Rider–Waite Tarot

Overview

The Rider–Waite tarot deck has 78 cards: 56 Minor Arcana, and 22 Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana generally correspond to the suits of Spanish or Italian playing cards. The Major Arcana, corresponding to the trump cards of gaming tarot, have unique designs numbered from 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World).

While the images are simple, the details and backgrounds feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to that found in earlier decks, but overall the Waite–Smith card designs are substantially different from their predecessors. Christian imagery was removed from some cards, and added to others. For example, the "Papess" became the "High Priestess" and no longer features a Papal tiara. The "Lovers" card, previously depicting a medieval scene of a clothed man and woman receiving a blessing from a noble or cleric was changed to a depiction of the naked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the ace of cups featuring a dove carrying Sacramental bread. The Minor Arcana are illustrated with allegorical scenes by Smith, where earlier decks, with a few rare exceptions, had simple designs for the Minor Arcana.

The symbols and imagery used in the deck were influenced by the 19th-century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi, as well as by the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In order to accommodate the astrological correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck. He switched the order of the Strength and Justice cards so that Strength corresponded with Leo and Justice corresponded with Libra. He based the Lovers card on Italian tarot decks, which have two persons and an angel, to reinforce its correspondence with Gemini.

Major Arcana

The Major Arcana of the Rider–Waite tarot are illustrated below. File:RWS Tarot 00 Fool.jpg|0 – The Fool File:RWS Tarot 01 Magician.jpg|I – The Magician File:RWS Tarot 02 High Priestess.jpg|II – The High Priestess File:RWS Tarot 03 Empress.jpg|III – The Empress File:RWS Tarot 04 Emperor.jpg|IV – The Emperor File:RWS Tarot 05 Hierophant.jpg|V – The Hierophant File:RWS Tarot 06 Lovers.jpg|VI – The Lovers File:RWS Tarot 07 Chariot.jpg|VII – The Chariot File:RWS Tarot 08 Strength.jpg|VIII – Strength File:RWS Tarot 09 Hermit.jpg|IX – The Hermit File:RWS Tarot 10 Wheel of Fortune.jpg|X – Wheel of Fortune File:RWS Tarot 11 Justice.jpg|XI – Justice File:RWS Tarot 12 Hanged Man.jpg|XII – The Hanged Man File:RWS Tarot 13 Death.jpg|XIII – Death File:RWS Tarot 14 Temperance.jpg|XIV – Temperance File:RWS Tarot 15 Devil.jpg|XV – The Devil File:RWS Tarot 16 Tower.jpg|XVI – The Tower File:RWS Tarot 17 Star.jpg|XVII – The Star File:RWS Tarot 18 Moon.jpg|XVIII – The Moon File:RWS Tarot 19 Sun.jpg|XIX – The Sun File:RWS Tarot 20 Judgement.jpg|XX – Judgement File:RWS Tarot 21 World.jpg|XXI – The World

Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana of the Rider–Waite tarot are illustrated below.

Wands

The suit of wands, also known as staves in some decks, corresponding to the clubs of modern playing cards: File:Wands01.jpg|Ace of Wands File:Wands02.jpg|Two of Wands File:Wands03.jpg|Three of Wands File:Wands04.jpg|Four of Wands File:Wands05.jpg|Five of Wands File:Wands06.jpg|Six of Wands File:Wands07.jpg|Seven of Wands File:Wands08.jpg|Eight of Wands File:Tarot Nine of Wands.jpg|Nine of Wands File:Wands10.jpg|Ten of Wands File:Wands11.jpg|Page of Wands File:Wands12.jpg|Knight of Wands File:Wands13.jpg|Queen of Wands File:Wands14.jpg|King of Wands

Cups

The suit of cups, goblets, or chalices, corresponding to the hearts of modern playing cards: File:Cups01.jpg|Ace of Cups File:Cups02.jpg|Two of Cups File:Cups03.jpg|Three of Cups File:Cups04.jpg|Four of Cups File:Cups05.jpg|Five of Cups File:Cups06.jpg|Six of Cups File:Cups07.jpg|Seven of Cups File:Cups08.jpg|Eight of Cups File:Cups09.jpg|Nine of Cups File:Cups10.jpg|Ten of Cups File:Cups11.jpg|Page of Cups File:Cups12.jpg|Knight of Cups File:Cups13.jpg|Queen of Cups File:Cups14.jpg|King of Cups

Swords

The suit of swords, corresponding to the spades of modern playing cards: File:Swords01.jpg|Ace of Swords File:Swords02.jpg|Two of Swords File:Swords03.jpg|Three of Swords File:Swords04.jpg|Four of Swords File:Swords05.jpg|Five of Swords File:Swords06.jpg|Six of Swords File:Swords07.jpg|Seven of Swords File:Swords08.jpg|Eight of Swords File:Swords09.jpg|Nine of Swords File:Swords10.jpg|Ten of Swords File:Swords11.jpg|Page of Swords File:Swords12.jpg|Knight of Swords File:Swords13.jpg|Queen of Swords File:Swords14.jpg|King of Swords

Pentacles

The suit of pentacles or coins, corresponding to the diamonds of modern playing cards: File:Pents01.jpg|Ace of Pentacles File:Pents02.jpg|Two of Pentacles File:Pents03.jpg|Three of Pentacles File:Pents04.jpg|Four of Pentacles File:Pents05.jpg|Five of Pentacles File:Pents06.jpg|Six of Pentacles File:Pents07.jpg|Seven of Pentacles File:Pents08.jpg|Eight of Pentacles File:Pents09.jpg|Nine of Pentacles File:Pents10.jpg|Ten of Pentacles File:Pents11.jpg|Page of Pentacles File:Pents12.jpg|Knight of Pentacles File:Pents13.jpg|Queen of Pentacles File:Pents14.jpg|King of Pentacles

Publication

The cards were first published in December 1909, by the publisher William Rider & Son of London. The first printing was extremely limited and featured card backs with a roses and lilies pattern. In March 1910, a much larger printing featured better quality card stock and a "cracked mud" card back design. This edition, often referred to as the "A" deck, was published from 1910 to 1920. Rider continued publishing the deck in various editions until 1939, then again from 1971 to 1977.

All of the Rider editions up to 1939 were available with a small guide written by A. E. Waite providing an overview of the traditions and history of the cards, texts about interpretations, and extensive descriptions of their symbols. The first version of this guide was published during 1909 and was titled The Key to the Tarot. In 1911, a revised version, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, was issued, featuring black-and-white plates of all seventy-eight of Smith's illustrations.

In 2009, U.S. Games Systems published a commemorative deck titled "The Smith-Waite Centennial Deck" as part of The Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the 1909 deck. This deck notably places Smith's name first and omits the publisher's name (Rider). In this vein, some contemporary tarot readers call the original deck and its various iterations the "Smith-Waite deck" in order to give proper credit to Smith's contribution to the deck.

Copyright status

The original version of the Rider–Waite Tarot is in the public domain in all countries that have a copyright term of 70 years or fewer after the death of the last co-author. This includes the United Kingdom, where the deck was originally published.

In the United States, the deck became part of the public domain in 1966 (publication + 28 years + renewed 28 years). U.S. Games Systems has a copyright claim on their updated version of the deck published in 1971, but this only applies to new material added to the pre-existing work (e.g. designs on the card backs and the box).

References

References

1. Giles, Cynthia. (1994). "The Tarot: History, Mystery, and Lore". Simon & Schuster.
2. (1988). "Visions and Prophecies". Time–Life Books.
3. (2015). "Secrets of the Waite–Smith Tarot". Llewellyn Publications.
4. Michelsen, Teresa. (2005). "The Complete Tarot Reader: Everything You Need to Know from Start to Finish". Llewellyn Publications.
5. Graham, Sasha. (2018). "Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot". Llewellyn Publications.
6. Kaplan, Stuart R.. (2018). "Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story". U.S. Game Systems.
7. Dean, Liz. (2015). "The Ultimate Guide to Tarot: A Beginner's Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Revealing the Mystery of the Tarot". Fair Winds Press.
8. Ray, Sharmistha. (23 March 2019). "Reviving a Forgotten Artist of the Occult".
9. Kaplan, Stuart R.. (2018). "Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story". U.S. Game Systems.
10. Place, Robert M.. (14 May 2015). "Levi's Chariot and Smith's Chariot Versus Waite's Chariot".
11. Place, Robert M.. (7 August 2015). "Smith, Waite, Levi, and the Devil".
12. (2019). "A History of the Occult Tarot". Duckworth.
13. Jensen, K. Frank. (2005). "The Early Waite–Smith Tarot Editions". International Playing Card Society.
14. (2019). "A History of the Occult Tarot". Duckworth.
15. "The Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set".
16. (26 August 2022). "Pamela Colman Smith Was the Artist and Occultist Who Designed the Iconic Tarot Deck. Why Has No One Ever Heard Her Name?".
17. (19 August 2014). "Ownership of copyright works – Detailed guidance". Gov.uk.