The Rider–Waite Tarot is a widely popular deck for

tarot card reading Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck con ...

. It is also known as the Waite–Smith, Rider–Waite–Smith, or Rider Tarot. Based on the instructions of academic and mystic

A. E. Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith o ...

and illustrated by

Pamela Colman Smith Pamela Colman Smith (16 February 1878 – 18 September 1951), nicknamed "Pixie", was a British artist, illustrator, writer, publisher, and occultist. She is best-known for illustrating the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Wait ...

, both members of the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ce ...

, the cards were originally published by the

Rider Company Rider is a publishing imprint of Ebury Publishing, a Penguin Random House division. The list was started by William Rider & Son in Britain in 1908 when he took over the occult publisher Phillip Wellby. The editorial director of the new list wa ...

in 1909. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. It is estimated that more than 100 million copies of the deck exist in more than 20 countries.

Overview

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 papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20th. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. The name "tiara" refers to the entire h ...

, while 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 Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

in the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

, and the ace of cups featuring a dove carrying

Sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...

. The

Minor Arcana The Rider–Waite_Tarot.html"_;"title="King_of_Swords_card_from_the_Rider–Waite_Tarot">King_of_Swords_card_from_the_Rider–Waite_Tarot_ The_Minor_Arcana,_sometimes_Lesser_Arcana,_are_the_Suit_(cards).html" ;"title="Rider–Waite_Tarot_.html" ;" ...

is 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 Eliphaz is one of Esau's sons in the Bible. Eliphaz or Eliphas is also the given name of: * Eliphaz (Job), another person in the Bible * Eliphaz Dow (1705-1755), the first male executed in New Hampshire, for murder * Eliphaz Fay (1797–1854), f ...

, as well as by the teachings of the

. In order to accommodate the

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck. He switched the order of the

Strength Strength may refer to: Physical strength *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Hysterical strength, extreme strength occurring when people are in life-and-death situations *Superhuman strength, great physical strength far above human ca ...

and

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

cards so that Strength corresponded with Leo and Justice corresponded with

Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

. He also based

the Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

card on Italian tarot decks, which have two persons and an angel, to reinforce its correspondence with

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

Major Arcana

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 The High Priestess (II) is the second Major Arcana card in cartomantic Tarot decks. It is based on the 2nd trump of Tarot card packs. In the first Tarot pack with inscriptions, the 18th-century woodcut Tarot de Marseilles, this figure is crowne ...

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 The Hierophant (V) is the fifth card of the Major Arcana in occult Tarot decks. It is derived from the historical card known as the Pope in playing card decks. It is used in divination. Description and symbolism In many modern packs, the Hier ...

File:RWS Tarot 06 Lovers.jpg, VI –

The Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

File:RWS Tarot 07 Chariot.jpg, VII – The Chariot File:RWS Tarot 08 Strength.jpg, VIII –

File:RWS Tarot 09 Hermit.jpg, IX – The Hermit File:RWS Tarot 10 Wheel of Fortune.jpg, X –

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

File:RWS Tarot 11 Justice.jpg, XI –

File:RWS Tarot 12 Hanged Man.jpg, XII – The Hanged Man File:RWS Tarot 13 Death.jpg, XIII –

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

File:RWS Tarot 14 Temperance.jpg, XIV –

Temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

File:RWS Tarot 15 Devil.jpg, XV –

The Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...

File:RWS Tarot 16 Tower.jpg, XVI – The Tower File:RWS Tarot 17 Star.jpg, XVII –

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

File:RWS Tarot 18 Moon.jpg, XVIII –

The Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the List of natural satellites, fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth ( ...

File:RWS Tarot 19 Sun.jpg, XIX – The Sun File:RWS Tarot 20 Judgement.jpg, XX –

Judgement Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

File:RWS Tarot 21 World.jpg, XXI –

The World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Minor Arcana

Wands A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, ivory, or metal. Wand or magic wand may also refer to: People Günter Wand, a German orchestra conductor and composer Hart Wand, an early white American blues musician and composer from Okla ...

File:Wands01.jpg, Ace of Wands File:Wands02.jpg,

Two of Wands Two of Wands is a Minor Arcana Tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory ...

File:Wands03.jpg,

Three of Wands Three of Wands or Three of Batons is a playing card of the suit of wands. In Tarot, it is a Minor Arcana card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largel ...

File:Wands04.jpg,

Four of Wands Four of Wands is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana". Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking ...

File:Wands05.jpg,

Five of Wands Five of Wands or Batons is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana". Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English- ...

File:Wands06.jpg,

Six of Wands Six of wands or batons is a card used in Latin-suited playing cards, which include tarot, tarot decks. It is part of what tarot reading, tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana," the six of wands cards in divination decks with illustrated pip ca ...

File:Wands07.jpg,

Seven of Wands Seven of Wands is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory ...

File:Wands08.jpg,

Eight of Wands Eight of Wands is a Minor Arcana Tarot card. In the Rider–Waite deck, the card shows eight diagonal staves of staggered length angled across an open landscape with river, as designed by artist Pamela Colman Smith. Tarot cards are used throughou ...

File:Tarot Nine of Wands.jpg,

Nine of Wands Nine of Wands is a Minor Arcana Tarot card. Divinatory purposes This card depicts a figure, weary from battle yet prepared to fight on. Order, discipline an unassailable position. Any opposition will be defeated. Courage in the face of attack o ...

File:Wands10.jpg,

Ten of Wands Ten of Wands is a Minor Arcana Tarot card of the Suit of Wands. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primar ...

File:Wands11.jpg,

Page of Wands Page of Wands (or Jack or Knave of Wands or Batons) is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the Minor Arcana. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tar ...

File:Wands12.jpg,

Knight of Wands Knight of Wands or Batons is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the Minor Arcana. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English- ...

File:Wands13.jpg,

Queen of Wands The Queen of Wands is a court card in the Minor Arcana set of the Tarot. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be util ...

File:Wands14.jpg,

King of Wands King of Wands or Batons is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include Italian, Spanish and tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana" Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card ...

Cups CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular computer printer, printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a Server (computi ...

File:Cups01.jpg,

Ace of Cups Ace of Cups is a card used in Latin suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the Ace from the suit of Cups. In Tarot, it is part of what card readers call the "Minor Arcana", and as the first in the suit of Cups, signif ...

File:Cups02.jpg,

Two of Cups Two of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English language, English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily ...

File:Cups03.jpg, Three of Cups File:Cups04.jpg,

Four of Cups Four of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory ...

File:Cups05.jpg,

Five of Cups Five of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory ...

File:Cups06.jpg, Six of Cups File:Cups07.jpg, Seven of Cups File:Cups08.jpg,

Eight of Cups Eight of Cups is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot, tarot decks. It is part of what tarot reading, tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana" Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In ...

File:Cups09.jpg,

Nine of Cups Nine of Cups is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot, tarot decks. It is part of what tarot reading, tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana" Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarocchi, Tarot card g ...

File:Cups10.jpg,

Ten of Cups Ten of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory pur ...

File:Cups11.jpg, Page of Cups File:Cups12.jpg, Knight of Cups File:Cups13.jpg, Queen of Cups File:Cups14.jpg,

King of Cups King of Cups is a card used in suited playing cards which include tarot, tarot decks. It is part of what esotericists call the Minor Arcana. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarocchi, Tarot card games. In English language, ...

Swords A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon. Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to: Places * Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital * Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States * Sword Beach, code name for ...

File:Swords01.jpg,

Ace of Swords Ace of Swords is a card used in Latin suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the ace from the suit of swords A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon. Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to: Places * Swo ...

File:Swords02.jpg, Two of Swords File:Swords03.jpg,

Three of Swords Three of Swords is the third card of the suit of swords. The suit is present in Italian, Spanish and tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the m ...

File:Swords04.jpg, Four of Swords File:Swords05.jpg,

Five of Swords Five of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English language, English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primari ...

File:Swords06.jpg,

Six of Swords Six of Swords is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot, tarot decks. It is part of what tarot reading, tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana" Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. ...

File:Swords07.jpg,

Seven of Swords Seven of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: ...

File:Swords08.jpg,

Eight of Swords Eight of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games Tarot games are card games played with tarot decks, that is, decks with numbered permanent Trump (card games), trumps paralle ...

File:Swords09.jpg,

Nine of Swords The Nine of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card, also known as the Lord of Cruelty. In many countries around Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and ...

File:Swords10.jpg,

Ten of Swords Ten of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory pur ...

File:Swords11.jpg,

Page of Swords Page of Swords (or Jack or Knave of Swords) is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana" Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card ...

File:Swords12.jpg,

Knight of Swords Knight of Swords is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana". Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speak ...

File:Swords13.jpg,

Queen of Swords The Queen of Swords is a card in the Suit of Swords, part of the Minor Arcana set of the Tarot. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, Tarot cards are utilized primarily for div ...

File:Swords14.jpg,

King of Swords King of Swords is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana". Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speak ...

Pentacles

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 during December 1909, by the publisher

William Rider & Son Rider is a publishing imprint of Ebury Publishing, a Penguin Random House division. The list was started by William Rider & Son in Britain in 1908 when he took over the occult publisher Phillip Wellby. The editorial director of the new list wa ...

of London. The first printing was extremely limited and featured card backs with a roses and lilies pattern. A much larger printing was done during March of 1910, featuring 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

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''. A year later, a revised version, ''

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot ''The Pictorial Key to the Tarot'' is a divinatory tarot guide, with text by A. E. Waite and illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. Published in conjunction with the Rider–Waite tarot deck, the pictorial version (released 1910, dated 1911) f ...

'', was issued that featured black-and-white plates of all seventy-eight of Smith's illustrations.

Copyright status

The original version of the Rider–Waite Tarot is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where the deck was originally published. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the deck became part of the public domain in 1966 (publication + 28 years + renewed 28 years), and thus has been available for use by American artists for numerous different media projects.

U.S. Games Systems U.S. Games Systems, Inc. (USGS) is a publisher of playing cards, tarot cards, and games located in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded in 1968 by Stuart R. Kaplan, it has published hundreds of different card sets, and about 20 new titles are released ...

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

External links

* {{Tarot Cards Card games introduced in 1909 Divination Tarot decks