Book of Thoth Tarot

This is a method of tarot reading presented by Etteilla in his *Cours theorique et pratique de livre du Thot*.

Etteilla says that, in order to do this properly, one needs to understand ethics, and says that they are one and the same as the science of numbers. He says the statement "the highest or the uppermost is like the lowest" is similar to 2+2=4 in terms of being a truth.

The numerical value assigned to God is 1. Etteilla says atheists and the unjust try to make it 0 (nothing) and idolaters try to make the number of those they worship as high as possible.

When trying to determine the future, there are four entities involved:

1) A wise person who, through their wisdom, can determine the future.

2) The person who wants to know of their future and goes to the wise person.

3) Every person, animal, and inanimate object that has an effect on that person's future.

4) The tarot itself.

## Method

When you bring out the cards to use and see the first card, the following prayer must be spoken:

"God, I desire to be acquainted with the things which are around me - desire to understand what they are - and to understand what you yourself are"

Then the cards must be shuffled by the person doing the reading without looking at the cards themselves, and cut by the person who has requested the reading, placing the two halves of the deck next to each other on the table in the process. While this is done, the person performing the reading must not be actively wanting to get the outcome the person who requested the reading wants. The cards should then be divided into three rows of 26 cards, with the middle row being moved to the right-hand side of the person doing the reading. This procedure should then be repeated, resulting in one card left over. This leftover card is known as the Image of Unity. The middle row is once again to be moved to the right-hand side of the person doing the reading, placing them next to the initial 26 cards. The two other rows, as well as the Image of Unity are then used to perform this procedure once again, resulting in two cards left over: the Image of the Human.

A union of souls between the person performing the reading and the person who requested the reading is required for the reading. To create this union of souls, the person performing the reading must have a heartfelt desire to help the person who requested the reading, and the person who requested the reading must have a desire to be helped. Then, they must meditate on God, man, and nature, and accept that God can do anything he wants. After this meditation is the time for either party to complain to the other about perceived insincerity. The union is created when the cards are cut into their piles, with a link being established with the first cutting, the union being started with the second cutting, and finally being complete with the third cutting.

From this, the resulting piles of cards should be 11, 0, 11, 2 <space> 11, 17, 26, in that order. Cards are used in the reading starting at the right-most pile and working leftwards, ignoring the pile of 2. The 11, 17, and 26 are considered the triple trinity due to them being the result of three lots of separation into three parts. The two piles of 11 on the left are considered the greatest part of the Book of Thoth.

The piles are to be read from right to left, with cards from each pile being placed in a row from right to left, with the pile of 26 at the top, the pile of 17 below that, and the pile of 11 below that. The remaining piles of 11, 11, and 2 are placed in a pile beneath the row of 11.

When reading the cards, the person performing the reading should speak slowly but clearly, stating everything the cards show them. If they are unsure of the meanings, they should note down the card orders so they can come back to them later on to get more information.

Once all the cards of the first placement are recorded, take back the cards and shuffle them while looking away. Then place a row of the first 17 cards from right to left. This is the second placement. Then look at the eighteenth and seventy-eighth (bottom of the deck) cards, without showing them to the querent. After this, the cards must be rearranged so that the first and final cards are swapped, and the other cards starting from the left are placed between the cards on the right (17, 2, 16, 3, 15, 4 ... 1) in a process known as "drawing again". The middle card is discarded at the side.

The third placement of the cards is somewhat more complex than the second, and is the least accurate of the five placements. It is known as the *wheel of fortune* or *the revolution of the three periods of life*. To begin, the cards must once again be shuffled, cut, and recombined. The cards are then placed from the top of the deck in the positions indicated in the following diagram, with the tops of cards 34-66 facing the "Λ":

If the querent is male and card 1 appears within the 66 cards, it is to be placed within the "Λ", and if not present, the remaining cards (the pile marked 11 in the diagram) are to be searched for it and it is to be placed in that position. If the querent is female, then instead of card 1, card 8 is placed there.

After the cards are placed, record their positions to reference them for placement 4, then take the cards in positions 1 and 34 together and say what they show about the past. Then continue with the corresponding pairs of cards until the past, present, and future have all been discussed. When dealing with the future, make sure that the cards in position 12 and 56 are taken together, so later on positions 22 and 66 are together.

The fourth placement is considered both the most reliable and most difficult due to the cards having to be interpreted in the context of a specific question. It grants knowledge of the deepest reaches of time, assuming that a higher power has not forbidden such information from being learned. The cards are once again to be taken, shuffled, and cut. Then, the person doing the reading should ask themself or the querent (this placement seems to not necessarily require a querent) what they wish to learn that the cards have not revealed to them so far. The question asked to the person doing the reading must be clear, comprehensible, and not ambiguous. This is often where the querent's true nature shows itself. For each question the querent asks, draw 7 cards from the deck. If the cards show nothing, repeat up to two times. If they still show nothing by the third time, then Etteilla suggests telling the querent to pray, change their ways, and return in a few days. The most skilled tarot readers don't require any repetitions.

The fifth placement is an optional placement used for interpreting dreams. First, write down the dream and identify cards that correspond to parts of it. Lay out those cards, in upright or reverse position as necessary, from right to left. The cards are then picked up from the ends in pairs, working inwards. Pairs of cards are to be interpreted together.

## Readings

If cards 1 and 8 are in the same pile, the querent is married.

If the first card from the first row is card 1, the querent is virtuous and is overcome by sensuality. In addition, they should think on what interests them and what is close to their heart. If that card appears elsewhere in the first row, they are controlled b their passions.

If the querent is male, if card 1 does not appear in the first row, the querent is not on the right path for fortune and virtue. If the querent is female, then this applies to card 8 instead. If this is the case, then it is the duty of the person performing the reading to determine what exactly is wrong and how they can fix it. The cause of the problem can often be determined by the first of the 26 cards, and the remedy in fourth or fifth placement of cards.

If the querent is male and card 8 appears in the first row, then the woman they are interested in is more insightful than him, or is better at making money, looking after the house, and is generally better than the querent.

In the second placement, the eighteenth and seventy-eighth cards show the intentions of the querent towards the person doing the reading, and why there are any potential problems in the connection between the querent and the person performing the reading, if this was not determined during the first placement.

In the third placement, the cards in positions 1-11 and from 34-44 indicate events that took place in the past. 23-33 and 45-55 indicate events in the present. 12-22 and 56-66 indicate the future.

Properly interpreting the message from card order takes practice, and can often lead to confusion. The actual information may be the opposite of what is initially interpreted. Start reading from right to left, and when necessary for it to make sense, add a virtual card 1 to represent the querent and add a virtual empty space to represent an unknown individual. Use common sense when doing this. If what the cards show makes no sense, that is alright as long as the person performing the reading doesn't start making up random things to provide the querent with *some* information. Most people who perform readings only use the information they've been given before to make limited readings. Some, who understand the deeper meanings of the cards and method, are able to get much more information from the cards as a result of their greater understanding. The rare few who have gained an intimate, in-depth understanding are capable of understanding as much from the cards as humanly possible.

In the forth reading, if time is requested and not obviously indicated by the cards, it can be interpreted by looking at the first three of the seven cards drawn.

In the fifth reading, to determine when an event takes place, multiply the number of the relevant card by that of the card two to the left of it. Divide the total by 12 to get the number of days. Multiply the remainder by 2 to get the number of hours beyond those days.

## Representations and Numbers

From the 78 cards, there are 54 ternaries made up of the trinity of 11, 17, and 26, and ultimately seven "trinities" are created by the division of the cards (11,0,11,2 ... 11,17,26). The undivided book is considered the number 1, that of God, whilst 78 (the number of cards) represents salt, melac, or the indestructible spirit, and 26 is the number of God's name Jeova. The number 17 is to be taken apart to get 10 (the circle of God), 4 (natural knowledge), and 3 (human knowledge). 1, 26, and 11 are not to be split, and 10 and 17 are considered more powerful than 11.

The pile of 0 cards represents that nothing is outside God's creation. The Image of Unity represents God in the centre of creation. The piles of 11 and 2 cards represent the presence of God in each person, with the 11 being men and the 2 being women, as well as the fire, spirit, and soul of the universe between people, as represented on the 14th card.

11 represents both a person's weakness and divine strength.

26 represents the image of the soul, 17 the image of intellect, and 11 the image of the body. This is meant to give the reading soul, intellect, and body. In terms of the tarot deck itself, the number 3 represents the spirit of the Book of Thoth owing to the deck's pyramidal structure, 1 is the soul of the Book of Thoth, and 78 is its body (77 cards plus one empty space).

The number 4 represents all sciences due to science being divided into four main classical areas: philosophy, theology, medicine, and jurisprudence. It is also used to represent the sum total of the four sections of the Book of Thoth. It is also used to signify the entirety of nature.

The number 7 is often hidden away whenever it appears, yet draws attention to itself according to Etteilla. According to Cicero, it serves as the key and explanation for everything. A sphere can be used to represent everything in science and human knowledge, and this sphere has 7 points: the zenith where God is, the centre where the human is, the nadir where nature is, and the four cardinal points representing the elements. If a human understands this sphere, Etteilla claims they will excel at whatever it is they do.

The number 5 represents God surrounded by the four classical elements.

## Notes

The creation of a soul bond is stated by Etteilla to be the spiritual equivalent of having sex.

The initial separating of the deck into three rows of 26 cards is equated to the creation of the elements of fire, air, and water by God. The creation of the left-hand piles 11,0,11,2 are equated to the creation of earth using the remaining parts of chaos. The dividing of the cards is ultimately meant to represent a recreation of God's act of creating the world.

The accuracy of readings and information gained from the cards improves with practice. A person who has mastered these readings can supposedly see the entirety of cause and effect connected to the querent's life, and can see all the good and bad in the querent's life.

The magical theory behind the Book of Thoth tarot is that letters have meaning when put in certain combinations to form words, and older writing forms are more powerful. The cards of this tarot are supposed to represent hieroglyphs, and when in certain orders can determine the future. This can be compared to Germanic Lot Casting, which uses Elder Futhark runes to determine the future.

There is a superstition that the day is important for performing a reading, and that the best time to do so is on the first Friday of each month, as well as that the cards should be drawn using the left hand. Another superstition is that the reading should be done in the house of the person doing the reading, and that a pin, piece of thread, or a small object should be dropped before the reading is performed. These are superstitions, and have no actual impact on the reading itself.

Etteilla repeatedly mentions the idea that the purpose of the Book of Thoth is to allow a person to see their future mistakes and/or threats, and take action to avoid them. This means that, through this form of divination at the very least, the future is not set in stone and can be changed through actions in the present. This raises a question about the usefulness of looking into the future, as a significant action done by the querent after getting their future read can change everything, meaning the information they currently have about it is rendered outdated, and they thus need to return for a new reading.

There is an idea of equivalent exchange where the tarot is concerned: the querent should not expect the person performing the reading to give than more information than is suitable for whatever payment is given to them - if the querent has paid a little amount for a bit of information, they shouldn't expect to be told the secrets of their entire life.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Etteilla, (1790). *Cours theorique et pratique de livre de Thot*. Ch.1
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Etteilla, (1790). *Cours theorique et pratique de livre de Thot*. Ch.2
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Etteilla, (1790). *Cours theorique et pratique de livre de Thot*. Ch.3
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Etteilla, (1790). *Cours theorique et pratique de livre de Thot*. Ch.4