Who Influenced Crowley when he designed the Thoth Tarot?
An adept is a master of the occult, and many adepts have used the Tarot as a vehicle for their ideas and teachings. Traditionally, adepts have mastered many disciplines, such as magic, divination, alchemy, invocation and evocation. As a result they have unique views on the Tarot. Many adepts had an influence on the designs of the Thoth Tarot. Here are some:
Adepts
- Eliphaz Levi
- Papus
- Mme Blavatsky
- Rudolf Steiner
- Frieda Harris
Trying to catalogue the influences within Crowley's Thoth Tarot is a daunting task, but we can make some educated guesses. Eliphaz Levi is an obvious candidate, particularly since Crowley believed he was an incarnation of the great man. Papus (Gerard Encausse) is another. Not so obvious is Mme Blavatsky, but if you think about it, the aim of Theosophy is to unite all religions and beliefs, which is not so different to the universal embrace of the Tarot. The Theosophical influence is particularly strong in the commentary on the Fool card. Of course, the Golden Dawn had a huge influence on Crowley, and to my mind, the Thoth Tarot is a far better representation of the GD than the GD tarot decks available. Although not mentioned in the text, Rudolf Steiner's Projective Synthetic Geometry designs were incorporated into many of the cards by Frieda Harris.
Rudolf Steiner
Frieda Harris incorporated Steiner's system of Projective Synthetic Geometry on the designs of the Thoth Tarot. Steiner never approved of Crowley's magical system, but did Crowley use PSG as part of the successful magic to bring down the Nazis?
Papus
The Tarot of the Bohemians by Papus is one of the most influential modern books on the subject, which inspired A.E. Waite and Aleister Crowley.
Dion Fortune
One of the great adepts trained by the Golden Dawn, Dion Fortune is not well known for her interest in the Tarot, but she took a great interest in Crowley's Book of Thoth.
Frieda Harris
Frieda Harris is famous as the artist of Crowley's Book of Thoth.
A.O. Spare
Austin Osman Spare was a superb artist, an initiate of the Golden Dawn, and contemporary of Crowley. Here are his own ideas of how to read the Tarot.
Cornelius Agrippa
One of the secrets to understanding the Tarot is the nature of the four elements and how they work together. The alchemical writings of Cornelius Agrippa are an undoubted influence on the Golden Dawn.
A.E. Waite
Associated with alchemy is of course the Holy Grail and the Philosopher's Stone. Waite had his own ideas of how these ideas connected with the Tarot. Although forever associated with the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, Waite's ideas of the three levels of the cosmos and the Tarot are inspired by the writings of Papus.
Aleister Crowley
Many people believe the Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley to be Thelemic, but a close reading of the book and designs of the cards shows that he was actually closely following the Golden Dawn traditions. The characteristic of a classic work is the number of levels that can be found, and the Thoth Tarot is a never-ending source of wonderment and insight.
Eliphas Levi
Aleister Crowley believed himself to be the incarnation of Eliphas Levi, the French priest who was thrown out of the Catholic church, and died just before Crowley was born in 1875. A number of the Thoth Tarot cards are inspired by Levi.
