Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Temple >

The "What Occult Books are you currently reading" thread

Page: 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7(8)

05:29 / 21.09.07

The full diversity and difference of the human experience never ceases to amaze me: psytrance is one man's route to nirvana whereas to me its redolent of acid-munching hippies wandering round semiconscious, dressed in every shade so long as it's neon and ghastly and insisting that it's 'aaaall so cosmic maaaan!'. Blessed be the earth that has brought forth such variety.

Well, there certainly was a lot of that about; and any form of ecstatic dance will do, I just find psytrance has a beat that sweeps me away and never lets up. Theres no feeling like, suddenly you no longer are. There is only dance, in an ocean of Love. Like you suddenly dance the Universe's rhythm even as it dances you.

Shambhala is not your average rave either. While its slowly turning into one, its still a magical time and place, with every manner of sprite, elf, god, cartoon character and the odd telepathic juggling munchkin rolling out of the collective unconscious and the trees to shake a tailfeather with the wizards, monks, hippies, and punks, and all the wonderful freaks.
The psytrance stage (the Portal) ran am amazing Kundalini Dance workshop and a few others to tune everyone in, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Its a worthy pilgrimage, for sure, but its fast sliding down into the same pit Burning Man is.

Back on topic,

Whats a good book or three on the Thoth Tarot? I have the Book of Thoth which is good when I wanna profoundly confuse myself, and Keywords for The Crowley Tarot which seems to break it down well. Both are excellent IMHO.

I've perused one (Tarot Workbook, I think) which contradicted those two and seemed to be little more than New Age jibber jabber, though I would imagine such a ridiculously far out deck would warrant many interpretations, especially with Crowley being so damn "clever" and confuddling.
Still, it makes me wanna be more discerning in what books I pick up on that particular subject.
So, what texts or treatises should an aspiring Thoth Tarot type try?

06:13 / 21.09.07

Quick reply as i'm just out the door but i'd really recommend Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot by Lon Milo DuQuette which is full on great inights into the deck.

08:39 / 21.09.07

I thought that Lon Milo Duquette book on the Thoth Tarot was pretty weak actually. It's good for the first couple of sections when he's giving you context for the deck and talking you through the basics of Thelema - and I'd say the book is worth getting on the strength of that, especially if you are unfamiliar with these concepts. But when he gets into actually discussing the individual cards, I found his interpretations really flimsy and superficial. There is so much extraordinary depth to that deck, and the author doesn't seem to be up for even scratching the surface in his discussion of them. It's a good read, but a bit frustrating in that he doesn't really make much effort to get to grips with what is going on in the actual deck itself - which is what you expect from the title and the way the book is presented.

Zedoktar: If you find Crowley confusing, I would suggest picking up another tarot deck. The Book of Thoth has really got to be your primary source in understanding what's going on in that deck. Have you got a reasonable grounding in Qabala and the western mystery tradition? If you haven't got a strong grasp of the Tree of Life, hebrew alphabet, planetary and astrological symbolism, and Thelema, then you're going to struggle with the Thoth deck and you're not going to get the most out of it.

Unconditional Love

12:38 / 21.09.07

The book of thoth becomes easier to understand the more you refer to it and the more readings you do, it will if you allow it too make you go off and explore all the traditions it refers too when it examines the symbolism of the cards, that can be a good basis for a solid spiritual background, thou it will be alot of reading and practice.

15:16 / 21.09.07

I don't find Crowley all that confusing per se, I just actually have to pay attention with him, and the Book of Thoth just makes me have to think about things a lot more. Which is how I like it. I used to have the Faery Wicca deck and it was much the same way, in that the book for it was never explicit, more metaphors and poetry, and left it to the reader to actually try and figure out.

Plus, I love my Thoth deck, its easily the most fascinating and magical deck I've ever seen. I get the feeling that I don't look at it so much as into it, and it looks right back into me. I feel tangible magic in it. To borrow a phrase, I'll stop using it when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

10:44 / 22.09.07

I leave the reader to reflect upon the likely similarities in depth and meaning between the Thoth deck and the Faery Wicca Tarot.

Ffs.

13:07 / 22.09.07

Considering the Faery Wicca Tarot was copyrighted in 1998, I would have no doubt that Kisma Stepanich and Renne Christine Yates referenced The Book of Thoth and Crowley's work when researching.

Other than that, I have no doubt that most tarot decks should have some similarities unless the artists and authors have gone off into some wildly unrelated tangent which makes the work unrecognizable as tarot decks. Some people just prefer one deck over another. Some prefer the simplicity of Rider-Waite, or clear imagery of Aquarian. Others, such as myself, like the vivid images and relevant detailing of the Thoth deck. It is my opinion, but I highly doubt that there are many other decks, Faery Wicca Tarot or otherwise, thathave the sort of depth that are portrayed in the Thoth deck. Every single dot and line, every stroke of Lady Freida Harris' brush, has relevance in the Thoth deck. But it just takes years of getting to know them all. Some decks just don't have that quality of detail.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

14:08 / 22.09.07

Sorry, I was unclear. I should have written "depth and meaningfullness." The majority of tarot systems will of course share some elements of meaning.

I strongly doubt that anything like the scholarship, dedication and hard work that went into The Book of Thoth and the Thoth tarot itself went into the Faery Wiccan Tarot and its accompanying text. If the Faery tarot is the one I've seen online and in shops, then I know for a fact that the Thoth tarot is vastly richer.

I have not read the workbook mentioned and so cannot make informed comment on it; however, I may mention in passing that for every book which genuinely provokes thought and study in the reader through the use of allusion, metaphor and ambiguity, there are thousands of others that attempt to mask their shallowness and slight content through needless obfuscation.

13:09 / 08.01.08

Just in the finishing chapters of Wightridden by Raven Kaldera, it's really good and very inspiring as well. Whilst it is written in the 'Northern-Tradition Shamanism' path that he and some of the co-authors are on it has a lot of information for others as well.

I got it originally for the parts on LandWights to see what others have experienced in this area, something any of Kaldera's books are good for. There are short pieces from people who outline the practice they are discussing then their experiences which to me is really valuable. While knowing that people's experience will vary from person to person to get some insight in such open way is eyeopening to say the least.

Strangely my fledging work with Land Wights has quietened down but the work into Plant Spirits in this books as one of the paths described has given me some information that I just couldn't get from anywhere else.

Out of curiosity has anyone else read any of the other books from this series?

07:47 / 10.01.08

I'm finally getting completely through "Magick without Tears" by Aleister Crowley. I attempted to read it before and got waylaid by a ton o' lifestuff. I've read several other books by him, but never got through MWT. I always felt it to be lucid and informative, and I still do. I'm also re-reading Jan Fries' "Living Midnight: Three Movements of the Tao". I decided to give it a re-read after undertaking several exercises supposedly traced to the Northern School of Complete Reality, notably the Golden Flower technique. I've noticed that studying the Cleary translation of "The Secret of the Golden Flower", which I've been studying heavily for five months now, has given me a fresh take on the book.

Strange thing is that I was given "The Secret of the Golden Flower" to study by a taoist instructor of mine a number of years ago. It wasn't until recently that I actually took after it in earnest......

Less searchable M0rd4nt

10:02 / 10.01.08

archabyss: I basically glomph all of RK's books on such topics as fast as he can write them. I've only read the ones in the Asphodel Press line so I can't comment on the works he has issued through publishers such as Llewellyn, or on his activist writings. Although my experiences aren't always congruent with what he describes, I've found his NT books very valuable.

14:08 / 03.06.08

Been reading Ancient Jewish Magic, by Gideon Bohak.

It's about what you expect: a rigorous scholarly analysis of Jewish magic from the First Temple Period to the early rabbinical period.

He's very good at trying to determine the practices of the time by reviewing both "insider" evidence (archeological evidence like amulets or incantation bowls, magical recipe books of the time, etc.) and "outsider" evidence (Greek, Egyptian, or rabbinical reports of what Jewish magicians did). He's also really great at noting how Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish magical texts and practices flowed into and influenced each other.

He also tipped me off to the existence of the Cairo Genizah, a depository used to dispose of more than 1000 years of old Jewish scrolls and manuscripts. Apparently there are more than a thousand magical texts of varying lengths, which are of such little interest to most scholars (who prefer to focus on historical or Biblical documents) that many of them haven't yet been studied, or even read.

Imagine what Crowley or Mathers could have done with that.

I just wish he'd included more of the texts and formulae in their entireties.

14:30 / 03.06.08

Here are a couple of texts from the Genizah. Sound familiar?

On your right are very many, on your left is Uzziel, in front of you is Susiel, behind you is Repose.

(Amulet 1)

Michael is on his right side; Gabriel is on his left side. Raphael cure him.

(G 5, 2:9-10)

I imagine one or both of these might be related to the Jewish night prayer I mentioned elsewhere a while back, which may have served as one source for part of the LBRP:

In the name of the Lord God of Israel, may Michael be at my right hand, and Gabriel at my left; before me Uriel; behind me Raphael; and above my head the divine presence.

I have to dig into this a bit more . . .

Less searchable M0rd4nt

07:49 / 14.09.11

Bumping for awesome.

Page: 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7(8)