Aleister Crowley via last.fm

 

By: Donald Carroll

My own psychic abilities were best demonstrated in my practice of the Tarot. Also as regards Tarot, and Yoga, I was mostly influenced by a Tarot and Yoga expert named Aleister Crowley.

I sought to purchase every book that I could find by Aleister Crowley on both Tarot and Yoga, and I also joined an Order that taught both Tarot and Yoga in accordance with the Western Tradition of Magick called the Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn. (Aleister Crowley was once a member of the original version of this Order.)

I also became a member of another Order that taught both Tarot and Yoga – Aleister Crowley’s own Magickal Order, the Astrum Argentum, A.A., or Order of the Silver Star. Aleister Crowley’s Order is still in existence today, and still maintains a great amount of secrecy in order to better preserve the heart of the Order’s teachings, especially as regards both Tarot and Yoga.

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I was also once scheduled to attend a feast and an initiation into the Order of Ordo Templi Orientis, or O.T.O. (Aleister Crowley later became a prominent figure head within this Order. I am not certain if this Order teaches Tarot and/or Yoga.)

In studying the works of Aleister Crowley, I learned a lot about Tarot and Yoga. From Aleister Crowley, I learned the initiated meanings of Tarot Card symbols, astrological symbols, and religious symbols. In Yoga, I learned how to heighten my awareness, focus, and concentration.

I learned the art of Tarot par excellence, and how to read Tarot Cards. (I believe that I may have been born with a psychic gift, or I have a bizarre talent with the Tarot. My own personal experiences with the Tarot have remained to this day unexplainable, even to me; I am heavily influenced by Aleister Crowley’s writings on the Tarot.)

With the Tarot, I prefer to use the Tarot deck designed by Aleister Crowley. I always lay out an accurate Tarot reading, no matter what the object or subject of the Tarot divination is. I can only demonstrate this psychic ability with Tarot Cards – any deck of Tarot Cards, not just the Aleister Crowley deck.

My mother has had a couple of prophetic dreams that she shared with me once. She never practiced neither Yoga nor Tarot. I may have inherited her gift for prophecy. Her gift manifests in the form of a dream, and for me it is always demonstrated in the practice of reading Tarot Cards!

In accordance with Aleister Crowley’s guidelines for study and experimentation I also experimented with pendulum dowsing and obtained remarkably inaccurate results – so astonishingly incorrect as to suggest psychic ability, but at the same time so undependable that I left my studies with pendulum dowsing to pursue my practice with the Tarot.

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Reading Tarot Cards takes years to learn how to do correctly because of the complexity of Tarot card symbolism; the individual meanings of each of the seventy-eight Tarot Cards, and the meanings of each of the positions, depending upon which layout method you are utilizing.

With Tarot, Yoga, (and even Aleister Crowley), repetition, practice, and experience count for everything! The symbolism of the Tarot is deep and at times quite obscure – mastery also depends, theoretically, on a psychic gift. I can demonstrate extraordinary abilities with the Tarot, and I have done so for more than fifteen years.

I want to write a small, practical book on how to learn and practice the Art of Tarot (and even Yoga) correctly, and how to gauge your own progress in a scientific manner! I will then make this book available through Green Planet Fantasy Malls!

Reading Tarot Cards, Yoga, and even Aleister Crowley are things that I know a lot about, and I am very well versed in other religious and mystical studies. Like Aleister Crowley, I do not personally believe in a Devil as some people believe, nor do I understand God to be as personal of a person as people sometimes portray Him, or think about Him. It is the same in Yoga.

For the most part, occult practices (including Tarot and Yoga) have more to do with cultivating self-discipline, focus, concentration, self-healing, physical and emotional healing, and later even learning to heal and/or help others. Aleister Crowley outlines numerous exercises in Yoga, breathing, meditation, and Tarot.

Also included in the works of Aleister Crowley there are practices of invoking and evoking forces, ritual, prayer, Yoga, working miracles, and Tarot divination. In some of these areas there is perhaps a lot of rubbish as far as writings and teachings go, but there also writings and practices that are gems; teachings and understandings in both Tarot and Yoga that anyone can benefit from.

True practice of the occult sciences (including the practices of the Tarot and Yoga) is to initiate you to a path of self-understanding, self acceptance, and self-discipline! As Aleister Crowley pointed out, it is to place yourself onto the Path that eventually leads you to YOU – to Love, Peace, Strength, Honor, and Devotion; the One, True Path (as in Yoga) that brings us closer to ourselves, and to God, and teaches us to be more Christ like!

This Path (which includes teachings from both Yoga and the Tarot) is as unique as each individual is, but the method of approach is very much the same for all of us!

At least some people have heard of the infamous Aleister Crowley, and perhaps even the infamous Aleister Crowley Castle. Aleister Crowley was a famous writer (on both Tarot and Yoga) who flourished around the turn of the century. Aleister Crowley was also a world record holder in the sport of mountain climbing, a world class chess player, and a big game hunter.

Aleister Crowley traveled the world, wrote books on Yoga and Tarot, studied heavily in the occult sciences, and was often referred to as a genius (especially in Yoga and Tarot) and was once even kicked out of Italy by none other than Mussolini himself. Many know of Aleister Crowley only because he was once hailed to be the wickedest man in the world in the tabloids of the 1940’s!

The Aleister Crowley Castle is not really a castle at all...see my pic at the bottom of this page! Most people who have heard of the infamous Aleister Crowley Castle have heard about it because it is now owned by the famous rock guitar player for Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page!

Though I myself once possessed a rare collection of Aleister Crowley’s works, including his best works on Yoga and the Tarot, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin has collected an enormous amount of Aleister Crowley memorabilia. And, yes, he even bought Aleister Crowley’s flat on Loch Ness – the Aleister Crowley Castle!

(Aleister Crowley only lived in the Aleister Crowley Castle himself for roughly six months! The Magickal Work, Yoga, and Tarot he practiced there supposedly made the place haunted, and so even Aleister Crowley himself eventually left the flat!!!)

So, what did Aleister Crowley do during his six month stay on Loch Ness? Well, Aleister Crowley obtained a book called “The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage.”  Aside from practicing in Yoga and Tarot, he was, at that time, aspiring to the Magickal Grade of Adeptus Minor. (Yoga and Tarot are both important aspects of this Grade.)

Anyway, Aleister Crowley sought out and bought a place to retire for six months (sometimes referred to as a magickal retirement) while he carried out the instructions in the above mentioned book; a six month Ritual of Yoga and Magick in which the goal was to obtain to The Knowledge and Conversation of The Holy Guardian Angel.

I understand a thing or two about this particular Grade Work myself, and, if accomplished correctly, attainment in this Grade means simply that you now understand what God’s True Will is for you. (As I stated already, both Yoga and Tarot are important to this Grade.) In the next Magickal Grade of Work you set out to rearrange your life in accordance with your Divine understanding.

Attainment in this Magickal Grade means that you finally understand your strengths and weaknesses in such a way as to know what God’s will is for you; it is like finally understanding who you are, and what your purpose is, especially from the Divine perspective. This is all a rather complicated subject, as Aleister Crowley would agree!

Whether or not Aleister Crowley succeeded in this Work or not was heavily debated within his own circles. But, the flat pictured below is where Aleister Crowley settled down to undertake this Magickal Work. The Aleister Crowley Castle is purportedly haunted as a direct result of Aleister Crowley’s Work there! I suppose we could all ask Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin if the Aleister Crowley castle is really haunted, assuming he himself has ever been there!

About the Author

For more on this article and for more great “how to” articles and FREE downloads, visit Green Planet Fantasy Theater. Music artists, Tarot, Computer Games, and Poker, plus DVD Movies, Music Collections, Games, Books, Software, and Adult XXX Movies, Videos, and PC Games FREE.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Tarot, Yoga, and Aleister Crowley

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Condottiere Francesco Sforza, painted by Bonifacio Bemo, c. 1460. Image via Wikipedia

Author: Janet Francis

Tarot cards—a clever marketing strategy or an ancient mystical guide?

There is much mystery surrounding the history of the tarot and countless myths about its origins. Cynics say that this mystery has been manipulated as a marketing tool for tarot card salesmen!

However, by just looking at the evidence and opinions supplied by other tarot enthusiasts we see that the earliest surviving full deck was painted in 1422 by Italian artist Bonifacio Bembo. This is known as the Visconti deck, named after the Duke of Milan, who commissioned them.

Although accounts of Ancient Egyptian, Celtic, Indian and earlier Italian links have been suggested, there is no evidence of any earlier decks.

The cards were originally used for a game called Tarocchi or ‘Game of Triumphs’ which was similar to Bridge. The game was played mainly by the Upper Classes and has continued in some circles.

The tarot’s use by the Upper Classes probably saved the game from being banned by the Church even though it was considered to be heresy and was outlawed by the Church. Indeed in the latter half of the fifteenth century some church sermons labelled tarot as the work of the Devil, but the Church had better foes to fight where cards were concerned- mainly games promoting gambling.

It is believed that the cards were used for inspiration for poetry, describing aspects of the human mind and character traits. The cards have obviously evolved according to the culture of the times and attitudes from whence they were used.

Probably the most important manifestations and manipulations of the Tarot deck were by Alistair Crowley and Waite of the Rider-Waite deck. The imagery on this deck is the one with which we are most familiar today. The Rider- Waite deck was introduced into America in the twentieth century and the one most available to the American public.

For more information on tarot cards visit http://www.thetextperts.co.uk/tarot.html

About the Author:
Janet Francis is currently opening her own business while continuing to freelance as a commercial writer. Check out her new services at http://www.entourageangels.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Tarot Cards- a Clever Marketing Strategy or an Ancient Mystical Guide?

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The cover of the Thoth tarot deck.Image via Wikipedia

Author: Craig Malone

The Thoth Tarot Deck was a tarot deck developed by the English occultist Aleister Crowley and illustrated on his instructions by Lady Frieda Harris. Aleister Crowley called the Thoth tarot deck, the book of Thoth and claimed that the deck reflected the wisdom of the ancient Egyptian book of Thoth.

The tarot card descriptions found on the Thoth Tarot deck are different in symbolism and imagery compared to other standard tarot card decks.

Thoth is considered one of the most important deities of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He is known as the God with the head of an ibis. He is the heart and tongue of the all-powerful Egyptian Sun God Ra. He translated the will of Ra into speech and is the divine communicator of Egyptian mythology.

He was the scribe of the Gods and was called the God of Writing. The book of Thoth is used for divination through tarot cards. The tarot card descriptions on the Thoth deck are reflections of the great knowledge of the ancient Egyptians.

A cult of Thoth grew during the last years of the Egyptian civilization who claimed to predict the future through occult divination. Aleister Crowley claims that the Thoth tarot deck developed by him was based on the tarot card descriptions followed by the cult of Thoth. He developed the deck between 1938 and 1943.

He commissioned Lady Frieda Harris to illustrate the deck based on his visions and based on the ancient Egyptian book of Thoth papyrus by Jasnow and Zauzich. It took five years to develop the deck because Crowley wanted the images to reflect different disciplines including science and philosophy.

The tarot card descriptions in the Crowley Thoth tarot deck are different from the Rider Waite and other standard tarot card decks. The Major Arcana or trump cards are 21 in number and consist of the fool, the Magician or Magus, the high Priestess, the Emperor, the Empress, the Hierophant, the lovers, the chariot, Adjustment, the hermit, the wheel of fortune, lust, the hanged man, death, art, devil, tower, star, moon, sun, aeon and the universe.

Court cards in the Thoth minor Arcana deck are the prince, the princess, queen and the knight. While the suite of cups, disks, swords and wands remain the same, they are illustrated with an Egyptian hieroglyphic style.

The pips of the minor Arcana in the Thoth deck relate to the signs of the zodiac with the aces depicting the root of the element they represent. Each pip card in each suite has an attribute.

The wand suite relates to the fire signs of the zodiac. The ace represents the root of the fire element 2 dominions, 3 virtues, 4 completion, 5 strife, 6 victory, 7valor, 8 swiftness, 9 strength and 10 oppression.

The cup suite represents the water signs of the zodiac. The ace represents the root of the water element, 2 love,3 abundance, 4 luxury, 5 disappointment, 6 pleasure, 7 debauchery, 8 indolence, 9 happiness and 10 safety.

The sword suite represents the air signs of the zodiac. The ace represents the root of the air element 2 peace, 3 sorrow, 4 truces, 5 defeats, 6 science, 7 futility, 8 interference, 9 cruelty and 10 ruin.

The disks suite represents the earth signs of the zodiac. The ace is the root of the earth element, 2 change, 3 work, 4 power, 5 worry, 6 success, 7 failure, 8 prudence, 9 gain and 10 wealth.

The Thoth tarot deck reflects the tarot card descriptions that formed the visions of Aleister Crowley on a visit to Egypt. Many diviners have found great merit in predicting the future using the Thoth Tarot deck.

About the Author:

CM is a writer for SpiritNow.com. Visit SpiritNow.com today, the online home of America’s Top Psychic, Sylvia Browne. Read Sylvia’s 2009 psychic predictions and the best spirituality content on the Internet on SpiritNow.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Thoth Tarot Deck

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The Fool card from the Rider-Waite tarot deck.

Author: Craig Malone

Whenever you say tarot cards, you would in most cases find it means the Rider Waite tarot deck. This is because this is one of the most commonly used types of card decks.

The history of using tarot cards may take you to ancient times, however the tarot cards as they are known today can be traced to the year 1910 when Arthur Edward Waite designed these with the help of a very talented illustrator named Pamela Colman Smith.

While Waite was British, Smith was American at that time. Waite, who was a renowned publisher, also printed an excellent guide to help with the interpretation of this tarot deck titled, The Key to the Tarot. This book has often been re-run and used by a slightly modified title, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.

This is a wonderful book for any tarot enthusiast because it assists you in every step while using tarot cards for a reading. Waite made a few changes when he designed this new set of cards.

The Justice and Strength cards were interchanged so Justice read as card 11 while Strength reads as card 8.

All the Minor Arcana cards, which previously only had their numbers and suit symbols inscribed on them, had pictures added by Waite and Smith creating a more interesting and in many ways, easier-to-read tarot deck.

You will find that this particular deck is not only the most popular found today, but also one that is most eloquent in readings. Owing to the beautiful scenes and symbols that Rider Waite and Pamela Smith introduced, each card becomes a miniature book for the diviner, who is able to read the symbols as they become apparent during a reading.

The tarot deck, with the help of the key, can encourage any amateur to want to learn more about this occult art. Each card has scenery, background and many symbols, which at first glance look child-like simple. On closer perusal, the details would literally unfold before your eyes the story of your subject.

Using tarot cards for divination by novices became apparently easier after this deck was issued. This is why this is one of the most popular versions of tarot cards used today throughout the world.

A good number of the symbols that you would find on these cards are the result of the inspiration the authors drew from Eliphas Levi, who was during those time an extremely famous and successful occultist and magician.

Fascinated by the signs this occult personality used and convinced that using tarot cards need more visual stimulation for a proper interpretation, Waite tried to make his tarot deck speak out eloquently with the help of color, scenes and symbols.

Owing to the popularity of the Waite tarot cards, many clones have found their way in this type of divination. Some of the better-known versions include the Gilded tarot, the Aquarian tarot, the Universal Waite tarot, the Nigel Jackson tarot and the Golden tarot among others. Do not be fooled by the imitations. Use the original Rider Waite tarot deck.

About the Author:

CM is a writer for SpiritNow.com. Visit SpiritNow.com today, the online home of America’s Top Psychic, Sylvia Browne. Read Sylvia’s 2009 psychic predictions and the best spirituality content on the Internet on SpiritNow.com. Looking for a love psychic or psychic reading for free, visit SpiritNow.com today.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Rider Waite Tarot Deck

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Le Bateleur (The Magician) from the Marseilles deck.

Author: Malc Moore

The first description of tarot decks appeared as early as the beginning of the 15th century when Martiano da Tortona mentioned some card games that resembled a lot to tarot. The symbols on these early illustrations were Greek deities while the suits matched four types of birds, a pattern totally different from the basic Italian decks.

These forefathers of the tarot deck counted only sixteen cards, but they surely enjoyed great popularity. Later, other decks are described by Italian documents throughout the 15th century. Given the heraldic, social, poetical and philosophical interpretations of the cards, modern researchers are surely impressed by the vividness of the symbolism and the ideology behind it.

The oldest tarot deck preserved to our times were designed according to the specifications of the Visconti family. The sixty-six cards are presently on public display at the Yale University Library in New Haven.

Le Bateleur (The Magician) from the Oswald Wirth deck

Another well-known deck was painted by Bonifacio Bembo according to the instructions of Maria Visconti. They are preserved with the exception of two who were either lost or never existed. These latter tarot decks are known as Visconti-Sforza and their design is very popular nowadays too.

Lots of modern reproductions combine batons, swords, coins and cups with trump cards as the clear image of traditional iconography of the old times.

An analysis of the first-made tarot decks indicates a reduced number given the painstaking effort required for their design. Tarot decks have survived from Marseilles, Egypt or Switzerland and in time they came to be associated with magic and mysticism. Occultism and magic fans were the first to embrace and widely use the cards for all sorts of symbolic interpretations that have survived to our modern world too.

The Magician from the Rider-Waite deck

The tarot deck cannot be given a clear origin, yet, some scientists revealed that the etymology of the word tarot is Egyptian, meaning the royal road. According to tradition, Gypsies are said to have spread the tradition of card reading in the first place, but we don’t know for sure when tarot decks started to gain mass attention.

What we know for sure is that Eliphas Levi introduced the tarot in the English speaking world, initially for aristocrats and then among the middle classes.

About the Author:

For more about psychic tarot and tarot decks, check out our website at www.psychics4you.co.uk

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Different Tarot Decks Designs

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Author: Rhyanna Regan

Tarot cards, in the images we are most familiar with today, evolved from a kind of table game played in 15th century Italy, becaming popular throughout Europe over the next four centuries.

To fully explore the history of Tarot, you can read the expansive book by Michael Dummet, The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City (Duckworth, 1980). Dummet, a British philosopher of high regard, is the author of many books on the Tarot. His scholarship on Tarot is extensive, and provides much of the research available on the origins of the Tarot deck and its variations.

Tarot originally would have been a pastime of the leisure class, those with the time and money to spend on games. Certainly at that time the cards were handmade and illustrated by artists, and each set would vary with the individual artist’s representation of the card’s images.

Especially from the 15th to the 18th centuries in Europe, variations of Tarot games were wildly popular, enjoyed by people of some wealth and intellect, very much like chess or bridge. Through the 1700’s Tarot was an absolute craze across the entire continent.

Tarot Decks

There are several Tarot decks that have come to represent a familiar iconography, each with their own history, interpretation and devotees. The 15th Century Italian Visconti-Sforza deck is probably the earliest surviving deck of this era, with original cards in the collections of several museums around the world. These beautiful, artistic images are reproduced frequently.

A 19th century version from the south of France, known as the Tarot de Marseille, is a very popular deck in Europe.

In the United States, the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck is the most commonly used today. It was conceived by the well-known Tarot authority A. E. Waite, and published in 1902 by the Ryder Co. The simplified graphic style of this deck retains the historic symbolism of earlier decks, but seems fresh and accessible to modern sensibilities.

Ancient Tarot

Other Tarot scholars are convinced that Tarot has its roots in an even earlier time. They see relationships to the Kabbalah, or to Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Cards, for games or prophesy, were used in China centuries before they found their way to Europe in the 14th Century, and may have been the original incarnation of the Tarot.

It may be more likely that the Tarot was brought to Europe through card games that were popular in the old world Arabia. In 18th Century France, Antoine Court de Gebelin, promoted the concept that the Tarot was derived from mystic practices in Ancient Egypt, which he described in his multi-volume work, Le Monde Primitif.

Another Frenchman, Etteillla, is considered to be the first to recreate the Tarot as a “fortune-telling” device. He is essentially the first Tarot reader. Reproductions of his Book of Thoth Tarot and other publications by Etteilla are still available today.

The Victorian Embrace

Tarot reading emerged as a new construct during the Victorian Age’s embrace of spiritualism and the occult, setting the foundation for what would become the New Age school of thought on Tarot that we know today.

There is extensive scholarship and research available on the history of the Tarot, whether from on-line sources or in libraries, for anyone who is interested in exploring the subject. For most of us, though, the history is not as compelling as the question of how the Tarot is meaningful in our lives now.

About the Author:

Rhyanna Regan is the director of “Your Psychic World”, the source of Free Online Psychic Readings. She has written various articles on Tarot Cards and Love and Relationships, among others.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Tarot Through the Ages

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