Thoth, Reversals, and Divinatory Sustenance

The Crowley Thoth deck is amazing. What took me so long to work with it? Throwing all nay-sayers to the wind, I purchased this pack of cards on a whim a little over a month ago, and I’m so very happy that I did.

I’m blown away by the art. Each card is a masterpiece of symbolism, color, shape and symmetry. I’ve never seen a more exquisite Ace of Disks, with so much texture and flow. No, the minors don’t feature scenes (no people, houses, activities) but the cards speak quite clearly all the same, as the artwork is extremely expressive – it may simply be a different dialect than one would experience with other decks (especially of the RWS tradition).

Thoth Ace of Disks (Crowley/Harris)

I’d read so much about not using reversals with the Thoth deck – if anything, elemental dignities should be employed. I’ve experimented with EDs for the past year or so, and while I do find them useful and interesting, I don’t find them more useful than reversals – though I often observe the influences of both within a single reading. Perhaps someday the EDs will make so much sense that I’ll toss out reversals altogether (or perhaps not!), but for now I enjoy the rich depth that reversals give to readings – so why stop now?

So yes, I’m saying it here and now, with no shame whatsoever: I use reversals with the Thoth deck, and it works splendidly!

And why shouldn’t it? The concept of reversals is vast and inclusive in its use: we’re not talking about strictly applying the opposite meaning to a reversed card – it’s far more elegant than that. It may suggest that the card’s energy is obstructed, covert, slow, new, suppressed, fading, muted, or overpowering. Caitlin Matthews wrote a couple of blog posts regarding the use of reversals (click here to access her first post) in reference to the Wildwood Tarot, and this kind of system is applicable to really any Tarot deck you use (per your personal preference, naturally).

Once I allowed myself to release the external pressure of “no reversals with Thoth!!” I could actually open up to the deck and dive right in. And I’m loving it!

When I started working with the New Orleans Voodoo Tarot (another cherished deck) I started to really consider the beauty of the 10 Sephirot and how they interact with each other. The Voodoo Tarot is very much its own deck (meaning it doesn’t closely follow any particular tradition, per se) but the creator, Sallie Ann Glassman, did draw quite a bit from Crowley’s Book of Thoth and Jewish mysticism, and my work with that deck has drawn me into the wonderful, nourishing sustenance of Kabbalah’s relationship to divination. My work with the Thoth is increasing, enriching and expanding my awareness and application of this relationship.  Good stuff!

Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot/US Games

If you’re considering this deck but are put off by a few seemingly different card meanings – don’t be.  Crowley’s Thoth simply presents another perspective on similar energy. For example, in the RWS tradition we tend to see the 7 of Pentacles as a positive card. It’s about patience, review, recalibration, and continued efforts to achieve a goal. The Thoth 7 of Disks carries the keyword “failure” and shows a depressing gray landscape that brings to mind rot and putrefaction.  Yikes? They seem like such different meanings, but in reality the core essence is quite similar. The 7 of Disks is about putting a lot of effort into something but not seeing immediate results. Patience is still highlighted here. It’s about working hard, and finding that perhaps the effort you expend outweighs the fruits of your labor. What can you do differently? What can be tweaked or adjusted, or should you choose a different route altogether? These are some questions you might ask yourself if you pull the 7 of Disks – and when you think about the 7 of Pentacles, there really isn’t a significant difference in essence – only in presentation.

7 of Disks, Thoth Tarot (Crowley/Harris)

This is only an example, and I’m not prepared to do a complete analysis of the differences and similarities between RWS and Thoth in this post. But I do want to encourage anyone who may be avoiding the Thoth deck due to some of these elements to give it a chance!  Don’t take it at face value (especially not the keywords) – be prepared to go far beneath the surface, and you’ll find a wealth of knowledge, information and depth that will nurture your divinatory practice.

As I originally mentioned (and clearly feel the need to mention again!), the artwork alone took my breath away. I opened the deck and spent an hour flipping from card to card admiring the beauty and perfection of the images. I laughed to myself at one point because I was so utterly moved that I suddenly felt compelled to sing its praises from the hilltops…..as if no one had ever heard of, or come to appreciate, this deck! Ha ha ha. I do believe that this deck is undervalued in some circles, but in general it’s overwhelmingly well respected, and sits as a critical Tarot system for a reason.

I’m profoundly enjoying my study and work with the Thoth deck, and am looking forward to the unfolding journey of delving even deeper into its many layers.

I’d love to hear about your personal experience with this deck – please share with me in the comments below!

Same Message, Twice in a Row

I did a spread this evening for someone using DruidCraft with reversals, in a 7 card Horseshoe.

Not gonna lie, it was a challenging read.  It took a lot of time to mentally sort through the reverse meanings, even though I ended up with a decent handle on the message.

But I wanted to cross-check it, "just to see." Just me testing my doubts, again.  Silly girl! Ha...

I did a 3 card spread, no reversals, using the Morgan Greer deck.  I got a succinct, clear message, very easy to read, and it was exactly the same message as the first spread.

Morgan Greer Tarot

                                        

It got me thinking.....the reversals were accurate, though cumbersome (at least partially due to the fact that I am not accustomed to using them).  But I got the same message, simple and clear and not at all cumbersome, with the short spread, all upright!  Both spreads even had a majority of the same suit, which was definitely significant to the question asked.  In the end it made me feel like the longer spread, and the reversals even, were just giving me more "noise" than was necessary.

I have one deck that I've decided to set aside for reversal practice, so I'll keep working on my comfort level with them.  I do see value there, especially for readings about complicated situations.  But it was nice to see how the same idea can be accurately conveyed using a different format and no reversals at all.  

I've been trying to incorporate the elemental dignities into my readings as much as possible, and to some extent numerology, which I feel has been successful, and does help highlight important areas in a spread.  

Only one way to go....keep on practicing :-)

My First Original Spread!

So I never considered making my own spread.  I figured that there are so many spreads out there for everything under the sun, why bother adding to it?  But yesterday I was contemplating love readings.  I decided to throw together a spread that could be used if two people are facing relationship challenges and need some clarity.  That is all well and good, but what about if a couple's relationship is going really well, and they just want some insights into it?  Some family members are celebrating their anniversary today, and they're one of the best couples I know.  I decided to create a spread with them in mind, and do a reading for them for their anniversary.  They were pleased with the outcome and happy to have me share the results with the world, though even so I will keep their identities somewhat obscure. I'll use the names Jack and Jill :-).

I don't have a name for this spread yet, but this is the layout:

    2

1      4  5  6

    3

       

I used Morgan Greer Tarot for the reading.

So as I flipped the cards over I was sure I'd done a poor job.  I saw a Swords, and some other things that were slightly unexpected.  After I stopped judging everything and actually started really looking at and thinking about the cards, I realized how meaningful and positive they were.  So here is my analysis:

Card 1, Current state of relationship: Empress - all is well at home!  There is a lot of love, mutual support, give and take.  There is sensuality, earthiness, and nourishment.

Card 2, What she brings to the relationship: 10 of Swords - change!  Jill doesn't mess around.  When she's done, she's done.  Once she identifies something that is old, no longer working, boring, annoying (etc) she cuts it out and makes room for something new and better.

Card 3, What he brings to the relationship: 8 of Cups - change....but slower!  Jack spends a lot of energy cultivating the world around him.  He may put a lot of time, energy and emotion into something that isn't really satisfying him.  The good thing is that once he realizes that it's not feeding his soul, he will move on.  He's able to take the journey to find what will satisfy him.

Card 4, Potential obstacles: 3 of Wands - future goals.  It may be hard getting past the initial planning stages of a creative idea.  One person might want one thing, while the other isn't convinced.  One might be full of ideas, and the other is fine where he/she is. Two people with diverging long-term goals makes for some struggles.

Card 5, The Key to success: Knight of Cups - they love each other.  But more than that! They share a lot of deep, core values that draw them together.  They appreciate beauty and the finer things in life.  They share a commitment to self-improvement.  Their ability to tune in to others' emotions makes them sensitive to each other, but also forms the foundation for their shared profession.  

Card 6, the Future: 4 of Cups - Jill's ideas clash with Jack's comfort with where he is and what he already has at his disposal (the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind).  This is a potential next step, moving forward from the 3 of Wands. Perhaps some compromise will occur, that honors both people's feelings/needs/desires.  Perhaps an offer or opportunity will come along to help solve this issue, and imbue movement into feelings of stagnancy.  

The foundations are very strong (Empress and Knight of Cups).  The Knight's position between a fire card (wands) and water card (cups) gives it enhanced importance: none of the obstacles faced will shake the core of the relationship. This is supported by their complementary Soul cards (Empress and Emperor).  Both people bring the capacity for change to the marriage, albeit in two very different styles.  This is further supported by their Personality/Shadow cards: Jill's as the World and the Hanged Man, and Jack's as the Fool and Death.  

Interestingly, the numerological sum of the spread (using the four, numbered Minor Arcana) is 7 = The Chariot. I feel this signifies that they work well as a team, and know themselves and each other well.  When they agree on a goal, they see it through together. They deal well with life's challenges because of their strong connection to each other.

So Jill told me she was really happy with the results, and impressed with the accuracy.  That made my day, especially because it was my first time trying out a spread I created.  I'm encouraged to work on other new spreads in the future!

Numerology and Tarot

Okay, this is a new concept/practice for me.  I've seen that a lot of people use numerology to help give depth to readings.  The only numerology I really could recall was the kind that became popular when I was a kid, when you'd calculate the assigned numbers to each letter in your first name, and see what kind of person you were supposed to be.  It always seemed like silly nonsense.

But since it seems like a widely used and respected practice with Tarot, I wanted to explore it.  Last night I calculated the personality/soul/shadow cards for my entire family (husband and kids, mother/step-father, siblings) and was kind of blown away by how perfect it all was.  When I saw the constellations for my mom and step-dad I actually laughed out loud, because it explained exactly the ways in which they mesh, and the ways in which they clash.

So that is something that would be interesting to use in the future.

Image from Creative Commons

Also, it seems that depending on those constellations, if one of those cards appears in a spread for someone, it may carry extra meaning.  So that's something to consider.

Additionally, I like the idea of counting the quantity of "numbers" that appear in a spread (how many 6s, how many 2s, etc) to help give an extra sense of the overall underflow of a situation.  That makes sense to me.  I already pay attention to the quantity of suits/elements present in a spread to help understand how that impacts a situation, or environment, but adding numbers adds an extra dimension.  And, yes.... still working on elemental dignities.  At this point I feel like it's easiest for me to make sense of in a 3-card spread, which is how it usually appears in websites.  I really have no clue as to how to use them in something big, like a Celtic Cross.  So - work in progress!

A Three-Card Spread and Elemental Dignities (and reversals)

I've been hesitant to use reversals.  I'm not against using them, and may consider incorporating them in the future.  It's not because I'm afraid of the negative implications they sometimes bring, or because I feel it's unnecessary as Tarot cards already hold tons of meaning.  I've seen spreads that have been done with reversals where I find the reversals tend to give a subtle layer of additional meaning to the reading that would not have been as clear otherwise.  So we'll see about that.  What I find most mind-shattering is that with 78 upright cards there are already so many potential meanings and ways of interpreting them, that to add another slew of potential meanings to each one just makes me exhausted.  I mean, have you done the math?  78 cards does not equal 78 meanings.... if we decide to randomly assign 5 potential meanings to each card, that comes to a total of 390 potential meanings we have floating around in our minds.  That does not factor in the positions the various cards end up in, or the interactions and additional potential meanings we might see and intuit from a spread.  If we double that, we come to 780.  It's perfectly possible to learn reversals and successfully apply them.  But while I already understand the basic premise of reversals and their application, I'm not sure it's entirely necessary or worthwhile yet to study each card.

At any rate, I've been reading about elemental dignities and the extra clarity they can provide readings by helping to determine which cards carry more or less weight in a spread.  The first websites I looked at were really confusing, mainly because while the description of elemental dignities was fairly clear, there were no examples of real-life spreads with interpretations using the elemental dignities.  So learning how to apply them seemed daunting - yet I kept reading about how powerful they can be!  So I was motivated to figure this whole situation out.....

Image from Creative Commons

Meanwhile I read a blog entry on Sun Goddess Tarot (a blog I've come to love), where Tarot "newbies" were encouraged to get more experience reading strangers by signing up to do free readings through various sites.  When I went to one of the sites, it said that all potential free-readers must EITHER use reversals OR elemental dignities.  I thought: "Okay! It's settled! I will learn these dignities, or else!"  (Later that night, in frustration, I threw my hands up in the air and resigned myself to learning all of the reversed meanings I could; it's true - elemental dignities are not for the faint of heart).

But I was further motivated by the apparent recognition that while yes, reversals can provide extra layers of insight, so can elemental dignities, and it's not absolutely necessary to use both. (Yet. But this is me, and I will probably learn all the reversals at some point, anyway, just for the additional challenge and knowledge).  So, that felt validating, and I was happy (and still am) to learn a challenging but effective system that does not require doubling up on all of the cards.

Okay.  So this morning I had a meeting with a student and his advisor about a plagiarizing issue (this was mentioned in a previous post).  I had been working with this student for just a couple of weeks, and so far most of his out-of-class work had been poor, despite his general good naturedness.  I was nervous about how the meeting would go because while I was unhappy with the quality of the student's work, coupled with the plagiarism, I was nervous about the potential implications, and how student would react.  I decided to do a 3-card spread, but didn't assign meanings to any of the positions.

I pulled:                    The Queen of Wands   -    3 of Cups   -     Ace of Wands

My initial interpretation:

My first sense was that the Queen of Wands was the student's advisor.  I had not met her before, so I was encouraged by this card - it suggested a very capable woman with self-confidence, a caring and friendly demeanor.  I felt this meant that she would lead the meeting well, and would come up with a creative way to deal with this unpleasant situation.

The 3 of Cups brings to mind teamwork, success, celebration, and I definitely did not think this meeting would be most of those things.  But the element of teamwork stuck with me, as I was preparing for a meeting with several other people.

The Ace of Wands at first made me feel that the situation would be resolved in a positive way, and the student would be allowed some kind of new beginning.  I wasn't really sure what that might look like.

So then I applied the elemental dignities.  Fire and Water don't mix.  And two fire cards flanking one water card meant that the Wands really dominated this spread - they were most important - while the 3 of Cups' meaning was diminished.  This made sense - to me, then, the 3 of Cups signified the meeting itself, and the coming together of several people to solve an issue.  The emphasis of this issue lied in the Queen of Wands (the student advisor) and the the Ace of Wands (what I came to think of as the outcome).

The result:

I had the meeting today, and was pleased with the results.  When I walked into the advisor's office and met her I immediately said to myself "Yes. This is definitely the Queen of Wands."  She was everything you'd imagine the Queen of Wands to be, and it was a pleasure to meet her.  She handled the meeting with expert grace, and was firm yet kind.

I had been led to believe there would be up to 5 people in the meeting, but in the end there were just three of us - the Three of Cups. And the meeting, while successful, was not celebratory, so I felt that the card with the adjusted meaning was very accurate.

Finally, the card that still held some mystery for me: the Ace of Wands.  I originally thought it meant a creative outcome, a new opportunity for the student, in some way.  Well, that was accurate, though not in the way I might have thought.  The student lost all points for the class, received a zero for his project, and after calculations were complete, it was evident he would be failing my class, and thus would have to retake it next semester.  There's a new beginning, alright.  He would be held accountable for his work, and would need to challenge himself to try harder, and take his work more seriously.  I wondered if in part this conclusion remained cloudy for me because I was personally invested in the idea that he would not have to repeat my course, even though rationally I knew it was a real possibility.

The spread was entirely right on, and the application of the elemental dignities was helpful in determining extra meaning for the cards involved.  It is a simple example, but one that gives me a clearer understanding of how the elemental dignities can impact the meaning of a spread, even in subtle ways.  When I thought of the spread, I thought that a reversed 3 of Cups might well have signified similar things in this spread - a subdued version of the upright.  While this might not work the same way for every card in the deck, it did provide food for thought, in terms of how the meanings or impact of reversals and elemental dignities can intersect, and I'm looking forward to practicing more with this application.

My Tarot Journey - 30-day Tarot Challenge

Having delved back into the use of cards for guidance and divination, I decided that rather that inundate my regular blog with a bunch of Tarot posts, I'd create a new and separate blog where I can document my journey.  I'll post answers 1-10 from the 30-day Tarot Challenge here, because I think they give a good background on where I've come from, and where I'm at now - though that's constantly changing as I continue my work with cards!  I say "cards" because I started with Medicine Cards rather than Tarot.  In fact, I only truly started my Tarot journey earlier this year, and while I'm not new to the world of cards, I am a new and passionate student of Tarot.  I love the Medicine Cards (as you'll see below) but I wanted to study the Tarot specifically because of the tradition and history surrounding it, and in order to both gain personal guidance, and to eventually help others gain clarity and insights into their own lives. So, here we go!

Druidcraft Tarot - Image from Creative Commons

(1) What introduced you/got you involved in Tarot?
My mom used to do Tarot when I was a kid, and I always loved and valued it.  She was always a great reader, and I remember she would sometimes do readings for friends and family.  It seemed natural to me.  The part that always drew me in was how she became a storyteller.

(2) What was your first deck and why/how did you get it?
When I was in middle school I used to use my mom's Medicine Cards (Jamie Sams/David Carson) quite a lot, and I felt a good connection to those.  Of course when I became an adult I secreted them away to my new abode, but when my mom found out I had them she demanded them back.  (I think I will purchase my own set at some point, however, because I always felt good about that deck.) My own first deck was not strictly Tarot, but more of an oracle deck, which I purchased in my mid-twenties, called Runic Tarot (Caroline Smith and John Astrop).  I can't find it after our big move, and never really felt I connected to it (I purchased it in an attempt to replace the Medicine Cards as a divinatory/guidance tool, but it wasn't a good fit, and at that point in my life I wasn't interested in runic study - wish I could find it though, because I am now! ). 

(3) Do you have more than one deck that you use and if so do you have a favorite? If not, why do you like the deck you have chosen?
My mom used Mythic Tarot (Juliet Sharman-Burke, Liz Greene, Tricia Newell), which had beautiful imagery and was thorough with the story it told. When I decided to find my own set, I looked for Mythic Tarot but could only find some online, for a high price.  I bought Golden Tarot (by Liz Dean) for myself, which has similar imagery in that it's more classical.  As I can't find the Runic Tarot deck I bought nearly ten years ago, for a while it was my only deck.  However over time I've acquired the DruidCraft Tarot, Druid Animal Oracle, Morgan Greer Tarot, Wildwood Tarot, and Radiant Rider-Waite...and I have a whole wish-list of more I'd like to get in the future :)  I think having a selection is important: one) it's nice to give choices to your clients, two) depending on the day I'm drawn to different decks, three) I'm a dynamic person, and each deck attracts me for different reasons - I like having the variety.

(4) How long have you been reading the Tarot?
Well, if I count oracle cards, I've been doing Tarot for 20 years, with about a 5-6 year gap in the middle where I didn't do any readings at all.  In terms of Tarot specifically, I've been working with more closely this year.  I felt it would be beneficial to learn the formal Tarot, which is deep and rich.  However I still plan to incorporate the Medicine Cards at some point, and currently use Druid Animal Oracle with many of my readings, which was actually inspired by the Medicine Cards.

(5) When and where did you give your first reading?
I really only ever did my own readings when I was young, so I suppose my first reading was for myself when I was 13 or 14 years old.  I think I might have done a Medicine Card reading for my older sister at some point, too.  In my twenties I did oracle readings for my husband and myself.  Now I've done Tarot for myself, my husband, my extended family, and more recently, for strangers.

(6) What was the first spread you learned?
Well the first spread I learned was the Pathway spread which I used with the Medicine Cards.  In terms of Tarot it was the Celtic Cross, which has many positional meanings in common with the Pathway spread.

(7) What is your favorite card (both in terms of deck’s artwork and divinatory meaning)?
I suppose my favorites are the High Priestess and the Hermit.

(8) Which card do you dread pulling the most?
Pretty much anything that has a sword on it (with some exceptions)!!! The 7 of Swords, in particular, has been a hard card for me to get my head around.  Also the 5 of Pentacles isn't fun to see in a spread. I find that the 6 of Cups can be complex as well, but honestly I really enjoy the challenging cards, as much as they stress me out :)

(9) What card do you pull the most often? Why do you think that is the case?
For my own, personal readings I feel like there is usually a pretty good mix, but I've been drawing a high percentage of trump cards, and I think that's because a lot of life changes have been going on (in good ways).  

(10) What card best represents your personality (or, is most often pulled to represent you in a spread)?
The High Priestess and the Empress (the balance of spirituality and motherhood/family life).  Also the Hermit in that I've always valued privacy, introspection, and solitude.