Customer Reviews

Tarot of Ceremonial Magick Deck

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fascinating deck. The accuracy of readings is astounding, and the deck will continuously give the same card(s), consistently, during a reading / clarification of a reading. I have always had amazing results with The Thoth Tarot, but Lon Duquette's Ceremonial Magick Deck is definitely the most accurate and consistent deck I have ever worked with.

I wasn't too sure about buying it, at-first, because the artwork reminded me of the Golden Dawn deck, but I viewed the details of the corresponding book ( ISBN: 0877287643 ), via the enlarge feature, and decided to give it a chance, based upon Lon Duquette's other works. Suffice to say, I am thrilled that I made the purchase!

I am really enjoying this deck, and I like the artwork. The artwork is not as detailed and "busy" as Crowley's Thoth Tarot, but it is not as Intense, either...it doesn't beat you over the head with Symbolism. I would certainly recommend Duquette's Ceremonial Deck to beginners, but I would also suggest buying a few books about The Goetia, to understand the whole concept.

The Ceremonial Magick Tarot is surprisingly colorful, bright, humorous and intriguing. Duquette's personality comes through in this deck, and his long years of Research are embedded in the cards, as well.

Normally, I need to tune-up a deck and work with it a while, to tune-in to it's vibe...but, this deck spoke to me, the moment I broke the seal.

I believe this deck will be a great asset to anyone already using Crowley's deck, but it will also be a great Beginner's Deck. Of all my Tarot Cards, this Deck is in my "Top 3" favorites (the ones I use the most)--and has shifted to a position above "The Masonic Tarot."

From as far back as I can remember I wanted to be a magician. Not any magician mind you, but a magician like Merlin in King Arthur's Court. A magician that could fly, walk on water, become invisible and do all sorts of wondrous things. That's what I wanted to be. I still do. But age has tempered my dreams. Now I want to fly in the Inner Worlds, walk on the scintillating water of the subconscious, become invisible to the negative forces of this world and change myself. To be truly loving and compassionate would be nice and I do try. But in my present human condition I fall fare short of perfection in this or anything else.

It's magick that makes these things possible. Lon Milo DuQuette is a magician, a magician's magician. He teaches in a simple and straight-forward manner. He makes complicated ritual uncomplicated and easy to replicate. He brings the Qabalah down to elementary terms easily understood. He removes confusion concerning the Cube of Space. All these things he teaches in a non-threatening and humorous manner.

His book is filled with more information than I can probably digest in a lifetime. He does a good job ilustrating the paths on the Tree of Life for the 22 Trumps and explaining the 10 Paths for the pip cards...The deck is the standard size and quality we have come to expect from U.S. Games, larger than a poker deck but not too large to handle easily. Each card contains information about astrology and two systems of magick. The court cards also contain the I-Ching hexagrams. The Magical systems are the Enochian and Goetia which are adequately explained in the text...

If you aspire to being a magician, a ceremonial magician, a ritualist, a scholar of magick, or diviner of magick, this deck and book is good place to start. If you want to mold yourself into a better person, to change yourself like magick, this is great place to start.

a review by Alexander DeGrate, The American Tarot Association Newsletter, Spring 1999

This is not another novelty Tarot deck. In fact, it recaptures the true magical tradition of the Tarot as few decks have ever done. I have to admit that it isn't as pretty as the Crowley/Harris Thoth Deck or the Cicero's Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot, but it has something more than either of these classics ... in your face Magick!

The four Elemental Tablets of the Enochian system of John Dee adorn the Aces - with the Aces and Court Cards you can construct the powerful Enochian Tablet of Union. The Small Cards bear the names and sigils of all 72 Spirits of the Goetia, and the names of the 72 Qabalistic Angels of the Shemhamaphorash, and the degrees of the zodiac and days of the year sacred to these spirits. Want to project your astral body in to the elemental worlds? The Aces and Court Cards display colored tattwa symbols used for that very purpose. DuQuette didn't just through this stuff on some cards and call it Tarot. All these magical correspondences, even the colors, are organized with anal retentive perfection in strict conformity to the most revered magical and qabalistic traditions concerning the Tarot.

The accompanying book is filled with all the technical information necessary to actually begin practicing Qabalistic, Enochian, and Goetic magick. The first question I had to ask myself after reading it was..."Am I ready for this?"

IMHO, there are basically four kinds of Tarot decks out there: historical decks, dating back to the Renaissance (and their modern re-drawings); visionary decks, ranging from the sublime (Thoth Tarot by Crowley) to the slightly ridiculous (Tarot of the Cats); correspondence decks, which conglomerate various occult symbols (such as astrological and kabbalistic symbols); and magical order decks (such as the Rider-Waite deck, the Thoth deck by AC, the Golden Dawn deck by the Ciceros).

Of course some decks cross over the boundaries, being visionary, including copious correspondences (not just suggestive imagery) and having their roots in a bona fide magical order.

Duquette's new deck is just such a deck; it is weighted heavily towards correspondences, so much so that its author calls it 777 (a famous book of correspondences)on cards. However it also includes very workable images which can trigger the imagination, good key words and divinatory meanings. And, it is the product of a reputable member of a magical order.

The frosting on the cake is the incorporation of the Goetic images and Enochian images.

I think this would be an excellent deck for divination (it works for me) while also conditioning the subconscious to several families of potent symbols.

I highly recommend it.

The U.S. Games Systems, Inc. edition of Tarot of Ceremonial Magick (first published in 1994) has been out of print since 2007. (This is why we see it being offered at such high prices by personal vendors. I am happy to say that I have found a new publisher for the cards, Thelesis Aura, LLC. and the cards are again available directly from the publisher at a reasonable price. I affirm that they are as fine or finer quality as the first edition and am thrilled that they are again on the market. Please visit the publisher's website at: [...]
or feel free to contact me directly at: lonmilo@gmail.com for further information.
Lon Milo DuQuette
Creator of Tarot of Ceremonial Magick
Costa Mesa, California
Tarot of Ceremonial Magick: A Pictorial Synthesis of Three Great Pillars of Magick

This is not another novelty Tarot deck. In fact, it recaptures the true magical tradition of the Tarot as few decks have ever done. I have to admit that it isn't as pretty as the Crowley/Harris Thoth Deck or the Cicero's Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot, but it has something more than either of these classics ... in your face Magick!

The four Elemental Tablets of the Enochian system of John Dee adorn the Aces - with the Aces and Court Cards you can construct the powerful Enochian Tablet of Union. The Small Cards bear the names and sigils of all 72 Spirits of the Goetia, and the names of the 72 Qabalistic Angels of the Shemhamaphorash, and the degrees of the zodiac and days of the year sacred to these spirits. Want to project your astral body in to the elemental worlds? The Aces and Court Cards display colored tattwa symbols used for that very purpose. DuQuette didn't just through this stuff on some cards and call it Tarot. All these magical correspondences, even the colors, are organized with anal retentive perfection in strict conformity to the most revered magical and qabalistic traditions concerning the Tarot.

The accompanying book is filled with all the technical information necessary to actually begin practicing Qabalistic, Enochian, and Goetic magick. The first question I had to ask myself after reading it was..."Am I ready for this?"

Reprinted with publisher's permission from MANTEIA, a magazine for the mantic arts No. 15, November 1995. Published by OUROBOROS, ROSKILDE, DENMARK Reviewer: K. Frank Jensen, Editor and Publisher

Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot of Ceremonial Magick With this deck we are back to the genuine tarot tradition, back to what tarot was before the modern card reading craze began in the 1970s and the growing popularity turned tarot into a mass medium. Apart from also being a card game, tarot was for about one hundred years, beginning in the mid-19th century, essentially a tool for the practising ceremonial magician. DuQuette is one of these with great experience, and in this deck he has combined the various systems that the magician uses to obtain his goal: Self-mastery, illumination and spiritual liberation.

This deck is a natural sequel to other genuine magick decks, like THE GOLDEN DAWN TAROT and Crowley's BOOK OF THOTH. DuQuette has added more symbolic references than the mentioned decks; apart from the Hebrew and astrological references, this deck also has references to the Enochian tablets, to the 72 spirits of Goetia and to the Angels of Shemhamphorash. The Astrological references are extended to also include the decanates. References to the Tattwas and the I-Ching hexagrams are also included.

What more can you wish for?

The tiny booklet gives only a short survey over these symbolic systems, but a more extended study can be found in a book by the same author: TAROT OF CEREMONIAL MAGICK (Weiser 1995).

Of all the decks I currently possess, this is the one that I rely on most. As a member of the EOGD, the fact that I rely on a tarot designed by a leading member of the OTO says something.

In short, each of the categories of cards is allocated to various symbols which enhance the reading process. Aces are the four Elemental Tablets, respectively, which, when paired with the court cards and their subangles of the respective Elemental Tablet, allow you to form the Tablet of Union. Additionally, each of the aforementioned cards incorporates a tattwa and I-Ching symbol, effective in meditation, while certain of the Court cards additionally reflect degrees of the zodiac. The Trumps incorporate the respective Hebrew letter associated with each, along with (as appropriate) the primitive elements, the classical planets or the signs of the zodiac, as well as the Djinn of the Houses of Mercury and the Qlippoth. The small cards include each of the 72 spirits of the Goetia and their corresponding Shem-ha-mephorash angel, as well as degree of the zodiac and astrological significance.

Heady stuff, huh? What's truly amazing is that each of the cards reflects so vast an array of symbols, yet none of this conflict with the simple imagery of the representation on card itself, nor do they clutter it in any way. Having toyed with the Toth deck, whose use of symbology actually interferes with my ability to work with it, these symbols are not glaring and allow you to use them in the process, or not - their effect in this case being subconscious.

Originally a bit put off by the heavy Egyptian theme throughout the deck, I have now come to rely on this deck despite my aesthetic preconceptions. While I still use other decks, mainly for theurgic meditations, this is the deck I rely on for mundane work, and I sometimes rely on it entirely regardless of the intent of the reading or meditation. The readings I get are, in a word, spooky, (or at least they were when I started using the deck), due to their uncanny accuracy. I cannot stress the word "uncanny" strongly enough! Now, when this deck speaks, I give full credence to the predictions or insights, and either move to change the present circumstances or hold tight to a course of action.

Humorous to note that the "book" is 78 pages long. ;-)

This is one of the most interesting and useful books on the Tarot there are. The deck, once one gets past its crudities, i.e., it is drawn in a most amateurish fashion, is also highly interesting and useful, especially in that it contains Enochian and Cabalistic correspondences. The one thing that always has puzzled me in all the so-called cabalistic tarots, however, is that none of them follow the scheme of the Sephir Yetzirah, the primary classic of ancient Hebrew astrological occultism. It is beyond my comprehension, considering that the Sephir Yetzirah is crystal clear in its astrological correspondences to the ciphers. For example, the Cabalistic Tarot says that Ghimel corresponds to the planet Venus while the Sephir Yetzirah states that Phay corresponds to Venus. The Sephir Yetzirah states that Resh corresponds to Mercury while the Cabalistic Tarot says that Bayt corresponds to Mercury. Such discrepancies go on and on, I know not why, especially since the Sephir Yetzirah sets forth a mathematically solid, logical basis for its astrological correspondences. The Sephir Yetzirah demonstrates a perfectly conceived cosmological basis for the Cabalistic ciphers that are the Hebrew alphabet. The incommensurability between the so-called Cabalistic Tarot arrangement and the arrangement of the Sephir Yetzirah is something that someone with the intellectual qualities M. DuQuette appears to posess should look into. It is certainly worth questioning.

This deck is a wonderful presentation of all the principles of western Magick.This deck works in such sublime matters both in divination and teaching the student the Enochian,Goetia,and Qabalah systems.This deck is truly a symbolic book of occult Magick.Lon has done a great service in creating this deck.Love is the Law,Love under Will.