New book - Liber Theta - free digital download!

[Jim Eshelman]

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

College of Thelema has just released a new edition of my book Liber Theta: Tarot Symbolism & Divination - and this one is free! You can download a free copy from www.thelema.org/publications just like the free digital copies of our periodicals, In the Continuum and Black Pearl.

I have restructured the book and done significant rewrite since the 1997 editions. Perhaps the most significant new material is a set of directions for a series of meditations that will build the Tarot into the pattern of your psyche over a nine-month period, layer by layer. The book is esepcially strong on the Court Cards (I'll go so far as to say it's the best thing ever published on them) and, on the other hand, doesn't go into much detail on the Trumps (which are covered exhaustively by author after author; I focus on providing the core factors from which you can extract the rest). The Minors are pretty strong also.

Enjoy!

[Avshalom Binyamin]

I've only skimmed it so far, but it looks really great! Thanks!

I'm really glad it's focusing on the court cards and the minor arcana, and really like the meditation 'program' aspect of it!

[danica]

I'm really glad it's focusing on the court cards and the minor arcana, and really like the meditation 'program' aspect of it!

me too, exactly!
THANK YOU (all of you who contributed in creating it and making it available for free)

[Bereshith]

Absolutely. Thanks!

[mojorisin44]

Much thanks! We've heard you talk about it and now and here it is...

[Takamba]

Nice. Thanks. And the page itself is awesome. Will be visiting it a few times this summer.

[Frater MVKDSh]

93 93/93

Wow. Thank you for this blessing

Just in time for me. I am invoking the Angels of the Tarot below Tiphereth in an attempt to understand better.

Thank you very much.

faithfully,

There is no law beyond do what thou wilt.

[Jim Eshelman]

The text needed some general clean-up editing, and a couple of intended additions to the Introduction hadn't gotten included. (Sorry!) I just posted a version 3.1. If it isn't an inconvenience to you, I suggest you run back and grab it.

[Frater MVKDSh]

93 93/93

I am at the 2 boxes of Hebrew and Enochian. I was wondering if these represent the Tree. I am not sure about the Enochian but that's the impression I get looking at the Hebrew.

Where the 2 Mem 's are located in opposite corners,with the 2 Resh's next to them, the Mem in the center doesnt seem random. Also the layout of the Mem-Gimal-Nun sequences is odd. Both remind me of a Tree in the shape of an X. Energy flows outward from the center Mem to the 4 corners where the energy flows into Malkuth.

This is probably common knowledge

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

[Jim Eshelman]

I am at the 2 boxes of Hebrew and Enochian. I was wondering if these represent the Tree. I am not sure about the Enochian but that's the impression I get looking at the Hebrew.

No. That's a traditional magick square to give one power in divination. If you physically have the book printed out, the talisman is effective.

At least, it's just as effective as the magick trap Crowley put in Liber Gaias, the official A.'.A.'. instruction on geomancy. He indicated that there are blinds present, and people usually think he intentionally screwed up the geomancy rules. Actually, they're perfectly fine. What he did was to add a talisman to the front of the instruction which disables one's ability to do magick! - He would cover the talisman before using Liber Gaias as a reference.

[Frater MVKDSh]

At least, it's just as effective as the magick trap Crowley put in Liber Gaias, the official A.'.A.'. instruction on geomancy. He indicated that there are blinds present, and people usually think he intentionally screwed up the geomancy rules. Actually, they're perfectly fine. What he did was to add a talisman to the front of the instruction which disables one's ability to do magick! - He would cover the talisman before using Liber Gaias as a reference.

Nice. Thank you. I will use that square. I seem to have a fascination with it :p

[ARYK]

I'm really glad it's focusing on the court cards and the minor arcana, and really like the meditation 'program' aspect of it!

me too, exactly!
THANK YOU (all of you who contributed in creating it and making it available for free)

I agree. Thank you!

[RobertAllen]

I just downloaded it and finished reading through the introduction.

Very exciting.

Thank you.

Love and Will

[Frater MVKDSh]

I just downloaded it and finished reading through the introduction.

Very exciting.

Thank you.

Love and Will

Yea. We are lucky to be in the right place at the right time

[Angel of Death]

I am so thrilled to see this! Yea! What a man! You are truelly a publishing Wizard, Mr Eshelman. Thank you for all that you do to help, encourage, motivate and inspire the world!

I *had* to send this to my sis, as she is some sort of guru of Tarot and she was also very excited and thankful for this. She mentioned that there was actually a deck made specifically for this Liber.......Stars Eternal...or something like that.

Did you design a deck as well?

[Jim Eshelman]

No, didn't design a deck - and I seriously doubt it was designed just around this book. - But it might have been designed around something similar, such as the predecessor Golden Dawn Book T or Crowley's Liber 78.

Thanks, everyone. It's nice to make someone's day

[Escarabajo]

Yes - Jim, this is a great item and provides a great amount of instruction. Definitely valuable and worth infinitely more than the asking price...

I am curious regarding your reference of the talisman/magick square. I notice there is an abrahadabra one in the AA book: I assume that has to do with encouraging its readership to attain? I was wondering if you made it up, or its also traditional, or a combo of the 2.

[Jim Eshelman]

The one in M&MAA is original. The one in Liber Theta is traditional.

[gmugmble]

She mentioned that there was actually a deck made specifically for this Liber.......Stars Eternal...or something like that.

There's a tarot deck called "Liber T: Tarot of Stars Eternal" that is essentially a re-drawing of the Harris-Crowley deck.

[skytoucher]

93,

On page 29 in Liber Theta, the meditation layout from Liber Tav is shown. Originally I learned a similar layout with a BOTA deck where everything revolves around ATU 11 and has the rows laid out as follows:

0 (centered)
1-7
8-14
15-21

The layout given in Liber Theta (from Liber Tav) revolves around ATU 10 has:

0-6
7-13
14-20
21 (centered)

Both layouts keep most of the same column relationships. One has a 7-14-21 column whereas the other has a 0-7-14 column.

Are the differences because different decks are being used? Is it just a matter of perspective? Can anyone shed any light on this?

93, 93/93

[Jim Eshelman]

On page 29 in Liber Theta, the meditation layout from Liber Tav is shown. Originally I learned a similar layout with a BOTA deck where everything revolves around ATU 11 and has the rows laid out as follows:

Yes, Case's adaptation of Liber Tav is mentioned on the same page as the diagram.

Are the differences because different decks are being used? Is it just a matter of perspective? Can anyone shed any light on this?

Presumably PFC represented it in a way that he thought would fit his teaching approach better. I can't think of anything that is deck specific about it (and, in any case, Liber Theta isn't deck specific).

[Zalthos]

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Thank you, Jim. I am looking forward to comparing this with the original by Mathers, which is on its way. If I find this work a progressive and insightful evolution, I may very well find myself purchasing your 776 1/2.

As a sidenote concerning the tarot, I found the 22 Atu covered in the daily meditations of the Bubastis O.T.O. (Dallas, TX) website to be very helpful:

http://www.bubastis-oto.org/

Love is the law, love under will.

[the atlas itch]

Thanks Jim and ToT for providing this download of Liber Theta.

I just started reading through it, but there seems to be an error on the front page cover illustration and same illustration that appears on page four. Instead of the letters T A R O around the cross, the illustration shows the letters T A P O. This is error is confirmed by the description of the cover illustration which states the letters should read T A R O.

[danica]

Thanks Jim and ToT for providing this download of Liber Theta.

I just started reading through it, but there seems to be an error on the front page cover illustration and same illustration that appears on page four. Instead of the letters T A R O around the cross, the illustration shows the letters T A P O. This is error is confirmed by the description of the cover illustration which states the letters should read T A R O.

P is the way Greek letter Rho is written
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_alphabet

[Jim Eshelman]

Yes, those are all Greek letters: Tau Alpha Rho Omicron.