Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. –AL I:40
Let’s walk ourselves through this carefully … below is what astrologers call the ‘Zodiac Belt.’
Below is what Crowley calls the ‘Double Loop’ in the Zodiac Belt; The Book of Thoth, (Tarot), p 11.
Basically, below is what Crowley implies; entwined circles flowing from Aries to Pisces etc.
By using this image of three circles entwined Crowley is not only able to switch Aries and Aquarius but he is also able to switch Libra and Leo as they were shown originally in the very first image above of the Zodiac Belt.
Below shows the original numbering of the Tarot cards if they were placed upon Crowley’s drawing of the three circles. The cards flow perfectly in order similar to the very first drawing above; from the lowest (4) to the highest (18).
… but to confuse matters: where Leo (above) is originally listed as the VIIIth Thoth card Crowley makes it the XIth [see the diagram below from The Book of Thoth pg.11] … and where Libra was once the XIth (above) Thoth card, Crowley makes it the VIIIth [see below]. The switching of these numbers has been the bane of researchers for years simply because it totally throws off the natural flow. Some believe that Crowley should have left the numbering well enough alone on these two cards.
… and to further complicate matters, although Crowley leaves Aries as the IVth path and Aquarius the XVIIth in ‘his’ Zodiac Belt in order to keep the natural flow … he switches their location and attributes on The Tree of Life. See the chart on Page 268 of The Book of Thoth.
The Star (Aquarius) now rules the Hebrew letter He and is located between Chockmah & Tiphereth
The Emperor (Aries) now rules the Hebrew letter Tzaddi and is found between Netzach & Yesod.
This is confusing Qabalistically considering that the Tree of Life gradually unfolds or manifests downward and so how can the IVth path exist between Netzach & Yesod when so much of The Tree of Life has yet to be created? … In truth, some believe Crowley should have made The Star the IVth Path when he switched it with the Emperor and then he should have made the Emperor the XVIIth. This would have kept ‘He’ in line between Daleth and Vau and ‘Tzaddi’ after Phe and before Qoph in the proper order of the cards, pg 278 … but, in truth, Crowley’s numbering has to stand as he wanted it simply because to change it would throw off the natural flow of the cards from lowest to highest in the three circles.
The bottom line; Aleister Crowley created numerous anomalies when he switched the cards around and it could take years to fully understand the implications.
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Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love;
for there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well!
He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great mystery
of the House of God. All these old letters of my Book are aright;
but [tzaddi] is not the Star. This also is secret: my prophet
shall reveal it to the wise. –Liber AL vel Legis I:57
Love is the law, love under will. –AL I:57