Thoth court cards

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Nemia
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Thoth court cards

Post by Nemia »

Nothing is more confusing for tarotists who have learned on the RWS and want to "transit" to Thoth than the court cards. French playing cards have Jack, Queen, King - German playing cards Unter, Ober, König - Tarot de Marseille and Rider/Waite/Smith have Page, Knight, Queen, King. There is ONE card they all have in common: the King.

So why doesn't Thoth have one?

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I allow myself to send you to read Michael Sternbach's explanation on his blog. And I hope he will show up here :-)

There is of course Raven's explanation, which is a bit different. And if you feel a headache would be just the thing right now, read this discussion on AT.

So, how do you read the Thoth courts?

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Barleywine
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Re: Thoth court cards

Post by Barleywine »

I've found Aleister Crowley's "moral characteristics" as described in The Book of Thoth to be the most reliable. They amount to brief psychological profiles before there was a strong inclination to use the tarot for that. It helps in situations where the court cards clearly represent people. Generally, though, I find the courts to most often reflect behaviors or attitudes that the querent should either adopt or avoid in dealing with the circumstances of the question, and less frequently as impersonal forces at work in the situation. But in practice I always ask my querents first whether there is a person of the nature of the particular court card who has a presence or interest in the matter, because most people will relate more readily to something they can put a face on, even if only to have someone else to blame for their troubles.

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Nemia
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Re: Thoth court cards

Post by Nemia »

You made a wonderful list, Barleywine, didn't you? I hope you post it here - it's very clear and helpful.

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Michael Sternbach
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Re: Thoth court cards

Post by Michael Sternbach »

I look at the Court Cards especially in terms of their underlying zodiacal signs as per the Golden Dawn system. So I find one female person that plays a role in my life typically represented by the Queen of Wands, and indeed, her chart shows a prevalence of planets in the signs Aries and Pisces. Another one, who kept showing up in readings as Queen of Disks, has a chart dominated by Capricorn and Sagittarius. And of course, the Cancer/Gemini lady that I have many interesting conversations with lately is a Queen of Cups.

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