"1. Ace of Wands", "3 of wands. Virtue" and "4 of disks. Power " THOTH TAROT CARD READING/s. These cards were pulled as a triple reading. The Order of the reading is from left to right.

 1 "Ace of Wands" 

In this study of the Thoth Tarot cards and my own interpretation of the Tarot readings, one can say Aleister Crowley (d1947) was not a contradiction or even a paradox in his creation of the Thoth Tarot cards and his religion Thelema, as society began to shift away from its Theocratic past throughout the later part of the 1800s into the 1900s, embracing technology, scientific enlightenment and newer ways of perceiving human spirituality.   He was reflecting that era.  The occult flourished 200 years ago and so did occult societies which evolved from manifestations of Hermeticism and Freemasonry, that in turn was inspired by the Knights Templar after the medieval Crusades.  Showing how the West absorbs parts of Eastern religious beliefs, reworking those beliefs, claiming them as their own.  Although, of the schisms in Christian Theological society between the many different Christian sects, Saints and Scholars in their reinterpretation of the Bible,  by the 15th Century more extreme antithetical versions of this biblical interpretation would be seen in Antinomianism, which, was loosely aligned with the 15th Century reformation that devout Christians may be exempt from moral law.  Therefor to sin, is acceptable.  Is not entirely the same, although showing similarities, with the iconoclastic elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.  Where practitioners would take in human vices, sexual encounters as a way of meditation, by practising ego death and seeking the oneness of the god within, devoid of fear of sin and breaking from their monastic vows; which lead to some of the extremes of Hindu, Buddhist Tantric yoga.  And within Islam, it would be Sufism and its various Sufi/Islamic mystics/orders who would further explore what means to be a human being under the Omnipotent, in some cases allowing alcohol consumption, dancing with women and ritual sex.  What was seen as forbidden under Islam, in their eyes brought them closer to Allah.  Crowley was heavily influenced by the Eastern Antinomianism, and as a homosexual he would frequent Marrakesh (Morocco) at the turn of the 20th Century, incorporating some of the Sufi aspects of Islam into his Occult practices, also including Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism.   Developing his own unique sexual rituals under his religion of Thelema.  The Ace of Wands card, very much aligns with Crowley's sexual metaphor and ritualization via the Thoth Tarot.

Reading:

The chaos of the unruly phallus, as it emits the seed of fire.  That is the creation of birth and rebirth.  From blissful release, the conjuring of embracing destruction of ego through its sexual realm.  Study the bliss of the little death, so that one can live.   This mediation is both for the masculine and the feminine, for the visionary dreams from orgasm.   

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3 of Wands "Virtue" is one of the most straightforward and meditative cards to date, from all my analysis and readings of Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot.  Crowley, as noted in previous studies of his Tarot meanings, has assigned the Qabalah Sephira of 'Binah' to the card, which represents the Third sphere on the Tree of life.  Therefore equating "Virtue" to its number 3.  Binah from the Qabalah is used in meditative contemplation, derived from Jewish mysticism; which refers to the mother as divine wisdom of the Feminine.  Thus, offering reflective insight into the self.  The image of the card with it's Three wands, forms the shape of Lotus flower, drawing from Eastern esoterical beliefs of the continuation or cycle of death and rebirth.  A very peaceful and serene card.

Reading:

Be still, like the Lotus Flower, it will perish and then become.  The power of the Feminine, is to know the wisdom of time.  Not to master time.  As all must end, and even if it does begin.  It does not completely end.  Of the blunt masculine, who defies its predicament.  Also holds the truth as much as the Feminine teaches acceptance.  Meld the two and meditate of its rebirth, this does not mean you will not awaken.  Just live in this day, close your eyes, be at peace, and then open them.  Look around at the most simple of things, the tree, the grass, flowers.  Feel the breeze from the South West, as it gently caresses.  This is all that is needed, is right here, now.  Let go. 

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"4 of disks.  Power" is another one, of so many, Proto-Fascist Thoth Tarot cards.  And as mentioned in my numerous analysis of the late British occultist, Aleister Crowley (d1947) was a product of his time, that thankfully was reshaped, restructured and done away with when the late 1950s, 1960s, 1970s including the 1980s (Yes, with the 'Satanic Panic' in tow) that held back any conservative inkling of desire for Fascist stability, which swept the world in 1920 via Benito Mussolini, landing with the horrificness of 1930s, 1940s Adolph Hitler's Nazi Germany, but politically festering underneath the years after World War Two, that it could actually work, if conducted in a different way (?), and yes, to have the trains run on time, while looking nice and clean and modern, just don't question it they don't actually run on time and are dirty (and broken),  Sound familiar?  Well it is, Fascism has returned with gusto, via President Donald Trump 2.0, who was voted in again, mostly assisted by podcast conspiracy theorists and a crazy Billionaire, as an unelected advisor to Trump, who controls America's space program, accentuating that desire, maybe in all of us, to have stability over change.  So, equality movements, environmental/human/animal concerns, the freedom to choose any sexual orientation you wish, believe in any spiritual path you wish, everything that the said counterculture years gave to us, has been wiped off the face of the map. One must ask the existential question here; Who's is really to blame?

"4 of disks.  Power" is a very cursed card, I will do my best in redefining its meaning and relevance.

This is a cursed card.  And we must meditate on its flawed foundation.  Power is restriction, suppression and compression.  It will end up destroying itself via destroying its own self importance, this only happens within humanity, not of the natural system.  When we go, nature will remain and absorb our human folly and biology, without a care of our existence, back into what is the true 'power'.  The jungles, forests, deserts will consume us, our structure of grandeur buried as a memory of error, those archeological relics of a self destructive entity, rare in the cosmos.  The image you see is of a square fortress, with a watery moat that surrounds, on each of the four towers is the sacred symbols of nature. from left to right: Water (inverted pyramid) Fire, Air (pyramid and pyramid with horizontal line within it), and the finally, Earth, the inverted pyramid with its horizontal line.  Human fanaticism to control nature though power.  So, be wary of power, open the mind, the free and less powerful are the most powerful, be it, their act of enduring life.  Faith in structure, and you will collapse with it.   Meld with nature, and be part of nature.  The human being that embraces conquering nature, looks weak and defeated, and is dying from its own confusion and self annihilation.  We must curse the "4 of disks.  Power" and flip the card over, so it faces the Earth, South of the Heavens.  And give praise to the spirit of wind, it will beautifully erode all arrogance.  For  the leader who is obsessed with power, will face death.

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

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