III "The Empress" THOTH TAROT CARD and "7 of Swords. Futility" THOTH TAROT CARD: READING/s. These cards were pulled as a double reading, as a single card has been read in past tarot readings on chiasmus. The Order of the reading is from left to right.

 

"The Empress", III of the Major Arcana and one of the most beautifully defined cards of the Thoth Tarot, and certainly one of the less confronting and occultish.  Which offers an insight into Crowley's philosophical template towards the feminine, without reading into it too much.  He does see, maybe in his own mind, the contradictions of the feminine to the masculine and how it related to his merging of esoterica studies from the East and West.  And The Empress card, with his interpretation from The Book of The Thoth, attempts to do away with these contradictions and over focalized representations of duality, rather he deemed this card as symbolism of "Love."

As mentioned in my previous Thoth card studies, is Crowley's constant attachment to Qabalah and Egyptian esoterism as template to his Thelma region.  Indicative, of how much medieval Jewish mystics had on the 15th Century alchemists, and the beginning of Hermetism as a philosophical foundry throughout Europe and England, to which Crowley was heavily influenced by.  So, the  variant infusions of Crowely's esoteric can at times seem like an ad hoc display on the Thoth cards, whilst being defined by Crowley's creative impression.   Yet, if you strip back some of the reasoning of Crowley's decree  that the card represents Love, to which Crowley said, in relation to 'The Empress', "This is the Harmony of the Universe, that Love unites the Will to create with the Understanding of that Creation: understand thou thine own Will. Love and let love. Rejoice in every shape of love, and get thy rapture and thy nourishment thereof", further clues are revealed.  

Thoth's The Empress card, in lieu of other Major Arcana cards, holds an overall simplicity in its aesthetics.   The delicate line and textured art by  Lady Frieda Harris (d1962) gives it a subtly and gentle appearance, which is what Crowley had intended for the card to be.   As is the symbolism, and as mentioned, is not as confronting or harsh as the other Thoth cards.  The Pelican at the bottom left of the card, which has it roots in Christian iconography, as symbolism of redemption.  Piecing its chest with its peak to feed its young, note the chicks looking up at the mother.  From by Psalm 102: "Similis factus sum pellicamo"  (I am become like the pelican in the wilderness)  and more importantly in Christian ethos  Corpus Christi or Body [Blood] of Christ.  Which I have noticed with Crowley's Thoth Tarot, despite the occult overture, there is, at times Christian elements throughout, more so Gnostic in its representation.  The White Eagles of the shield are from Crowley's homage to Middle Ages alchemy, the visual and verbal code for sal ammoniac or salt.  And The Book of The Thoth, Crowley elaborates that The Empress card, as a feminine symbolism is the conjuring of salt, which in mythology of pre-Christian religions, represent a goddess of the the sea.   That we were derived from salt.

The two birds perched either side of The Empress are of a Sparrow (left) and a Dove (right), representing the Roman poets Catullus and Martial, which would very much align with Crowley's classical educational and an interesting overlay to his occultist foundation.  However, they do seem out of place.  Nevertheless, the Sparrow and Dove in Greek mythology represent Love, further instilling the softness of The Empress card.  Other symbolism on the card, portraying the desired  passiveness of Crowley's feminine, are the Lotus flower, the fleurs-de-lys, Bees and astrological symbols.  As The Empress sits in front of the Door of heaven, hence the Hebrew letter Dalet ( bottom left), meaning door and on the right the symbol of Venus, once gain as noted throughout the Thoth cards, Crowley's fascination of the feminine.

Crowley's duality and contradictions of femininity can be irritating and certainly outdated.  He did claim, from The book of the Thoth that The Empress is, ."..no contradiction; such opposition as there seems to be is only the opposition necessary to balance".  Which falls into most monotheistic religious beliefs, that the feminine must be balanced under the eyes of God, while in a rather spiteful manner, Crowley's sexist analysis of women, from The Book of The Thoth where he claims, "Many-throned, many-minded, many-wiled, daughter of Zeus, as the unruly female.

As opposed to the Rider-Waite "The Empress", she is powerfully represented as a strong willed creator.

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"Seven of Swords.  Futility"  Unfortunately is another Thoth Tarot card that represents Aleister Crowley Proto-Fascist beliefs, even pre and post World War Two, as the Thoth Tarot was devised in 1937 and Crowley passed away Ten years later in 1947, he did see the interest and emergence in Fascism throughout 1920s through onto the beginning of World War Two and the murmurings of the New European Order movement in 1951, with South America being a haven for ex-German Nazis and Italian Fascists (who had been there since the 1920s).  It shows how attractive Fascism can be, that if implemented differently to what Benito Mussolini imagined, may indeed offer stability and technological advancement to the human race, or a certain race within the human race, that mainly is European and white.  However Fascism as a political structure, unlike Nazism as German Aryan superiority, can be multinational and racial.  Crowley did not show direct racist overtones from his writings or Thoth Tarot, using Jewish mysticism extensively which was an extension of the Hermetic Qabalah Hebrew, that early alchemists used a way of coding and numbering their alchemy experiments.  Yet, Crowley was  very much aligned with 'Peace Through Strength' Western militarist theory, and that stability is better than change, from the Book of the Thoth re: "Seven of Swords.  Futility": 

"...There is vacillation, a wish to compromise, a certain toleration. But, in certain circumstances, the results may be more disastrous than ever. This naturally depends upon the success of the policy. This is always in doubt as long as there exist violent, uncompromising forces which take it as a natural prey..."  and "...The symbol shows six Swords with their hilts in crescent formation. Their points meet below the centre of the card, impinging upon a blade of a much larger up-thrusting sword, as if there were a contest between the many feeble and the one strong. He strives in vain..."

There is no doubt, as discussed with this analysis of Crowley's Thoth Tarot, and his Thelema religion would have not held much ground during the counterculture years of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.  Crowley's legacy ended when he passed away in 1947, and the methamphetamine user Jack Parsons, who invented the rocket engine, was to be Crowley's successor, accidently blew himself up.  The 'other', was L. Ron Hubbard, as the story goes, ripped off Parson's wealth, stole his girlfriend at the time and started his own religion of "Scientology", which its basis maintains some of the Proto-Fascist overtures and rituals that Crowley implemented within his Thelema religion.

I will now claim the "Seven of Swords.  Futility" card. 

Reading:

Unfortunately this is a cursed card, that is, if you wish peace through strength and domination, you may indeed impale yourself and the expectations of others upon your sword.   "Futility" is self destruction.  Annihilation of weakness, and you may annihilate life.  Do you wish this?  We are born weak, yet become strong.  Vulnerable, but able.  The human being was given the gift of light and fire, to be torch bearers within the realm of darkness.  Not become the darkness.   Only the deepest of meditation can one see into the dark, and know its mysteries and conquer the fears.  The layman cannot.   So, why hold the sword?  When you are not skilled to use it?  Are you a master?  If you say 'yes I am', than I know you are not.  The honesty of the self, is the control of the self.  Aware of this, and the card may not be cursed and you may invert the card, so that the larger sword is pointing down, and the sacred number 6, counting six smaller swords will point towards the heavens, in defiance of tyrannical power from the higher throne, which wishes to control the individual.  The choice is yours, defy the collective, defy the rule.  No king or idol can rule you.  Under no structure will I be truly be free.  I know darkness, and with the weapons I have been given, they stay sheathed, and yet I will defend my existence against the Imperialist.  

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(A.Glass 2023, 2024, 2025)

All Thoth Tarot readings to date:  chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/search/label/Thoth%20Tarot%20reading