Differences

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--- the_book_of_thoth [2026/10/04 06:49] – Add matched video with channel credit and reading context andy
+++ the_book_of_thoth [2026/10/04 14:50] (current) – Add verified public-domain illustrations and source context andy
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 The //Description of the Cards of the Tarot// in //The Equinox// I:8 (1912) supplies a substantial earlier point of comparison. It predates Harris's paintings and includes a symbolic frontispiece, card descriptions, correspondences and a method of divination. Its first four entries call the Aces the roots of the powers of their respective elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth.(([[https://keepsilence.org/the-equinox/1.8/a-description-of-the-cards-of-the-tarot_low.pdf|A Description of the Cards of the Tarot]], 1912, pp. 143–149.))
-The frontispiece combines an ankh-like cross, elemental emblems and a rose of twenty-two petals bearing the names of the keys. Its accompanying prose explains the colours and signs. The image therefore presents the cards as parts of an integrated scheme before the later Crowley–Harris project. It should be identified as an earlier diagram, not reproduced as if it were one of Harris's original paintings.
+The frontispiece combines an ankh-like cross, elemental emblems and concentric colour labels. Its accompanying prose explains the symbolism and describes a rose of twenty-two petals bearing the names of the keys. The image therefore presents the cards as parts of an integrated scheme before the later Crowley–Harris project. It should be identified as an earlier diagram, not reproduced as if it were one of Harris's original paintings.
 This comparison helps locate both continuity and change. Elemental and Qabalistic organisation did not begin with the 1944 book. The later work develops inherited material through a new artistic collaboration and an explicitly Thelemic interpretation. An account that treats every feature as either wholly ancient or wholly invented in 1944 misses that layered history.
+==== The actual 1912 frontispiece ====
+The original plate is headed The Complete Symbol of the Tarot. It combines a looped cross, concentric colour labels, elemental emblems and two pentagrams containing solar and lunar signs. The labels remain in monochrome here, exactly as printed; the image has not been recoloured from a modern correspondence list.
+The prose on pp. 145–146 describes a Crux Ansata and develops its interpretation, including a rose with twenty-two petals. Its verbal account should be distinguished from the precise labels visible in the plate. This is especially useful when comparing the earlier publication with the Crowley–Harris work: the plate documents the 1912 source, not a card painting made for the later deck.(([[https://keepsilence.org/the-equinox/1.8/a-description-of-the-cards-of-the-tarot_low.pdf|A Description of the Cards of the Tarot]], frontispiece facing p. 145 and pp. 145–146 (1912).))
+<WRAP centeralign>
+{{:0:literature:tarot-complete-symbol-1912.png?580|The Complete Symbol of the Tarot, The Equinox I:8 (1912), plate facing p. 145. Original monochrome drawing and colour labels.}}
+</WRAP>
+//The Complete Symbol of the Tarot, The Equinox I:8 (1912), plate facing p. 145. Original monochrome drawing and colour labels.// [[https://keepsilence.org/the-equinox/1.8/a-description-of-the-cards-of-the-tarot_low.pdf|Source and original]]. **Public domain:** original published 1912. Click to enlarge.
 ===== Comparing one card across editions =====
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 **Living Thelema - Tarot and the Path of Initiation** — [[https://www.youtube.com/@speechinthesilence|Speech in the Silence Podcast]]; 46:42. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_G7tbjC-Ro|Watch on YouTube]].