"9 of swords. Cruelty", "7 of wands. Valour" and "Knight of disks THOTH TAROT CARD READING/s. These cards were pulled as a triple reading. The Order of the reading is from left to right.

 

Aleister Crowley's (d1947) simplistic Thoth Tarot cards, are at times his more cohesive, precise and interesting.  There is no doubt that this study of Crowley's Thoth Tarot has a flow akin to a bipolar peak and rise, with its depressive lows.  Mixed with a mishmash of meanings, esoteric conjoing, all within the realm of structured Western secret societies, which leaned towards early Fascist idealisms, beginning in the late 1800s via Helena Blavatsky's "Theosophical society" and onward onto the1950s with various occult offshoots.  That thankfully took a major backseat, when the late 50s counterculture began to offer more inclusion and less rigidness to alternative spiritual beliefs.

The "9 of Swords: Cruelty" is one of Crowley's doomsdayism Thoth cards, where he has encouraged, paradoxically, a resistance of the 'stability over change' ethos of Proto-Fascism. Which, in its early manifestation, favoured the extremities derived from the Age of Enlightenment, be it with its renewed imperialism and colonisation of conquering the world through techno-authoritarianism.  Leading to poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's (d1944) 1909 precursor to the Futurism art/writing movement and then later, Italian Fascism; titled the The Manifesto of Futurism. And as history has taught us, Proto-Fascism encourages, war, technological advancement through controlling of resources and conquering of nations, all for the expansion of Western power throughout the word.  Does it sound like it is happening again?  Re: Donald Trump 2.0?

Crowley's "9 of Swords: Cruelty", as mentioned, offers that break of rigidity and control of the individual, when overly structured realms only allow individualism for the greater society.  That the rebellious spirit will always defy, and will view doomsday as a conjuring power, that reminds man and his mortal realm, that nature always has the final word.  And arrogance and visions of grandeur will come undone, thus when cruelty is inflicted, in the name of progress onto the individual, than cruelty, in reflection, will be used in return.  Not as a forever cycle of violence and destruction, but a rebuttal by understanding the nature of the beast.  And its capacity to devour itself.  From the Book of the Thoth:  

The symbol shows nine swords of varying lengths, all striking downwards to a point. They are jagged and rusty. Poison and blood drip from their blades. There is, however, a way of dealing with this card: the way of passive resistance, resignation, the acceptance of martyrdom. 

So, the card could be seen as a reading of resistance under Fascist control, be it the dissident, freedom fighter or martyr. And I do like the wording, "passive resistance",  to which I will base my reading around.

Reading:

When the oppressor offers structure through control, peace through destruction, power through exploitation.  From the obsessive, crazed idealism of the techno-authoritarian.  With his grand ideas of authority, a paranoid vision that they will lose the future, to the dissident, the antithetical, the ones who turn their backs.  This is freedom of the individual, who chooses to not contribute to a society that has not yet learned to care.  And if cruelty is inflicted onto the ones who reject, then cruelty in turn will be conjured from the Left Hand Path, as we shall seek the opposition of man, to teach the controller a lesson.  The fallen, who despises the arrogance of stupor.  The 9, turned upside down becomes a 6, the swords remain at 9, the number that rules Mars, the dead realm.  Where ego will be obliterated.  The Swords point upward, rusted and chipped, but they are weapons of the freedom fighter.  Who offer resistance till the end.  Against the cursed, the rulers using the heavens as their guide.   But, despite this, it is the metaphor of defiance, and its passivity against control.  See this card in its meditation, as a hex against the cruelty of man.  Through the end, from the destruction brought on by the oppressor who uses destruction.  May, we know its nature.      

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"7 of Wands.  Valour" is one of Aleister Crowley's proto-Fascist cards which are drawn, not as random pull, but rather in abundance from the Thoth Tarot.  And as discussed with my analysis of the infamous English occultist, who passed away in 1947 after securing his version of the Ordo Templi Orientis In America, under Crowley's own religion of Thelema, allowing a the more structured O.T.O occult society to draw in the many Americans during and after World War Two, inspiring the likes of L.Ron Hubbard, who later used the O.T.O structure to form Scientology.  Crowley prior to the O.T.O, had a very interesting occultist/cultist bohemian background of the early 1920s which were, unpronounced decades later, was a prelude to the Hippies of the1960s when he created a small comune on the coast of Cefalù, Sicily.  Crowley, as noted with this study, became more conservative (as you do [sarcasm]) as the years rolled on.  And more militaristic.  Ironically, this occurred when he was kicked out of Italy by Benito Mussolini's government in 1923, then promptly taking the reins of the O.T.O thereafter and living through World War Two, which may have had a directional impact on the late occultist.

The card, "7 of Wands. Valour"  is also one of Crowley's more chauvinist and misogynist cards, flip flopping his beliefs on the feminine, which are clearly skewed by the theocratic, and structured religions beliefs, be it of the chaotic, confused temptress, who is weaker than the masculine.  From his own reading of  the 'Valour' Tarot card : "This card derives from Netzach (Victory) in the suit of Fire. But the Seven is a weak, earthy, feminine number as regards the Tree of Life, and represents a departure from the balance so low down on the Tree that this implies a loss of confidence".  Reflecting Right Wing fundamentalist and conservative beliefs that women unsettle men, and there for the order of things, as follows:  "Fortunately, the card is also attributed to Mars in Leo. Leo is still the Sun in his full strength, but the marks of decadence are already to be seen. It is as if the wavering fire summoned the brutal energy of Mars to its support. But this is not enough to counter- act fully the degeneration of the initial energy, and the departure from equilibrium. The army has been thrown into disorder; if victory is to be won, it will be by dint of individual valour-a “soldiers’ battle”. "   Clearly Crowley is referring to Feminine energy as an unsettling experience for a male, calling on the God of War (Mars, refer to the male phallic symbol upper left hand side) to offer balance and control.  Does it sound familiar?  Hint, Trumpansim 2.0. Same tune hey?

I will attempt to rebalance the card, and free the card of its rigidity.  Fortunately the card was pulled "6 of cups Pleasure", which will assist

Reading:

Why fear the feminine?  She is neither chaotic of weak, the meditation of the feminine is of the supreme, it is the most powerful, and within the Hindu Tantric and Tibetan 'Wheel of Bliss' the feminine offers the transmission of the sacred fluid.  She also can teach, through the joining of two to be one, to crush the ego through blissful fulfilment.  And be it, the wisdom and knowledge of the feminine can withstand chaos, and suffering, by pacifying the turmoil and opening up the world.  By knowing suffering and chaos.  That all is impermeant, and all things will pass.  "7 of Wands.  Valour" is a cursed, rigid and confused male Thoth Tarot card.  So therefor, the card must be read with a sexually balanced card, or pleasure seeking reading, to suppress the negative, warlike male sentiment.  To be taught, what the meaning of balance really means.  Which is derived with the feminine.   If two cards similar to Valour are pulled, then sexual pacification of the energy may be necessary, to crush them both.  Ritual sex, should occur after two negative/male/warlike/fascist card readings, to remove the duality of the male and female.      

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The Knight of Disks is probably Aleister Crowley's most Right Wing or Conservative minded card relating to his political beliefs of his era, that being 1900s technological progress and the taming of natural environments, strength through conflict, whilst aligning with the Age of Enlightenment period of innovation.  Which, in its historic manifestation of humanism, did assist in heralding in new and modern techniques of warfare and killing technology.  I have covered a lot in my analysis of Aleister Crowley of his esoterica, spiritual beliefs that were formulated under what could be deemed the early aspects of New Age spirituality, which does have its roots in 20th Century Fascist ideologies.  Particularly throughout Europe in the early to mid 1900s.  Crowley was not a Satanist or practitioner of Witchcraft, he was heavily influenced by early esoterical societies and beliefs which were primarily  associated with gnostic Christian teachings, incorporating Egyptology, and Eastern and Middle Eastern metaphors.  Please refer to my earlier Thoth card readings for deeper analysis of Crowley.

I perceive the Knight of Disks as a negative, and-to-be wary of this Thoth Tarot card.

Reading:

To conquer, is appealing.  To change, feels powerful.  Do I have the answers for the generalist?  Is strength through superiority the ultimate progression?  At times you may ask yourself these questions.   Look into your past.  They told you to be strong, to be brave.  Is to cut through the unknown, with a hunger to change the world.  To slay the wrongdoers, and tame the unruly.  Force the knowledge of our civilization onto the primitives, show them the power of strength.  For this, is both of the male and female mindset, equal they can be deluded by the aggressive urge as time runs short, and that desire for structure will be at any cost.  To be ruled, and to rule.  So, I ask you to be wary of this path.  There has been never been a golden era, and no utopian dream has ever worked.  What was forced onto, is then forced back.  So if you wish, ride through the fields of victory, and it will be pyrrhic in reflection.  And as a mere mortal, you will suffer the forever torment of wars without an end.   To defy nature is to redefine the self, not the world.  That is of the truest bravery.

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(A.Glass 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)

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