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Thoth

The Book of Thoth deck, painted 1938–1943 · Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris

Crowley's redesign of the pack around the Golden Dawn's attributions, painted by Lady Frieda Harris over five years and published a quarter of a century after both of them had finished with it.

The Book of Thoth remains in copyright. The catalogue therefore gives the deck's titles, ranks and numbering beside the Golden Dawn material it inherits, while citing Crowley by page without reproducing his text.

The pictures

Lady Frieda Harris painted the deck between 1938 and 1943; it was first published in 1969, seven years after her death in 1962. The paintings remain in copyright until 2032 in the UK and EU and 2064 in the United States, so no card images or substitutes appear here.

The deck at its publisher ↗

Where it comes from

Deck provenance

Devised by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris between 1938 and 1943. Crowley's account of it was published as The Book of Thoth in 1944; the deck itself was not published until 1969.

Cited by locator only. The Book of Thoth is in copyright, and so are Harris's paintings — until 2032 in the UK and EU and 2064 in the United States.

Sources (1)
  1. The Book of Thoth , First edition, O.T.O., 1944 — Part Two: The Atu; Part Three: The Court Cards; Part Four: The Small Cards

    The three parts that treat the cards one by one.

    Read at hermetic.com ↗

Traditional source

Deck provenance: Devised by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris between 1938 and 1943. Crowley's account of it was published as The Book of Thoth in 1944; the deck itself was not published until 1969.

  1. The Book of Thoth , First edition, O.T.O., 1944 — Part Two: The Atu; Part Three: The Court Cards; Part Four: The Small Cards

    The three parts that treat the cards one by one.

    Read at hermetic.com ↗

What it calls things

Suits
Wands · Cups · Swords · Disks
Court ranks
Princess · Prince · Queen · Knight

Trumps this deck renames

Filed as In this deck Numeral
The Magician The Magus I
The High Priestess The Priestess II
Strength Lust XI
Wheel of Fortune Fortune X
Justice Adjustment VIII
Temperance Art XIV
Judgement The Aeon XX
The World The Universe XXI

The trumps

  1. 0 The Fool The Spirit of Aethyr
  2. I The Magus The Magus of Power
  3. II The Priestess The Priestess of the Silver Star
  4. III The Empress The Daughter of the Mighty Ones
  5. IV The Emperor Sun of the Morning, Chief among the Mighty
  6. V The Hierophant The Magus of the Eternal
  7. VI The Lovers The Children of the Voice; the Oracles of the Mighty Gods
  8. VII The Chariot The Child of the Powers of the Waters; the Lord of the Triumph of Light
  9. XI Lust The Daughter of the Flaming Sword
  10. IX The Hermit The Magus of the Voice of Power, the Prophet of the Eternal
  11. X Fortune The Lord of the Forces of Life
  12. VIII Adjustment The Daughter of the Lords of Truth; the Ruler of the Balance
  13. XII The Hanged Man The Spirit of the Mighty Waters
  14. XIII Death The Child of the Great Transformers; the Lord of the Gates of Death
  15. XIV Art The Daughter of the Reconcilers, the Bringer-Forth of Life
  16. XV The Devil The Lord of the Gates of Matter; the Child of the Forces of Time
  17. XVI The Tower The Lord of the Hosts of the Mighty
  18. XVII The Star The Daughter of the Firmament, the Dweller between the Waters
  19. XVIII The Moon The Ruler of Flux and Reflux; the Child of the Sons of the Mighty
  20. XIX The Sun The Lord of the Fire of the World
  21. XX The Aeon The Spirit of the Primal Fire
  22. XXI The Universe The Great One of the Night of Time