"The Hierophant" number Five (V) Aleister Crowley's (d1947) Thoth Tarot cards has been so far, with my analysis and reading of the Thoth tarot, challenging to decipher and claim as my own. Although, I have been able to create my readings from the Thoth cards to date, yet for this to occur I had to study the background of each of the cards, which, in all said and done holds an overall tedium. Within the context that Crowley's drug use is all over these cards, more so amhpetemes and cocaine, that turns the user into a rambling fool. And let alone the creative, if one chooses to embark on an amphetamine drug binge to create art and ideas. Drug taking, if not confined to ritual of discipline to understand spirituality and the human condition, then the erratic overrides sensibilities, and Crowley was notorious in that sense. And unfortunately, as knowledgeable Crowley was of the occult, his mishmash of idealisms and esoteric teachings, become magnified on certain cards, such as The Hierophant.
So, let's break it down. "The Hierophant" Thoth card represents the star sign Taurus, where Crowley instilled the bull to also represent the Elephant (seen on the card either side of The Hierophant figure), drawing from Hindu mysticism, hence the two Elephants on each side of the card. The Four Kerubs which comes from Christian mythology, as the protectors of God. The pentagram with the dancing male child, visible on The Hierophant's chest. Where Crowley, influenced by pre New Age philosophy, which was mostly derived from Helena Blavatsky's 1874 Theosophical society, had combined their "Age of Aeons", in which Crowley equates as the next chosen one, from his own religion Thelema, that there will be a new era under the Child Horus, replacing the "Dying God". Combining, once again, Hindu and Egyptian beliefs to this card. The Scarlet Woman, sits below The Hierophant, which came exclusively from Crowley's Thelema, in which Crowley envisaged that a mystical woman would appear to set some kind of disorder onto the world. Sexist to say the least, probably borrowing from theocratic beliefs that the woman is a temptress and chaotic in nature. However, as you would expect contradiction and confusion is abound, where Crowley uses the word "love" in his description of the card, he also states, that the Scarlet Woman, "no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterpart, but armed and militant." Is the next Age of Aeon (?).
And finally, the Phallic Headdress and Rose. Hebrew letter Vav, meaning "tent peg" or "nail", and the astrological symbol for Venus. In conclusion, a messy card. But, there is one redeeming feature, The Hierophant with his left hand pointing down towards the Earth, which Crowley, thankfully has missed in his own muddled interpretation. Therefore, I will read the card as follows:
Reading:
All is noise, as are all symbolism. We do not lack meaning, we are dying from meaning. I stand before you in confusion, yet it is very simple. Close your eyes, shut out all sounds. Then open your eyes and redefine anew. Do you see what was there before? Am I not standing alone? Naked to this world. I hold no key, no vision, nothing. I am neither child or an adult. I am devoid. Yet, I point with my left hand towards the Earth. Balanced, in that integration. Become one with the Earthly realm, and then be dissolved by it.
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The Queen of Cups is by definition, one of Aleister Crowley's more serene and peaceful cards from the Thoth Tarot. As I have noted in my recent readings of the Thoth Tarot cards, I will refrain from a detailed analysis of the background of Crowley's explanation of his own Tarot, as in all honesty it has to be said that his ramblings have been equated from 1800s ritualized occultism, which was connected to Freemason obsession and Age of Enlightenment curiosity with Egyptology. One must also note the influences of early alchemy via Hermetism, thus was the mediaeval alchemists reworking of Jewish mysticism of the Qabalah. Mixing it all together, to which Crowley's drug induced manifestations, created his own religion of Thelema. Crowley passed away in 1947 at the dawn of the Beatnigs that later evolved into the Hippies. So, the undercurrent to the Thoth Tarot regardless, is that appeal of the Counterculture. To which, in our 21st Century overindulgence, and overconfidence of rapid pace information, remains an illusive novelty.
However this card is special, and I adore the art by Lady Frieda Harris (d1962) for the "Queen of Cups", as you can just make out the image of a woman behind her watery veil.
Reading:
Of all the great meditations, it would be of looking onto the surface or water, but may it not offer you any reflection. As the ripples should be of a continuum. Not for vanity. Let there be subtleness in all of its obscurity. Is nature the observer or are you? Time is very much a distortion, yet It is perfect, within its imperfection. View the watery abyss, as that void between worlds. Allow the weight of centuries to past, as they will always continue to flow. It is, an unstoppable force. You cannot hold back the oceans. So, focus on the Water Bird, it does not move against the current, but drifts along with the tides. Not as an aimless being, but with instinctive awareness.
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