Book of Thoth - Tarot

[Aion]

@Spaced, yes I am going to finish the book as well. I figured there would still be useful information regarding the minor arcana cards. I feel that I can sort through the negative symbolism and philosophy with the Major Arcana.

@Aion, thank you for responding! I was hoping to hear from you. Yeah I think committing to one form of the study of the archetypal mind would be best. I’m not trying to mix Ra’s system of Tarot with the Tree of Life.

With the study of Ra’s system of tarot, the first seven have started flowing into each other. I take that to be a good sign. I have a LOT to learn. But I am willing. However long it shall take.

As a side note, I’m seeing a lot of different spellings for Qabalah. I spell it that way. I assume the spellings are interchangeable because ‘Qabalah’ is a hebrew word and people spell the translation differently. I don’t know that there’s a difference in systems. The only differences I recognize with Qabalah is that it can used for the Left- or Right Hand Paths. Correct me if I am wrong please.

Another random question... what is an ipsissimus? Ra has said in the LOO that it is an adept who has mastered the Tree of Life on the negative path. Therefore it would be a secret grade. Dion Fortune mentioned it in her book but not in a negative way, but as the highest grade in initiation on the Tree of Life.

'Qabalah' is usually used to refer to the body of Western Hermetic traditions which incorporate the Jewish philosophy of 'Kabbalah'. This is differentiated from the Christian Cabala which was given that spelling to differentiate it from the others. However, it all goes back to the same Hebrew root which is actually QBLH. (קַבָּלָה)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Qabalah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Kabbalah

So when someone is differing those spellings it's usually because they are distinguishing between the original Jewish philosophy and that of the Hermeticists. As Ra said, the Tree of Life can be used for either direction of polarization. However there are some Hermetic societies which use Lurianic Kabbalah and so it's not exactly a clear cut line.

As for Ipsissimus it is a Latin word which means "very own self". It was used by the Golden Dawn, based on old Rosicrucian grades and was then adopted by Crowley for his own system of Thelema. In Thelema the idea is considered achievable in life and is seen to be the complete realization and grasping of one's own 'true will'. (Thelema means "will".) Thus, in that sense in Thelema, Ra's description makes sense. In Golden Dawn however the idea is the exact opposite. The intention of connecting with and realizing one's divine genius as a vehicle for service to humanity is at the heart of the Golden Dawn practice and the Great Work is that of building and raising up the collective wherever possible. It's generally not considered possible to reach the grade of Ipsissimus while incarnate in the Golden Dawn as they consider that to be the point of unification with the Creator, at least from what I've understood of their philosophy and hence the "very own self" is Infinity which is All.

Thus, I am fairly certain that Ra and Q'uo were referring to the Ipsissimus of Thelema. I have an idea about how this works and that is that I think that Ra responds not just to the words that are asked, but they actually also read the 'context' of the words within the mind of the questioner, that is Don. I think that oftentimes Ra is responding to things which are specific in Don or another questioner's mind and not always 'generally'. Of course, that is just a theory and it is difficult to ascertain the context of the question. It may also be true for Q'uo, it's hard to say. I could be way out in left, or maybe right, field.

Also, for anybody who is interested in the origins, or rather inspiration, of the Tarot deck designs used during the Ra contact.

http://green-door.narod.ru/sg-tarot.html