The Pictorial Key To The Tarot

This is a great way of getting used to the card designs and some of the meanings. It is the classic Tarot primer and it is great it is available on kindle. After some initial problems, the book is now available in its entirety and with images in full colour of the 78 cards. A E Waite could be seen to be the father of the modern Tarot, since he and Smith put the pack together and gave the pictures to the minor arcana too, for the first time I think, which made them so much easier to use.There may be many easier, clearer and more user-friendly guides to the Tarot available now but since this is less than a quid, it would be a mistake not to have this in your library.

Arthur Waite provides information for the widely known and original Tarot deck that he created."...the pictures are like doors which open into unexpected chambers, or like a turn in the open road with a wise prospect beyond" ~A.E WaiteThe English is a little difficult to understand and he doesn't seem to give that much information on his deck, since there is a lot more information available published by other authors. But, he does give simple meaning for his cards in the upright and reversed positions and, as the name of the book suggests, a good explanation of each picture. He also offers a good overall view of what his deck is about, its development, possible origins and its true purpose. It also provides a full reference list to all the sources Arthur has used in his book, which would of excellent use for those wishing to study the Tarot's origins and development.If you are a serious Tarot student, then it would be a good thing to have read this book and to have it on your shelf. And not just because Arthur is the creator of the original Tarot deck but because there is some information in this book, that is overlooked by today's authors on the subject.ETA: I highly recommend the new Tarot student starts with 'Tarot Card Meanings: Fundamentals' and 'Tarot Card Meanings: Interpretations' - By Paul Foster Case. He tells you what A.E. Waite didn't!

This book is widely regarded as a definitive work on Tarot , accompanying as it did the original designs for the 'Rider-Waite' Tarot. The author explains some of what went into the designs and as such it is the only truly authoratitive account of the origins of this partiular deck ( and similar derivative decks);this was among the first decks to have pictorial illustrations for each and every card , and many other decks use the same symbols today . Arthur Waite himself came up with or refined the content of all the cards in the deck , and supervised the designs which were drawn and coloured (at least as prototypes for printed versions) by Pamela Coleman Smith. All this makes this seem to be an ideal book to learn about tarot from , but unfortunately the case is not so simple . The main problem with the book is that it is all written from A.E Wate's rather antiquated and lofty point of view . Waite himself was an early member of the Golden Dawn , a Victorian society which has been alternately scandalised and glamourised largely due to the reputation of its most notorious member , Aleister Crowley . The truth about the Golden Dawn is that it was largely composed of scholarly members of the 'upper classes' , generally educated in private schools , who were probably slightly rebellious and expressing this though an interest in 'the occult sciences' . For this reason much of what they wrote about was based upon scholarly studies of subjects such as Egyptology and the like ; in other words their 'occultism' is underpinned with an elitism , both of a social and intellectual nature . This is the problem with this book. Particularly in the descriptions of the 'Majors' or 'Trumps' the author is very unclear about many of the meanings , and tends to make multiple references to little known 'occult lore' as if expecting the reader to be an expert on the subject . For those who are knowledgeable about 'occult traditions' this is a very useful guide to the intricacies of the cards, but for the 'beginner' or casual reader curious about how to use or read the Tarot it is over scholarly , too obscure and written in a very awkward and old fashioned style .

I really appreciate this book, i have quite a few books but i love this for its originality, by Mr Waite himself you cannot get more authentic when it comes to the rider waite tarot.. of course other books offer better or clearer interpretations but i love having this as part of my collection and because im an info sponge i have also learnt other stuff that contribute to the wider web of the tarot as i like to research further, such as the Egyptian sphinx or the Jewish kabalistic sephira binah on the star card.. although some may find this irrelevant it does all contribute to the bigger picture which you can research further if you chose to.. after all good knowledge harms nobody.. however the book doesn't go into great depth of such things, just a brief overview.. i will include a few pics so you have a good idea as i finds pics help xxx

Excellent book but I bought to have the illustrations to compare with the descriptions.

This is a simple book for quickly looking up basic information about cards while trying out spreads and learning the Tarot. Nothing fancy, just to the point. Perfect.

I bought this book alongside Rachel Pollacks excellent '78 degrees of Wisdom', which uses the Rider-Waite deck as it's primary reference.Don't be put off by the old-style language in A.E.Waites book, for if you persevere with it his words add so much extra insight into the meaning of the cards. Note also, it is wonderful being able to view the original black and white card images presented in the book.If you are keen on the Rider-Waite pack, it is essential, in my view, to own this book alongside any later references. I strongly advise you to buy it alongside Rachel Pollacks book, then alternate between each as you learn.

Easy to understand