The Liber T Tarot of the Stars Eternal

Measurements: 2.6 x 4.72 inches, or 66 x 120 mm.

Back of card: Major arcana 8: Adjustment, shown above. Note the charater on the card is drawn in a diamond shape. On the back of the card, the diamond has been set into a vesica piscis & all of that set on top of linework which includes two more vesica piscis, both horizontal, one on the top, one on the bottom. Given the overall strength of the central diamond, the main vesica piscis, and the linework behind them all, the card is strong enough for inversion, though strictly speaking, it is not symmetric. Printed in shades of blue & white.

Booklet included: Yes, 64 pages, 2.6 x 4.74 inches, or 66 x 120 mm. Instructions in English, Italian, Spanish, French & German.

Publisher: Lo Scarabeo. Printed in Italy, imported by Llewellyn Worldwide.

Comments: This is said to be an Egyptian inspired deck. It is, in any case, a deck intended for the purposes of ceremonial magic. There are obvious thematic similarities to the famous Crowley tarot, as well as stylistic similarities to Tarot of the Witches.

The notable difference from Crowley is that the creators of this deck attempt what Crowley dared not: To make this an explicitly magical deck. As Roberto Negrini writes on page 12:

Every scholar of the Tarot of the Stars Eternal, if he or she has the knowledge & ability, will be able to construct his or her own personal formula or a ritual for a mantic or magical-practical consultation. A Simplified Ritual is, in any case, offered here, suitable for those who are getting to know these Icons of Knowledge for the first time...

In this deck, there are the Major Arcana cards, there are the Aces, there are the 16 Court Honor Cards, and there are 36 Decans of Thoth, divided into four Enneads of nine cards each. You do not recognize these? They are the well-known pip cards (2-10), of the suits Fire (wands), Air (swords), Earth (pentacles) and Water (cups). The critical change, from the Crowley deck (and Tarot of the Witches), to this one, is that these pip cards, aka Enneads, now show explicit magical scenes. This is where Negrini & Serio have exceeded Crowley.

Court cards are Princess, Prince, Queen & Knight. As noted with other magical/witchy decks, the king, per se, is a useless character. Also typical of these decks, the instructions mangle historical facts. It may be the authors are sloppy, or it may be the mistakes are deliberate, to make us think. If so, the later explanation is not much better than the first. Playing cards did not first appear in the 15th century, they are at least three centuries older. Playing cards did not "develop into" a magical system through the innovations of the 19th & 20th centuries. Playing cards were - and still are - a magical symbol set in their own right. What Waite & Crowley & others did was to replace one set of magical symbols for another. The true purpose of such obvious mistakes is to decoy us into examining the wrong things, while the real magic happens elsewhere. Stage magicians, aka jugglers, are experts at such misdirection.

There are significant changes in the Major Arcanas. No. 8 is Adjustment. No. 10 is Fortune. 11 is Lust. 14 is Art. 20 is Aeon. I believe these are similar to the changes made by Crowley.

In sum, this is the deck Crowley feared to make. Do you suppose he had reason?

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