"Knight of wands", "8 of swords. Interference." and "9 of Swords. Cruelty". THOTH TAROT CARD READING/s. These cards were pulled as a triple reading. The Order of the reading is from left to right.

 

I pulled this one ("Knight of Wands") this morning (December 5th, 2023), after shuffling the full deck of Aleister Crowley's infamous Thoth Tarot cards.  Which if one is aware of the late English occultist very detailed and relatively complex occultism theory, that is a combination of medieval Hermeticism, Jewish Quabbala, esoteric Taoism and Egyptian mythology.  Crowley's Thoth Tarot is very unique, with incredibly rich and detailed art by Lady Frieda Harris (d1962) in 1940's surrealistic, geometrical and cubist styles. So, the meaning for each card are a clever mix between the said occultist themes.  And the above card, "Knight of Wands" if I was to summarize from the explanation for the card, represents the impulsiveness of the male, particularly in war as a brutal warrior, with cruel and bigoted intentions.  The actual Tarot cards were developed at the onset of World War Two, so some of the meanings may be indicative of the global events that were transpiring at the time.  I would read this card as a warning to rash decisions, and be careful with fire, lean to cultivate its ferocity and tame it or be engulfed by it. 

The Knight of Wands card, maybe indicative of our current times.  Since nations are now resulting to Total War theory and 'forever' wars.  We never learn.  Do we?

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"8 of swords.  Interference" is a cryptic card, aligned with Aleister Crowley's  ambiguous and at times paradoxical blunt interpretations of the Thoth Tarot.  And in esoteric Qabalah, the number Eight is attributed to the intellect, similar to Jewish esteroric, yet in Western magic, when meditated and acted upon within rituals, can lead to good fortune.  To which, Crowley has aligned "accidental interference" as a thwart to the conjuring, possible indicating that the spell could be broken if externally interrupted.    Lady Frieda Harris cubism/futurism artwork (d1962), with its geometric style brushwork in the foreground, showing the balance and alignment that the card could hold, more so the two swords pointing downward.  However, with the six mismatched swords crossing over their blades, shows how the card and reading can fall out of alignment, and according to Crowley's reading from The Book of Thoth, you may give up if you were indeed accidentally interfered.   

Reading:

When in meditation, do not grip too hard, this is not body up, nor trance like meditation, which is of the most primitive form.  The mind controls the body, the body does not control the mind, however in divergence the nervous system can override everything.  When you let go, you find transcendence and a spell can be conjured.  But, be wary of too much order from the external can cause chaos, and interference can occur, that even it is accidental it can disrupt the flow, the concentration breaks and the spell lost.  You'll need to begin again.  Have you got the will to be persistent?  Or give up, and succumb to structural weight of impermanence.  The card urges you to see, through the two swords that point south of heaven to the Earthly realm, that persistence was the light bearer's greatest gift, to maintain when it crossed through chaos.  So, you should not give up.  Meditate on the number Eight, of renewal, not repetition.

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

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