Tarot Divination

by Aleister Crowley

This work originally appeared under the title, A Description of the Cards of the Tarot, as part of The Equinox. Volume 1, Number 8, published at the Autumn Equinox of 1912. Because of its excellence as an exposition on the Tarot, Aleister Crowley's material was reprinted separately under the title Tarot Divination, and popular demand has kept it in print ever since. Contents * A description of each card and its meaning. * The root power of the four elements. * The symbolic characteristics of the court cards. * The relationship of the smaller cards to the thirty-six decans of the zodiac. * A description of the twenty-two keys. * Meanings of the groupings and placement of cards. * Qabalistic correspondences and Angelic Rulers. * The Relationship of the smaller cards to the Tree of Life. * A method of divination using the Tarot.

Genres: Tarot, Magic, Metaphysics

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

Aleister Crowley was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, proclaiming himself as the prophet destined to guide humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, Crowley published extensively throughout his life.
Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, he was raised in a wealthy family adhering to the fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith. Crowley rejected his religious upbringing, developing an interest in Western esotericism. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, focusing on mountaineering and poetry, and published several works during this period. In 1898, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, receiving training in ceremonial magic from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. His travels took him to Mexico for mountaineering with Oscar Eckenstein and to India, where he studied Hindu and Buddhist practices.
In 1904, during a honeymoon in Cairo with his wife Rose Edith Kelly, Crowley claimed to have received "The Book of the Law" from a supernatural entity named Aiwass. This text became the foundation of Thelema, announcing the onset of the Æon of Horus and introducing the central tenet: "Do what thou wilt." Crowley emphasized that individuals should align with their True Will through ceremonial magic.
After an unsuccessful expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1905 and further travels in India and China, Crowley returned to Britain. There, he co-founded the esoteric order A∴A∴ with George Cecil Jones in 1907 to promote Thelema. In 1912, he joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), eventually leading its British branch and reformulating it according to Thelemic principles. Crowley spent World War I in the United States, engaging in painting and writing pro-German propaganda, which biographers later suggested was a cover for British intelligence activities.
In 1920, Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily. His libertine lifestyle attracted negative attention from the British press, leading to his expulsion by the Italian government in 1923. He spent subsequent years in France, Germany, and England, continuing to promote Thelema until his death in 1947.
Crowley's notoriety stemmed from his recreational drug use, bisexuality, and criticism of societal norms. Despite controversy, he significantly influenced Western esotericism and the 1960s counterculture, and remains a central figure in Thelema.

Reviews

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here and there in this book is a glimmer of insight that may be helpful in my Tarot readings. On the whole, however, Crowley's text is simply baffling. He actually admits that changing the Kings to Knights is confusing, but doesn't seem to care that throwing out symbols and Hebrew names is even more confounding, or that rearranging the order of the cards by jumping from suit to suit in the listing makes it night impossible to use the book as a reference. The book ends with what is literally the most convoluted instruction in giving a Tarot reading I've ever come across.
Maybe I have bragging rights for having read something by this much-celebrated esoteric thinker, but I see little to brag about. This was like getting a lecture from a very learned professor. Unfortunately the professor is a pompous git and I learned practically nothing.