The Ultimate Guide to the Thoth Tarot

Some of the negative ratings mention the translation problem, others mention incomplete information. Personally, I found the slightly literal translation from German gave the descriptions a more intuition inciting quality, and there was enough information to aid the intuitive process. The precise readings for specific queries would be helpful for those beginning their journey, and the interpretation of the symbols were a good starting point for anyone wanting to dig a bit deeper into the broader interpretation. If you wanted to go really deep, the book gave enough information for the reader to do their own research.

I have been studying the occult all my life and Crowley’s Thoth tarot is the world’s most commonly used for a reason. I started with his work the book of Thoth but for beginners it’s much better to digest this as it’s simple and uses imagery to help you commit the meanings of each card to mind. I couldn’t read these before this book and now it makes complete sense. A must for any beginner in Thoth tarot.

Absolutely the best Thoth book you can get.

If you own the Thoth Tarot Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck Standard you'll know it is not a 'beginners' tarot and for some it can be hard to decipher and 'get into'. What I like about this book is that it gives an approachable way into the Thoth Tarot while not dumbing down. Of course if you own the Thoth Tarot you should also have a copy of Book of Thoth: Egyptian Tarot but while that book is an excellent and essential book for the Thoth Tarot, as well as understanding the tarot more generally, it is a far more weighty tome and is an in depth exploration of the Thoth Tarot on a more complex level. Think of this book 'The Ultimate Guide to the Thoth Tarot' as the key to the door and a way in to start you off, or to give you a prod in the right direction if you get stuck, while Crowley's book is for when you have more experience and are ready to understand it. I recommend this book to beginners, but you will also want it even if you are experienced as it is an excellent breakdown of the symbolism of each card that you won't find anywhere else and a great companion to the deck to have on your bookshelf. Each card gets a full two page spread in full colour on glossy and excellent quality paper with clear colours. Actually the colours in the book reflect well the actual colours in the deck, which you don't always get with tarot books, but is essential when reading these type of books. On one side of the two page spread you get the complete card and a 'basic meaning' followed by several headings such as 'spiritual Experience', which gives a short interpretation to where the card's meaning fits in with the spiritual purpose associated with the tarot, and then there are other headings such as 'Card of the day', 'Love and Relationships' and 'As Prediction/Tendency' on the same page. All of this gives the reader a way into the card from different directions and you can choose which way in you want, so you can come from a deeper spiritual purpose or a more mundane motive. The opposite page to the full card of the two page spread is headed 'The Ten Most Important Symbols' and it breaks the card down into ten parts shown as the card but with only that part shown in colour with the rest of the card shown faded out so you get to see the symbol in respect to the rest of the card. As well as this they show some of the parts in close up so you can really get a focus on them. This is an excellent way to understand the parts of the whole and how they relate to each other while thinking about the whole card in relation to that particular part. It can also be used alongside your Thoth deck as you can hold the card and compare the part in the book to the card in your hand while focusing on both. This gives people a visual and contextual way into the card from many angles, and maybe this will help you if you have got 'stuck' because you found a card's symbolism was still confounding you. I think the way the book is written means while it gives people a step up to getting more from the Thoth deck it still provides plenty of scope for the reader to build their own interpretation of the card with the knowledge they gain from the book combined with their own experience. In addition to all the cards, symbolism etc. the book provides suggested Tarot reading layouts and 'top tens' for extra symbolism for the suits, and that is in addition to the fact that each card major, minor and court cards are already given a two page spread each! There is also discussion on the importance of colour and the relationship of the court cards to personalities. Along with Crowley's book mentioned above this is an essential book for you if you own or are thinking of buying the Thoth Tarot. If you are thinking of buying one book with your Thoth Tarot then I would recommend this one first and Crowley's book after that.

The pictures of the cropped cards are wonderful. Full colour and detailed. The layout for each card is a great idea. Unfortunately, what is written is not only incorrect but shows a complete lack of research on the part of the authors. If you want a good Crowley Tarot book, look up Thoth Companion by Michael Snuffin. He makes no foolish comparisons with Harry Potter. Honestly, I am surprised at a reputable publisher like Llewellyn putting out this book under the wildly inaccurate title of Ultimate Guide. Thanks for the pictures anyway.

'The Ultimate Guide to the Thoth Tarot,' is very similar to the author's other book titled 'The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot'. Despite both books being very well illustrated and of very good publishing quality, with the potential to make a great contribution to the area, neither of these books are an 'ultimate guide' to the respective decks. To begin with, this book does not make reference to Aleister Crowley's writings on the different card meanings. The text is poorly translated from the original German into English, with most of the sentences not making any sense at all. The vast majority of the interpretations are again wrong and misleading in this book, consisting of made up symbol interpretations based on popular culture. I suggest anyone considering buying this book take a look at the page samples here on Amazon before purchasing. If you are new to Crowley's Thoth Deck I would recommend 'Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot', by Lon Milo Duquette or Aleister Crowley's 'The Book of Thoth.' I would not waste your time or money on this misleading book and please be wary of the oncoming flood of false positive reviews by people, who either bought the book as beginners and dont know any better or people who are friends with the publisher / author.

I like this book, I would have liked it taller but it's not toilet paper like most today, lovely shiny quality paper, a pleasure to handle and read through, and so well designed and set out, giving a picture, then a few pages covering every aspect of that card. My wife has a MASSIVE collection, multiple bookshelves full, I have THOTH and that's all I need, it's all anyone needs, it's simply the best.

Excellent

Perfecto para dar los primeros pasos con el tarot toth.

Contiene una descripción y explicación breves de los principales símbolos del tarot de Thoth. Muy bueno para comenzar el estudio de este mazo.

This book was written for me! I have always been a bit intimidated by the Thoth tarot cards. Not now! This book has broken down the meaning and symbology of each card. For each card it has a page breaking down the symbolism and another basic meanings and other uses in a tarot spread. Colorful, easy to understand, easy to navigate. I highly recommend this book to any beginner. It could possibly make a good quick reference for a bit more advanced student also. But as a beginner, I am thrilled with it!

The book is great, it explains the symbology rigorously. I really liked it, the illustrations are in color which helps a lot. Beautiful book.

The title of the original German edition of this book was “Tarot Basics: Crowley. Tarot interpretation made easy,” which is more fitting than what the English publishers have called it. The book does make the complex web of symbols in the Crowley Thoth Tarot more approachable. The book shows you how to read the Tarot by looking at the symbols and forming your own interpretations. Following C.G. Jung, the authors say that every symbol has multiple meanings. They ignore the keywords or subtitles — words like Ruin, Success, Power, Disappointment — that are printed on the number cards. Sometimes the meanings stray from more orthodox interpretations. The book gives a very friendly graphic format, which the authors use in their book on the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. It’s a format that works better with the Thoth than with the RWS. Each card has two facing pages. On the left we are shown the ten most important symbols on the card, and a brief explanation of each symbol’s meaning. On the right we see a full-color representation of the card and some suggestions for divinatory meanings. The format allows us to instantly locate each symbol, note some possible meanings, and come up with our own reading. Neither simplistic nor bewildering, the format gives us just enough so we can get a handle on each card. Those who are looking for an explication of Crowley’s writings should look elsewhere. The book doesn’t claim to have the “true” meanings of the Tarot. Nor does it go deeply into the theoretical underpinnings, the Qabala, the numerology, the rationale behind the assignment of the astrological signs and planets. There are books that do that, and the interested reader of this volume can turn to them later. What the book does do is give is an easy way to get started working with a deck of cards that many have found confusing.