By Mari
The cards commissioned by Crowley, were painted by Lady Frieda Harris, who like Crowley was a member of the Golden Dawn, a group which practised amongst other things, spiritual development. Lady Harris painted some of the cards no less than 8 times, wanting them to truly project the imagery.
This is a pack with 3 fools, (I only use one) which has the distinction of being controversial or seen as “dark” due to Crowley’s cultivated reputation for being risque. Neither Crowley or Harris saw this pack produced, as the first print wasn’t till 1969, although Harris did have 500 printed herself.
For me this is the only set of tarot cards I can work with successfully. Its ties to Egyptian spirituality, Astrology, numerology, kabbalah and its striking imagery works for me on so many levels. It reveals universal principles, that are experienced by people cross culturally. I also like to use the colours in the pack to link into the chakras and forms of spiritual healing.
During my time of using this pack (approx 16 years) i have developed my own meanings for the cards, but these change as I become more experienced as a reader, which, as far as I am concerned, is a never ending journey, as it provides an insight into professional, personal and spiritual development of each individual.
My main focus is, that people are experiencing their own soul journey in the best way possible,whilst still experiencing all that the souls journey in the physical body entails, and dovetailing the two together. Initialy I learnt my craft from a book called “The Tarot Handbook” By Angeles Arien published in San Francisco in 1987.
Lady Frieda Harris said the following. ”The Tarot could be described as gods picture book, or it could be likened to a celestial game of chess, the Trumps being the piece to be moved according to the law of their own order over a checkered board of the four elements”.
Angeles Ariens interpretation of this is “It is a map of consciousness incorporating the everyday world” My own take on this is that “I use the Thoth pack of tarot cards to help everyday people see the mystical path in a practical manner, reading the cards as I would a book, or viewing them like a film”.
I consider this one of the best packs to do distance reading with, as my total concentration, intuition and clairvoyant ability is triggered by the imagery of the cards themselves.