Archive for the ‘History’ Category
The Thoth Tarot by Crowley
Author: Psychic
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.
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Eliphas Levi and the tarot
Author: Psychic
The evidence for the initiated tradition of the Tarot.
Although the origins of the Tarot are perfectly obscure, there is a very interesting piece of quite modern history, history well within the memory of living man, which is extremely significant, and will be found, as the thesis develops, to sustain it in a very remarkable way. In the middle of the nineteenth century, there arose a very great Qabalist and scholar, who still annoys dull people by his habit of diverting himself at their expense by making fools of them posthumously. His name was Alphonse Louis Constant, and he was an Abbé of the Roman Church. For his “nom-de-guerre” he translated his name into Hebrew-Eliphas Levi Zahed, and he is very generally known as Eliphas Levi. Eliphas Levi was a philosopher and an artist, besides being a supreme literary stylist and a practical joker of the variety called “Pince sans rire”; and, being an artist and a profound symbolist, he was immensely attracted by the Tarot.
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William Blake Tarot
Author: Psychic
The William Blake Tarot explores the mystical vision and artistry of the renowned English painter and poet. Through rich interpretations focused on creative undertakings, it has long been the deck of choice for artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers.
The Tarot is a deck of cards that originated over 500 years ago in northern Italy. Although the Tarot was first used in a game called Triumphs, it was quickly adopted as a tool for divination, and popularized by occult societies such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The early Tarot symbolism was deeply rooted in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, but over the centuries it has grown to incorporate everything from Astrology and Kabbalah to Runes and the I Ching . Today, the Tarot is far and away the most popular tool for spiritual introspection in the West.
Re-engrav’d Time after Time
Ever in their youthful prime,
My design unchang’d remains.
William Blake (1757 – 1827)
A master of the Tarot
Author: Psychic
A British scholar and historian of occultism and mysticism. Waite was born on October 2, 1857, in Brooklyn, New York, and brought to London, England, by his family when he was an infant. He was educated in Roman Catholic schools. As a boy, he cherished an affection for “penny dreadfuls,” the romantic popular pulp literature of the day.
Waite grew up during the first European renaissance of occultism which stretched from the end of the nineteenth century to the outbreak of World War I, and his personal friends included Arthur Machen, William Butler Yeats and Aleister Crowley.
For some twenty years he edited anonymously its monthly “Re-view of Periodical Literature.” During this period he acquired a knowledge of the major current developments in occultism all over the world.
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The Tarot and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Author: Psychic
One must now digress into the history of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the British society reconstituted by Dr. Westcott and his colleagues, in order to show further evidence as to the authenticity of the claim of the promulgators of the cipher manuscript.
Among these papers, besides the attribution of the Tarot, were certain skeleton rituals, which purported to contain the secrets of initiation; the name (with an address in Germany) of a Fraülein Sprengel was mentioned as the issuing authority. Dr. Westcott wrote to her; and, with her permission, the Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in 1886.
(The G .’. D .’. is merely a name for the Outer or Preliminary Order of the R.R. et A.C., which is in its turn an external manifestation of the A .’. A.’. which is the true Order of Masters—See Magick, pp.229-244.) [An impudent mushroom swindle, calling itself "Order of Hidden Masters", has recently appeared---and disappeared.]
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Astrology in the USA
Author: Psychic
Astrology
Astrology in the USA
In the United States, a great surge of popular interest in astrology took place between 1900 through 1949. A very popular astrologer based in New York City named Evangeline Adams helped feed the public’s thirst for astrology readings with many accurate forecasts, her biographers say. A famous court case involving Adams, who was arrested and charged with illegal fortune-telling in 1914 – was later dismissed when Adams correctly read the horoscope of the judge’s son with only a birthdate. Her acquittal set an American precedent that if astrologers practiced in a professional manner that they were not guilty of any wrong-doing.
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History of astrology
Author: Psychic
History of Astrology
Babylonian astrology
The history of astrology can now be traced back to ancient Babylonia, and indeed to the earliest phases of Babylonian history, in the third millennium B.C.[1][2]
In Babylonia as well as in Assyria as a direct offshoot of Sumerian culture (or in general the Mesopotamian culture), astrology takes its place in the official cult as one of the two chief means at the disposal of the priests (who were called bare or “inspectors”) for ascertaining the will and intention of the gods, the other being through the inspection of the liver of the sacrificial animal.
The earliest extant Babylonian astrology text is the Enuma Anu Enlil (literally meaning “When the gods Anu and Enlil…”), dating back to 1600 B.C. This text describes various astronomical omens and their application to national and political affairs. For example, a segment of the text says: “If in Nisannu the sunrise appears sprinkled with blood, battles. Nisannu is the Babylonian month corresponding to March/April in the Western calendar.
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