Crowley Tarot Deluxe Edition

Crowley Tarot Deluxe GB New Edition - the Thoth deck in a larger format

Few tarot decks carry as much weight as this one. The Thoth deck by Aleister Crowley is not an approachable entry point, not an intuitive playground. It is a system. This deluxe edition brings Lady Frieda Harris's original paintings back in a larger format, with revised image data aimed at staying as close as possible to the original works.

The cards measure 140 x 95 mm. That may not sound dramatic, but it makes a real difference: the geometric patterns, Hebrew letters and astrological symbols are now legible without a magnifying glass. The card stock is sturdy, the finish matte. Several card names have been corrected from earlier editions, and the guidebook has been revised and expanded to include Crowley's own original interpretive texts.

What you see on the cards

Lady Frieda Harris painted 78 tempera works between 1938 and 1943. Crowley gave her instructions drawn from Hermetic Kabbalah, astrology and alchemy, and she translated those into projective geometry and fields of colour. The result is abstract and precise at the same time.

Each Major Arcana card carries its own astrological sign or planet. The Minor Arcana are tied to decans, ten-degree sections of the zodiac. The cards themselves show Hebrew letters, astrological symbols and numbers from the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Without knowing what those reference, you miss half of what is there.

The colours are not decorative. Yellow, blue and red correspond to different sephiroth on the Tree of Life. The lines are not arbitrary either: they follow geometric proportions Harris worked out with compass and ruler. Every line means something.

Who this deck works for

This deck is built for study. The 96-page guidebook outlines the structure, but you will need more. Crowley's own work, The Book of Thoth, is close to essential for understanding the deeper layers. Without some grounding in Kabbalah or astrology, this deck becomes demanding.

At the same time, it draws readers who work through colour and form. The geometry holds attention even without full knowledge of the symbolism. But expect to take this deck slowly. No card gives itself up in a single sitting.

Put one card in front of you and follow the lines with your eyes. The geometry is not random and pulls your attention toward specific points in the image. That works, even without analysis.

About Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris

Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was an occultist, writer and founder of Thelema, an esoteric philosophy built on the maxim 'Do what thou wilt'. He wanted a tarot that would reflect the symbolism of what he called 'the New Aeon'.

Lady Frieda Harris (1877-1962) had no prior experience with tarot when Crowley approached her. She spent five years on the 78 paintings, redoing some of them several times before Crowley approved them. She worked an estimated 1,200 symbols into the whole. The cards were not published as a deck until 1969, after both had died.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 78
• Card size: 140 x 95 mm
• Card stock: Sturdy, matte finish
• Guidebook: 96 pages, including original texts by Crowley
• Language: English
• Publisher: AGM AGMüller
• Design: Aleister Crowley
• Illustrations: Lady Frieda Harris

Questions we often get

What makes this edition different from earlier versions of the Thoth deck?
The image data have been revised to come closer to the original paintings. Several card names have been corrected. The guidebook has been expanded to include Crowley's original interpretive texts. The format is also larger than standard Thoth editions, which makes the detail on each card more visible.

Do I need additional books alongside the included guidebook?
The 96-page guidebook covers the structure of the deck. Anyone who wants to understand the symbolism in depth will also need Crowley's The Book of Thoth, which is not included and is sold separately.