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Mabon asked:
I own both copies of the Key of it All. They are the first editions - The Western is the first printing, and the Eastern is the Second. My question is: 'Have you included any new or revised material in the new publications?' (I understand they have been republished under new titles recently.) If there is any new info in the new publications, what is it? What sections have been revised? (If any!) Please let me know; I want to make sure all my references are updated and correct!
David Allen Hulse answered:
The new editions under the titles THE EASTERN MYSTERIES and THE WESTERN MYSTERIES have no new material in the body of the book. The only new addition is an index in each book. However, the first edition of THE KEY OF IT ALL contained over 70 typographical errors that were corrected in subsequent editions. The most glaring error occurred in the first edition of the first volume. In the sixth key (Chinese) under the I Ching Hexagrams, the 12th hexagram, which is P'i (Bi)- Standstill, was drawn incorrectly. The correct way of drawing this hexagram is 3 yin lines at the bottom and 3 yang lines at the top. In the second to last galley it was perfect, but when it was finally typeset it was set incorrectly. I think that one error probably bothered me more than anything else that might have crept into the text. The sequential order of the governors found in the second volume of the first printing on the Watchtowers was also corrected. In the Air watchtower on page 201, the 51st governor name Tocarzi was incorrectly sequenced on the watchtower. If you look at the upper left corner going down the column the original shows the four numbers 355,354,353,351. Corrected they should be 354,353,352,350. If you move over one the next four in a column in the original are 400,404,356,352. These should be instead 400,404,355,351. Each new printing has a few new corrections to the text. I receive much feedback from readers who have caught the inconsistencies, plus in my own rereading and reworking the text I discover discrepancies as well. Currently, there is still one error that has yet to be corrected in Volume One. That occurs on page 122 under the number values for the Eighteen-Lettered Ain formula. The total at the bottom that is "672" should be "682". Believe it or not, even I use my own books constantly as references. In writing my recent commentary on my own early tarot deck, The Noble Tarot, I used my own study on the Aztec Day Count to interpret the symbolism of the lizard and the snake (as wealth and poverty), that I had unconsciously woven into The Wheel of Fortune 34 years ago. Glad you have my first editions. They may be worth something someday. But, by buying the most recent, new versions of the books, you are guaranteed the most accurate text and tables.
Hiroyuki asked:
"The Western Mysteries" is a surprising book. The section " Secrets of the Waite deck" is superb! It is the most prominent interpretation to the Rider-Waite through a Qabalistic view. Is it your own interpretation? Or did he (Waite) write about this Qabalistic symbolism of the Tarot in his books, articles, or diary?
David Allen Hulse answered:
As to the interpretation of the Waite deck (found in the 12th Key of "The Western Mysteries"), all that was based on my own research. Waite never openly admitted any of this symbolism, but by drawing the cards as he did, he intended this symbolism.