Divination: The Thoth Tarot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah  

The Thoth Tarot

By Aleister Crowley 

Thoth Tarot is one of the most influential—and most symbolically dense—occult tarot decks ever created. It was conceived by the English occultist Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris between 1938 and 1943. 

Unlike many tarot decks designed primarily for straightforward fortune-telling, the Thoth is almost a visual encyclopedia of Western esotericism. It brings together Qabalah, astrology, alchemy, Egyptian symbolism, ceremonial magic, numerology and Thelemic philosophy. 

The story behind the deck

Crowley originally imagined a relatively conventional revision of the tarot. His collaboration with Harris transformed the project into something far more ambitious. What was expected to take roughly six months eventually occupied five years. Harris repeatedly reworked paintings as Crowley’s ideas developed, while also bringing her own modernist artistic vision to the cards. 

Harris is particularly important because the Thoth would not look anything like it does without her. Her paintings combine Art Deco, abstract geometry, vivid colour and visionary imagery. Modern scholarship increasingly recognises her as a creative partner rather than simply the person who “illustrated Crowley’s deck.” 

The accompanying text, The Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians, was first published in 1944. The actual tarot deck was not commercially printed until 1969, more than two decades after the book. 

The 78 cards

The Thoth contains the familiar 78-card structure:

• 22 Major Arcana
• 40 numbered Minor Arcana
• 16 Court Cards

But Crowley made substantial changes to traditional tarot terminology and symbolism.

Some particularly important changes include:

Traditional Tarot	Thoth Tarot
Strength	Lust
Justice	Adjustment
Judgement	The Aeon
Temperance	Art
Page	Princess
Knight	Prince

These aren’t merely cosmetic changes. They reflect Crowley’s belief that tarot should express the magical philosophy of Thelema and what he regarded as the emerging “New Aeon.”

The Major Arcana

The Major Arcana are particularly rich in occult correspondences. Each card is connected with systems such as Hebrew letters, astrology, planets, elements and Qabalistic concepts. 

For example:

The Magus

Associated with Mercury, communication, intellect, magic and the ability to bring potential into manifestation.

The High Priestess

Connected with the Moon, intuition, mystery, hidden knowledge and the subconscious.

The Empress

Venus, fertility, creativity, sensuality and the generative forces of nature.

The Emperor

Aries, authority, structure, will and active manifestation.

Death

Far more than literal death, this represents transformation, dissolution and regeneration.

Lust

Crowley’s replacement for Strength. It is an especially important Thelemic card, involving passion, ecstatic consciousness, creative force and the integration of seemingly opposing energies.

Art

Crowley’s version of Temperance. Alchemical symbolism dominates the card: the reconciliation and transformation of opposites.

The Aeon

Replacing Judgement, this card represents the transition into the new spiritual era associated with Crowley’s conception of the Aeon of Horus.

The Universe

Completion, integration and the totality of existence.

The Minor Arcana are very different

One of the things that makes the Thoth fascinating is that its Minor Arcana are not simply illustrated versions of the four suits.

The four suits are:

• Wands — Fire
• Cups — Water
• Swords — Air
• Disks — Earth

The numbered cards carry names such as Three of Swords — Sorrow, Five of Cups — Disappointment, Six of Wands — Victory, and Ten of Disks — Wealth.

These titles give you an immediate sense of Crowley’s approach: the cards are treated as specific energetic and psychological conditions, rather than simply scenes depicting everyday activities.

The Court Cards

The court structure is also unusual:

• Knight
• Queen
• Prince
• Princess

The elemental relationships between these cards are important, and Crowley’s system becomes considerably more complicated when astrology and Qabalah are added.

For someone learning the Thoth, the Court Cards can initially be one of the hardest parts of the deck.

Egyptian symbolism

Despite the name “Thoth Tarot,” the deck isn’t simply an ancient Egyptian tarot that has survived from antiquity.

The connection with Egypt is largely esoteric and symbolic. Crowley associated tarot with the Egyptian god Thoth, whom he understood as a divine archetype of wisdom, writing, magic and intellectual revelation.

The imagery also incorporates Egyptian gods and motifs alongside Greek, Christian, Qabalistic, alchemical and astrological symbolism.

In other words, the Thoth is best understood as a modern Western occult synthesis using Egyptian imagery, rather than an authentic reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian card system.

The Qabalah

This is perhaps the most important key to unlocking the deck.

Crowley’s tarot is deeply connected with the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The 22 Major Arcana correspond to the 22 paths connecting the ten Sephiroth.

This means that a Thoth reading can potentially be approached simultaneously through:

Tarot → Qabalah → astrology → elements → alchemy → numerology → Thelema.

That extraordinary layering is one reason the deck can take years to study.

The artwork

Harris’s artwork is extraordinary.

The cards often look almost psychedelic, despite having been created decades before the psychedelic era. There are radiating geometries, brilliant colour contrasts, cosmic landscapes, abstract human figures and symbolic forms.

The cards don’t always tell you their meaning through an obvious picture. Instead, they frequently seem to encode an experience.

This makes the Thoth very different from the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition, where a card such as the Three of Cups immediately presents a recognisable social scene.

With the Thoth, you may find yourself asking:

What is happening energetically here?

rather than:

What is happening in this picture?

The Book of Thoth

If you’re seriously interested in this deck, The Book of Thoth is the essential companion.

It explains Crowley’s interpretation of the cards and explores the enormous network of correspondences behind them. Oxford’s recent scholarship describes the book and paintings as the culmination of the Harris–Crowley project, including Crowley’s reworking of Golden Dawn symbolism alongside astrological, planetary and Qabalistic systems. 

It is not an easy beginner’s book. Crowley assumes considerable familiarity with occult terminology and frequently moves between different systems without much explanation.

Is it good for readings?

Absolutely—but it is particularly good for deep, introspective readings.

The Thoth can be used for:

• divination
• meditation
• magical work
• psychological exploration
• Qabalistic study
• astrology
• ritual work
• exploring archetypes
• studying Thelema

Many readers find it considerably more challenging than Rider-Waite-Smith at first. But once its symbolic language becomes familiar, it can become extraordinarily precise.

Thoth versus Rider-Waite-Smith

A useful way of thinking about the difference is:

Rider-Waite-Smith:

“What is happening?”

Thoth:

“What force is operating here?”

The Thoth is less interested in giving you a simple narrative and more interested in showing you the underlying energetic, psychological and spiritual structure of a situation.

If you have an interest in Crowley, The Book of Thoth, Qabalah and the occult traditions surrounding tarot, I think the Thoth is particularly worth studying as an occult system rather than simply a tarot deck. The symbolism becomes much richer when you understand why Crowley changed cards such as Lust, Art, Adjustment and The Aeon.

The deck is readily available from most stores

https://www.holisticshop.co.uk/products/crowley-thoth-tarot

The man behind the deck: Aleister Crowley 

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, writer, poet and mountaineer who became one of the most controversial figures in modern Western esotericism.

Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Warwickshire, he rejected the strict religious upbringing of his childhood and developed a lifelong interest in mysticism, magic and esoteric philosophy. He joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, where he studied ceremonial magic, Qabalah, astrology, alchemy and related occult traditions.

Crowley later developed his own spiritual philosophy, Thelema, following a series of experiences in Egypt in 1904. Its central principle is often expressed through the phrase “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” For Crowley, this did not simply mean doing whatever one fancied; it referred to discovering and fulfilling one’s True Will—one’s deepest spiritual purpose.

He founded and participated in several magical organisations, including the A∴A∴ and his involvement with the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.). He wrote extensively on magic, mysticism, yoga, Qabalah and tarot.

His most famous works include The Book of the Law, Magick in Theory and Practice, 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings, and The Book of Thoth.

Crowley died in Hastings in 1947, but his influence continues through Thelemic organisations, occult writers, ceremonial magicians and tarot practitioners worldwide.

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/aleister-crowley