Another Gem from Llewellyn. I have wondered if MANTEIA should introduce a "This issues worst"-column. This product would definitely be a sure candidate. No doubt, it will be commercially successful. Let me quote from Llewellyn's introduction to their "High Magic Series" of which The Temple of Isis is a volume: "The average intelligence today is vastly superior to that of four or five centuries ago". Well, that is opposite to what is generally acknowledged. Our knowledge is greater, but intelligence? I seriously doubt Llewellyn's postulate, if there is a need for a book like this.

An anonymous, so called High High Priestess of the Melbourne Chapter of the Inner Temple of Isis, nicknamed Ishbel, has produced this work, which is partly a book describing some of the activities of the temple, "which the temple has decided should be revealed now as we enter the New Age", partly a deck of cards, postulated to be THE original tarot deck.

The basis for the material is said to be some clay tablets which a crew of astronauts left in Ancient Egypt, 6000 years BC. The script on these tablets is only known to the initiates, e.g. the members of the Inner Temple of Isis. These tablets are still in the temple's possession (SENSATION OF THE CENTURY?!) The Melbourne Chapter only has one of them, genuine, scientifically proven, they say, but they have a complete collection of photos of the several hundred existent tablets. Why don't they show one of the photos in the book? It could do not harm, since we, as said, do not understand the script anyway. One of the reasons given for publishing part of the material right now is "the Damocletean sword of nuclear war". Don't the High High Priestesses read newspapers, or can the Genuine Egyptian Tarot Deck not give better advice?

After a detailed description of how the astronauts landed in ancient Egypt, taught the Egyptians how to improve their ways of living, and impregnated the Egyptian women with the clones they brought with them, the book continues with a number of chapters, dealing with ceremonies, dressing, construction of a temple room, exercises, Egyptian symbolism etc., the whole thing a hotchpotch of transaction analyses, scientology, group therapy, meditation techniques, tatwas, chakra-teaching, numerology, ESP, well-known Egyptian folklore, witchcraft, herbalism, Freudianism, regression exercises and astrology.

About 80 pages of the book deal with what the author, Ishbel, calls "The Original Egyptian Tarot", claimed to be the originals as brought by the extraterrestrial beings of 6000 BC., but admittedly "slightly modified by myself for reproduction, but not altered". Ishbel describes, what she calls the history of the tarot, perhaps the most imaginative version, I have heard so far. When the story touches reality, like when the oldest existent deck is mentioned, the statements are false.

No tarot book is without a card spread. One method shown is called "The Ancient Method", said to have been used by Egyptian Priests 5000 years ago. It turns out to be the pattern of the kabbalistic "Tree of Life" or as it is called here "Seshem Shem". "Many well-meaning scholars have written about these ten levels", Ishbel tell us, "but since none had access to the true method, their writings can only be considered academic theorizations". What do the authors of Llewellyn's books on kabbala think of this? Good to see, that Llewellyn finally unearthed the truth!

The card deck consists of 78 cards. It is structured like a tarot with a 22 major arcana cards, 4 court cards and 10 number cards in each of the four suits, which are "Crooks", "Flails", "Sebas" and "Lotus". The four court cards are Destroyer, Savior, Father and Mother. The number cards are non-pictographic. The major arcana has no resemblance to the tarot iconography, but is a series of Egyptian godforms. The artwork is naive and I think this is one of the dullest Egyptian inspired decks (and there are many) I ever saw.

The whole thing reminds me of good old Rider Haggard's books for boys, combined with an instruction book for scouts. The Scribe of Ishbel, Seshkai, tells us, that Llewellyn also plans to publish a novel by Ishbel, named "Infinite Journey". The novel will be part fact and part fiction, and will in detail tell of the arrival of the Space Craft and the development of the teachings. No, it is not the book at hand, it will take a couple of years to complete.