TheRiderWaiteSmithDeckA.E.Waite,thecreatoroftheworldsmostinfluentialTarotdeck,wasaspiritualseeker

andmysticwhosupportedhimselfwithfreelancetranslationandwriting.In1889,

underthepseudonymGrandOrient,hepublishedAHandbookofCartomancy,Fortune

TellingandOccultDivination,oneofthefirstbooksinEnglishonhowtoreadtarot.

HisfascinationwiththeoccultscenedrewhimintomembershipintheHermeticOrder

oftheGoldenDawn,buthisspiritualitygraduallyevolvedawayfromceremonialmagic

andtowardChristianmysticism.WhentheGoldenDawnsplinteredintofactions,he

createdhisownorder,theFellowshipoftheRosyCross.In1909,hecreatedtheRider

WaiteTarotincollaborationwithPamelaColmanSmith,andwrotetheaccompanyingbook,ThePictorialKeyto

Tarot(PKT).

PamelaColmanSmithwasborninLondontoAmericanparentsandspentpartofher

childhoodinJamaica.ShestudiedartatthePrattInstituteinNewYorkthentouredwith

anEnglishtheatercompanyasacostumeandsetdesigner.In1901sheacquireda

Londonstudiowheresheentertainedherartisticandliteraryfriendsbydressingupin

costumeandtellingJamaicanfolktaleswithanethnicaccentwhileusingaminiature

cardboardtheaterasaprop.Duringthehighpointofhercareer,from1890to1910,she

collaboratedwithW.BYeatsandhisbrotheronvariousliteraryandtheatricalprojects

illustratedsheetmusic,advertisements,andchildrensbooksandpublishedillustrated

literarymagazines.Shewasalsoknownforgoingintoatranceandchannelingdrawingswhilelisteningto

music,manyyearsbeforethesurrealistsexperimentedwithautomatisminart.

In1909,WaitepaidSmithaflatfeeforillustratinghisTarotdeck.Hechoseherforthejobbecauseofhertalent,

theircommonmembershipintheGoldenDawn,andbecausehebelievedherclairvoyantabilitieswouldhelpher

perceivethehighermysticaltruthshewasattemptingtoconveywithhisdeck.Shenotonlydidntbenefit

financiallyfromthedeck,butthepublishersnamewasputonthedeckinsteadofhers.Recently,thetarot

communityhasbeencorrectingthisinjusticebyreferringtothedeckastheRiderWaiteSmith(RWS)orWaite

Smithdeck(WS).

WeknowthatSmithdidresearchintheBritishMuseum,becauseshe

liftedsomeimagesdirectlyfromthe15thcenturySolaBuscadeckinthe

museumscollection(notablythe3ofSwordsand10ofWands).The

deckcontainsmanyechoesofSmithsillustrationstyle,whichshows

shehadagooddealofautonomyincreatingtheMinorArcanaimages.

AlthoughbothWaiteandSmithhadbeenmembersoftheGolden

Dawn,theydidnotcreateaGoldenDawndeck.WaitebasedhisMajor

ArcanaimageryonEliphasLevisandPaulChristiansEgyptianizeddescriptionsofthetrumps,aswellas

ChristiansymbolismandGoldenDawnastrologicalattributions.Hisdivinatorymeaningsdrawheavilyon

Etteilla.TheminorArcanaimagesillustrateahodgepodgeofinfluencesfromEtteilla,TheGoldenDawnsBookT,

The15thcenturySolaBuscadeckintheBritishMuseum,andSmithsownimagination.

TheMajorArcanaarebasedontheTarotdeMarseilleswithflourishesfromEliphasLevis

descriptionsandWaitespersonalsymbolism.Thecardmeaningsaredrawnpartlyfromthe

GoldenDawnandpartlyfromEtteilla.Mostimportantly,Waitedoesnotassociatethe

Hebrewalphabetwiththecards,whichistheessenceofoccultTarot.Thelackofovert

occultattributionsandtheChristiansymbolismsetthisdeckapartfromotheroccultdecksof

thetimesuchastheEgyptiandecksorOswaldWirthsdeck.

Thedeckmusthavebeeninstantlypopularsincethebookanddeck

werepiratedbyAmericanpublisherDeLaurencein1916.U.S.

Games,Inc.acquiredexclusiverightstotheRiderWaitenamein

1971.TheoriginalplatesweredestroyedduringWWII,andSmiths

originaldrawingshavedisappeared,sotheU.S.Games1971

printingisprobablytheclosesttotheoriginalthatsavailablenow.

Before1971,UniversityPresswasthebiggesttarotpublisherinthe

U.S,producinganeasilyidentifiableRiderWaitedeckwithan

ankhonthecardbacks.TheAlbanoWaiteandUniversalWaitearerecoloredversionsofthe1971U.S.Games

deck.In2009,tocommemorateSmiths100thbirthday,U.S.Gamesissuedacommemorativebookanddeckset

basedona1909deckinaprivatecollection.

TheRiderWaiteSmithdeckhasinspiredhundredsofimaginativespinoffslikethe

MorganGreer,RobinWood,HansonRoberts,Hudes,andAquariandecks.Ithas

permeatedAngloAmericantarotandbecometheparadigmandtouchstonethroughwhich

wethinkaboutTarot.Deckcreatorsfeelcompelledtopayhomagetothisdeckbymodeling

theirdesignsonit.MostLWBs(littlewhitebooksthataccompanydecks)useRWScard

meanings,evenwhentheydontcorrespondtotheaccompanyingcards.Deckswithscenes

illustratedonall78cardsfacilitateapsychological,freeassociationapproachtocard

readingwhichwasTarotsnextmajortransformation.

Onthenextpage,TarotjumpstheAtlantictotheUnitedStates.