For Magick Work, Thoth Tarot Probably The Choice., Other decks good for divination but not ideal for magick Options

Since I didn't see a lot of Thoth (Crowley) deck discussions, I thought I'd start a thread, see if anyone's interested.

My work over the last thirty plus years has hurtled me in a dozen directions. I have now worked most paths lightly, two or three intensely, ended up creating my own (a la Chaos theory) but with a decidedly eastern (Tibetan magick) thrust. Through it all, I have worked over forty different Tarot decks (most of which I still own), including seven Thoth decks (I still own and use my 1970s deck).

I may have played the field, and "fooled around" but I always return to the Thoth tarot for any magick work. I carry a pocket deck as a "portable" temple. I consider it the only tool I need for my mostly empty handed work. I'm a poor visualizer, for all my years of trying, but with the Thoth tarot (but no other deck), I can actually take journeys, travel to the Deep mind, see and visualize in three dimensions, and work my path.

For divination -- pathwork, not frivolous fun stuff -- I find the Thoth deck nearly infallible. Something about it just connects instantly with my subconscious. Elsewhere, I posted on how I use the Thoth Tarot as my only magick tool. It is also my carry-everywhere amulet. It has a life of its own, like a Tibetan Tulpa or a Chaos Servitor.

I think too many people let Crowley-mythology (or the complexity of the correspondences -- which must be understood to truly work Thoth tarot) stop them from trying this truly magick deck. It comes, straight from the box empowered with the wisdom of nearly every single symbol and archetype known to man (very Jungian). Part of Crowley's genius (putting aside all discussions of the sensational man) was that he spent his whole life learning both eastern and western magick. He contained, within him--like him or hate him--probably the greatest reservoir of magick knowledge ever deposited in a single man. And he expressed it over five manic years with Lady Harris, a truly brilliant collaboration. Lightly illustrated theme decks, collage decks and cartoon decks (and especially photo decks) can never close to the endless depth of imagery in the Thoth. I've even created my own Tarot deck. But I use the Thoth for all important work. After more than three decades, I still see something new in each card, every time I look at them -- which is DAILY.

This post has been edited by Mezu: Jan 29 2007, 07:39 PM

Even though I am a Simoniconist (and very partial to Taoism as well), I have found the Wiccan-oriented Robin Wood Tarot to be excellent for magickal workings. I am attracted to it, in part, because of its strong cross-cultural references and symbolism from many paths. The artwork is also second to none. Oddly enough, I have also used a humble, second-hand Rider-Waite deck to excellent effect in magick, despite the fact that I don't consider it especially attractive.

Even though I am a Simoniconist (and very partial to Taoism as well), I have found the Wiccan-oriented Robin Wood Tarot to be excellent for magickal workings. I am attracted to it, in part, because of its strong cross-cultural references and symbolism from many paths. The artwork is also second to none. Oddly enough, I have also used a humble, second-hand Rider-Waite deck to excellent effect in magick, despite the fact that I don't consider it especially attractive.

Hi Penny,

I have worked well with the RWS as well. It was my first deck and is imbued with decades of use by millions of people (see my post on numbers of tarot decks sold)... I love my RWS and I've gone through various phases of "it's attractive" then "it's not attractive." Bottom line, after 3 decades plus of using, the Smith deck (I prefer to call it the Smith deck, or at least the Rider Waite Smith deck to give Pamela Smith due credit as the artist -- I think she's been hijaaked in history by Rider (a publisher) and Waite (a helper), when in fact it was her deck through and through). I have good results working with this deck because the mind can link with the universal archetypes. The correspondences (ie. Kabalistic, elemental, etc) are quite clear, too, where in other more fancifal decks they become cloudier. Thumbs up on the humble Smith (RWS) deck!

Best, Mezu