Re: Egypt in the pre-Gebelin tarot
Posted: 04 Jan 2018, 14:24
I see your point. But "Thoh" could be the Egyptian name for the process or substance which in Arabic is called "Azot". "Azot" being the name of Mercury as well as a mysterious and magical substance, "philosophical Mercury" or some such thing, to which the god Thoth corresponds in Greco-Egyptian. Wikipedia says of Azoth:
In the 1570 edition, the word "Azoth" doesn't occur on the chest. I would guess that the illustration in book 12 simply wasn't changed so as to add the word "Azoth" there. That both words word on the chest might be our clue that "Thoh" means what is normally meant by "Azoth".
Likewise "Thoh" would come from the word "Thoth", likely meaning the same substance, but in Greco-Egyptian.Azoth was believed to be the essential agent of transformation in alchemy. It is the name given by ancient alchemists to Mercury, the animating spirit hidden in all matter that makes transmutation possibleThe word comes from the Arabic al-zā'būq which means "Mercury". The word occurs in the writings of many early alchemists, such as Zosimos, Mary the Jewess, Olympiodorus, and Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber).
In the 1570 edition, the word "Azoth" doesn't occur on the chest. I would guess that the illustration in book 12 simply wasn't changed so as to add the word "Azoth" there. That both words word on the chest might be our clue that "Thoh" means what is normally meant by "Azoth".