The Thoth Tarot Deck

The Thoth Tarot Deck was a tarot deck developedother standard tarot card decks. The Major Arcana
by the English occultist Aleister Crowley and illustratedor trump cards are 21 in number and consist of the
on his instructions by Lady Frieda Harris. Aleisterfool, the Magician or Magus, the high Priestess, the
Crowley called the Thoth tarot deck, the book ofEmperor, the Empress, the Hierophant, the lovers,
Thoth and claimed that the deck reflected thethe chariot, Adjustment, the hermit, the wheel of
wisdom of the ancient Egyptian book of Thoth. Thefortune, lust, the hanged man, death, art, devil,
tarot card descriptions found on the Thoth Tarottower, star, moon, sun, aeon and the universe. Court
deck are different in symbolism and imagerycards in the Thoth minor Arcana deck are the prince,
compared to other standard tarot card decks.the princess, queen and the knight. While the suite of
Thoth is considered one of the most importantcups, disks, swords and wands remain the same,
deities of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He is knownthey are illustrated with an Egyptian hieroglyphic style.
as the God with the head of an ibis. He is the heartThe pips of the minor Arcana in the Thoth deck
and tongue of the all-powerful Egyptian Sun God Ra.relate to the signs of the zodiac with the aces
He translated the will of Ra into speech and is thedepicting the root of the element they represent.
divine communicator of Egyptian mythology. He wasEach pip card in each suite has an attribute.
the scribe of the Gods and was called the God ofThe wand suite relates to the fire signs of the
Writing. The book of Thoth is used for divinationzodiac. The ace represents the root of the fire
through tarot cards. The tarot card descriptions onelement 2 dominions, 3 virtues, 4 completion, 5 strife,
the Thoth deck are reflections of the great6 victory, 7valor, 8 swiftness, 9 strength and 10
knowledge of the ancient Egyptians.oppression.
A cult of Thoth grew during the last years of theThe cup suite represents the water signs of the
Egyptian civilization who claimed to predict the futurezodiac. The ace represents the root of the water
through occult divination. Aleister Crowley claims thatelement, 2 love,3 abundance, 4 luxury, 5
the Thoth tarot deck developed by him was baseddisappointment, 6 pleasure, 7 debauchery, 8
on the tarot card descriptions followed by the cult ofindolence, 9 happiness and 10 safety.
Thoth. He developed the deck between 1938 andThe sword suite represents the air signs of the
1943. He commissioned Lady Frieda Harris to illustratezodiac. The ace represents the root of the air
the deck based on his visions and based on theelement 2 peace, 3 sorrow, 4 truces, 5 defeats, 6
ancient Egyptian book of Thoth papyrus by Jasnowscience, 7 futility, 8 interference, 9 cruelty and 10 ruin.
and Zauzich. It took five years to develop the deckThe disks suite represents the earth signs of the
because Crowley wanted the images to reflectzodiac. The ace is the root of the earth element, 2
different disciplines including science and philosophy.change, 3 work, 4 power, 5 worry, 6 success, 7
The tarot card descriptions in the Crowley Thothfailure, 8 prudence, 9 gain and 10 wealth.
tarot deck are different from the Rider Waite and