Customer Reviews

Tarot: Mirror of the Soul: Handbook for the Aleister Crowley Tarot

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Most people don't have all of the meanings and symbols of the Tarot memorized (and I am included in this group). The Crowley-Thoth Tarot is so dense with symbols that one could very well spend many years in serious study and still not have all of the meaning entirely extracted.
If you don't know how Tarot cards work, it's a lot like astrology horoscopes. The information is so general that you read into it what the particular (personal) meaning is. A lot of the cards have to do with change and relationships (these are things that people would be commonly concerned about when they throw the cards).
The beautiful thing about this book is, that when you have some particular reason to go to the cards, the book puts things in a very large (cosmic) context. All of the things that we would normally consider negative are shown to be (in this larger context) just part of a process, which is a really good way to cope with the negative things that happen in life.
The book is arranged first with some introductory remarks about the Tarot in general, and then this particular deck and how to use it. Then each card has its own description. At the top is the title of the card and then its picture. Next, key words and the astrological significance are given - this draws your attention to the basic nature of the card (if you don't 'get' the astrological description, you'll get a sense of it over time). Then there is a lengthy description of the card and what the various elements represent. Finally each card ends with four short statements: Indications, Questions, Suggestions, and Affirmations.
Sometimes I just want to feel a little better about things and get more balance, I just read the key words and the Indications. I highly suggest you purchase this book to go with your Crowley-Thoth Tarot cards. I've been using it for years, and it will take many years more before I outgrow it. If you are really into obscure information, you should also check out the book Crowley wrote on the deck. If you are, like myself, just a normal user - this book is all you need and you'll love it.

Ziegler does such a wonderful job describing the symbolism present in the cards themselves (although he fails miserably in explaining the numerological significance of the Minor Arcana). But his interpretations are amazingly optimistic in every case. This is especially true of the Majors: each and every one of the Major Arcana is described in glowing light! Even a card like the Tower, which refers clearly to massive internal chaos, has this negative implication brushed aside in favor of focusing on its role in promoting spiritual improvement. True enough, but why not mention the more negative side as well?

He does this consistently, always seeing the optimistic side of the cards and downplaying the more complex reality. The Heirophant is a sign of spiritual mastery (what about its associations with stifling tradition?!), the Devil has nothing to do with materialism, selfishness or suppression and instead refers only to "not letting people demonize you"(?!!!), the Fortune is stripped of its connection with chance and instead merely refers to winning, .... even the Moon, while his keywords include references to illusions and dreams, he claims it indicates only a need to "be careful." What kind of advice is this? Tarot symbolism has to be more profound than the sort of advice your mother gave you about crossing the street!

All in all the book may be worth getting, but I think Keywords for the Crowley Tarot offers far more insights... if you get that book you'll probably never need to refer to this one again.

This book was exactly what I needed to aid me in my use of the Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot. I was able to use it successfully, but what I was looking for was deeper meaning of the cards and I wanted to get even better at it. Including in the book are pictures and descriptions of all the cards with a brief explanation of the deeper meaning and symbolism of the card along with helpful hints on what type of answers you were looking for from the cards. An invaluable resource for those seriously interested in the Thoth Tarot.

I have to admit that I have not read the book of thoth, and I have not read any other book on the crowly deck, though I would have to say that after I read this book that my Crowley deck seemed to increase in value to me tenfold and it also changed and increased much of my view through the Tarot in General. I have been a small collecter and learned to some degree of the Tarot and this book was definately worth its price. This book is written quite plainly to include a few pages of COMPLETE detail on every card and several chapters on the ways intended or recommended for crowley tarot readings. The discription of the card does not just leave you feeling that you know that such and such means trouble is coming and you should exercise caution, (I would hope anyone looking into the crowley tarot understands the nature of crowley) rather this is a book to follow the path of the tarot as mans growth. Reading this book it completely took the harsh pictures that make the deck sometimes disturbing into a very calculated and helpful tool with very earth shattering sound advise for those that want to have control of there life (just as it seemed Crowley was truely teaching us in his sometimes harsh way)
I recommend it without reservation if you are attracted in anyway to the Crowley deck. Now if you are just getting interested in tarot cards and do not know the back end of a tarot card from adam and don't even know what the Crowley cards look like or that there is a significant differance between decks then I would stop and start doing a lot more suching first before buying this... but definitely come back to buying this.

Having been a student of Jungian Psychology, Ziegler stresses the importance of the subconcious and its perfect refelction that we can view by means of introspection, moreso with the use of our THOTH deck (hence, the title). Mirror of the Soul has layouts varying from standard Celtic Cross to chakra-balancing layouts, to layouts for personal relationship readings. Pretty cool. There are interpretations for each card and as kind of a bonus, Ziegler provides suggestions as to what questions you might want to ask yourself in regard to your readings, etc...

Some THOTH readers have the opinion that this book is too 'uppidy' and therefore not realistic enough... In reality's defense, Methinks we sleep in the bed we make.

Karmasoda

Gerd Ziegler is indeed a genius in his ability to distill the dense symbolism of the Crowley Tarot into practical messages about our inner state. He takes a Jungian approach, examining the symbolism of the cards and integrating it with astrology and the Quabbalah (both of which were strong influences in the historical development of the Tarot). His coverage of each card ends with practical information about how to apply the messages of the symbols in our own lives. This is not a scholarly treatise that would satisfy a serious student of the Tarot, and it doesn't try to be. There are many other academically-oriented books on the Crowley Tarot, including works by Crowley himself. These works are profoundly complex, and not for the faint of heart.

Gerd's book is meant to be used in your daily life. I am replacing a copy that has literally fallen apart with use, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to use the Crowley Tarot as a source of wisdom and guidance. I have been amazed at what a wise, accurate and unerring teacher the Crowley deck and Gerd's wonderful guide have been for me in my own life.

This book is an excellent companion to the Thoth Tarot Deck - if you are new to the Tarot or if you want to do divination with the Thoth deck. Crowley's "Book of Thoth" is a rather meaty tome, and can be daunting to the beginner. To add to this, "Book of Thoth" focuses on the information useful for meditation, pathworking and Magickal theory.

"Mirror" is far more practical in its approach. Each card is reproduced (unfortunately in Black & White rather than Color) with a set of keywords, a basic description of the symbology in the artwork as it applies to a comprehension of the card for divination, and a set of rather new-agey affirmations and excercises (this is my only complaint with the book, however, they make it more accessable, they are small, and I will admit to having used them on occasion). The book ends with some fun items, such as how to find your soul card, & the obligatory layouts.

I have not been exposed to any of his other work, but I just noticed that he has written several other books on the Thoth Deck. This reinforces my initial opinion that "Mirrors" was written to share and make accessable the Thoth Deck and not just to make a buck by invoking Crowley's name.

I recommend getting this book and once you are moderately familiar, grab the "Book of Thoth" to fill in the true depths of most likely the greatest Tarot Deck of all time.

what are you talking about!? this book is one of the most amazing distillations of tarot philosophy ever created! i've worn through two copies of this book already, and Gerd's brilliance is still as fresh to me as when it was first minted!!!