Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169770 in Books
• Published on: 1988-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

an attractive gift... almost perfect!
The Crowley Thoth Tarot deck included in this gift set is without doubt fascinating and beautiful. The plastic box of the gift set is very nice and the book is easy to read for beginners. However, the cards are simply put in the plastic box without a usual small paper box. This makes it very inconvenient when you want to carry your cards with you --- you have to carry the whole plastic box, which is very large! Also, in order to use the Thoth deck, the book by Ziegler included in this gift set is not enough at all. "The Crowley Tarot: The Handbook to the Cards" by Akron and Banzhaf has more detailed explanation of the cards.

This is the Thoth Tarot as a Counselling Tool
It's really important to understand that this book is one of a large movement centred around using the Tarot from a counselling/Jungian point of view, rather than as a magical/divination tool. The card definitions in the books are unrelentingly positive and based entirely on the querant's psychological state and perceptions.

Don't get me wrong -- it's good as a book of counselling tools, and it doesn't pretend at any point to be anything different to what it is. Most of the spreads are presented as techniques for guiding the patient through the session and the card definitions all have suggestions for what the counsellor and patient can do together as activities to develop on what they have seen in the cards.

If you want to use the Thoth Tarot for magical or proper divinatory purposes this book really won't be much use. Some of the definitions develop interestingly on the uniquely Crowleyan perspective presented by the deck, but in general it really blunts the card definitions down, limits them by applying them only to the inner psychological state and drowns them under bland syrupy homilies to stop people topping themselves when they draw The Tower.

Stunning!!!
I have two other sets of tarot cards, and have never been able to do a lot with them. These ones are totally different.
I was initially a bit reticent about getting these, mainly due to Crowley's reputation, but there's nothing threatening or malevolent about this deck. Visually stunning, the artwork is beautiful and intricate, which is the thing that attracted me to them in the first place.
However, once you hold them in your hands, they're a very powerful deck, and very easy to connect with.
The plastic video case type box is a bit cumbersome, but I keep my tarot cards in a cloth bag anyway, so that doesn't really matter.
The book contained in the set is certainly enough for a beginner, but I can appreciate that the separate handbook may be helpful once you're used to them.
An amazing and colourful set, and certainly not naive like a lot of tarot decks currently on the market.
Highly recommended.