| |
In 1909, William Rider & Son of London originally published the Rider-Waite tarot deck. As per academician A. E. Waite’s instructions, illustrator Pamela Colman Smith drew the cards. The next year, A.E. Waite wrote an instruction booklet titled The Key to the Tarot that explained how to use the deck, the history behind the cards and meaning of each symbol. This booklet was paired with the deck and they were sold as a set.
When the deck was published in England in 1909, the country did not have a strong tradition of tarot card reading. However, with time the Rider-Waite tarot deck and The Key to the Tarot became popular and have played a significant role in the development of tarot decks since then.
The Original Rider-Waite tarot deck published in 1993 is an updated version of the cards and the pocket sized-booklet. The detailing in the cards and the language used by the author have been altered in the 1993 edition from that of the original. However, the fundamentals and the illustrations are almost the same. The images on tarot deck appear simple yet every detail has a symbolic significance. The 78 cards are divided into two Arcanas, namely Major and Minor. The Key to the Tarot explains how the minor cards, 56 in total, are further divided into four suits: wands, cups, pentacles and swords. In tarot card reading, the major arcanas represent the root of the problem, whereas the minor arcanas are the supporting cards that help resolve the issue.
The Original Rider-Waite tarot deck has sold in high numbers, worldwide since its publication in 1993. Readers say that the The Key to the Tarot as well as the cards must be read with an alert and focused state of mind. Many other tarot decks manufactured today are said to be clones of the 1909 Rider-Waite deck, because of the similarity in their illustrations and symbolism.ISBN - 9780712670579
|
| |
Pages : 78
|