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Requests - Magus cards
TRD-SC-676 - Jul 01, 2008 - 06:59 PM
Post subject: Magus cards
I recently bought the Thoth Tarot deck and was confused to see that there are three Magus cards.
The booklet included with deck seems to offer no explanation of why.
I was hoping someone could elaborate to me the purpose of these extra cards.
Thanks
Uni_Verse - Jul 01, 2008 - 07:12 PM
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From my understanding it has something to do with the manufacturing process 
Just pick the one that suits you best and use it!
magispiegel - Jul 01, 2008 - 07:53 PM
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A beautiful deck indeed!!!
dyulax - Jul 01, 2008 - 08:11 PM
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In the cutted paper could remain two useless blank cards (78 + 2 magus = 80, better to divide for 4).
Walterfive - Jul 01, 2008 - 08:21 PM
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You got the small Thoth Deck. The large Thoth Deck doesn't have those, it has a Unicursal Hexagram card and a card (IIRC) talking about the (C.)O.T.O., making a sheet of 80 cards, 8 wide, 10 high.
Lady Frieda Harris originally drafted three versions of the Magus card, and it was thought that purchasers of the deck might find these other drafts of interest, and so they were included for the small Thoth Deck, making those compulsive collectors among us shell out another $13-15 to get that deck. 
Which I'm sure many of us did. It's easier to handle and shuffle than the large deck, anyway, I think.
Actually, Lady Frieda did several alternate card designs, but most of those never went past the rough sketch drafts, IIRC.
kuniggety - Jul 01, 2008 - 08:30 PM
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As a side note, I recommend Lon Milo DuQuette's book on the Thoth deck. It's very well written and covers close to all of the symbolism present, in not so obtuse writing. He actually mentions in there about the various Magus cards, as Walterfive said.
Montvid - Jul 01, 2008 - 08:33 PM
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You get to choose on wich level to play: easy, normal, hardcore. Choose your destiny!
Different symbols the same meaning.
BlueKephra - Jul 01, 2008 - 08:52 PM
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I dug out my old 1983 deck because I was sure it explained in there why there are 3, but I can't find it in the booklet. I've read it somewhere......just dunno where. I think it's as simple as the fact that there were many different versions of many of the cards painted, and they had a particularly hard time deciding on the best version of that particular Atu
edit: i took far too long to type that...................
Walterfive - Jul 01, 2008 - 09:11 PM
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No Kephra, I 'm pretty certain that the small Thoth Deck was published in the last 10 years or so. Your '83 deck had to have been the large deck in the white card-stock box. Yes, you're right, there were some other cards that had differening designs that got to canvas, I recall hearing that several alternate card paintings were shown when a collection of them were assembled a few years ago for a special exhibit (somewhere in Europe, I think...). And you're right Kuniggety, now that you remind me, Lon *does* mention that in his book on the Thoth Deck, good memory you've got there!
BlueKephra - Jul 01, 2008 - 09:15 PM
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Yes you're right, though it's more a brown colour now, and it has the unicursal hexagram and the OTO info card, and not the 3 Magii
anpi - Jul 01, 2008 - 09:21 PM
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Walterfive wrote: › You got the small Thoth Deck. The large Thoth Deck doesn't have those, it has a Unicursal Hexagram card and a card (IIRC) talking about the (C.)O.T.O., making a sheet of 80 cards, 8 wide, 10 high.
Here the most common Thoth deck print is the AGM Switzerland one in the blue box with the Magus card (well, one of them) as the cover. I think it comes in the small, medium and large sizes and none of them have three magus cards, though I can't be totally sure of this, since I've only browsed the small and large ones. I think they do have the Unicursal Hexagram card and some other card, but I usually throw those away.
I'm not sure exactly which of the current decks do have the three Magus cards, in fact I think I haven't even seen all of them. I have seen one alternative design with a huge shadow baboon behind the Magus (Ape of Thoth probably, it was a lot more governing than in the final design, even bigger than the Magus himself).
felis_silvestris - Jul 01, 2008 - 09:46 PM
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Freida Harris painted variants of many cards: the Harpo Marx Fool is my favourite -
http://www.caduceusbooks.com/occultartg ... LATER.html
. The two extra Magus cards are a publisher's bonus. As noted above, the manufacturing process works in multiples of four (ie. four cards to a sheet before they are cut), so you have a deck of 78 cards plus 2 extra, in this case the Magus variants. They don't have any more specific significance than the Unicursal Hexagram and (resisted) c.O.T.O. Wants You cards that came with my Thoth.
DD - Jul 01, 2008 - 11:15 PM
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For information, including which decks have the extra Magus card, check out the following website from Tarot Garden
http://www.tarotgarden.com/library/decks/thothtable.php
This lists a lot of the Thoth Decks produced as well as desciptions and pictures.
DD
TRD-SC-676 - Jul 05, 2008 - 07:20 AM
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Thanks to everyone for your information.
I suppose now i shall have to buy the large deck, purely for collection of course.
Thanks again