The Rider Waite Tarot Deck

Written by Arthur Edward Waite. Illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith.

     The Rider Waite tarot deck first published in 1909 is the most influential tarot deck in history.  The imagery on each card is extremely easy to understand, and the symbols used are constantly referenced by other tarot decks published ever since.  There are many different variations of the deck available, but all are almost exactly the same with the exception of card and picture quality.  Most tarot readers own at least one copy of this deck, and by all means probably learned to read the tarot using this deck.  The colors are extremely vivid, and the symbols are extremely direct.  This deck does use many Christian symbols to help get the card meanings across.  For example the Judgement card below depicts the Christian idea of the judgement and the resurrection.

     This deck is recommended over all others for beginners learning to use the tarot.  The pictures are extremely basic and most assuredly you will in time outgrow this deck and look for one that appeals to your own personal flavor.  This deck uses the standard court cards Kings, Queens, Pages, and Knights, and it also uses the standard suits Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles. 

If you would like to purchase this deck, it is available directly from Amazon: Rider Waite Tarot Deck

The Rider Waite Tarot Copyright © 1971 US Games Systems All Rights Reserved.

Above Images Copyright © 1971 US Games Systems All Rights Reserved.