part0075

A common spread given for the whole deck is the 15-card method which is usually found in the Little White Book (LWB) pamphlet accompanying the boxed deck. This was designed by James Wasserman, who wrote the text for the booklet:

I got Robert Wang’s permission to adapt a 15-card layout he had given in his book, An Introduction to the Golden Dawn Tarot , which he had naturally adapted from someone else. I modified it slightly based on my experience. [511]

The present author contacted Robert Wang and was informed that the spread was suggested in turn, to him, by Israel Regardie, who had modified it from a small cartomantic pamphlet. [512] It is thus a cut-down version of the ‘Opening of the Key’ method modified by a member of the Golden Dawn based on playing-card spread methods – as was the so-called Celtic Cross.

This is an extract from an actual client reading, anonymised and used with permission, which may assist your own use of the method. In this reading, the cards were, on first glance, extremely negative. I have selected this reading to demonstrate how we might utilise the brutal nature of the Thoth deck in everyday divination.

For this Thoth Reading, I have used the 15-card layout as presented in the booklet that came with the 1978 version of the Thoth Tarot published by US Games Systems. We have seen that this was not created by Crowley, who did not use ‘spreads’ in his few tarot readings (nor, of course, did he use the Thoth Deck which was not published until after his death), but rather lines of a few cards, similar to the Opening of the Key method utilised within the Order of the Golden Dawn.

This present layout also uses an element of the Opening of the Key , in that the cards are compared by their correspondence to elemental, zodiacal and planetary systems, and found “dignified” or “ill-dignified”. This weakens or strengthens their influence on each other whilst also dictating if they have a positive, neutral or detrimental impact on the surrounding cards.

I have also considered the whole reading in a Thelemic manner, setting it in a context of developing Will to Action, focus and the clients individual right as a unique star amongst all other stars.

5 + 9 + 13 & 4 + 8 + 12: This layout provides two blocks of three cards in the upper left (5, 9, 13) and upper right (4, 8, 12) of the layout, indicating potential futures arising from the central situation.

If they contrast, the three-card block on the upper right shows the unattended progression of the situation, and the block on the upper left shows a potential future if action is taken.

Where they complement each other, the three cards to the left are recognised as a development – an extension – to the situation as it arises in the block on the right.

14+ 10 + 6: The block of three cards in the lower left illustrates mechanisms by which you may best respond to a situation. They indicate your development of your Will. They might be considered as advice or provocation – even a warning.

7 + 11 + 15: The three cards to the lower right are those influences arising in your relationship to the universe which are seen as external to your control. They are those to which you can adapt; incorporate and utilise. They cannot be ignored and are calls for your attention, time and resource.