I didn't fall, I jumped

I was going to say I fell off the 28 Days of Thoth wagon, but that's not true. I clung on desperately, but I wasn't enjoying the ride.













Nothing to do with the Thoth. I like it. Admittedly, it's a challenge to work with for one so used to RWS imagery, but it's refreshing.


No, the problem was the restriction. A lot of the time I just didn't want to work with Thoth, I didn't want to struggle through a 15-Card Spread, or try to comprehend the subtleties of elemental dignities.

But I'd told myself, and you dear Reader, that I wasn't going to use another tarot for the duration. I'd made a commitment. So I distracted myself with other things and simply avoided the deck. Because I intended to use the 28 questions from moonlit.tarot's June Instagram challenge as my "finishing line", I told myself it would just mean that I'd be working with the deck until I got through all the questions, however long it took.

So, I barely read with Thoth, I wasn't "allowed" to work with other tarots, and even my use of oracles was somehow tainted by the feeling that I "ought" to be using the Thoth instead.

I pretty much ended up not reading at all.

I wanted to quit, and I agonised over this. I really did. I actually journaled about my lack of motivation. Should I give in to it? Shouldn't I? What potential gains would I be throwing away? Was I being self-indulgent? Was I just plain lazy and undisciplined?











But then I thought about how I'd worked with the Tarot Balbi, not for the two weeks I'd originally, and with some trepidation, committed to, but in the end for well over a month. Not just to the exclusion of other tarots, but all my other cards. And I thoroughly enjoyed it and really bonded with the deck.

Maybe now was just not the time for me to bond with Thoth. If it was keeping me from reading, I wasn't benefitting from the attempt.

So, I jumped.

I felt immediate relief. I pulled out a few favourite decks and mucked about with them just because I could.   I've started posting daily draws on Instagram to put my "release" to good use. And I'm excitedly using a new and unusual deck I bought recently (I'll probably post about it soon).

I am still working my way through the questions, but the pressure is off. Will I ever master the 15-Card Spread and elemental dignities? I don't know. But for now, I can just enjoy reading again.

Open Reading 15

Air      ---      Fire      ---      Fire

You can try to reason with them until you're blue in the face but you won't succeed in changing their opinion. You'll just have to hold your ground. 

Open Reading 14

In keeping with my undertaking to use only the Thoth Tarot for 28 days (at least), a Thoth open reading for you.

Air of Water (fog)      ---      Water (danger)      ---      Air (clarity)

 You are being selfish and treating others dismissively and unfairly. You may feel you're justified, but you're being led 

down a dangerous rabbit hole of self-deception. 

The tide will turn.

Well, that was darker than my usual offerings. I blame it on the Thoth energies.

I've been Thothed!

I started out in Team RWS and that's worked out well for me. But after many years I learned how intriguing and flexible Marseille-style decks were, so I took that up as well. Then there was Dame Fortune's Wheel with its amazing colours and Etteilla-based system. Most recently I found Balbi, yet another system, and it was love at first sight.

But in all that time, and we're talking about 40 years here, I was never drawn to the Thoth Tarot. Too esoteric. Too eccentric. Too intimidating!

Then, a little while back, I was talking tarot with my step-mum and discovered she actually owned a deck herself - a Thoth. I was surprised and impressed. Then Thoth seemed to be popping up in all my social media haunts. I started to get that itch. Clearly the time had come for me to take the plunge.

I found this used deck, complete with "Book of Thoth" bag and wrapping silk, on eBay. As soon as I saw it I knew that was the one I wanted (I have no problem with used decks - I've put it in order, washed the silk, and we're good to go).

It's the standard size, 70x110cm, and it's in quite good condition, I'm pleased to say - faint wear on the surfaces but no creases or marks. It came with a US Games LWB but the cards themselves have ©1996 AGMüller on the back. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that AGM printed some of the decks for USG (or I'm dreaming again) but it could just be that the cards and booklet came from different decks.

I don't really care. The colours are clear and bright without being lairy (eh? - Google it) and it's not one of the ones with the greenish tinge. And it came with all three Magus variants. I'm going with the one in the middle.

It will be a nice size to work with and, who knows, maybe one day I'll treat myself to a set of the bigger cards.

For now I'm going to try to familiarise myself with the symbolism, and get to grips with the 15-Card Spread and the intricacies of Elemental Dignities. Wish me luck!