiness, etc.” for the Ace of Cups. This would equally be suitable for the Thoth Tarot version of this card. We could add that Crowley would have seen these aspects of the card as volatile and transformative – that we should make the most of such pleasure whilst it is available.

Two of Cups: LOVE Image: Two cups in the foreground receive flowing waters from a pair of lotus flowers whose stalk in entwined with two fishes. The lower Lotus and the two cups rest upon the sea and a clear sky is pictured above the horizon. Astrological Correspondence: Venus in Cancer. In this card we meet Crowley’s concept of love, of which he most famously wrote, “Love is the law, love under will”.[119] It is yet another illustration of the 0 = 2 equation we have met with the Two of Disks; “Love, which recovers unity from dividuality by mutual annihilation”.[120] The Two represents the first manifestation, which in the world of the emotions is the primary drive back to the unity from which it has arisen; love: I.29. For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union. I.44. There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: I.57. Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love. In regard of correspondence, this card is triply blessed with “superficially, the three most friendly of the planets”; Venus, the Moon and Jupiter. The card corresponds to Venus in Cancer, the latter of which is the House of the Moon, and in which sign Jupiter is exalted. It thus combines the love of Venus, the receptivity and reflection of the moon, and the expansiveness of Jupiter. An ideal relationship; unconditional love to mutual benefit. Crowley also returns to the law of Thelema and suggests that the full title of this card should be “the Lord of Love under Will”.[121] We have covered this primary concept of Thelema in the first volume of this present trilogy, here it suffices to say that whilst the card may mean “love”, it is a love which is directed by Will. It may be unconditional, but Cancer is the sign which corresponds to the Chariot, the bearer of the grail, who is dissolved therein, and to which love is driven. Crowley introduces in this card the specific symbol of a dolphin: The symbolism of the dolphin is very complicated, and must be studied in books of reference; but the general idea is that of the “Royal Art”. The dolphin is peculiarly sacred to Alchemy.[122] It is a rather cursory reference and the dolphin is not a symbol which is commonly used in Alchemy. There are several ‘sea creatures’ in alchemical plates and sequences, but it is not considered a common creature ‘sacred’ to Alchemy. A sea creature appears in the cover page for Opera Omnia, one or two plates in the sequences of the Mutus Liber and Azoth, but these are not Crowley’s reference.[123] In fact, Crowley is here simply recreating the Golden Dawn Book T image, bringing across with it the specific mention of dolphins which he then must pass over as requiring further study: A white radiant hand, issuant from the lower part of the card from a cloud, holds lotuses. A lotus flower rises above water, which occupies the lower part of the card rising above the hand. From this flower rises a stem, terminating near the top of the card in another lotus, from which flows a sparkling white water, as from a fountain. Crossed on the stem just beneath are two dolphins, Argent and Or, on to which the

water falls, and from which it pours in full streams, like jets of gold and silver, into two cups; which in their turn overflow, flooding the lower part of the card. Venus and Cancer above and below. Crowley has drawn on this description in his own text, referring to the “lucent” water rather than Mathers “Argent and Or”.[124] The general notion is that the dolphin symbolises the soul, travelling in the sea of existence; or acts as a guardian and guide of the soul from one shore, or life, to the next. Here in the Two of Cups perhaps it also carries the sexual connotation that the mingling of fluids provides a vessel for the incarnation of the soul. Crowley admits that the card shows the “harmony of the male and the female: interpreted in the largest sense”.[125] It is harmony, and radiates joy, however, it is a condition that will slowly diminish as it progresses through the Suit of Cups. Golden Dawn: Harmony of masculine and feminine united. Harmony, pleasure, mirth, subtlety: but if ill dignified, folly, dissipation, waste, silly actions. In a Reading: A harmonious coming together of two parties to mutual benefit. However, each may have to sacrifice their own will in order to drive forwards, potentially losing the original attraction.

Three of Cups: ABUNDANCE Image: In this busy card is pictured an intertwined arrangement of cups made of lotus flowers and pomegranates. The water seems to flow from the sea below and through the stems of the plants and cups, in an endless cycle. Astrological Correspondence: Mercury in Cancer. “This card requires subtlety of interpretation”.[126] Crowley refers this card to the goddess Demeter or Persephone in its correspondence to Binah (understanding) in the world of Briah (creation), or “Binah in the Suit of Water”.[127] It is simply overflowing with creativity. As one student was told when pathworking this card; “abundance breeds abundance”.[128] The nuances of this card come from the correspondences; Mercury in Cancer, and the relationship of the Moon and Saturn to Binah. This may seem overly convoluted but reveals subtle attributes of the card. If we take Mercury as ‘will’ and Cancer as ‘receptivity’ we can see a direct relationship – the male impregnates the female to bring about creation. If we refer to the Major Arcana, this is the mercurial semen within the grail held by the Charioteer, the correspondence of Cancer. Further, Binah also carries a correspondence to Saturn, and Crowley notes the story of Persephone in the realm of Pluto – similar to the dead world of Saturn. These are woven together into a teaching that abundance may empty us of further creativity. On the surface the card illustrates the fulfilment of Will, received in Love, however there is potential to be lost in the underworld when pursuing that which has already been consumed. The card may be the “spiritual basis of fertility” yet it is also symbolised by the Pomegranate, beholding us to the lower world. Whilst commenting on the relative bounty of this card, Crowley also points out the dark side of abundance; “the lesson seems to be that the good things of life, although enjoyed, should be distrusted”.[129] Golden Dawn: Abundance, plenty, success, pleasure, sensuality, passive success, good luck and fortune; love, gladness, kindness, liberality. In a Reading: There may be abundance, which can be enjoyed as the fruit of your labours, however, it is already passing, having been the result of your journey.

Four of Cups: LUXURY Image: The cups of previous cards have now become more ornate and formal, whilst the lotus pictured atop the card is double-stemmed. The sea is drawn with wave symbols and the water which flows through the cups is falling out in more separate and distinct streams. Astrological Correspondence: Moon in Cancer. Whilst the Fours are noted by Crowley as signifying most importantly, solidification and manifestation, the comparative weakness of water makes the Four of Cups a card of instability. It is not strong enough to contain itself, control itself, so the “purity” of the original impulse has been “lost in the process of satisfaction”.[130] So, as the Cups range from abundance, through disappointment, pleasure and debauch, all the way to satisfaction, the Four is indulging in its position. There is “abandonment to desire” in the illustration, and we have introduced “the seeds of decay into the fruit of pleasure”.[131] It reminds us of the fables where a great feast appears yet falls to rot as soon as it is touched. The sea and the surface of this card are now unstable, and it has already sown its own dissolution. In terms of numerology, Crowley notes that the two has become four by doubling itself, which is both strong yet also will continue to multiply and weaken the original bonded pair. He continues to discuss this as the “change = stability” equation, elsewhere referred to in the Book of Thoth, and dealt with as the “0=2” formula in the first book of this present trilogy. Four is the “dead stop” of numerology, a “blind alley”, an “awkward” number, according to Crowley.[132] It is a perfect balance that can only be developed by reverting into itself or being influenced by something outside of itself. This is the formula of adding spirit to matter, turning the cross into the pentagram. It is the spiritual seed impregnating the four elements of matter. We have seen already that material things should be enjoyed yet distrusted, in the Three of Cups. Here again we see that we might enjoy a luxury, but not take it for granted – it is already escaping us even as we consume it. Golden Dawn: Success or pleasure approaching their end. A stationary period in happiness, which may, or may not, continue. It does not mean love and marriage so much as the previous symbol. It is too passive a symbol to represent perfectly complete happiness. Swiftness, hunting and pursuing. Acquisition by contention: injustice sometimes; some drawbacks to pleasure implied. In a Reading: Do not be lured into the idea that you have accomplished something you can enjoy, despite success. Whilst it may be tempting to luxuriate, it might be better to wake yourself to work. If you receive this card as an outcome card of a situation, it may be better to re-define your objectives, otherwise you might be heading towards an emotional dead-end.

Five of Cups: DISAPPOINTMENT Image: Continuing the increasing formality and structure of the designs, this card has four transparent and glassy cups arranged in a tight reverse pentagram. The lotus bears two drooping flowers and the leaves of the plant are arched above the whole design. Several petals are falling from the flowers. The roots of the lotus are coiled and knotted around the base of the image, lying upon a congealed sea. Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Scorpio. The Five of Cups is one of several purely negative cards in the Thoth Tarot; there is little equivocation in Crowley; “The Lotuses have their petals torn by fiery winds”.[133] The card is riven by conflicting correspondences, particularly that of fire and water, male and female. In the correspondence of Mars in Scorpio we find both in their lowest realm – the martial energy of Mars marches only to frustration and the waters of Scorpio are putrefying. In every correspondence there is disappointment. In the correspondence to Geomancy we find the figure of Rubeus, which was “of such an evil omen” that any reading in which it arose would be destroyed and the consultation postponed.[134] Even in the design of the card, this inversion is illustrated, with the Disks being arranged in a reverse pentagram, the triumph of matter over spirit. The overall meaning then is evil, frustration, disappointment and “disturbance, just when least expected, in a time of ease”.[135] It is to this aspect that Crowley raises the card in consideration to the overall energy of the Fives. He draws on the numerology of the Naples Arrangement to point out the necessity of motion to “disturb” matter.[136] Whilst this may be as simple as “the reluctance of people to get up from lunch and go back to the job” it also holds a wider mystical consideration.[137] As Crowley puts it of the ‘White School of Adepts’, “Every phenomenon is a sacrament”.[138] That is to say, to find peace we must not expect to fall back into a passive inertia and insensitivity to the world; we must rather embrace every aspect of it; strife, misfortune, defeat and worry. These do not arise from a misunderstanding of the universe – they are as much part of the universe as peace and truce. Golden Dawn: Death, or end of pleasure: disappointment, sorrow and loss in those things from which pleasure is expected. Sadness, treachery, deceit; ill-will, detraction; charity and kindness ill requited; all kinds of anxieties and troubles from unsuspected and unexpected sources. In a Reading: Can you get up from lunch and return to work? All that happens, happens. It is only an emotional perception that disturbance is misfortune. Embrace disappointment and refine your expectations – everything is, in a sense, the same as everything else.

Six of Cups: PLEASURE Image: A bright arrangement of cups and lotus flowers are arranged in perfect accord and symmetry. The roots or stems of the plants provide enough water to exactly match the capacity of each cup, increasing the harmony of the image. The sea behind is moving in dancing waves. Astrological Correspondence: Sun in Scorpio. Here we meet the Cups of “Six”, the card of pleasure. We would imagine the robustly pleasure-seeking Crowley would have much to say on the subject, and he does not disappoint. And this is the pleasure above the previous Cups, the “Seven”, with its title of “Debauch”. The card of pleasure, he says, “must be understood in its highest sense”, it is in part, “the fulfilment of the sexual will”, as shown by “the ruling Sephira, planet, element and sign” of the card.[139] That is quite the combination. Here we have the correspondence of Six to Tiphareth, beauty, in the Suit of Cups, corresponding to Briah, creation. How delightful! Not only that, we also have Sol in Scorpio, leading to the whole image of the card as being “Sun on Water”. Contemplate the easy summer meditation of the sun upon water, the sense of an eternal holiday or holy day, the paradise of an endless day of ease, this is all the nature of this card. And yet it is generative too, a passing through of pleasure – a sharing – a communion – it is the reflection of the Ace above in Kether down through the Six to the Nine below, which is “Happiness”. The sharing and communicating of pleasure brings happiness, suggests the Six and Nine of Cups on the Tree of Life. There are numerous layouts of cards on the Tree which offer such teaching, particularly when arranged in Suits or by Numbers, i.e. all the Fours and Fives show the relationship between Mercy (Chesed, 4) and Strength (Geburah, 5) on the Tree, explaining permutations of passive and aggressive relationships, particularly in the Suit of Cups (Briah, creation). In effect, the Cups also represent different octaves of unity; and on the middle pillar of the Tree of Life, we have the Ace at the highest scale of Kether, then the Six of Tiphareth; Pleasure, then the Nine of Yesod; Happiness, and then the Ten of Malkuth; Satiety. It is only when we leave the middle pillar that we encounter such imbalances as the Seven and Eight of Cups; Debauch and Indolence. The Lotus is a key symbol here – both for the sexual allusions of the card, which Crowley refers to the “ninth degree” of the OTO, an initiatory grade where secrets of sexual magick were discovered (see Volume I of the present trilogy) – and for its traditional symbolism of purity and resurrection. The Lotus is the flower that thrives in muddy waters, it sinks below the water at night and arises to face the east at dawn. It is thus almost synonymous with the Sun itself. The sun-god was often depicted as arising from a Lotus in ancient Egypt. The Lotus flower is thus a symbol of the unconscious waters – and the primeval womb from which all matter arises. And in the Six of Cups it is perfectly harmonious. The card indicates ease, harmony, diplomacy, a perfection arising from no effort at all. The will is at one with all that arises, and nothing needs further action. It is time to bask and relax, to give and receive pleasure. All good things.

There is a further esoteric secret in this card, in that the roots of the Lotus are intertwined and laced with air-passages, forming a network from which individual stalks arise. This is symbolic of the group consciousness of the Aeon of Ma’at, which is said to be parallel or following the Aeon of Horus. Blavatsky said this of the Lotus: There are no ancient symbols, without a deep and philosophical meaning attached to them; their importance and significance increasing with their antiquity. Such is the Lotus. It is the flower sacred to nature and her Gods, and represents the abstract and the Concrete Universes, standing as the emblem of the productive powers of both spiritual and physical nature.[140] Golden Dawn: Commencement of steady increase, gain and pleasure; but commencement only. Also affront, detection, knowledge, and in some instances contention and strife arising from unwarranted self-assertion and vanity. Sometimes thankless and presumptuous; sometimes amiable and patient. According to dignity as usual. In a Reading: A bright and golden card, one of the most positive receive in the whole of the Thoth deck, the Six of Cups shows pleasure in its purest sense. The outcome will be good, the past has been fine, the moment is to be enjoyed. The only caution is also positive – you can improve your pleasure even further by sharing it with others. In a deeper sense, you may take time to contemplate what this pleasure tells you about yourself and how you connect with other people.

Seven of Cups: DEBAUCH Image: In a sudden change (as with all the Sevens) to the previous harmonious design of the Six, this card shows the Lotus flowers looking corrupted, dropping poison to a dismal swamp at the foot at the card. The cups exude a slow slime and the whole image reminds us of an infernal morass. Astrological Correspondence: Venus in Scorpio. When we compare the Sevens of the Thoth Tarot, we see the imbalance of this position on the Tree of Life. We see in the Seven of Swords the rather futile and wasted good-for-nothing politics of the mind, and now we see the same situation in the even more depressing Seven of Cups. At this stage of our journey up the Tree, we can either forge on through the morass or give up and go home. The Seven’s are not the “perfect number” of Seven on this journey – they are the first test of our willingness to accept all of life’s consequences. In terms of the Tree of Life, we have moved off the “middle pillar”, as we first did with the Eights. These cards are inherently out-of-balance. Crowley notes that this disconnection from Kether, the highest point of the Tree of Life, and its movement away from the delicacy of the middle pillar, leaves a tarnished sacrament; in an everyday sense, this is a “guilty conscience”. Something that should have been delightful has left us regretful and unsatisfied. Golden Dawn: Possible victory, but neutralized by the supineness of the person: illusionary success, deception in the moment of apparent victory. Lying, error, promises unfulfilled. Drunkenness, wrath, vanity. Lust, fornication, violence against women, selfish dissipation, deception in love and friendship. Often success gained, but not followed up. Modified as usual by dignity. In a Reading: It is time to be ruthless and cut out whatever is the sucking mess at the root of the situation. It is really time to draw a line, throw baby and bathwater out, and start afresh. When we look at the card, we are advised to take out our old damp laundry worn at whatever party we were having and put everything out in the sun to dry.

Eight of Cups: INDOLENCE Image: This image is of the bad lands and set under a dark and leaden sky. Three cups at the top of the card are entirely empty and the remaining five cups have increasingly smaller streams to nourish them. The lower three cards stand not in a sea but in constricted pools of water. The whole design is tight and of a place best left forgotten. Astrological Correspondence: Saturn in Pisces. In the Eight of Cups, Crowley takes us to the Opera. Whilst the card itself is relatively straightforward, illustrating the stagnancy and death of Saturn and Pisces at their worst together as “indolence”, there is a further matter addressed by Crowley. He writes: Compare with the last card [Seven of Cups, Debauch]; it represents the opposite and complementary error. The one is the Garden of Kundry, the other the Palace of Klingsor. In the psychopathology of The Path, this card is the German Measles of Christian Mysticism.[141] These three sentences are a perfect example of how Crowley writes text in the Book of Thoth which requires excavation of multiple strata of meaning. We can also see how this sentence can illuminate how we read the card in a practical sense. First, we will reference Kundry and Klingsor. These are two characters in Wagner’s opera, Parsival. Wagner is one of the “Saints” listed in Crowley’s version of the Mass, so we know he was a fan. It is perhaps worth listing the seventy notables whom Crowley himself considered worthy of Sainthood, including, of course, himself: Laotze and Siddartha and Krishna and Tahuti, Mosheh, Dionysus, Mohammed and To Mega Therion, with these also Hermes, Pan, Priapus, Osiris and Melchizedek, Khem and Amoun and Mentu, Heracles, Orpheus and Odysseus; with Vergilius, Catullus, Martialis, Rabelais, Swinburne, and many an holy bard; Apollonius Tyanaeus, Simon Magus, Manes, Pythagoras, Basilides, Valentinus, Bardesanes and Hippolytus, that transmitted the Light of the Gnosis to us their successors and their heirs; with Merlin, Arthur, Kamuret, Parzival, and many another, prophet, priest and king, that bore the Lance and Cup, the Sword and Disk, against the Heathen; and these also, Carolus Magnus and his paladins, with William of Schyren, Frederick of Hohenstaufen, Roger Bacon, Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr, Christian Rosencreutz, Ulrich von Hutten, Paracelsus, Michael Maier, Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth, Jacob Boehme, Francis Bacon Lord Verulam, Andrea, Robertus de Fluctibus, Johannes Dee, Sir Edward Kelly, Thomas Vaughan, Elias Ashmole, Molinos, Adam Weishaupt, Wolfgang von Goethe, Ludovicus Rex Bavariae, Richard Wagner, Alphonse Louis Constant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Hargrave Jennings, Carl Kellner, Forlong dux, Sir Richard Payne Knight, Paul Gaugin, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Doctor Gerard Encausse, Doctor Theodor Reuss, and Sir Aleister Crowley.[142] Kundry and Klingsor are the ‘loathsome damsel’ and the ‘castrated magician’ in the tale of the Holy Grail, Parsival. They are not worthy characters. Klingsor is seen as the ‘pagan’ to Parsival’s ‘Christian’ and further, as an embodiment of a “peculiar

characteristic that Christianity brought to the world”. Whilst this is somewhat complex, Crowley seems to have used Waite (who he often derided) as his source for this information, particularly Waite’s Holy Grail.[143] There, Waite described Klingsor as “ensnared by unholy passion”, and in coy terms, “being deprived of his instruments of passion”. We might consider that the “error of Klingsor” is thus the debauchery we see represented by the Seven of Cups and the Eight of Cups, ‘Indolence’, is the “error of Kundry” – her error being that of believing seduction and conquest lead to satisfaction: After each new and, in the end, profoundly hateful victory, after each new fall by man, she flies into a rage; she then flees into the wilderness, whereby the most severe atonements and chastisements she is, for a while, able to escape from the power of the curse upon her; yet it is denied to her to find salvation by this route … [144]

In this card we see the hopelessness of desire, its transient nature and even the falsity of constant seeking for redemption, perhaps what Crowley meant by this card being the “German measles of Christian Mysticism”. Golden Dawn: Temporary success, but without further results. Thing thrown aside as soon as gained. Not lasting, even in the matter in hand. Indolence in success. Journeying from place to place. Misery and repining without cause. Seeking after riches. Instability. In a Reading: This is a truly horrible card, showing nothing but the affliction of a desire gone hopelessly wrong, and caught in a stagnant trap of its own shallow ambition. In a general reading, it would indicate laziness, lack of ambition, being stuck in an emotional rut or bad habit, and a lack of activity. Not a card you would want for example as the outcome card or future card in a question about joining a gym or a health club. What other situations would there be for which this card would not bode well?

Nine of Cups: HAPPINESS Image: In this card (as all the Nines) we see the completion of the element and a change from the Seven and Eights which are either side of the Tree and hence less in balance. The cups on this card are arranged in a square, overflowing – but not too much – with water against a clear bright sky. The cups are here represented as fans, feathers, perhaps even fishtails, adding to the celebratory design. Astrological Correspondence: Jupiter in Pisces. The Nine of Cups is an entirely blissful card, which Crowley calls “Happiness”. It is a card of good fortune expressed and manifest in life and perfectly arranged – I would call this card “serendipity”. We can go further into exploring this happiness in a reading by colours and correspondences. Blue. That’s the colour of the background. However, this is not just “blue”, it is the “blue” of “Jupiter in Briah”. That is the nature of Jupiter expressed in the Kabbalistic world of Briah, ‘creation’. So, we look up the qualities of Jupiter, finding them to be concerned with “expansion” and similar ideas, and then consider that “expansion” in the world of Creation, Briah. The four worlds in descending order from the divine to the mundane are Atziluth (emanation), Briah (Creation), Yetzirah (formation) and Assiah (action). This card corresponds to the expansive nature of Jupiter (“jovial”) in the world of creation. It may not have yet manifest, but it is on its way – the blue shows the big expanding sky, opening up to new horizons. This is then how we can explain the dense Kabbalistic symbolism to our clients (or to ourselves) by using metaphor or stories to express the formula of the card, whether through its colour, objects, number, etc. Atziluth=Emanation=King Scale Birah=Creation=Queen Scale Yetzirah=Formation=Emperor Scale Assiah=Action=Empress Scale We can take a Sephirah, a planet, an element, and see what it does in each world. As an example, we will take a sign, Scorpio, and place it in Assiah. We have the corresponding colour for this in the Empress Scale from the Golden Dawn (and Crowley) as “livid indigo brown (like a beetle)”. This gives us Scorpio in Assiah as a “livid indigo brown”. What might the energy of Scorpio be like in the world of action and manifestation? How does that colour reflect that combination? Golden Dawn: Complete and perfect realization of pleasure and happiness, almost perfect; self-praise, vanity, conceit, much talking of self, yet kind and lovable, and may be self-denying therewith. High-minded, not easily satisfied with small and limited ideas. Apt to be maligned through too much self-assumption. A good and generous, but sometimes foolish nature. In a Reading: Back on the middle pillar again, we find another positive card in the Thoth Tarot. It calls for celebration to create or reward happiness. As Crowley writes, “the wine is poured by Ganymede himself, unstinted vintage of the true nectar of the

Gods, brimful and running over, and ordered banquet of delight, True Wisdom selffulfilled in Perfect Happiness”.[145]

Ten of Cups: SATIETY Image: Ten cups with ornate handles are arranged in the pattern of the Tree of Life. The cups are tilted to receive the water that flows from above, yet they do not – yet – spill over. An organic Tree of Life pattern is drawn in the background against a stark backdrop with sea, horizon or land. Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Pisces. In the Golden Dawn, this card was called “The Lord of Perfected Happiness”, however Crowley goes for the fullness and finality of Water on its journey down the Tree of Life. Harris picks up on this with her depiction of the card in the style of an Assyrian Tree of Life. The cups runneth over, all is full and beyond full. The word “satiety” comes from the Latin, ‘satis’, meaning “enough”. This card screams “Enough is Enough!” The card has hidden depths. Harris complained when Crowley kept telling her such things as "Push the Cups deeper! Twist the whole card round" She responded, “Oh! But these things are all on one plane and, unless I start appliqué or sculpture, it can't be begun”.[146] In fact, on 19th December 1939, when Crowley had seen photographs of the cards, he responded: Ten of Cups. This is admirable, but I can't tell much about the background; it ought to look menacing. There is something very sinister about this card. It suggests the morbid hunger which springs from surfeit. The craving of a drug addict is the idea. At the same time, of course, it is this final agony of descent into illusion which renders necessary the completion of the circle by awakening the Eld of the All-Father.[147] It is certainly a somewhat disturbed card, it shows that happiness is always precarious, and when gained is often destroyed in the gaining. This is a good example of how the Decans assist us picture these perspectives on life – in this case, we have Mars in Pisces. The fiery and destructive Mars is quite the opposite of the peaceful and reflective Pisces. Together they form a spectrum of chase and acquire, gorge and empty. It is this cycle that the Ten of Cups is at one end; there is happiness, but it is now at the completion of its enjoyment. What next? In other decks, this card is simply “happiness” with no conditions or implications – here Crowley allows us the happiness but points out its dangers too. I always consider the Thoth Tarot to be a very restless deck. I am personally reminded by this card of the Nine of Cups in the Waite-Smith deck, rather than the Ten of that deck, whereas the Thoth Nine is more like the Ten of the Waite-Smith. At the top of bottom of the Tree, there is more similarity between the cards. The main differences between one card and the next are to be found in the fours, fives, sevens and eights of the deck, which are on the side pillars of the Tree either side of the half-way point of the Sixes, corresponding to Tiphareth. Golden Dawn: Permanent and lasting success and happiness, because inspired from above. Not so sensual as "Lord of Material Happiness," yet almost more truly happy. Pleasure, dissipation, debauchery, quietness, peacemaking. Kindness, pity, generosity, wantonness, waste, etc., according to dignity.

In a Reading: To every peaceful time, a storm comes to shake things up. It could be that there is just too much of a good thing. It is inevitable that even something apparently perfect cannot last forever. When this card turns up in a reading it might suggest that we know already that we must change – we are full of ourselves.

THE WANDS Ace: ROOT OF THE POWERS OF FIRE Two: DOMINION Three: VIRTUE Four: COMPLETION Five: STRIFE Six: VICTORY Seven: VALOUR Eight: SWIFTNESS Nine: STRENGTH Ten: OPPRESSION

Ace of Wands Image: The top of a fiery wand is shown, adorned with ten flames, each in the shape of the Hebrew letter Yod. The Yods emit from locations corresponding to the Sephiroth on a Tree of Life which is sculpted into the wand. Electric flashes dominate the backdrop the image. Elemental Correspondence: Fire. The Ace of Wands is the first card that Crowley introduces in the ‘Small Cards’ section of the Book of Thoth. We have just read that he included several general points about the Minor Arcana in the descriptive text of the card. This is a good example of the complexity and confusion caused the Book of Thoth, which was written quickly, includes stream-of-consciousness passages and is dense with hyper-textual internal links and external references.[148] It is described as a “solar-phallic outburst” from which erupt flickers of flame in the form of the Hebrew letter Yod, arranged in a Tree of Life.[149] This solar-phallic image is based on Crowley’s view of sexual magick and the nature of Christianity as originally a “solar phallic” religion. He took this in turn from writings such as by Hargrave Jennings (1817 – 1890) whose work included both Phallicism and The Rosicrucians.[150] The Ace of Wands is thus the root of creation and of religion. It is the essence of the element of Fire, the “primordial energy of the Divine manifesting in Matter at so early a stage that it is not yet definitely formulated as Will”.[151] As such, it is pure potential which could go anywhere or do anything. The fire symbolism here doubles as a symbol of spirit, which again points to its abstract nature and the possibility that nothing will actually manifest, even though there is much energy. It is like the shouting of a person in anger, but not their fighting – unless you choose to be so, you cannot be at all disturbed by it. We might be reminded of Shakespeare, who had Macbeth say of life; “it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.[152] Golden Dawn: It symbolizes Force - strength, rush, vigour, energy, and it governs, according to its nature, various works and questions. It implies Natural, as opposed to Invoked, Force. In a Reading: This card signifies the root of your Will, the potential for your growth, but nothing more. It is up to you to grasp it. There is unlimited energy and the possible burst of a creative project, relationship or time of life, but it requires commitment to bring it into reality.

Two of Wands: DOMINION Image: Two Dorjes, Tibetan-style wands, are crossed over each other in the centre of this card. Six ribbon-like flames emit from their centre. The background is made of delicate petal-like shapes – or perhaps, flames - against a clear sky. Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Aries. As the Two of Cups is “love under will”, so the Two of Wands is “pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result”, which is in “every way perfect”.[153] This card is idealised will, free of attachment to any specific object. As we see with all the Twos, they are the actual beginning points of any act, the first manifestations of creation, following the abstract Aces. Crowley uses the symbols of the Tibetan Dorje in several of the Wands, which is the symbol of the thunderbolt and the male power.[154] A double or crossed Dorje as used here is known as a vishvavajra and represents the foundation of the material world. Whilst it is also a symbol of “celestial power”, in this card the Dorje is used in its destructive rather than creative aspect.[155] Crowley suggests that destruction is the first step in any creative process; you cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs. There is perhaps a sexual connotation to Crowley’s primary description of the card, or at least an insight into pyshological processes. He contends that as destruction is the first stage of creation, the natural response is “Fear and repulsion”.[156] However, should we overcome this stage, and understand the entire process as a whole, “willing surrender rejoices to co-operate”.[157] With the card corresponding to Mars in Aries, his own sign, it brings a significant and rapid burst of energy to a reading. The six flames are solar, bringing more creative energy through the card. Finally, the geomantic design of the card represents Mars in Aries, the figure Puer. Crowley directs us to the Equinox, Vol. I, No. 2 for further reading – see the section on Geomancy at the start of this present volume. There is also reference to Liber 777, where two columns of correspondence provide us with the geomantic figures. Golden Dawn: Strength, domination, harmony of rule and of justice. Boldness, courage, fierceness, shamelessness, revenge, resolution, generous, proud, sensitive, ambitious, refined, restless, turbulent, sagacious withal, yet unforgiving and obstinate. In a Reading: A very positive card to receive in a reading, the Two of Wands encourages us to keep going the direction we have chosen. We can work through any obstacles and keep in charge of ourselves as we make good progress. This card shows that we must take control in a natural and confident way, without guilt or prevarication.

Three of Wands: VIRTUE Image: A simple design includes three Lotus wands cross over each other, with the central wand vertical and upright. As with the previous Wands, flames emit from behind their centre, in this case, as a star and as ribbons. Astrological Correspondence: Sun in Aries. EARLY in January Cyril Grey received a letter from Lord Antony Bowling. "My good Grey," it began, "may the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue, so that I triumph even when I fall![158] As we have seen, when we look at the numerology of the Minor Arcana, used by the Golden Dawn on the Tree of Life, we see how the cards are constructed. In this case, as the ‘three’ process takes place in creation, it begins to structure and formulate the energy of ‘two’. It is the process of ‘understanding’ (Binah), making connections and sense of events taking place in an otherwise unbounded and undefined flow. This is then passed into a more manifest stage, where it expands again in the ‘four’ stage, only to be structured and bounded even more tightly in the ‘5’ stage. When we reach ‘six’ there is another balancing before dropping down into a third repeat of the process in a more perceptible manner. Crowley says of the Three of Wands that the original idea and will of ‘2’ has now been formulated in structure, and further, is now possible to “interpret in [terms of] Character”. The energy is such that the ‘3’-ness of creation, in the world of ‘wands’ or values, is manifest – as ‘virtue’. The word virtue comes from the Latin, vir – ‘man’ and denotes a moral perfection. It is the ‘Binah’ (understanding) of ‘Atziluth’ (emanation), the highest formulation of meaning in front of the divine source above it. As one of the orders of Angels, the Virtues are said to encourage humanity to strengthen their faith in the presence of god. So, this card asks us to consider our works and our values; to what do we aim? Crowley gives no interpretation of this card at all in terms of a practical reading. His brief piece on the card is a good example of a circular chain of correspondence with no application.[159] He refers to card to the correspondences of Kabbalah, Astrology, the Seasons, Golden Dawn regalia, Motherhood, and finally the I-Ching, concluding that the meaning of that correspondence “is identical to the above description [of the other correspondences]”.[160] If we again return to the Golden Dawn interpretation, we find the more useful; “Completion of labour, success of the struggle” amongst other meanings, including “Rude self-assumption and insolence” when badly aspected.[161] Golden Dawn: Established force, strength, realization of hope. Completion of labour. Success after struggle. Pride, nobility, wealth, power, conceit. Rude self-assumption and insolence. Generosity, obstinacy, etc. In a Reading: The first and fixed establishment of a situation. There is success at an early stage, although still work to do. The importance of having a high value on what is intended. Avoiding success going to your head. You can move or make a stand, depending on your own will.

Four of Wands: COMPLETION Image: Four wands cross over each other, identical with the head of a ram and the base of a dove. They are bound to a wheel and from their centre emit eight flames. Astrological Correspondence: Venus in Aries. The Fours pick up from the Threes in the same manner that all the Minor cards proceed from their lowest numbers, however, there is an Abyss between these two numbers. In this regard, Crowley explains that the “connection between the number Four and the number Three is extremely complex”.[162] The Fours represent the highest ‘knowable’ aspect of their world, whilst the Threes and Twos are unknowable abstracts, blending into a higher and virtually inexpressible unity. So, the Four of Wands, the suit of Will and Values, is the highest order of that aspect of the universe – Completion. In the emotional world of Cups, the highest expression is Luxury. In Swords, it is Truce, and in Disks, Power. These are the definitive aspects of their Suits and their highest aspirations. This card, whilst we might presume it to be fiery and forceful, given that it be the expansive “four” energy in the fiery world of wands, is presented by Crowley as government by tact and gentleness. This is brought about by the nature of Venus in the fiery sign of Aries, corresponding to this card. We have moved through the original Will of Two, transmitted through the triangle of Three, and reached stability in the square of Four. It is now order, law and government, regulation, boundaries and social structure. It is complete. However, in completion there is limitation. In order there is constraint. Crowley illustrates this by the circle in which the Wands are arranged, and also hints that the “limitation bears in itself the seeds of disorder”.[163] Unlike the static and episodic designs of the Waite-Smith Tarot, the Thoth Tarot has more than an influence of the IChing to it, where every force is in constant movement, already transitioning to the next stage even as we read it. There may be no intention to expand or modify the situation, but it will not remain as it is forever. Golden Dawn: Perfection or completion of a thing built up with trouble and labour. Rest after labour, subtlety, cleverness, beauty, mirth, success in completion. Reasoning faculty, conclusions drawn from previous knowledge. Unreadiness, unreliable and unsteady through over-anxiety and hurriedness of action. Graceful in manner, at times insincere, etc. In a Reading: There is completion, which may satisfy, but we must always be aware that nothing remains the same. There are boundaries (or clear boundaries are recommended) and promises fulfilled. However, in this solidification of ambition, we have the foundation for future progression, change and transformation. It is a good base camp, a good accomplishment, a prize, but it is of a battle, not the entire campaign.

Five of Wands: STRIFE Image: A wand bearing the symbols of ancient Egypt – and as used in the Golden Dawn – stands in the centre of this card. It is crossed in the background by four other wands, two with the Lotus head and two with the Phoenix head. Ten flames emit from where they cross the central wand. Astrological Correspondence: Saturn in Leo. The energy of this card is intense and illustrates the correspondence of Saturn in Leo; the retroactive Saturn weighing down the fiery Leo, leading to strife. Crowley writes “There is no limit to the scope of this volcanic activity”.[164] There is the potential also to be embittered by the struggle of this card – as a reader, we might counsel our client to work through such a crisis for its own sake, rather than hold out some expectation that will leave us bitter if we do not succeed in its accomplishment. In this card is “One of the most difficult doctrines” that “tameless irrational energy and disturbance” can come from “the benign and gentle influence of the feminine”.[165] Whilst deriving from Crowley’s own notions of the feminine, he uses the example of the ancient Egyptian lion-goddess Pasht, who was feminine yet ferocious. In Kabbalah, this is represented also by the relationship of Chesed and Gebruah; one would immediately think that Chesed, “mercy” was passive with regard to Geburah, “fear” and yet it is the opposite. Chesed is an expansive and active influence and Geburah the passive and structuring influence. It was said by my teacher that most of the political and social issues of humanity at present were because we habitually made Geburah active and Chesed passive. In this, he echoed Dion Fortune. There are three types of wand on this card; the Wand of the Chief Adept; two wands of the Second, or Major Adept; and two wands of the Third, or Minor Adept. The Major Adept wands carry the head of the phoenix, illustrating the potential for resurrection from destruction. The Chief Adept wand indicates that the whole process is under the authority of higher powers, “were it not so, this card would be thoroughly disastrous”.[166] Crowley also refers the card to “sexual cruelty” in the highest sense of the coition that produces both destruction and creation, such as “Bhavani and Kali in the Hindu system, and … the Shiva-Sakti coition portrayed on many Tibetan banners”.[167] His reference to Liber 418, the Vision and the Voice, is to the three higher Aethyrs which deal with the “dreadful marriage-bed” of creation: He hath a thousand arms, and in each hand is a weapon of terrible strength. His face is more terrible than the storm, and from his eyes flash lightnings of intolerable brilliance. From his mouth run seas of blood. Upon his head is a crown of every deadly thing. Upon his forehead is the upright tau, and on either side of it are the signs of blasphemy. And about him clingeth a young girl, like unto the king's daughter that appeareth in the ninth Aethyr. But she is become rosy by reason of his force, and her purity hath tinged his black with blue. They are clasped in a furious embrace, so that she is torn asunder by the terror of the god; yet so tightly clingeth she about him, that he is strangled. She hath forced back his head, and his throat is livid with the pressure of her fingers. Their joint cry is an intolerable anguish, yet it is the cry of their rapture, so that every pain,

and every curse, and every bereavement, and every death of everything in the whole universe, is but one little gust of wind in that tempest-scream of ecstasy. These visions describe creation in terms of powerful symbols of masculine and feminine energy, such as Babalon, Lilith, and Nuit. We are also directed to re-read the description of Atu XI, LUST, to remind ourselves of the higher nature of this strife. Golden Dawn: Violent strife and boldness, rashness, cruelty, violence, lust, desire, prodigality and generosity; depending on whether the card is well or ill dignified. In a Reading: This card shows struggle, challenge and possibly, a dreadful relationship. It can be worked out but only through constant work and with a higher goal beyond the relationship. There will be arguments wherever this card appears in a reading, particularly about conflicting views on expanding or contracting a project, relationship, or work. If the LUST card has also appeared in the reading, it indicates an extremely powerful but difficult relationship.

Six of Wands: VICTORY Image: Six Golden Dawn wands are placed to create a hatched pattern from which nine flames emerge at the junctures. The wands are headed by the Winged Globe and Ureas Serpent, the Phoenix and the Lotus. Astrological Correspondence: Jupiter in Leo. This card is an illustration of the highest world in the place of harmony, an ‘emanation of beauty’, the literal meaning of ‘Atziluth of Tiphareth’. We also have the Fire correspondence to Wands to weave into the design, and the Astrological correspondence of Jupiter in Leo. When we consider these correspondences, it is then no surprise Crowley talks of this card as “Energy in completely balanced manifestation”.[168] However, there is a warning; when Crowley talks about this card in his summation of the sixes, he writes, whilst they may symbolise the element of their suit at its “practical best”, “…from this point, as soon as the current leaves the middle pillar, the inherent weakness in the element of fire (which is this: that, for all its purity, it is not completely balanced) leads to very undesirable developments”.[169] The card is called Victory, however Crowley warns us that once this victory is achieved, when manifesting in the world below the abstract, the fire soon consumes itself, moves from extreme to extreme, and leads to such “undesirable” acts as warfare and tyranny. In 1904, in the Book of the Law, before two world wars, the word “victory” appears just once; I am the warrior Lord of the Forties: the Eighties cower before me, & are abased. I will bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle & ye shall delight to slay. Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any! [Al: III.46]. And in one of the seven occurrences of fire; This shall be your only proof. I forbid argument. Conquer! That is enough. I will make easy to you the abstruction from the ill-ordered house in the Victorious City. Thou shalt thyself convey it with worship, o prophet, though thou likest it not. Thou shalt have danger & trouble. Ra-Hoor-Khu is with thee. Worship me with fire & blood; worship me with swords & with spears. Let the woman be girt with a sword before me: let blood flow to my name. Trample down the Heathen; be upon them, o warrior, I will give you of their flesh to eat! [Al: III. 11]. So, this card is one of victory, and a position which can be self-sustained. Crowley perhaps also makes a sexual allusion, noting that the six wands generate by their position nine flames, the 6 being of the Sun, the 9 representing the Moon or feminine in “reception and reflection”, and that this 6 and 9 create something where there is “no circle to enclose the system”.[170] When it appears in a reading, it is entirely harmonious; however, look to the cards about it, particularly lower-order fire cards (the seven, eight, nine and ten of Wands) for as soon as we move from this place, we risk losing the balanced victory we have attained. The design of the card, working from the Golden Dawn description, which in turn echoes the Marseilles-type decks, is of six wands crossing each other. They make a

quadrant of four squares symbolising also a balance of the four elements. The points where the wands cross are lit by a self-sustaining temple flame.[171] This flame requires no fuel as it is the pure flame of the divine spirit, even remaining after the will of the wands has been consumed. The Golden Dawn Wands are those of the Chief Adept, the Lotus and the Phoenix Wands. The latter is the wand of the grade of the Adeptus Major and represents Seth. Whilst it may be called the “phoenix” wand it is rather a wand signifying order over chaos, herding and the role of a chief of ceremonies. The creature of Set has never been clearly identified, however, in some ancient Egyptian usage, the four ‘uas’ or ‘was’ wands of Set are depicted as the four pillars supporting the heavens. Golden Dawn: Victory after strife: Love: pleasure gained by labour: carefulness, sociability and avoiding of strife, yet victory therein: also insolence, and pride of riches and success, etc. The whole dependent on the dignity. In a Reading: A generally positive card, the Six of Wands indicates a victory which has been won – or will be won in the future. It is best to prepare for this victory and not get carried away with it. It can be celebrated but only in the knowledge that it will soon pass. If you hold yourself as you are, you will continue to be victorious.

Seven of Wands: VALOUR Image: A gnarled and crooked wand stands in the centre of this card, unlike any of the other wands. Behind it are crossed six wands in a similar style to the other Wand cards, again being the Winged Globe, Phoenix and Lotus wands. Again, as with the other cards of this suit, flames emerge from the junctures of the wands. Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Leo. I am reminded by Crowley’s description in the Book of Thoth for this card as an “army [that] has been thrown into disorder” of the ‘fog of war’ or the ‘heat of battle’.[172] This card corresponds to the powerful Mars in Aries yet also to Netzach in the realm of Fire – the Venusian “7” called by Crowley in this context as “weak, earthy, feminine”, and also in an unbalanced position on the Tree of Life.[173] We have a conflict in this card. If the Seven of Cups might be interpreted in the context of an abusive marriage, the Seven of Wands would be one which was pulling itself apart. However, there is some solace to be found – the card is Valour, it is acts of individual bravery – it is the positive side of ‘every man (and woman) for him (or her) self’. When this card turns up, it is down to the Querent to make of it what they can, even if no-one is working with them, or their resources are limited. We point out the one crude club to hand, rather than the elegant staffs which are relegated on the image. We are reminded of the Ace of Wands, amid this disorder. This card cries out, ‘Be strong, my friend! Onwards!’ Take what you can and get out! The question posed by this card is a wider version of the party game question, “If your house was on fire and you could only save one thing, what would you take out with you?” The danger of this card in a reading is that the person is so taken with the sparks of battle that they do not see the threat of wasting all their energy in a fight which cannot be won – if you think of the classic scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where King Arthur fights the Black Knight “’tis merely a flesh wound”, you’ll understand immediately how this card carries a vicious warning. In any event, the card in a reading shows the risk of asserting yourself. Sometimes it is the bravest thing to walk away and start afresh – gain new ground, new balance, new horizons. The Sevens on the Tree of Life mark the last step before the veil is thrown aside and the Six of Tiphareth – the centre of the Tree – is reached. They are tricky and trappy cards, these sevens, but essential in the big scheme of things. Golden Dawn: Possible victory, depending on the energy and courage exercised; valour; opposition, obstacles and difficulties, yet courage to meet them; quarrelling, ignorance, pretence, and wrangling, and threatening; also victory in small and unimportant things: and influence upon subordinates. In a Reading: It may be too late to rally your forces together, so it is every man and woman for themselves at this stage of the situation. You can put on a brave face, but it is a battle which is lost due to previous imbalances. It is time to get what you can from the battlefield but then retreat, even if the card suggests valour. You can make a stand, but you will have to summon up a lot of energy to do so – if you do, do it with everything.

Eight of Wands: SWIFTNESS Image: As with the Seven of Wands, this card features a design unique to the Wands. The wands here are replaced by eight electric flashes emitting from the centre of the card. They are set against a geometric prism and no flames are visible. Above the design is a rainbow. Astrological Correspondence: Mercury in Sagittarius. Whilst the Eight of Wands is not the same as the “flight of wands through an open country” described by Waite in The Key to the Tarot, it is certainly recognisable compared to the Waite-Smith Tarot.[174] Waite called this card “motion through the unmovable” and gave as one of its additional mundane meanings “domestic disputes for a married person”.[175] We could perhaps see that argument in the electric zig-zagging of the rays on the Thoth Tarot card. Crowley views the card as “energy of high velocity”.[176] It is the Hod (structure) in the Suit of Fire (Wands), so represents electricity, speech and light. In this card we also have the symbol of the rainbow, on which Crowley writes: The division of pure light, which deals with maxima, into the seven colours of the spectrum, which exhibit interplay and correlation.[177] When referring to this card in a reading about a relationship for example, we could perhaps point out that the situation has reached its boundary (maxima) and is now splitting up, causing all sorts of discussion, comparison, and even argument. All that has been done is all that can be done, so the relationship is feeding back on itself – but at least not with the destructive interference and noise of previous cards we have seen. However, there is still a stable structure underneath, holding everything together. If the different perspectives could be pulled together, it would be like a laser beam – literally, a coherent light. We could also suggest that the rainbow is a promise of hope, above the arguments of the different rays, all pulling at each other. There is something that binds them together – some centre, as we see in the card. Harris uses the palette very clearly here in this card, as well as simple geometric forms given a slight twist through projective geometry. Here is what she wrote about using the colour correspondences and the difficulties of some of the more obscure correspondences: Say, what about the Fool's colours--Air won't do. You are [?partly right] with your vacuum. I have marked out in my colour scheme-Bright Pale Yellow Sky Blue Blue Emerald green, Emerald flecked gold but surely I can use the purple dark blue, pale blue green, yellow, orange, red of the rainbow. At the top of the chart are 10 colour sequences which we don't seem to have used much. We did combine them in the 1st plain card of wands & then what with the governing planet & zodiacal sign we stopped. Anyhow I can't paint brilliance, white brilliance, can you?[178] I like that she rebelled against Crowley in many regards, about colour, about his insistence that the cards should be pulled further into perspective, to which she replied

that they were not sculptures, and he in turn was a harsh taskmaster for her – some cards having to be re-painted a dozen times before he was happy with them. We know that this did not happen with the Waite-Smith deck, which took only eight months, probably under little direct supervision or interplay between Waite and Colman-Smith. Golden Dawn: Too much force applied too suddenly. Very rapid rush, but quickly passed and expended. Violent, but not lasting. Swiftness, rapidity, courage, boldness, confidence, freedom, warfare, violence; love of open air, field-sports, gardens and meadows. Generous, subtle, eloquent, yet somewhat untrustworthy; rapacious, insolent, oppressive. Theft and robbery. According to dignity. In a Reading: This card brings a high energy to the reading, indicating where in the situation is the highest concentration of forces. If this card is in the past, there is still a lot to be found out, whereas in a future position, there is much more to come. In the present position, the card should be immediately recognisable in describing the voltage of the moment. Everything has been charged by the situation and it may be difficult to touch without setting off more sparks. The best solution is to either enjoy the crackles or wait until everything comes back down to earth.

Nine of Wands: STRENGTH Image: A simple wand with a solar symbol at the head and a lunar symbol at the base is set in the vertical centre of this card. Behind it are arrayed the remaining eight wands, each with lunar crescents forming arrow-like feathers and a crescent point. Ten flames emit from the junctures of the wands. Astrological Correspondence: Moon in Sagittarius. The Nine of Wands is a card of Strength, but what sort of strength? Crowley likens it to the energy that holds the entire universe together, in motion – another way to see it is the strength of the Aikido Master, constantly moving, constantly re-directing movement, applying so very little energy just at the right moment to make effective change. This card is the strength of a single word at the right time. It is the strength of a pat on the back just before the race. It is the strength of a smile to a stranger in a queue. It is the strength of a million moments added up to make us what we are. This is the Nine of Wands, the foundation (Yesod) of all our Will. It is the path of the Arrow, when we bind together all our currents and energies and work to a single goal. In the design of the card, we see one Arrow uniting the Moon and the Sun, representing the sign and path of Sagittarius. We see this also on the Temperance card, which shares the sign of Sagittarius, and has a corresponding interpretation of combined forces creating strength. This is the card of getting our house in order, our “ducks all lined up in a row”. It may be that when we do, the whole Universe vibrates in sympathy and works with us – or, more truly, we begin to work with it. As with every Minor card, we can activate it in our daily life: 1. Take the card or its image. 2. Decide what AIM or GOAL you will have to represent the central Arrow or Wand. 3. Then throughout the day try and regard every act, thought, word, decision, as working in some way towards that ambition. 4. Say “I do this [act] so that I can get closer to [Goal]”. How does that make you feel? What does it do? Golden Dawn: Tremendous and steady force that cannot be shaken. Herculean strength, yet sometimes scientifically applied. Great success, but with strife and energy. Victory, preceded by apprehension and fear. Health good, and recovery not in doubt. Generous, questioning and curious; fond of external appearances: intractable, obstinate. In a Reading: The statement that “change is stability” offers the best advice from this card.[179] It may be a time of rapid progress that requires a steady and ongoing strength. Everything that points towards your ambition must be gently and steadily guided on its way. This is the foundation of Will, the ability to persevere and move ever onwards to the goal.

Ten of Wands: OPPRESSION Image: Two tall Dorje wands stand vertically in the centre of this card, forming two pillars. Behind them are the remaining eight wands, but they have now become almost abstract designs, an outline sketched out with flame-like symbols. The flames emerging from the junctures of these wands are more expansive and uncontrolled, and the whole background is aflame. Astrological Correspondence: Saturn in Sagittarius. In the final card of the uppermost suit on the Tree of Life, we meet ‘Oppression’ where Crowley and Harris use ten extended Dorjes as the wands. As we saw with the Two of Wands, the Tibetan Dorje is a ritual item in Buddhism, also called the Vajra, a Sanskrit word for both “thunderbolt” and “diamond”. It symbolises the firmness of spirit and the power of spiritual progress against all obstacles: The Buddhist vajra may be represented with one to nine prongs. It is designed with a central shaft that is pointed at each end. The middle section consists of two lotuses from which may spring, at each end, for example, six prongs of the dorje. Together with the projecting and pointed central shaft, each end thus becomes seven pronged. The outside six prongs face inwards towards the central prong. Each of these outside prongs arise from the heads of makaras (mythical crocodiles), which face outwards. The mouths of the makaras are wide open and the prongs emanate from the mouth like tongues of flame.[180] The Ten of Wands shows, according to Crowley, “a Will which has not understood anything beyond its dull purpose, not gone beyond the “lust of result”, and will devour itself in the conflagrations it has evoked”.[181] So, there is a carrying away with our desire to achieve something, and it needs reining in again. The card is an illustration of Saturn in Sagittarius, a difficult combination as Crowley notes, with the heavy Saturn vying with the fiery Sagittarius. The horse heads at the top of the central two wands are stubbornly holding the whole situation together, but not for any positive gain. It is blind, destructive, stubborn energy which is signified by this card. It is someone being obstinate and horrible for no good reason other than their own sense of power. It is the opposite of exercising true Will, which is symbolised by the Ace of Wands. We can now summarise the four TEN cards as they might be best interpreted in a reading: Ten of Pentacles: Wealth carried away with itself. Ten of Swords: Ideas carried away with themselves. Ten of Cups: Being carried away with your emotions. Ten of Wands: Ambition over-extended and the original aim lost. Each of these cards in a reading signifies a need to return to the source as soon as possible, found in their respective ACE. Golden Dawn: Cruel and overbearing force and energy, but applied only to material and selfish ends. Sometimes shows failure in a matter, and the opposition too strong to

be controlled; arising from the person's too great selfishness at the beginning. Ill-will, levity, lying, malice, slander, envy, obstinacy; swiftness in evil and deceit, if ill dignified. Also generosity, disinterestedness and self-sacrifice, when well dignified. In a Reading: The oppression in this card is not necessarily an external force but often an internal oppression. It might indicate that you have gone too far with something and lost track of it, resulting in a feeling that it has overwhelmed you. It could be that you have not been aware of this situation, because you have been too lost in it to even see it any more. If the situation is about career, you might want to take time from your current workload and re-connect to the reason you are working in the first place. In a relationship question, it shows that the relationship has become oppressive because you have become disconnected from the original impulse of the relationship. It is time to get a grip and simplify the situation. Having provided these forty interpretations, we can conclude with an important piece of writing by Crowley on the practice of divination followed by a sample reading. In the third and concluding book of this trilogy we will cover the Court cards, colour symbolism throughout the whole deck, Crowley’s own tarot readings, and many methods of reading the Thoth Tarot with spreads and other techniques.

Crowley on Divination “One must not assume the oracle is omniscient”.[182] There is no finer piece of writing on divination than that to be found written as Section IV of Book 4, Magick, by Crowley.[183] These sixteen pages are mandatory study for all students of Tarosophy and our esoteric group, the Order of Everlasting Day.[184] It is here that Crowley explains at length why he considers divination as the most dangerous branch of magick. This may seem a surprising sentiment when compared to magical operations such as invocations, evocations and encounters with astral plane denizens, but Crowley sets out a number of serious reasons in support of his view. He starts out by noting that divination is a communication with a superior intelligence. He means by this that we become acutely sensitive – in a particular manner – to sources of information that are more comprehensively connected to the universe than our present state. It does not matter, he says, whether we consider these as objective entities who are external to us or a concealed part of our own brain. However, the first problem is that this information must be conveyed by symbolic language. It is simply not possible to have a tarot deck, set of geomantic symbols, or IChing combinations, that covers every possible variation of every possible event. It would require every deck or oracle to have a specific card or combination of sticks that illustrated “You will meet John on a Monday and he will offer you a new opportunity at the gallery to display your four latest paintings”. And every other possible event for every person in the world at every time, past, present and future. As Crowley succinctly states, “It would be unwieldy; besides, nature does not happen to work on those lines”.[185] He then lays out a theory for divination in three postulates: 1. These sources of information exist. 2. A symbolic lexicon can be constructed that is suitably “elastic” to both apply to everyday events and be comprehensible to these sources of information. 3. The sources of information are willing (or can be compelled) to truthfully answer questions. He then applies these postulates against the five main systems of divination as he sees them; Astrology, Geomancy, Tarot, Kabbalah, and the I-Ching. Starting with Astrology, he notes that the system is the most perfect as it relates to actual objects in our universe as its symbols – the planets and the signs of the zodiac. However, he goes on to say, this is then constrained by the complexity of connections in any situation. A complex chart must be drawn up for every possible actor or influence in a question. This is further confounded by a lack of consistency in the interpretation of positions and aspects of the planets between astrologers, whom Crowley – we might guess, obviously - disparages.[186] He concludes that he has used astrology “with fairly satisfactory results, but only in special cases, in a strictly limited sphere, and with particular precautions. Even so, He [Crowley] feels great diffidence in basing His conduct on the result so obtained”.[187] He then moves on briefly to consider Geomancy, which we have seen as the basic design for many of the Minor Arcana, at least in placement of symbols. Crowley terms

this form of divination as being of a very low order, and the interpretation of a limited set of symbols as being very difficult. The main issue is that whilst it is rigorously mathematical in construction, the combination of just four basic patterns gives rise to interpretations that are “exceedingly vague on one hand and insufficiently comprehensive on the other”.[188] Considering Tarot and Kabbalah together, he writes more approvingly of the Tarot; “They are adequate to all demands made upon them; each symbol is not only mathematically precise, but possesses an artistic significance which helps the diviner to understand them by stimulating his aesthetic perceptions”.[189] In a statement which may surprise the reader, he states that he finds tarot “infallible in material questions” but not lent readily to “the solution of spiritual questions”.[190] It is to the Kabbalah that he refers for spiritual concerns, whilst cautioning that it takes many years to learn this “sublime” system.[191] It is the I-Ching he praises as the most perfect and adaptable system, noting that in using it, “One may resolve the most obscure difficulties no less than the most mundane dilemma”.[192] He finds the simplicity and elegance of the I-Ching most satisfactory and moves on to discuss the “intelligences” which direct it.[193] He also discusses the mercurial nature of the spirit of tarot, suggesting that as such it is best suited to questions about thought.[194] Having dealt with the relative merits of these five systems of divination, he turns his thoughts to the dangers and requirements of proper divination. Assuming the postulates, we are told that we must develop a “new sense” in order to truly know whether a divination is accurate.[195] However, this true sense is to be found only on the other side of a removal of all personal bias and preference. In fact, “to divine without error, one ought to be a Master of the Temple”, one who has transcended all sense of individual identity.[196] He is equally critical of those seeking fortune-telling, which he remarks is merely “to obtain supernatural sanction for their follies”.[197] It is almost impossible, he argues, to detach oneself from personal influence, even if the answer is accurate and clearly communicated by the divination. One suggestion to mitigate this is to perform a purification and consecration ritual prior to the divination, which not only will assist the preparation but may help attain the “peculiar state of mind necessary to successful divination”.[198] The peculiar state is a form of singular concentration – one which eventually removes the object of thought. Only then can a divination be performed, even if one is a magician. In performing the divination, the reader must give themselves over to the spirit of the oracle, whilst also not allowing it to overwhelm the reading. This must also follow an exhaustion of critical thought about the issue, so there is truly no idea left as to how an answer might arrive. Crowley also advises the mastery of several types of divination, so that one may choose the right type of system for any particular question or situation. The magician must get to know the voice and spirit of each system, to ensure he remains in right relationship to the oracle. A final observation by Crowley is that the process of divination is very different for the Adept or one who has attained the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. In effect, one should not trouble an Angel with mundane matters nor should one

consult an oracle about spiritual matters when one has an Angel; “to consult any other is to insult one’s Angel”.[199] Whilst this may be a technical or immaterial issue for most, it is of interest in placing divination in the wider context of progression in the Western Esoteric Initiatory System. Crowley proposes that the use of divination is best when it serves to practice the state of mind which is optimum for the oracular state. As such, it not only answers any troubles and keeps anxiety about mundane matters out of mind, but it also practises the state most suited for receiving “the reiterant strokes of rapture with which the love of his Angel ravishes him”.[200] Crowley concludes his writing on divination by assessing the state of knowledge about the working of divination, and suggesting we still have much to discover. However that may be, it is certain to him of one thing which divination demonstrates time and time again; “There is nothing in the universe which does not influence every other thing in one way or another”.[201]

A Sample Reading of the Minor Arcana We will turn to further reading methods in the third and concluding book of this present trilogy in which we also cover the Court cards. Now that we have described the Minor Arcana, we can look at how they might be read in an everyday reading. In this reading, we take three cards for Past, Present and Future. We assume (until the next book) that we will not receive a Major or Court card in this sample reading. Question: What can you tell me about expanding my business overseas? Cards: 3 of Swords (Past) + 3 of Wands (Present) + 2 of Disks (Future). Brief Interpretation Past: 3 of Swords (Sorrow) The business has been held back in the past, which has brought a brooding discontent and sorrow. It may be that the business was not fully public or open in some regard, with Saturn (tradition) being held in check by Libra (balance). It is possible the business tried to be too traditional and fit in with existing structures (3, Binah). Present: 3 of Wands (Virtue) At the present time, there is a reconnection to the original ideals of the business (3 of Wands). There is virtue in presenting the highest aspirations (Wands) of the purpose of the work. The values of the business must be brought to the fore and this will be a successful strategy. It is important not to get lost in any success and lose track of the original impulse. Future: 2 of Disks (Change) The future, overseas, will be successful, bringing change within reasonable limits. So long as there are balances and checks (the expansive Jupiter checked by the earthy Capricorn) things will come together very well. In summary, using simply the titles of the cards, ‘from sorrow comes virtuous change’. The reader can look back through the more detailed descriptions of these three cards to draw out other symbolic meanings and use them to answer specific further questions, such as “What do I need to understand about cultural differences in my business dealings overseas?” We look at the Virtue card and read advice to avoid “rude self-assumption” (this is, as we note, from the Golden Dawn, in absence of Crowley’s own interpretation for this card) and concentrate on establishing a structure. This precisely tells the client to be humble and work on ensuring everything is complete before delivery, to best meet the cultural difference in business practices. We can see in this sample reading that the Thoth tarot can be a very direct, concise and helpful guide to any situation. In our following and final book of this trilogy, we will look at reading methods, sample readings with the whole deck, and divinations performed and interpreted by Crowley.

CONCLUSION We have seen how the design of the Minor Arcana in the Thoth Tarot follows the Golden Dawn principles more closely than we saw in Crowley’s modifications to the Major Arcana. The forty Minor cards also gave Frieda Harris the opportunity to demonstrate her genius, blending sigils, projective geometry, and the symbolism of Thelema and the Golden Dawn along with numerological, colour and geometric symbolism to produce esoteric art of the highest order. The illustrations of the cards depict the fall of creation from the highest principles of the Aces to the dead stop of the Tens, and back again on the path of return. We will revisit this concept in the Court cards when we look again at the Princess of Disks, whom we met in the introduction of the first volume in this present trilogy. The Minor Arcana of the Thoth Tarot are indeed a magical system in themselves. But they came at a heavy price. Harris wrote of her fear for the project at one point: But forgive me, only I feel nervous. I think, looking at the finished cards you will remember all the sequences you have forgotten & I shall be crushed by alterations which will confuse the structural design & any spectator without your knowledge & so suffer little children to come unto thee & confuse them not by too much symbolish (sic) & stay thy hand from poor Frieda's tormented visions.[202] Yet, in another undated letter, remarking on Crowley’s writing in the Tao The King, she affirmed her calling to the task and her remarkable tenacity: For goodness sake, do try with those Trumps. There is no-one who thinks in the lucid way you do, my little paltry cards are lost unless you illumine them by your Art & for the sake of those poor little struggling chickens squealing like Alice in the Looking Glass jury at the Grand Trial Scene. For their sakes can you not have the courage to do another masterpiece. But you feel ill. I know how feeble that makes one because one doesn't make a plan. However I'm relentless, I'll go on till you drop because it is worth it. In the end, despite the extended torments for both Crowley and Harris working through the war, the blackouts and the blitzes, their illness, deprivations, penury and argument, they produced a singular piece of sequential art and symbolic work the like of which has arguably never been surpassed. In the third and concluding volume of Secrets of the Thoth Tarot, we will turn our attention to the beguiling and diverse art of the Court Cards, Crowley’s incisive observations of human weaknesses, and reading methods using the Thoth Tarot deck with a survey of Crowley’s own tarot readings and other forms of divination. Marcus Katz Keswick, The Lake District, Winter Solstice 2018.

APPENDIX

The Aces It is worth considering that the Aces form a separate set to the Minor Arcana, so we have four sets within the tarot; Majors, Minors, Aces and Court Cards. In this appendix, we will further explore the Aces as a set in themselves. Harris was particularly keen on the designs for the Aces, but felt disturbed by them: Do try & answer me about the Aces. I feel broody about them. I keep on thinking about those 4 elements & their mightiness & I fell drowned in water, burnt with fire, cut by the air & dug into the earth. The air feels to be the most solid & dead of them all, which is odd, as it is supposed to be so light. No blood I suppose.[203] The elemental nature of these four cards is paramount. It is unbound and powerful – in the Order of Everlasting Day, for example, rituals are worked for a year with the Zodiacal forces, then seven months with the Planetary forces, before even attempting to work with the Elemental forces. They may be simple, but nonetheless, incredibly powerful. Eventually, as Harris also progressed through the Majors, she warmed to the idea of the Aces, writing (of the Majors) that: How I should like to do them all again. I am faintly beginning to understand what you are driving at. Those 4 aces are going to be a riot.[204] Crowley himself saw the Aces as a nascent energy; a range of forces that are the seed of manifestation: The great point is that all the Elemental Forces, however sublime, powerful, or intelligent, are Blind Forces and no more.[205] In his full description of the Ace of Wands, moved here in this present book for clarity, Crowley takes care to point out that the Aces are not identical to Kether on the Tree of Life. It may seem a technical or pedantic point, but his teaching stems from the Golden Dawn advice not to ‘confuse the hierarchies’. As this is such important advice to the mental well-being of the esoteric practitioner, we will quickly expand the concept. The key to this principle is the phrase “Each Atu possesses its own private, personal and particular Universe, with Demiourgous (and all the rest) complete, just as every man and every woman does”.[206] Whilst Crowley goes on to give a slightly confusing example, the idea is that the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana, and the Courts, despite their correspondences, exist in their own world. Whilst the Five of each Suit corresponds to Geburah on the Tree of Life, which corresponds to Mars, which corresponds to the Blasted Tower, etc., these energies, forces or entities – symbolic patterns, at the very least - are neither identical with each other nor even exist on the same level. The Minor Arcana are a sub-set of the concept of YHVH, the divine name, which Crowley also refers to here as the Demiourgous.[207] So, they represent the blind seeds of creation that are ‘part’ of the divine yet not identical with it. We might use the analogy of a tuning fork, which vibrates at a particular frequency. When it is placed near another object or tuning fork, it will resonate at the same vibration, but sound differently according to its material. They are not one object, nor the same, but they appear to exhibit exactly the same qualities.

Crowley gives the confusingly written example that “II’s or VI’s Three of Disks” would represent the establishment of the Oracle of Delphi.[208] One assumes that the combination of the High Priestess, Lovers and the 3 of Disks (work) leads to the interpretation of the construction of an Oracle. He then adds a different Major Arcana, unclear as to what it is being added, to suggest: VIII’s: The first formula of a code such as Manu gave to Hindustan. V’s: A cathedral. XVI’s: A standing army. In effect, he is saying that the 3 of Disks ‘in the world of’ or ‘from the viewpoint of’ the Blasted Tower would be the formation of an army – the work of war. The 3 of Disks delivered by (or considered by) the Hierophant would the building of a church. As an exercise, we might consider taking any Major Arcana and imagining how it would view any other Minor Arcana or Court card. So, how would the Hermit view the 5 of Wands? In the world of the Hermit and all its meanings, what does the ‘5 of Wands’ (Strife) represent? How would it manifest? In truly engaging with this concept and applying it, we might further experience the elegance of Crowley’s cosmology (and that of Western Esotericism) and develop the nuances of our divination. In summary, the Aces are blind forces, seeds of manifestation, elemental energies, and can be considered as a set unto themselves, similar in this way to the Court cards, rather than included within the Minor Arcana.

Bibliography Books by Aleister Crowley & Abbreviations Magical and Philosophical Commentaries on the Book of the Law [Commentaries]. Montreal: 93 Publishing, 1974. Magick [MAGICK]. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973. Magick Without Tears [MWT]. Phoenix: Falcon Press, 1982. Moonchild. London: Sphere Books, 1979. The Book of Lies [BOL]. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1984. The Book of the Law [AL]. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1989. The Book of Thoth [BOT]. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1985. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley [Confessions]. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979. The Equinox. London: Mandrake press and Holmes, 1992. The Equinox of the Gods. Tempe: New Falcon Publications, 1997. The International. New York: October 1917. General Bibliography Auger, Emily E. (ed.) Tarot in Culture Volume I. Valleyhome Books, 2014. Bain, Derek with Tali Goodwin & Marcus Katz. A New Dawn for Tarot: The Original Tarot of the Golden Dawn. Keswick: Forge Press, 2014. Blavatsky, H.P. The Secret Doctrine Vol. I. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1983. Bogdan, Henrik & Martin P. Starr. Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Churton, Tobias. Aleister Crowley: The Biography. London: Watkins, 2011. Djurdjevic, Gordan. India and the Occult. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Duquette, Lon Milo. Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2003.

Hartmann, Franz. Astrological Geomancy: The Art of Divining by Punctuation. London: Theosophical Publishing Company, 1889. Kaczynski, Richard. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. Tempe: New Falcon Publications, 2002. Katz, Marcus. The Magister, Vol. 0. Keswick: Forge Press, 2016. Leitch, Aaron. Secrets of the Magical Grimoires. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2005. Plato, Timaeus. Dent: London, 1965. Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn 7th ed. [GD]. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2015. Symonds, John & Kenneth Grant (ed.) Aleister Crowley: The Magical Record of the Beast 666. London: Duckworth, 1983. Tyson, Donald (ed.) The Three Books of Occult Philosophy written by Henry Cornelius Agrippa. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1998. Waite, A. E. The Holy Grail. London: Rider & Co, 1933. ________. The

Pictorial Key to the Tarot. London: Rider & Company, 1974.

Wang, Robert. An Introduction to the Golden Dawn Tarot. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1978.

Notes

[1] Invocation to HRU, from Book T of the Golden Dawn. [GD], p. 714, n.1. [2] See Derek Bain, Tali Goodwin & Marcus Katz, A New Dawn for Tarot: The Tarot of the Golden Dawn (Keswick: Forge Press, 2014). [3] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [4] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [5] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [6] Richard Kaczynski, Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley (Tempe: New Falcon Publications, 2002), p. 510. [7] BOT, xii. [8] “In The Continnum” Vol. IV Nº 5, Oroville http://www.parareligion.ch/sunrise/lekve.htm [last accessed 7th June 2018]. [9] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d.

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[10] MWT, p. 370. See MWT, pp. 367-70 for the letter ‘On Geomancy’. [11] Franz Hartmann, Astrological Geomancy: The Art of Divining by Punctuation (London: Theosophical Publishing Company, 1889). [12] For a history of Grimoires, see Aaron Leitch, Secrets of the Magical Grimoires (Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2005), pp. 7-30. [13] Donald Tyson (ed.), The Three Books of Occult Philosophy written by Henry Cornelius Agrippa (St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1998), p. 397. [14] For a fuller description of Geomancy, see Appendix VIII, Donald Tyson (ed.), The Three Books of Occult Philosophy written by Henry Cornelius Agrippa (St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1998), pp. 773-84. [15] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, September 18th, 1939. It could be that she meant to write ‘Taliesin’ after the mythic Brythonic bard whose language and listings could be compared to sections of Book T written by S. L. MacGregor Mathers. [16] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, December 11th, n.y. [17] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [18] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, January 7th 1940, Chipping Campden. [19] BOT, p. 214. [20] Letter from Aleister Crowley to Pearson, May 29th, 1942, London. [21] Letter fragment from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [22] BOT, p. 269. [23] BOT, pp. 267-70. [24] Aleister Crowley, The Book of Changes (Hastings: MRG, n.d.), intro. [25] John Symonds & Kenneth Grant (ed.), Aleister Crowley: The Magical Record of the Beast 666 (London: Duckworth, 1983), entry 8th May 1920, p. 118. [26] Magical Record, 15th April 1920, p. 107. [27] Magical Record, 21st April 1920, p. 110. [28] Tobias Churton, Aleister Crowley: The Biography (London: Watkins, 2011), pp. 101-6. [29] Aleister Crowley, The Equinox of the Gods (Tempe: New Falcon Publications, 1997), p. 77. [30] The Book of the Law was written on three sets of papers each marked 1-22, the number of cards in the Major Arcana. [31] BOT, p. 213. [32] Ibid. [33] Aleister Crowley, The Holy Books of Thelema (York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1983), p. 199. [34] Ibid, pp. 201-2. [35] Aleister Crowley, The Equinox, Vol. I. No. 7, (London: Weiland & Co., 1912), pp. 69-74 (Mandrake Press edition).

[36] The student may find in that piece several sections for use in the ritual format presented here, including the Mansions of the Moon, the Planets, and the Tarot. [37] In a pure synchronicity, on the very last day of writing this present book, editing this very section, a catalogue was released including the sale of a rare “White Box A” Thoth deck from 1969-1972, interestingly noting that the Ace of Disks was printed upside-down in that early deck. It seems typical that this signature card of the Great Beast would be printed in reverse. [38] See BOT, pp. 209-12 for the Ace of Disks and pp. 188-9 for the Ace of Wands. [39] BOT, p. 209. [40] BOT, p. 211. [41] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [42] BOT, p. 210. [43] Ibid. [44] Robert Wang, An Introduction to the Golden Dawn Tarot (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1978), p. 70. [45] BOT, p. 210. [46] BOT, p. 178. [47] Plato, Timaeus. (Dent: London, 1965), pp.30-31. [48] BOT, p. 212. [49] Ibid. [50] MWT, p. 61. [51] MWT, pp. 61-2. [52] Liber LXV, Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente, I. 3. [53] Letter to Aleister Crowley from Frieda Harris, Chipping Campden, January 7th, 1940. [54] BOT, p. 212. [55] Ibid. [56] MWT, p. 471. [57] BOT, p. 213. [58] See Marcus Katz, The Magister, VOL. 0 (Keswick: Forge Press, 2016), p. 107. [59] BOT, p. 213. [60] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [61] BOT, p. 180. [62] BOT, p. 214. Many of Crowley’s diaries and journals contain long chains of thought following the sound and structure of language. [63] BOT, p. 214. [64] Ibid. [65] Ibid. [66] Ibid. [67] AL, III. 42. [68] AL, III. 46. [69] AL, III. 68-70. [70] BOT, p. 182. [71] BOT, p. 183. [72] BOT, p. 215. [73] BOT, p. 184. [74] BOT, p. 185. [75] BOT, p. 216. [76] BOT, p. 183. [77] BOT, p. 187. [78] Ibid. [79] BOT, p. 216.

[80] BOT, p. 188. [81] BOT, p. 217. [82] BOT, p. 202. [83] Letter to Aleister Crowley from Frieda Harris, n.d. [84] BOT, p. 202. [85] Robert Wang, An Introduction to the Golden Dawn Tarot (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1978), p. 69. [86] BOT, p. 204. [87] Letter to Aleister Crowley from Frieda Harris, n.d. [88] Morton House has a very distinguished history; Harris lived there with her husband, Sir Percy Harris, from 1937. [89] BOT, p. 204. [90] Ibid. [91] BOT, p. 180. [92] Confessions, p. 699, quoting himself as “a Past Grand Master” in ‘The Crisis in Freemasonry’ in the English Review, Vol. XXXVI, August 1922. [93] Crowley, A. The International (New York, October 1917), pp. 307-309. [94] BOT, p. 205. [95] BOT, p. 180. [96] BOT, p. 181. [97] Commentaries, p. 261. [98] BOT, p. 206. [99] Ibid. [100] BOT, p. 281, f.n. [101] See Derek Bain, Tali Goodwin & Marcus Katz, A New Dawn for Tarot: The Tarot of the Golden Dawn (Keswick: Forge Press, 2014). [102] BOT, p. 207. [103] BOT, p. 184. [104] BOT, p. 207. [105] BOT, p. 185. [106] BOT, p. 208. [107]

BOT, p. 186. For the concluding poem segment of the longer text by Thomson, see https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45407/the-city-of-dreadful-night and an analysis of the whole poem can be read from Dick Sullivan, ‘"Poison Mixed With Gall": James Thomson's The City of Dreadful Night — A Personal View’ at http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/thomson/city1.html [last accessed 30th November 2018]. [108] BOT, p. 186. [109] Ibid. [110] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, November 3rd, 1939. [111] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [112] Ibid. [113] Ibid. [114] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [115] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, September 18th, 1939. [116] BOT, p. 208. [117] BOT, p. 209. [118] BOT, p. 195. [119] Liber Al, I. 57. [120] BOT, p. 195. [121] BOT, p. 196. [122] Ibid.

[123] http://www.levity.com/alchemy/a-archive_nov01.html [last accessed 16th October 2018]. [124] BOT, p. 196. [125] Ibid. [126] Ibid. [127] Ibid. [128] Private Journals, Order of the Everlasting Day [see www.marcuskatz.com]. [129] BOT, p. 197. [130] BOT, p. 179. [131] BOT, p. 197. [132] Ibid. [133] BOT, p. 198. [134] BOT, p. 198. See also Liber Gaias sub figurâ XCVI. A Handbook of Geomancy, p. 17. [135] Ibid. [136] BOT, p. 180. [137] Ibid. [138] Ibid. [139] BOT, p. 199. [140] H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine Vol. I (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1983), p. 379. [141] BOT, p. 200. [142] Aleister Crowley, Liber XV, The Gnostic Mass, 5th Collect. [143] A. E. Waite, The Holy Grail (London: Rider & Co, 1933), p. 267. [144] See Derrick Everett, ‘The Meaning of Parsival’, http://www.monsalvat.no/story5.htm [last accessed 30th November 2018]. [145] BOT, p. 201. [146] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [147] Letter from Aleister Crowley to Frieda Harris, 19th December 1939. [148] See Paul Mountfort, ‘Tarot Guide Books as a Literary Genre: Narratives of Destiny’ in Emily E. Auger (ed.) Tarot in Culture Volume I (Valleyhome Books, 2014). [149] BOT, p. 188. [150] See Henrik Bogdan, Martin P. Starr, Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 156-7. [151] Ibid. [152] Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5. Scene 5. [153] BOT, p. 189, quoting Liber Al, I.44. [154] For an overview of Crowley’s encounter and transmission of Eastern practices, language and symbolism, see Gordan Djurdjevic, India and the Occult (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). [155] BOT, p. 189. [156] BOT, pp. 189-90. [157] BOT, p. 190. [158] Aleister Crowley, Moonchild (London: Mandrake Press, 1929) Chapter XIII. [159] Lon Milo Duquette, for example, refers the reader to the Golden Dawn interpretations of this card, due to Crowley’s omission of any practical text. See Lon Milo Duquette, Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot (San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2003), p. 214. [160] BOT, p. 190. [161] Wang, p. 96. [162] BOT, p. 179. [163] BOT, p. 191. [164] Ibid. [165] Ibid.

[166] Ibid. [167] BOT, pp. 191-2. [168] BOT, p. 192. [169] BOT, p. 181. [170] BOT, p. 192. See also the same allusion in Aleister Crowley, Liber CCCXXXIII: The Book of Lies, verse 69. [171] See also Crowley on ‘The Lamp’, Magick, pp. 104-5. [172] BOT, p. 193. [173] BOT, p. 192. [174] A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider & Company, 1974), p. 182. [175] Ibid. [176] BOT, p, 193. [177] Ibid. [178] Fragment of letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley [n.d.]. [179] BOT, p. 194. [180] ‘Ritual Implements in Tibetan Buddhism: A Symbolic https://web.stanford.edu/class/history11sc/pdfs/ritual [last accessed 29th November 2018]. [181] BOT, pp. 194-5.

Appraisal’

(2001),

[182] Magick, p. 276. [183] Magick, pp. 266-82. [184] See www.marcuskatz.com for the Crucible Club and the Order of Everlasting Day. [185] Magick, p. 267. [186] “Nearly all professional astrologers are ignorant of their own subject, as of all others”, Magick, p. 269, f.n. [187] Magick, p. 269. [188] Ibid. [189] Ibid. [190] Ibid. [191] Magick, p. 270. [192] Ibid. [193] Crowley also manages to sneak in a firmly tongue-in-cheek wordplay with a footnote that reads “Malicious or pranksome elementals instinctively avoid the austere sincerity of the Figures of Fu and King Wan”. [194] Magick, p. 271. [195] Ibid. [196] Ibid. [197] Magick, p. 272. [198] Magick, p. 273. [199] BOT, p. 277. [200] BOT, p. 279. [201] Magick, p. 280-1. [202] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [203] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [204] Letter from Frieda Harris to Aleister Crowley, n.d. [205] BOT, p. 189. [206] Ibid. [207] This term is applied, in a sense, to a ‘creator god’ as opposed to the ‘true god’. It comes from the phrase meaning ‘worker for the people’ and was later adopted by several sects now termed ‘gnostic’ from Platonic writings. [208] BOT, p. 189.