What Are the Twenty-Two Atu of Thoth?
The Thoth trumps were shaped by Aleister Crowley’s esoteric teaching and the paintings of Lady Frieda Harris, mainly between 1938 and 1943. Crowley’s The Book of Thoth appeared in 1944. The term Atu marks a deliberate symbolic vocabulary for the 22 trumps. This system draws on the Golden Dawn’s tarot correspondences but also changes important details; those changes should not be treated as timeless attributes of every tarot tradition.
A Thoth card often combines a human or mythic figure with geometry, luminous color, zodiacal motifs or a complex arrangement of forces. The easiest entry is not to memorize every attribution immediately. First identify the card’s title, number, central action and visual tension. Then decide whether a correspondence from Crowley’s system helps answer the question.
Eight Cards That Reveal Thoth’s Distinctive Logic
The Magus I and The Priestess II
The Magus emphasizes expression, movement, symbol-making and the capacity of thought or language to change a situation. The risk is cleverness without grounding. The Priestess invites another mode of knowing: receiving impressions, discerning patterns and letting an image speak before forcing an answer. Harris’s paintings are not interchangeable with the familiar Rider–Waite scene of a figure between pillars.
Adjustment VIII and Lust XI
Adjustment VIII corresponds broadly to Justice, yet highlights precision, proportional response and dynamic equilibrium. Where are two forces truly balanced, and where is an apparent compromise hiding an imbalance? Lust XI corresponds broadly to Strength but gives greater prominence to vital impulse, ecstasy and the courageous relationship with instinct. Neither card means that all appetite is good or all restraint is bad.
Art XIV and Fortune X
Art XIV develops the territory of Temperance through an image of combination, transformation and a vessel of changing substances. For a collaborative project, it may suggest integrating distinct methods rather than merely choosing the mildest one. Fortune X can prompt attention to cycles and the limits of control. Together they distinguish how conditions change from how a person responds to change.
The Aeon XX and The Universe XXI
The Aeon XX replaces Judgement’s more familiar framing with Crowley’s own imagery of a new era and altered consciousness. In a practical spread it may indicate a complete reconsideration of what counts as a valid assumption. The Universe XXI gathers the consequences of an entire process, but completion can mean integrating difficult elements—not just celebrating a happy ending.
The Full Sequence: How to Study the Thoth Trumps
The twenty-two titles are: 0 The Fool; I The Magus; II The Priestess; III The Empress; IV The Emperor; V The Hierophant; VI The Lovers; VII The Chariot; VIII Adjustment; IX The Hermit; X Fortune; XI Lust; XII The Hanged Man; XIII Death; XIV Art; XV The Devil; XVI The Tower; XVII The Star; XVIII The Moon; XIX The Sun; XX The Aeon; XXI The Universe.
This sequence gives a useful structure for study, but avoid interpreting every spread as a literal trip from 0 to XXI. A card’s place in a reading can refer to a present tension, the quality of a decision or a relationship between forces rather than to a stage the querent must eventually reach.
Where Thoth’s Esoteric Correspondences Come From
Thoth’s network includes Hebrew letters, paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, zodiacal and planetary symbolism and elemental attributions. Many correspondences have roots in Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn teaching, while Crowley modified some. A notable example is his treatment of The Emperor and The Star within the Hebrew-letter system: it is not identical to a simplified Golden Dawn chart.
Correspondences are useful only when clearly sourced to their tradition. A number attached to a card, a medieval religious image and a later Thelemic association are different kinds of information. They should not be merged into one supposedly universal fact.
A Practical Thoth Major Arcana Reading
Consider asking, “What would make this transition constructive?” and drawing The Hanged Man as the obstacle, Art as the method and Adjustment as the criterion for success. One thoughtful reading might identify attachment to an old point of view, recommend bringing opposing priorities into a workable combination and evaluate the result against fair, precise boundaries.
The paintings add nuance. Observe whether the figures appear contained or expansive, how colors move and where your attention is drawn. Write down the visual observation separately from the interpretation. This keeps a layered system readable without sacrificing analytical clarity.
Positive and Difficult Expressions of a Trump
A Thoth trump is not automatically beneficial when upright or harmful when reversed. Lust might express life force or self-indulgence; The Hermit might express careful inquiry or sterile withdrawal; Art might represent genuine synthesis or an attempt to force together what cannot yet be reconciled. Even readers who never reverse a card can interpret these light and shadow dimensions through spread position.
Study Thoth as a System, Not a Repainted Rider–Waite Deck
The companion Thoth Minor Arcana Meanings guide covers the titled numbered cards, astrological decans and unusual court structure. Return to the Thoth Tarot Card Meanings overview for history and reading methods, or compare these Atu with the Marseille Major Arcana Meanings. The same card position can carry a very different artistic argument in each deck.