How to get started with the Tarot.

I ended up with a Rider Waite tarot deck many years ago, the imagery and mysticism has fascinated me since I was a young teen, and it is arguably one of the most (if not The most,) recognised tarot decks in the world.

The cards were illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith, under the verbal and written guidance of Arthur Edward Waite and went on sale in 1909. I tend to think of the deck as the Waite-Smith more than the Rider-Waite; as the Rider Company were the publisher, and as such the creative process was largely complete by the time it reached them. Pamela Coleman was such an evocative artist, and being drawn to the coast as I am, her seascapes resonate very deeply with me.

an seascape by Pamela Coleman Smith

Orphaned by the age of 21 she meet Waite when she was introduced to The Order of Golden Dawn. It is believed that she completed the illustrations for the Tarot in just six months, and for very little payment. (And no royalties, *mutters about the patriarchy*)

In 1911 she converted to the Catholicism, and lived her final years in Bude in Cornwall, and to my thinking, it is undoubtedly her art work and symbolism, that drove the tarot to rise in popularity.

The Waite-Smith deck is made up of major and minor arcana - ‘Major’ for the times in our lives where decisions or crossroads are significant, and ‘Minor’ for the daily occurrences. Naturally, there is a fair amount of fluidity, such as how the cards are laid, where they fall and how they relate to the other cards in the reading. And most importantly, how our intuition responds to all these factors. 

For me the Waite-Smith is a very steadfast deck — it tells it like it is. Because each card is so full of symbolism, it can really focus on issues and blockages.

I find the Waite-Smith to have a very secure and solid energy. They are stoic, pertinent and always on point.

There are myriad decks available now, and they vary greatly from the 78 card Wait Smith deck — these are more commonly known as Oracle cards — and I *may have a few of those too…

Take care lovelies,

Jo x