Arthur Waite Released His Tarot Cards When?

Arthur Edward Waite, a British author and mystic, was a pioneer in the field of tarot. He was known for his work on divination, Kabbalism, alchemy, the Holy Grail, esotericism, ceremonial magic, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and Tarot. The Rider-Waite Tarot deck, first published by the Rider Company in 1909, is a popular tool for tarot card reading. The deck was created by Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Waite’s vision for the deck was to create a complete, modern version that featured pictures for each card, including the minor arcana. Colman Smith, an American artist, collaborated with Waite to breathe life into his vision, infusing the cards with his vision. The Rider-Waite deck was first published in 1910 by the Rider Company, and its name was derived from the instructions of academic and mystic A.E. Waite.

Waite’s religious inclinations may have evolved from his New England ancestors, who were religious followers. Before the Rider-Waite deck was published in 1911, there was no modern deck featuring pictures for each of the 78 cards in the deck. The deck was originally published in 1968 and went out of print just a few years later.

In conclusion, Arthur Edward Waite’s contributions to the tarot tradition include the creation of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, which has since evolved into a foundational component of tarot tradition. The deck’s popularity and the unique illustrations by Colman Smith and Waite make it a valuable resource for tarot readers and collectors alike.


📹 Arthur Edward Waite – History and Biography

Waite #crowley #magick Waite is known for the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck but his impact on Western esotericism looms larger than …


When did tarot cards come out?

Tarot decks were invented in Italy in the 1430s, adding a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi (“triumphs”) and an odd card called il matto (“the fool”). These cards bore Italian suitmarks and belonged to an experimental period of card design when queens were often added to the series of court cards previously consisting of only a king and two male figures. In standard cards, the four figures were subsequently reduced to three again by suppressing the queen, except in French cards, which suppressed the cavalier (knight).

The trionfi each bore a different allegorical illustration instead of a common suitmark, possibly representing characters in medieval reenactments of Roman triumphal processions. They were originally unnumbered, so it was necessary to remember their order. When added to the pack, trionfi functioned as a suit superior in power to the other four, acting as a suit of triumphs or “trumps”.

What is the first Tarot card?
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What is the first Tarot card?

The Magician, also known as The Magus or The Juggler, is the first trump or Major Arcana card in traditional tarot decks, used for game playing and divination. In the occult context, the trump cards are recontextualized as the Major Arcana and given complex esoteric meaning. In this context, the Magician is interpreted as the first numbered and second total card of the Major Arcana, succeeding the Fool. In French, Le Bateleur, also known as “the mountebank” or “sleight of hand artist”, is a practitioner of stage magic.

In Italian tradition, he is called Il Bagatto or Il Bagatello. The Mantegna Tarocchi image of the Magician is labeled Artixano, the Artisan, and is the second lowest in the series. 18th-century woodcuts of the Magician reflect earlier iconic representations and can be compared to free artistic renditions in 15th-century hand-painted tarots.

Do tarot cards predict the future?

Tarot can help make big decisions, but it cannot predict the future. Michelle Tea suggests beginners start with a three-card reading from the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. Growing up, her family often relied on tarot for tough decisions, such as discussing a brother’s breakup or deciding whether to drop out of school. The deck’s iconic Rider-Waite-Smith cards can be used to guide readers through these situations.

What is the world's oldest tarot deck?
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What is the world’s oldest tarot deck?

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot, painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan, is the oldest surviving tarot cards. In 15th century Italy, the set of cards included in tarot packs, including trumps, was consistent, with two main exceptions. Some late 15th century decks, like the Sola Busca tarot and the Boiardo deck, had four suits, a fool, and 21 trumps, but none of the trumps match tarot ones. The Visconti di Mondrone pack, one of the Visconti-Sforza decks, originally had a Dame and a Maid in each suit, along with the standard King, Queen, Knight, and Jack.

The pack also included three trump cards representing the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Despite a Dominican preacher’s criticism of the evil inherent in playing cards, no routine condemnations of tarot were found during its early history.

How many tarot cards are in Rider Waite?

The Rider-Waite Tarot is the most widely used tarot deck in the world, comprising 78 cards that are divided into two distinct categories: Major and Minor Arcana.

Who made the first tarot cards?
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Who made the first tarot cards?

Tarot cards originated in Europe during the mid-15th century, with the earliest known decks being created in Italy for a game called tarocchi. These decks, like the Visconti-Sforza deck, were hand-painted and commissioned by wealthy families as symbols of their status. The Major Arcana, consisting of 22 cards, represents life lessons, spiritual themes, and archetypal energies, with each card having its own unique symbolism.

The Minor Arcana, consisting of four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles) corresponds to the elements of fire, water, air, and earth, focusing on everyday matters, personal experiences, and challenges and opportunities encountered in life.

What is the No 1 Tarot card?
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What is the No 1 Tarot card?

The Magician, also known as The Magus or The Juggler, is the first trump or Major Arcana card in traditional tarot decks, used for game playing and divination. In the occult context, the trump cards are recontextualized as the Major Arcana and given complex esoteric meaning. In this context, the Magician is interpreted as the first numbered and second total card of the Major Arcana, succeeding the Fool. In French, Le Bateleur, also known as “the mountebank” or “sleight of hand artist”, is a practitioner of stage magic.

In Italian tradition, he is called Il Bagatto or Il Bagatello. The Mantegna Tarocchi image of the Magician is labeled Artixano, the Artisan, and is the second lowest in the series. 18th-century woodcuts of the Magician reflect earlier iconic representations and can be compared to free artistic renditions in 15th-century hand-painted tarots.

Who first read tarot cards?
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Who first read tarot cards?

Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy where practitioners use tarot cards to gain insight into the past, present, or future. The first to assign divinatory meanings to tarot cards was cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as Etteilla) in 1783. A traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. French-suited playing cards can also be used. The first written references to tarot packs occurred between 1440 and 1450 in northern Italy, where additional cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack.

These new packs were called carte da trionfi, triumph packs, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became “trumps” in English. One of the earliest references to tarot triumphs is given c. 1450–1470 by a Dominican preacher in a sermon against dice, playing cards, and ‘triumphs’. References to the tarot as a social plague or exempt from bans that affected other games continue throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, but there are no indications that the cards were used for anything but games.

What is the most famous tarot deck?
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What is the most famous tarot deck?

The Rider Waite Smith Tarot is a popular deck for tarot card reading, first published by the Rider Company in 1909. It was based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. Over 100 million copies circulate across 20 countries.

The images in the deck are simple but feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to 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, such as the “Papess” becoming the “High Priestess” and the “Lovers” card resembling naked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Minor Arcana is illustrated with allegorical scenes by Smith, unlike earlier decks.

Symbols and imagery in the deck were influenced by 19th-century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi and the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. To accommodate astrological correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck, such as changing the order of the Strength and Justice cards to correspond with Leo and Libra, and based the Lovers card on Italian tarot decks.

Is tarot ok for Christians?

The notion that tarot cards can exert control over one’s life is a pervasive one, yet there is a paucity of empirical evidence to substantiate this claim.

How many Tarot cards exist?
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How many Tarot cards exist?

The Major Arcana are the 22 named cards in a cartomantic tarot pack, typically numbered from 0 to 21. These cards are used for divination by occultists, while the Minor Arcana consists of 56 unnamed cards. Before the 17th century, tarot cards were used for playing games, with the Fool and 21 trumps having simple allegorical or esoteric meanings. The occult significance began to emerge in the 18th century when Swiss clergyman and Freemason Antoine Court de Gébelin published two essays on Tarot in his encyclopedia, Le Monde Primitif.

Court de Gébelin assigned Egyptian, kabbalistic, and divine significance to the tarot trumps in his first essay, “Du Jeu des Tarots” (The Game of Tarots). The term “Major Arcana” is rarely used by players and is typically associated with divination by occultists.


📹 Unveiling the Hidden Truth: The Untold Story of A.E. Waite, Creator of the Most Famous Tarot Deck

His deck has become synonymous with Tarot, even though it was created in the 20th century. But what do we know about his life?


Arthur Waite Released His Tarot Cards When?
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15 comments

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  • I love this magickal biography format! There is a severe lack of these on YouTube for so many important figures in the history of esotericism, at least in regard to their esoteric contributions. I think you, Justin Sledge, and a number of other YouTube scholars are pioneering a revolutionary academic movement that could have a number of unexpected and profound consequences if my own esoteric theories have any merit. Thanks again for what you’re doing.

  • I love this! Will donate when I can 🙂 Thank you for the great articles! Iʻm distant cousins with AE Waite. Our common ancestor was the Lord of Wark Castle lol in the 1300s. Iʻm related to Blavatsky, and a bunch of Golden Dawn guys. Not Crowley, heʻs a very distant in law lol. Anyways, I wanted to lean more about Waite when I saw him on my family tree. And this popped up. What a great find!

  • I have been a big fan of A.E. Waite, mostly as a young man. I also did tarot readings for friends who generally felt they had insight about themselves from my readings. My life moved on to other things. I really enjoyed this, felt a bit nostalgic and also got some more insight into a man. I also loved Pamela Coleman Smiths version of the Tarot. The pictures and symbolism of the cards were wonderful to experience. At the same time, I found Crowley to be rather dismal despite friends who were really intrigued with him. For me it’s less about power, and more about finding ones own place.

  • Honestly, the effort Crowley put into his chiding Arthur, both praising with with such flimsy complements, and damning him with such overblown metaphor, always made me laugh my head off. Clearly AC loved him, he couldn’t stop giving him attention, in the manner that zen guru’s often do. Made me love Arthur reading AC. 😉

  • I am just beginning research on the background of The Tarot although I have been a big fan for years. For some reason the Tarot has always resonated with me and its information has always been spot on. I love your website and the way that you convey information. It is clear that you are very well versed on each topic that you present and I am also impressed with your scholarly vocabulary. Great job and many thanks.

  • Waite looms large over the body of Masonic discourse. The overwhelming opinion among Freemasons on his Masonic writing is that it would be brilliant if it weren’t so pretentious. Waite has really unique perceptions on ritual and symbolism which is then undercut in his footnotes when he ridicules other occultists and other masons for being simpletons. There is quite a lot of Masonic imagery in the RWS tarot, however, so it must have left a lasting impression on him. Great article as always!

  • Thank you Angela, for a great introduction to A.E. Waite, and thank you, Regulus for sponsoring it. A.E. Waite is all that Aleister Crowley’s description states: Anyone who has ever tried to read his work would most likely agree. He was indeed a pedant, and it’s often difficult to discern true meaning in his writings to the point where I’ve interpreted it as deliberate obfuscation. Odd, seeing as he wanted to publish, and be recognised as an occult adept but I get the sense that he did not truly want to disseminate any real information. He seems to have wanted to hint to fellow initiates of his vast knowledge without actually sharing any of it. For one seeking knowledge on the subjects he wrote about, including his own Tarot Deck, it can be extremely frustrating. It’s a shame, because I get the sense that he had a considerable amount of information to convey. Alas, his ego and desire to be the gatekeeper to that data stood in his own way of being recognised for the expertise he had realised. Alas, many academics fall into this same trap.

  • I read Gilbert’s biography in the early ’80s, and part of why I checked out the article was to find out what has been learned in 40 years. I find nothing, not even a new scandal or he beat/molested/mean to a something-or-other. Pity, he deserves better. Some of the works that he translated still don’t have a newer one. I just wish . . .

  • I’m using the Rider-Waite Tarot deck–and let’s not forget Patricia Colman Smith’s essential artistic contribution–as story inspirations for a series along the lines of the Decameron or the Canterbury Tales. Each card is a good writing prompt: Who are these people, what is this situation, how’d it get started and where’s it going?

  • Excellent perspective of. A.E. Waite.Iam reading some 0f his literature. Its very deep. Have to read some of his writikgs twice to get exactly what he is saying…He mentions works by others who were sources of his writings..,Are his writings and practices still valid today?.. Keep up the good work…Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.Tetragramaton …..

  • One of my first occult books Black Magic and Pacts by Waite.He’s,or was unless he’s been reincarnated but would he be Waite?, pretty dry writing wise and a Christian apologist.He seemed to want magic to be passive rather than active….which reminds me of a quote from Ian Fleming’s Dr No ‘he disagreed with something that ate him’.You learn something everyday as I never knew that he was half American.

  • I honestly thought while he was a smart guy that he was a bit of a pompus jerk. In the introduction to his translation of Tarot of the Bohemians he basically insinuates that Gerared Encause is not really all that smart or has he puts it “he has done the best that could be expected in virtue of a general equipment…” he also was extremely cruel in some of his introductions to translations of Levi’s work. I find nothing wrong with pointing out inaccuracies however he seems to at times go out of his way to belittle people to prove how smart he is.

  • I love His Tarot deck but He was an Ego Maniac, Transidental magic by Elphas Levi is one of my all times Occult/Magick books and A.W destroyed His translation with his nonsensical view points and non belief in actual Magick, He had the nerve to try to contradict Levi all through the book, Crowley, famously hated Him for that, Manly P Hall had a lecture that can be found on YouTube basically saying what I’m saying Him being an Ego Maniac while he was just an Armchair Magician Himself. I love his book Black and Ceremonial Magic I just take his non belief or disses with a grain of salt and take the info and keep it moving.

  • Looking around at the various speakers of the occult….I have yet to hear any discussion on our climate and the impact it is having upon our ecosystem. Makes me wonder where peoples priorities are. To me the occult is a part of life for we evolved to have an intuitive relationship with life there were no scholars or philosophers or teachers but grim trial and error and a small familial clan. Before we had an exacting language our ancestors had to relate to a world that considered us more as a protein snack than as a privileged steward in the making. A quick skip:through prehistory to where we are now our sciences have captured much of the processes of life processes but not absolutely so there is always a matter of faith and that same intuitive process building a workable impression to explain ones relationship to others and oneself within our artificial environment so distant and divorced from nature. To fashion a world entire from a relative scarcity of facts so much like an impressionist painting that suggests more than it actually represents but yet we make great claims on what we proudly know but not seeing the empty spaces between the patterns of our kaleidoscopic mind viewing the world through our ceaseless turning of the patterns this way and that piecing jig saw to something more substantial so we may understand something. Better to sit before monets water lilies. Our climatologists have informed us and yet as a species we are not overly concerned it seems we are overly invested in a shared delusion that it’s too problematic to rethink it or break free of the cognitive dissonance that has us all glass eyed and our personage of blank near shocked faces.

  • Crowley described the description of Knowledge as a Dynamic & Liberating Force better than Yoda or Luke Skywalker. For real. Too bad he chose to Deify himself over others. Just cause I feel like Anibus, doesn’t mean myself or my descendants should act like Werewolves!!!! THAT IS THE ISSUE. Crowley is a tragic example of madness caused by power-seeking/individualistic-need/greed. Crowley the Jabroni addicted to playing possum, rather than taking down HITLER as a double agent he surely was at that time!!! If he had chosen to be fearless before Death he’d realize he has an INVISIBLE CLOAK/IMMORTALITY is real, DIVINE PROMISE is so easy to find/realize. we expect it from birth, we know it as babies in our instincts & our expectation to thrive as we completely trust and trust through so much abuse/betrayal/chaos in our surroundings. The predator attacks the prey, the dimensions split and the UNIVERSE expands. THIS IS MY SHARED UNIVERSAL WISDOM & a reminder of it, I hope Angela & others like her hear this CONCEPT i am sharing & meditate on it/think about it and add to it/share it.

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