What is Rider Waite Tarot?
The Rider-Waite Tarot (also called Rider-Waite-Smith or RWS) is a 78-card tarot deck first published in December 1909 by the Rider Company of London. Designed by occultist Arthur Edward Waite and illustrated by artist Pamela Colman Smith, it became the most widely recognized and reproduced tarot deck in the English-speaking world. Its defining innovation was the addition of detailed, symbolic illustrations to all 56 minor arcana cards—previous decks typically showed only pip arrangements similar to standard playing cards. The deck’s accessible imagery, rooted in Western esoteric tradition and infused with Christian, Kabbalistic, alchemical, and astrological symbolism, established visual conventions that the majority of modern tarot decks still follow.
Origins & Lineage
The Rider-Waite Tarot emerged from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a British occult society founded in 1887 that synthesized tarot with Kabbalah, astrology, and ritual magic. Arthur Edward Waite (1857–1942), a scholar and Golden Dawn member, sought to create a deck that encoded esoteric doctrine while remaining accessible to non-initiates. He commissioned fellow Golden Dawn member Pamela Colman Smith (1878–1951), a theatrical designer and illustrator, to execute the artwork under his direction.
Smith completed all 78 illustrations in approximately six months during 1909, working in a distinctive Art Nouveau-influenced style with bold lines and flat colors suitable for mass reproduction. Waite provided symbolic instructions drawn from Golden Dawn teachings but modified certain attributions—most notably swapping the traditional positions of the Justice and Strength cards to align with astrological correspondences. The deck was published by William Rider & Son in December 1909, with Waite’s companion text The Key to the Tarot (later retitled The Pictorial Key to the Tarot) appearing in 1910.
Smith received a flat fee of approximately £50 for her work and no royalties, despite the deck’s eventual commercial success. Her contribution was largely unacknowledged until late-20th-century tarot historians began advocating for the name “Rider-Waite-Smith” to credit her authorship. The deck entered the public domain in the United Kingdom in 1999 and in the United States in 2024, leading to numerous reproductions and variations.
How It’s Practiced
Rider-Waite Tarot reading follows the standard structure of 78 cards divided into the Major Arcana (22 trump cards representing archetypal spiritual lessons) and Minor Arcana (56 cards in four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles). Practitioners shuffle the deck while formulating a question or intention, then draw cards in specific arrangements called spreads—ranging from single-card pulls to complex layouts like the ten-card Celtic Cross.
Interpretation relies on synthesizing the card’s traditional meaning with its position in the spread, surrounding cards, and the reader’s intuition. The Rider-Waite’s illustrated minor arcana enables readers to derive meaning from visual symbolism rather than memorizing abstract pip meanings. For example, the Five of Cups depicts a cloaked figure mourning three spilled cups while two remain upright behind them, visually encoding themes of loss, regret, and unrecognized opportunity.
Readers may work with the cards upright only or incorporate reversals (inverted cards with modified meanings). Sessions can be performed for self-reflection, decision-making guidance, or psychological insight, with contemporary practitioners ranging from those who view tarot as accessing spiritual wisdom to those who frame it as a projective psychological tool.
Rider Waite Tarot Today
The Rider-Waite Tarot remains the default reference deck in English-language tarot instruction. Most contemporary tarot books, courses, and certification programs use RWS imagery and interpretations as their foundation. Beginners typically encounter it as the recommended starter deck due to its widespread availability, extensive interpretive literature, and intuitive visual language.
The deck appears in spiritual centers, metaphysical bookstores, online tarot courses, and retreat settings worldwide. Its imagery has been endlessly reinterpreted—tarot publishers offer hundreds of “RWS-inspired” decks that maintain the original’s structure and symbolic vocabulary while updating aesthetics for contemporary audiences. Digital tarot apps predominantly feature RWS-based decks or variations.
Scholarly interest has grown around Smith’s artistic contribution and her erasure from the deck’s popular name. Exhibitions at institutions including the Whitney Museum and the Brooklyn Museum have examined her work within Art Nouveau and occult art contexts. The U.S. Games Systems edition, printed continuously since 1971, remains the bestselling tarot deck globally.
Common Misconceptions
The Rider-Waite Tarot is not the “original” tarot deck—tarot cards originated in 15th-century Italy as playing cards, with occult associations developing in the 18th century. Earlier esoteric decks include the Tarot de Marseille tradition and the 1889 Oswald Wirth deck. The RWS is, however, the first deck to fully illustrate the minor arcana with symbolic scenes.
The deck does not predict fixed futures. Both historical and contemporary practitioners emphasize tarot as revealing present circumstances, psychological patterns, and potential trajectories rather than deterministic prophecy. Waite himself described the cards as “a method of divination” reflecting inner spiritual states.
Reading tarot does not require psychic ability or mediumship. While some readers incorporate intuitive or channeling practices, the Rider-Waite system functions through symbolic literacy and interpretive skill that can be systematically learned.
Finally, the deck’s symbolism is not universal or culturally neutral—it emerges specifically from early-20th-century British occultism, drawing on Western esoteric, Christian, and Kabbalistic frameworks that may not resonate across all cultural contexts.
How to Begin
Acquire a Rider-Waite or Rider-Waite-Smith deck—either the original U.S. Games Systems version or a contemporary recolored edition like the Radiant or Universal Waite. Pair it with The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite (free in public domain) for traditional interpretations or Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack for psychological depth.
Begin with daily single-card draws, studying the imagery before consulting written meanings. Progress to three-card spreads (past-present-future or situation-action-outcome) before attempting complex layouts. Many communities offer beginner tarot circles, online courses, or workshop series that provide structured introduction and interpretive practice.
Focus initially on upright meanings and the Major Arcana before incorporating reversals and minor arcana nuance. Developing symbolic fluency with the Rider-Waite system provides a foundation for exploring other tarot traditions or deck styles later.