Books, Movies and a Thoth Deck
I had quite a few things waiting for me today.
First we have two books by Yukio Mishima, the first of which is Spring Snow, the first book of the Sea of Fertility series. Next to that is The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea. Both look to be quite interesting. Next to the Mishima is a Young Adult book by Fuyumi Ono called Sea of Shadow which is the first book in The Twelve Kingdoms series. This is primarily for my children to read. Rounding out the books is a piece of non-fiction recommended a little while ago by Keith418 called Lucifer's Court. It's a travel diary of Otto Rahn, who was an occult investigator/researcher who worked for the SS until he retired in 1939. He died shortly thereafter from apparent suicide.
I also received the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection, a set of five Bruce Lee films. They are The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), Way of the Dragon (1973), Game of Death (1972/1979) and Game of Death II (1981). Bruce Lee died in 1973 at the age of 32. He could knock a man down with a punch that moved no more than an inch. He founded two schools of martial arts and starred in movies and TV.
Finally, thanks to Keith418 's timely head's up, I ordered a copy of the Thoth Deck via the German Publishers AGM. I'd like to share some pictures and initial impressions.
Here we have the entire contents of the German Thoth Deck. I included a standard playing card I had laying around for size comparison, and three cards from my Large Swiss OTO deck. I could not find my standard size Swiss Deck nor my US Games Deck (I never use them, so they are packed away somewhere). It would have been nice for size comparison.
The initial impression was "Yeah! The Thoth Deck is in print." I also felt that the packaging was nice. At the same time, I felt that it was awfully small. As you can see, the cards are slightly smaller than your standard deck of playing cards. An almost negligible size difference. This is smaller than I recall for the standard Swiss or US Games deck. If anyone with either of these decks could comment, it would be appreciated. Obviously, the cards are far smaller than those of the Large Swiss Deck. I like that the ubiquitous Unicursal Hexagram and OTO advertisements are included (the Hexagram card was not present in the Swiss Deck, but as compensation, we received two alternate versions of the Magus card).
I apologize for the flash, if there is a real interest, I'll scan the cards for a better comparison. As you can see, the artwork for the German deck is softer than that of the Swiss deck. The darks are lighter and the actual image is less distinct. If I remember correctly, one of the selling points for the Swiss deck was that the artwork was improved when compared to the (at that time) readily available US Games deck. I wonder if the artwork in the German deck is the same as that of the US Games deck. I don't pretend to know all the vagaries of printing artwork, but it is a but disappointing to see the lesser quality of the artwork. None of it is bad enough to impair its functionality, but I like things that look nice. The fact that a deck that came out in the 1990s has better artwork than a deck issued a decade or so later is puzzling. Did they misplace the proofs?
There isn't really a lot more to say, it is great that the deck is available. The fact that all of the text is in German is fine, as the numbers and suits are readily understood. I'm a bit disappointed by the poor art quality, but without comparing to the Swiss deck, most would probably not notice. Having the German Thoth Deck is better than not having a Thoth deck, and I cannot think of a better tarot deck than the Thoth deck. I am pleased that AGM (hopefully with the knowledge and assistance of the International Grand Lodge) has made available the Thoth Deck to the next generation of aspiring Thelemites. All other decks, even those by Thelemic practitioners, are piss-poor substitutes for the Thoth Deck.
First we have two books by Yukio Mishima, the first of which is Spring Snow, the first book of the Sea of Fertility series. Next to that is The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea. Both look to be quite interesting. Next to the Mishima is a Young Adult book by Fuyumi Ono called Sea of Shadow which is the first book in The Twelve Kingdoms series. This is primarily for my children to read. Rounding out the books is a piece of non-fiction recommended a little while ago by Keith418 called Lucifer's Court. It's a travel diary of Otto Rahn, who was an occult investigator/researcher who worked for the SS until he retired in 1939. He died shortly thereafter from apparent suicide.
I also received the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection, a set of five Bruce Lee films. They are The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), Way of the Dragon (1973), Game of Death (1972/1979) and Game of Death II (1981). Bruce Lee died in 1973 at the age of 32. He could knock a man down with a punch that moved no more than an inch. He founded two schools of martial arts and starred in movies and TV.
Finally, thanks to Keith418 's timely head's up, I ordered a copy of the Thoth Deck via the German Publishers AGM. I'd like to share some pictures and initial impressions.
Here we have the entire contents of the German Thoth Deck. I included a standard playing card I had laying around for size comparison, and three cards from my Large Swiss OTO deck. I could not find my standard size Swiss Deck nor my US Games Deck (I never use them, so they are packed away somewhere). It would have been nice for size comparison.
The initial impression was "Yeah! The Thoth Deck is in print." I also felt that the packaging was nice. At the same time, I felt that it was awfully small. As you can see, the cards are slightly smaller than your standard deck of playing cards. An almost negligible size difference. This is smaller than I recall for the standard Swiss or US Games deck. If anyone with either of these decks could comment, it would be appreciated. Obviously, the cards are far smaller than those of the Large Swiss Deck. I like that the ubiquitous Unicursal Hexagram and OTO advertisements are included (the Hexagram card was not present in the Swiss Deck, but as compensation, we received two alternate versions of the Magus card).
I apologize for the flash, if there is a real interest, I'll scan the cards for a better comparison. As you can see, the artwork for the German deck is softer than that of the Swiss deck. The darks are lighter and the actual image is less distinct. If I remember correctly, one of the selling points for the Swiss deck was that the artwork was improved when compared to the (at that time) readily available US Games deck. I wonder if the artwork in the German deck is the same as that of the US Games deck. I don't pretend to know all the vagaries of printing artwork, but it is a but disappointing to see the lesser quality of the artwork. None of it is bad enough to impair its functionality, but I like things that look nice. The fact that a deck that came out in the 1990s has better artwork than a deck issued a decade or so later is puzzling. Did they misplace the proofs?
There isn't really a lot more to say, it is great that the deck is available. The fact that all of the text is in German is fine, as the numbers and suits are readily understood. I'm a bit disappointed by the poor art quality, but without comparing to the Swiss deck, most would probably not notice. Having the German Thoth Deck is better than not having a Thoth deck, and I cannot think of a better tarot deck than the Thoth deck. I am pleased that AGM (hopefully with the knowledge and assistance of the International Grand Lodge) has made available the Thoth Deck to the next generation of aspiring Thelemites. All other decks, even those by Thelemic practitioners, are piss-poor substitutes for the Thoth Deck.