![]() Around 1903, she joined the Order of the Golden Dawn. Smith returned to England, where she became a theatrical designer for miniature theatre, and an illustrator - mainly of books, pamphlets and posters. Thereafter, she began formal art training at Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, graduating in 1897. During her teens, she traveled throughout England with the theatre company of Ellen Terry and Henry Irving. ![]() Rider-Waite Tarot was named one of the Top Ten Tarot Decks of All Time by Aeclectic Tarot.īorn February 16, 1878, in Middlesex, England to American parents, Smith's childhood years were spent between London, New York, and Kingston, Jamaica. The innovative Minor Arcana, and Pamela Colman Smith's ability to capture the subtleties of emotion and experience have made the Rider-Waite Tarot a model for the designs of many tarot packs." - ( from The Encyclopedia of Tarot, Volume III) ![]() The pictorial images on all the cards allow interpretations without the need to repeatedly consult explanatory text. Prior to the Rider-Waite Tarot, the pip cards of almost all tarot decks were marked only with the arrangement of the suit signs - swords, wands, cups, and coins, or pentacles. ![]() "A unique feature of the Rider-Waite deck, and one of the of the principal reasons for its enduring popularity, is that all of the cards, including the Minor Arcana, depict full scenes with figures and symbols. This edition includes Smith’s original hand drawn titles. Mine gets daily use.Rider-Waite Tarot has set the standard for hundreds of other tarot decks, which follow the archetypal images created by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909 under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite. This deck is small enough to fit in ones pocket. They are plenty big and the various details of the images are easy to see. Though the cards are miniature don't let this fool you. Makes it easy to do full spreads such as the Celtic Cross using a small amount of space. Oakshaman, Amazon customerĮxcellent mini deck. I'll close this by saying that I do not regard these cards as mere artifacts, but as trusted friends. By the way, an excellent companion reference is Eden Gray's _A Complete Guide to the Tarot_, though Waite's own _The Pictorial Key to the Tarot_ is the gold standard. He may leave deeper meanings up to your own meditation on the matter, but he never intentionally obscures or misleads. Unlike some other well-known figures from the same period, I have never found deliberately misleading or false information in any of his published works. He was a mage and theurgist that was truly touched by the divine. As for the Waite Rider in general- Arthur Edward Waite was one of the greatest experts on spiritual and metaphysical teachings and symbolism that ever lived. You can clearly make out all of the rich, symbolic, detail of the larger decks. In fact, in my humble opinion this should be the "standard size" of the deck. I retired my full sized Rider Waite deck a few years ago in favor of this half size version. It's a great deck to carry around because people will ask you about it and it's a good opportunity to introduce the tarot to them as a postive divination tool. I like to bring it along with me when I go out with friends and we can easily do spreads for each other at restaurants. (Even if it is a fun collector's item!) This deck however is a great compromise and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it. I also bought the miniature Universal Rider Waite, which is a much smaller deck (with cards roughly the size of a postage stamp) but it was way too small and delicate to be practical. It's small enough that you can easily carry it in a pocket or a purse and take it everywhere, yet it's big enough to allow easy shuffling and viewing of the cards. I have to say I'm very happy with this little deck. For larger spreads like the Celtic Cross it is ideal: it does not take quite so much room on the table! Ideal for travel or for use at home or in the practice room. The miniature version is also my favourite Rider deck to work with: it is the ideal size for people with small hands, like me and fits neatly into my bag or pocket. Because all the cards have images, even the little Arcana it is the ideal deck for beginners and advanced tarotists alike. The images have a timeless appeal and are carried by a rich underlayer of symbolism, created by the visionary artist Pamela Colman Smith. ![]() This is my favourite Tarot deck: a classic with archetypal imagery that works to this day. ![]()
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