Crowley's system of tarot is based, roughly, on the tarot of the Golden Dawn, which was based on the deeply-flawed work of Eliphas Levi. The problem is that Levi believed that there was a direct correspondence between tarot and Kabbalah. He assigned all of the trumps to paths on the tree of life, and the numbers of the suits to the Sephiroth. Nifty theory, but anyone who knows Kabbalah, and who studies Levi's attributions, will soon realize that things don't always add up so neatly. The traditional meanings of the cards have been bent and made to conform to Kabbalistic concepts that were not originally part of the game.

Thankfully, Crowley did not adopt the mess the Golden Dawn made of the court cards -- though he did rename Pages as Princesses (apparently the sexual ambiguity of the Pages disturbed his sense of balance). He also re-named many of the trumps, and changed their meanings in the process, perverting the tarot further than his predecessors. Most of these changes seem to be a reaction against the Christian imagery and "virtue" in the traditional tarot: Justice has been changed to Adjustment, Temperance is now Art, Judgement is The Aeon. Strength, another virtue, is now Lust. None of this is surprising, considering it comes from a man who took pride in his nickname "The Beast 666".

Does any of this matter? Not if you view the Tarot as an elaborate Rorschach test -- any pack of cards can yield decent readings. It will bother authentically-minded magicians who have become fed up with the "New Age" revisionism that has plagued occultism since the Golden Dawn's poorly-researched methods were made public. Also, this is one of Crowley's more readable endeavors. It's not saying much, considering he produced volumes of incomprehensible gibberish and unspeakably foul poetry. A lot of people like and use the Thoth deck, and they can't all be wrong. I just think it would be better to start with the real tarot before pursuing this variation.

the perfect companion to the thoth tarot, but i'm probably just preaching to the perverted on that. yay crowley. anyone that hasn't checked out the disinformation guide to the occult should grab it, by the way. there's a great piece on crowley as perceived by six types of occultists.

This book brings the great Hermetic tradition which spawned tarot cards into clear focus. The meanings and magical significance of each of these cards is described in detail. You won't find this invaluable information anywhere else. The ancient tradition exhibited in the Tarot deck comes to life with Crowley's ideas in mind. Any magician would find this knowledge worthwhile. "Book of Thoth" is a must for any practitioner's occult library.

This book brings the great Hermetic tradition which spawned tarot cards into clear focus. The meanings and magical significance of each of these cards is described in detail. You won't find this invaluable information anywhere else. The ancient tradition exhibited in the Tarot deck comes to life with Crowley's ideas in mind. Any magician would find this knowledge worthwhile. "Book of Thoth" is a must for any practitioner's occult library.

Crowely's Book of Thoth shows his mastery of the tarot, cabala, astrology and occultism in general. I have read this book four or five times, and I still don't understand some of it, but the portions that I have been able to assimilate are outstanding -- far better than the fuzzy wuzzy new age writing that has been creeping in to the occult genre since the advent of modern paganism in all its incarnations. Herein lies power and truth so seering and bright that it will blind you. I am not a Thelemite, and I am not a Crowely worshipper, but I must take my hat off to good writing.

I chose one random sentence from the book to illustrate the power of the writing. Crowley writes on the Death card, "The card itself represents the dance of death..." and elsewhere concerning the Princess of Wands "...she is unclothed, shewing that chemical action can only take place when the element is perfectly free to combine with its partner." I dare you to find another tarot book more powerfully written. I daresay you won't be able to accomplish such a task.

The Book of Thoth is the Tiphareth of my occult resources. I refer to it even before I refer to Agrippa or Hall. Buy it. Read it. Commit it to memory, O' thou seeker of wisdom.

Unless you're an expert Crowley reader, you might also appreciate Lon Milo Duquette's Book of Thoth, which aggregates the tables better and explains Crowley's writing in Duquette language -- a definite plus for one not completely attuned to Crowley's prose. But you really might consider ordering both together -- you'll appreciate from time to time looking at Crowley's original explanation which Duquette references.

This companion text to the Thoth Tarot is packed full of information straight from their creator's mind. While that can at times be problematic, in general the exceptionally detailed accounts that make no sense to the average individual can be passed by until applicable content is found. The text is an invaluable tool to use in connection with the Thoth Tarot. An excellent companion work to this text is DuQuette's "Understanding Crowley's Thoth Tarot" which I highly recomend if you find yourself lost in Crowley's explanations.

This man was a fraud and racist of the most sinister class. He and his group of hate mongers used to chant to send "hate vibrations" into Black communities so that we would kill each other. He stands in a long line of confused, sick people who became fascinated by (and eventually set out to distort) the religious mythology of ancient Kemet (Egypt). If you buy this book it should be to burn it.

Brilliant! Eloquent and detailed exposition on the symbols of the Thoth Tarot deck, and the Universe itself. Not only an invaluable resouce for those studying magick and the occult but also those in the fields of anthropology, psychology and theology (Christian mystics may find the discussions of the Fool, The Hanged Man and Death in particular interesting.)
Familiar (and not-so familiar) symbols are discussed in-depth, revealing their origins, and true nature.
Contains detailed and tables of correspondences including the Qabala, I-Ching, Planets, Astrology etc

An absolute "MUST HAVE" for students of Magick and the Tarot
Can not reccomend this book highly enough.