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In contrast, the meanings in other decks are particularly difficult to decipher, like the infamous Thoth tarot developed by Aleister Crowley, notorious for his involvement with various cults and experimentation with recreational drugs and so-called “sex magick." Completed in 1943, the Thoth deck was illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris and incorporated a range of occult and scientific symbols, inspiring many modern decks. As Wolf explains, "with the rise of the divination market in the 20th century, more liberties were taken, and the imagery evolved into increasingly personal artistic statements, both in content and style of execution."
與這些知識相比，塔羅牌上的其他意思是很難解讀的，比如說1943年Aleister Crowley發明的著名的透特塔羅牌，就像綜合了各種宗教祭儀和嗑藥后的效果，被稱作“性感魔法”，它的插圖來自Frieda Harris女士，使用了一些神秘學和自然科學中的符號，它影響了后世的塔羅牌的風格。Wolf對此這樣解釋：“二十世紀占卜學興起之后，其風格越來越自由化，那些圖案本身的風格和對其的解讀都帶上了更強的個人風格。”
But to balance such arcane decks, there are divinatory cards that offer little room for interpretation, like “Le Scarabée d'Or"or The Golden Beetle Oracle, one of Wolf's most prized decks. "It's just fantastically bizarre. There's a little window in the lid of the card box, and when you shake it, the beetle appears, and points to a number,” he explains. "Then you find the corresponding number on a set of round cards, with beautiful script text on them, and read your fortune. Can you not imagine standing in a Victorian parlor in France, consulting the Golden Beetle? It was like performance art."
卡牌占卜越發神秘化之后，又出現了一些提供較少想象空間的占卜牌，比如“Le Scarabée d'Or”或者Wolf最喜歡的“金龜子牌”。“它獨特而有趣，牌盒上有一個小小的洞，你搖動它就會出現一只甲蟲，指向一個數字。”他解釋。“然后你在一堆牌中找出這個數字，上面寫著一段揭示你未來的雋永的句子。想象一下維多利亞時代的你坐在法國的客廳里向金甲蟲問卦的場景，那是一種藝術。”
The Art of Divination Cards
The Golden Beetle deck, circa 1860. Photo courtesy Bill Wolf.
1860年的金龜子牌]
