"XVIII "THE MOON", "V. The Hierophant" and "3 of Disks. Works" (Analysis/reading soon) THOTH TAROT CARD READING/s. These cards were pulled as a triple reading. The Order of the reading is from left to right.

 XVIII "The Moon" Is Aleister Crowley's (d1947) darker and more, if one can say, depressing cards,  in which I won't go into any further analysis of Crowley, you'll have to go through some of my earlier Thoth card readings (link in post) of my study of the man.  And what appeared at times, was his psychotic overview of his own created Thoth Tarot, and I am being speculative, may have related to his heavy drug use, particularly amphetamines and cocaine.  

Reading:

Tread carefully.   Are you afraid of the dark?  And when midnight strikes, does the imagination run rampant?   Within the shadows that are derived from the abyss of the night, if you are unable to contain your thoughts.  The shadows will move in mysterious ways.  Unnecessary fearful, is the tormented mind.  If you allow fear to be your guide.  Of no horizons, and boundaries that cannot be seen.   The beetle bares the Sun, but is unable to piece through the Night,  the Moon rains blood, in the shape of the Hebrew letter Yod, of a bleeding omnipresence.  Showing that even the gods can bleed.  Thus, they hold no protection from this darkness, that is of the human mind.  But, it is the Hebrew letter Qoph, seen also on the card.  Which means, the back of the head.  The fear, that trails behind you.   And the moon depicted is of a waning fixture, in its pure darkness.  The dead zone that it is, offers no relevance to life.  As it moves away from the Earth it draws the ocean tides with it.  Does it draw you further into its emptiness?  You may indeed need to transverse between the dark towers of doubt for this answer, it is of the unknown.  Guarded by the Jackals, either side.  They are the divine tricksters of the animal kingdom.  The desolate ones.  That live in the ruins of once grand cities.  Feeding off the carcasses, that fell prey to their own folly.  Yet, they do not fear what you fear.  As they lay, and wait in the dark.    Then why enter? I ask.  To which, you may reply.  "That it is the challenge that I seek."  If that is so, you must use fear, to destroy fear.  Only the most calmest mind can achieve this.  And thus, the Moon as a reading, will hold no meaning for you at all.

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"V. 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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"3 of Disks.  Works" is one of Aleister Crowley's, more structured and 'Freemason' - esque card's, representing the 18th Century fascination with occultism and Egyptology, when Occult societies in Europe, began fusing Hermeticism via their version of Jewish mysticism of the Qabalah to Egyptology.   And one must keep in mind, Western occultism of the 19th and early 20th Century had very little to do with Left hand Path or unorthodox spiritually, including witchcraft.  By its definition, Western occultism was very much a chauvinistic imprint, and in some cases a prelude to proto-fascist beliefs.  The Book of Thoth reading of "3 of Disks.  Works" is simple and condensed, focusing on the pyramid as a meditative tool, a beacon, as the apex is see as the pinnacle of the pyramidal shape.  Being the middle of the image, equally showing three points, merging into a single locus.   With three circles from each external point of the pyramid, representing Binah from the Tree of Life, which means "Understanding".

Reading:

Focus, on the pinnacle.  Remain still, no thoughts, empty the mind.  You will not forget things, rather your mind will sharpen   Nothing will effect, nothing will be absorbed.  Let go, but remain focused on this point, where the three pyramidal shapes merge into a single perspective.  There is no form.  There is no purpose.  To clearly understand, is to be free from burden.  To maintain a question, will cause distress.  One must let go, before one can advance.  The understanding of life is to maintain the mystique, the mystery.  There is no journey.  Only stillness.  

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(A.Glass 2023, 2024, 2025)

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