Quick Specs
- Deck: Thoth Tarot (Small edition)
- System: Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris
- Card Size: 2.75″ x 4.375″
- Cards: 78 cards with booklet
- Includes: 96-page booklet with divinatory meanings and a foreword by William Breeze; title card and double-sided portrait card
- Best for: Esoteric practitioners, Qabalah students, Thoth tradition readers
The Thoth Tarot: Crowley, Harris, and the Esoteric Tradition
The Thoth Tarot is the second most influential tarot system in the English-speaking world after the Rider-Waite-Smith, and it operates on entirely different structural and philosophical foundations. Aleister Crowley wrote the design specifications for all 78 cards between 1938 and 1943, drawing on his deep involvement in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Thelemic ceremonial magic, Qabalah, astrology, alchemy, and the Enochian system. Lady Frieda Harris, the artist, brought her own expertise in projective geometry to the paintings, creating cards with a crystalline, multidimensional visual structure that sets Thoth imagery apart from any other tradition in tarot history.
The Small edition’s card images maintain the intricate details and vibrant colors of Harris’s original paintings, including the complex geometric overlays and the dense symbolic layering that makes Thoth cards a study tool as much as a divination tool. The deck comes with a 96-page booklet of divinatory meanings, with a foreword by William Breeze, plus a title card and a double-sided card with portraits of Crowley and Harris. Browse my tarot decks collection to explore other esoteric deck options alongside this one.
Key Structural Differences from Rider-Waite-Smith
Readers coming from a Rider-Waite-Smith background will encounter meaningful structural differences in the Thoth system. The court card hierarchy is renamed: Crowley’s Knights function as the active, fiery energy that other systems assign to Kings, while Princes take the place of Knights, and Princesses replace Pages. Several Major Arcana are also renamed: Justice becomes Adjustment, Strength becomes Lust, and the World becomes the Universe, each renaming reflecting Crowley’s specific Thelemic interpretive framework. These are not cosmetic changes; they reflect a coherent esoteric system that rewards careful study rather than casual substitution from other tarot approaches.
The Minors in the Thoth deck follow the Qabalistic Tree of Life structure, with each numbered card corresponding to a sephira and each suit to an element. Rather than the narrative scenes found in Rider-Waite-Smith Minors, the Thoth Minors use abstract, symbol-saturated imagery. This makes them more challenging for intuitive reading without study, but also more precise as a system for experienced practitioners who have internalized the correspondences. The Small edition’s card size is easier to handle than the Large deck’s, a practical choice for practitioners who bring the full Thoth system to readings and study groups.
How to Use the Thoth Tarot Small Deck
How to approach the Thoth Tarot as a study and reading tool.
- Study the Major Arcana Correspondences
Begin with the 22 Major Arcana and cross-reference each card with Crowley Book of Thoth. Note the Hebrew letter, astrological attribution, and elemental correspondence, as these are integral to how Thoth readings are structured and interpreted.
- Learn the Renamed Court Cards
Practice with the Thoth renamed court cards: Knights function as active fire energy where other systems use Kings, and Princes take the place of Knights. Learning these substitutions before your first reading prevents confusion in spreads.
- Use for Readings and Study Groups
Bring this edition to readings and study groups without the bulk of the Large Thoth deck. Its cards are closer to standard tarot size than the Large edition’s, which makes them easier to shuffle for readers with smaller hands.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock the Small edition of the Thoth because it carries the full Thoth system in a card size that is easier to shuffle for many readers than the Large deck’s. This deck is for practitioners who are ready to study the Qabalistic and astrological framework; applying RWS interpretations to it directly leads to frustration. For those who are ready for it, the Thoth is unmatched in its esoteric depth. If you’re building out your tarot study library, browse my tarot and divination collection for companion decks and resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Thoth Tarot was painted by Lady Frieda Harris under Aleister Crowley’s direction between 1938 and 1943. Harris used projective geometry, giving many cards a crystalline, three-dimensional visual structure unlike any other tarot tradition.
The Small edition is the smaller-format version of the Thoth deck, with cards measuring 2.75 by 4.375 inches. It includes the full 78 cards, a title card, a double-sided portrait card, and a 96-page booklet with divinatory meanings.
The Thoth uses different court card names than Rider-Waite: Knight replaces King, Queen stays Queen, Prince replaces Knight, and Princess replaces Page. Crowley also renames some Major Arcana, including Justice as Adjustment and Strength as Lust.
Yes, though it requires a different approach. The Thoth integrates Qabalah, astrology, alchemy, and the Tree of Life into every card. Most practitioners recommend Crowley’s Book of Thoth as the primary reference, not generic RWS-based guides.
1 review for Thoth Tarot Small Deck by Aleister Crowley & Frieda Harris — 78 Cards with Booklet