The Pictoral Key to the Tarot

by Arthur Edward Waite

This pictorial key contains a detailed description of each card in the world's most popular 78-card Rider-Waite tarot deck, along with regular and reversed meanings.

Genres: Tarot, Occult, Nonfiction, Reference, Divination, Spirituality, Religion

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of western occultism viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of proto-science or as the pathology of religion."

Reviews

[Danger Kallisti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yep, the guy who brought us the ubiquitous Rider-Waite tarot deck also brought us this gem of Victorian literature, shedding some “light” on the arcane subject of soothsaying.

It was almost impossible to read, it was so dense and frumpy. Half of the book just focuses on shooting down the ideas of other “parlor wizards” of the era. All of the imagery seems to be based in Judeo-Christian ideology, and any suggestion to other roots is cast down as “make-believe”. As if all of this isn't, to begin with.

Still, the value of divination tools lies not in the objects themselves, but in their ability to channel one's subconscious thoughts. The book did help me to understand my deck better, and to forced me to meditate more deeply on the meanings that I have personally ascribed to different symbols. I want to go back and read it with a notebook, so that I can record the thoughts I had when seeing what someone else had to say.

Verdict: it was worth the $3.50, and worth keeping as a reference, but certainly not destined to be a favorite.

[Yael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Tarot since 1969, when I purchased my first Tarot pack. I'd been over at a friend's place in Isla Vista, CA, and while I was there, a friend of his dropped in to give him a birthday present: a pack of the Frank Albano edition of the Waite-Rider Tarot, and the book -- this book -- to go with it. He did readings for his friend and me, and I fell in love with those gorgeous pictures then and there. So, on my way home, I stopped in at a store near my place, also in Isla Vista, and got my own copy of book and card-pack. You could call it a formative experience -- Arthur Edward Waite's Tarot pack is quaint, medieval in design and conception, and cartoonish, and his prose is at times overwritten to the point of hilarity for all the wrong reasons (Aleister Crowley said of him,with some justice, that Waite was a man "who never would have used the word 'and' where 'overplus' could be squeezed in, instead'), and yet . . . I love this pack. Perhaps part of the reason is the color-scheme, which isn't quite that of the original (of which I also have a pack, for comparison). When that version came out in the '60s, there was a huge scandal over it, because Albano had given Waite's pack a slightly different color-scheme, changing the color of a robe here, of a staff there, of the sky in such-and-such, but hadn't changed the basic design at all; nevertheless he had marketed it under his own name as if it were original with him. International copyright laws of the time allowed him to get away with that legally, but purists hated him for it, and so did anyone who didn't dig intellectual property theft. Today, however, this altered version of Waite's pack is considered to be a collectible, and in some ways its coloration is significantly more attractive than that of Waite's artist, Pamela Coleman Smith, whose paintings for the pack in some cases included grey skies and a number of other somewhat repellant features. At any rate, Pictorial Key to the Tarot is one of Waite's best prose offerings. A. E. Waite contributed a number of works to various esoteric fields, including this one, and some of them make unnecessarily slow going. But this book includes a low number of Waite's literary sins, and it is so well laid out and organized that one can find what one is looking for in it with hardly any trouble at all, something which is not true of a lot of books about Tarot, Magick, or any other esoteric subject. (If technical manuals on computers, cars, or any of our other modern mechanical and electronic marvels were as well-organized and written as this book is, the average couch potato could become a front-running NASCAR contender, an astronaut, or a top-of-the-line computer expert in no time flat by aid of such manuals.) In addition to the individual chapters on each card of the Tarot, Pictorial Key to the Tarot includes a chapter on Tarot layouts; sections on obscure or rare interpretations of particular cards; a section on the meaning of runs of numbered cards or court cards, e.g., 2, 3, or 4 Aces, Treys, Knights, Kings, etc.; and discussions on the philosophy of the Tarot. Each card is reproduced in black and white in the chapter reserved for its description and possible interpretations, the chapters being arranged in sequence from highest value to lowest according to suit for the Lower Arcana and Court Cards, and from lowest number to highest for the Major Arcana, or Trumps (the one exception is Trump 0, which, for some reason best known to himself and God, Waite placed between Trump XX, The Last Judgment, and Trump XXI, The World). This is an excellent reference guide for the Tarot beginner, though with experience one should also acquire Crowley's Book of Thoth pack and book, as well as Bill Butler's encyclopedic Dictionary of the Tarot, which lists, describes, and gives interpretations for most major packs in circulation today.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, basic, very early tarot learning based on the Rider/Waite deck, which is kind of the King James Version of Tarot (learn it, and you know the basics and can go on to other stuff).

This also happens to be the only book I ever in my life shoplifted. I took it from a mega bookstore at which I was working when the managers instituted a search everyone on entry and exit policy. Little paperback, 1.95 at the time. No, they didn't discover it in the extremely thorough search of my nice 20 something self. And I kept it. But I still feel a frisson of guilt. (it no longer exists, the stolen book; rain and mice got to it years ago).

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's some advice for anybody planning on reading this: just skip the overly-long introduction and the veil and its symbols part. Waite's writing is bone dry and downright insufferable to read--to me, he was always the least interesting superstar alum of the Golden Dawn and reading a large chunk of his writing has only cemented my belief further. S L MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley are both far more interesting to read.

That being said, if you ignore the first 35 pages or so, his descriptions of each card are actually quite interesting and lovely at times (though, in typical Waite fashion, he really phoned it in with the pips).

As a tarot teacher, I would say that this book is worth reading, nonetheless. Not because I particularly enjoy it, but because it's worth looking up some of the things Waite mentions. There are some interesting Latin references, references to his (in my honest opinion, superior) Golden Dawn contemporaries and a segue into the Kabbalah. It's also a good introduction to Éliphas Lévi, if nothing else.

All in all, though, there are many books on the tarot that are better than this one, both old and new.

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Waite's own key and explanation to the Rider-Waite tarot, one of the most popular and influential decks ever. Like most tarot guides, it covers the meanings of the cards, explaining some of the symbolism, and suggests a few spreads for reading. Waite also delves deeply into the history of the cards, perhaps too deeply for many beginners. It is recommended with reservations.

As other reviewers have pointed out, Waite often comes off as a pompous windbag, quite erudite and overly fond of complex Victorian diction when a simpler approach would do. This makes reading certain passages more of a core than it's worth and will certainly put off most modern readers. To his credit, Waite is not just blowing hot air and seems to have been concerned with dispelling myths surrounding the history of the cards that were popular at the time. He spares no effort criticizing the dubious claims of Gebelin, Levi, and many others. A useful corrective, to be sure, but probably more than most readers are wanting. On the issue of more esoteric symbolism, Waite is evasive, particularly about the Kabbalistic references. He affords a bit more detail for the alchemical and Hermitic references, but in the descriptions of each card doesn't draw too much out. In context of someone just reading the cards for divination, this is fine; those seeking to understand them more deeply must apparently keep searching (or be initiated, I guess). Despite my criticisms, I find it hard to dislike Waite. For all his evasions and prolix/archaic diction, he strikes me as scholar/mystic who didn't just take claims at face value but seriously investigated them, something I can respect.

The other major criticism I have of the book is the way he delves into the Major Arcana in 3 separate sections. The first really addresses the history, specifically the range of imagery and traditional meanings. This works in context of his thesis on the history and goals of his particular tarot, but whether it's necessary for most beginners or clarifies the reading at all is another matter entirely. The 2nd section is most useful, tidily explaining the imagery and meaning of the card, but then he includes a 3rd section with shortened meanings and reversals. Presumably, he knew that many readers were only interested in this aspect and included this section to cater to their tastes, but why not condense each section into a single streamlined description? Perhaps this portion, which also includes shortened descriptions of the Minor Arcana, would be more suitable for a little white book included with the cards. At least, this seems closer to the aim.

Regarding the Minor Arcana, I did appreciate his explanation for the illustrative/narrative approach chosen for more or less the reasons I had always thought. This is one of the primary features that has made it so popular and why I still prefer using the Rider-Waite for readings. Again, he is evasive about the layers of meaning in the imagery and doesn't at all cover the elemental or social correspondences of each suit.

There are so many other books on this particular tarot and sources online that I am not sure I would recommend this for most beginners, especially those who just want to know the basic meanings for reading spreads. Those looking more deeply into the symbolism probably aren't going to find exactly what they want either. Nonetheless, I found this a valuable book in terms of highlighting the meanings of the cards, relaying the history behind them while dispelling myths, and revealing some of the intent underlying the design of this particular deck.

[katie luisa borgesius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book comes bundled with most editions of the famous Waite-Smith tarot, the most used tarot deck in North America. It's also on public domain and therefore available online. It is an overview of the symbolism of the tarot as Waite sees it and of its history up to the book's release (1911).

The language is amusingly baroque, full of curious lexical choices — might just be outdated, but he insists on "shew" for "show" every single time — and obtuse adornments, but it occasionally rewards you with a beautiful little image or metaphor. For instance, here's what Waite has to say about Antoine Court de Gébelin, who first suggested the deranged thesis that the tarot was somehow a pictorial version of the Book of Thoth:

...he made a distinct contribution to our knowledge, and he is still a source of reference—but it is on the question of fact only, and not on the beloved hypothesis that the Tarot contains pure Egyptian doctrine. However, he set the opinion which is prevalent to this day throughout the occult schools, that in the mystery and wonder, the strange night of the gods, the unknown tongue and the undeciphered hieroglyphics which symbolized Egypt at the end of the eighteenth century, the origin of the cards was lost. So dreamed one of the characteristic literati of France, and one can almost understand and sympathize, for the country about the Delta and the Nile was beginning to loom largely in the preoccupation of learned thought, and omne ignolum pro Ægyptiaco was the way of delusion to which many minds tended. It was excusable enough then, but that the madness has continued and, within the charmed circle of the occult sciences, still passes from mouth to mouth—there is no excuse for this.

I can hear hundreds of would-be card readers groaning and holding their foreheads, but I'm a sucker for this stuff.

The writing would be enough to make this a tough read, but there's another factor that adds to its obscurity (I'm not sure about details here, but this is what I've gathered from a brief web search and asking around on forums): Waite was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and developed his tarot according to its teachings, but many of these were secret and he could not allude overtly to them. There are, therefore, elliptical statements, symbols left unexplained, and, I suspect, a few little lies here and there. He says, for instance, that he has switched the positions of Strength and Justice in the Major Arcana "for reasons which satisfy myself", and that "as the variation carries nothing with it which will signify to the reader, there is no cause for explanation". If this sounds too arbitrary to be true, it's because it is: there is an occult reason for this decision, but you wouldn't know it from reading the book; which is just as Waite intended it, of course. Today, however, the teachings of the Golden Dawn have been leaked, so all this secrecy remains only as a historical curiosity and a minor hindrance to the knowledge contained in the Pictorial Key.

There's also plenty to complain about the way in which Waite has organized the book, with the Major Arcana scattered over three sections — one containing brief descriptions of the cards' symbolism and some of Waite's thoughts on them, another with more of the same but this time more anchored on Waite's own deck, and a third section which is a shoddy list of divinatory meanings for which Waite provides no commentary; and the Minor in two, one with brief descriptions of the illustrations and some divinatory meanings, and another with "additional meanings".

Waite's descriptions of the Major Arcana are the most befuddling part of the book. He's vague and doesn't pander to readers like myself who may not know about all the symbolism he invokes; it feels like an old sage is giving you teachings to which you can only nod in confused amazement. But then again, I'd be appalled if it read like your daily horoscope. Here's his description of the Magician in the second part of the book:

A youthful figure in the robe of a magician, having the countenance of divine Apollo, with smile of confidence and shining eyes. Above his head is the mysterious sign of the Holy Spirit, the sign of life, like an endless cord, forming the figure 8 in a horizontal position ∞. About his waist is a serpent-cincture, the serpent appearing to devour its own tail. This is familiar to most as a conventional symbol of eternity, but here it indicates more especially the eternity of attainment in the spirit. In the Magician's right hand is a wand raised towards heaven, while the left hand is pointing to the earth. This dual sign is known in very high grades of the Instituted Mysteries; it shews the descent of grace, virtue and light, drawn from things above and derived to things below. The suggestion throughout is therefore the possession and communication of the Powers and Gifts of the Spirit. On the table in front of the Magician are the symbols of the four Tarot suits, signifying the elements of natural life, which lie like counters before the adept, and he adapts them as he wills. Beneath are roses and lilies, the flos campi and lilium convallium, changed into garden flowers, to shew the culture of aspiration. This card signifies the divine motive in man, reflecting God, the will in the liberation of its union with that which is above. It is also the unity of individual being on all planes, and in a very high sense it is thought, in the fixation thereof. With further reference to what I have called the sign of life and its connexion with the number 8, it may be remembered that Christian Gnosticism speaks of rebirth in Christ as a change "unto the Ogdoad." The mystic number is termed Jerusalem above, the Land flowing with Milk and Honey, the Holy Spirit and the Land of the Lord. According to Martinism, 8 is the number of Christ.

I have no clue what he's talking about, but I can dig it.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess that I actually find Waite's condescending snark kind of amusing. Forgive me. If I take into account the divinatory meanings this book loses a star or two (or three). As soon as he starts talking about the Minor Arcana it becomes pretty skip-able. But why even bother with divinatory meanings written by a man who considers divination such a base and pointless activity? A lot of his snarky "everyone-is-wrong-but-me" history is... meh, skim. And, granted, I came in with low expectations. But there was more here than I thought there would be, and--I have to say--some great lines.

If you're new to the subject and not familiar with the traditions Waite comes from I wouldn't recommend starting here. Waite definitely does not say all, nor does he spell it out for the reader. (What else do you expect from an occultist?) But, considering what everyone always says about this book, I was surprised by how much it does say (or, at least, how much is clearly implied, if you know where he's coming from.)

The whole point of my reading it was to get some feel for Waite's perspective. And I got that. So what's to complain about? (Oh, the divination sections... Yeah... they're awful.)

Some favorite lines:
"I know that for the high art of ribaldry there are few things more dull than the criticism which maintains that a thesis is untrue, and cannot understand that it is decorative." 5

"the pictures are like doors which open into unexpected chambers" 53

[Aaron Francione · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the first modern, accessible book on Tarot, bridging the gap of arcane French literature to contemporary books on Tarot available today. It contains an accurate history of the cards and some general history of the occult. It takes a rational approach, debunking a lot of unfounded, quasi-historical claims made by earlier writers on the origins of the cards. For those interested in the origins, Waite also provides a comprehensive bibliography of earlier writings commenting on what ideas began where and weather or not these ideas were fantasy or not, which I find useful.

Sandwiched between the historical origins and bibliography, the bulk of the book is devoted to the cards and their meanings. Waite, being the commissioner of the popular Rider-Waite deck, you would regard him as an authority of this deck. Card by card, he explains what is being depicted in the scene, often drawing attention to overlooked, significant details. He does provide card interpretations that I found to be vague and lacking. I believe more solid and standardized interpretations were to come later.

I have noted many people commenting on A.E. Waite’s critical and condescending tone, which I experienced for myself while reading this book.

There is also a small section towards the end devoted to a few basic spreads and their divination methods.

This book is a nice overview of the of the history cards, most useful for its breakdown of the illustrations. Truly a pictorial key. Most readers wanting to practice and read the cards will likely find this lacking in interpretations and want something more contemporary and “hands on” (I’d recommend “A complete guide to the Tarot”-Eden Grey, 1970) but this a good place to start for those looking to get closer to the source.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Digging deeper into my French heritage is fun with this sardonic man!

[Martin Maenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repeater Books provided an early galley for review.

The first volume of this reference was published back in 1910, and Waite is one the recognized o.g. resources when it comes to all things tarot. This book predominantly features the classic card designs by Pamela Colman Smith (while not the same as those on the Morgan-Greer tarot deck I own they were still very familiar to me).

The introductory sections talk about the history of tarot before diving into the details of twenty-two cards of the Greater Arcana and the fifty-six cards (broken across the four suits: wands, cups, swords and pentacles) of the Lesser Arcana. Most helpful are the two summary sections that quickly provide the standard natural position and reverse meanings of the cards when used in divination activities.

One area that was new to me was the additional meanings of the recurrences of cards of the Lesser Arcana when they happen within a reading (both for the natural positions and the reverse).

The final sections focus specifically on the art of divination and provide various layouts with which to do readings: the Celtic layout of ten cards, a more detailed forty-two card reading, a slightly different thirty-five card method. Of these, the Celtic one was the method of which I had been previously introduced as it tends to be one of the quicker versions. I have also seen even simpler readings made up of three cards or just a single card (the latter much like a daily horoscope approach to divination with tarot).

For someone just starting to dive into all things tarot, this volume with its roots in the classic publication is a good place to start.

[mirabilos]

URL (scan): https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Title: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Subtitle: Being Fragments of a Secret Tradition under the Veil of Divination
Authors: Arthur Edward Waite; Pamela Colman Smith (illustrations)
1922 reprint of 1910 (dated 1911 in the original print, probably released earlier as it was already done or something) original print, hardcover.

[Scott Mccoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably the definitive guide to the Rider-Waite Tarot by the OG wizard himself, Arthur Edward Waite. I was expecting a dry reference manual and I implore anyone with even a passing interest in the occult to read this as I found it to be completely unexpected.

It's worth picking up just for the first chapter which Waite spends almost entirely dunking on other wizards and then talking shit about Tarot itself which he dismisses as being mostly bullshit but still worth exhaustively documenting its cultural history and practical modern uses. One gets the impression of a weary occult expert who is just so sick of everyone's crap and wants people to stop Doing It Wrong.

Sadly, it seems like his effort was largely in vain, for though the images in the Rider-Waite deck endures, the symbolism and divinatory meanings of the cards presented here often contradictory to and paint a much less rosy picture than what is now documented on wikipedia and other easily-accessible sources. I get the impression that in the century since the publication of this book there has been an intentional effort to ignore the negative divinatory meanings that Waite ascribed to many cards and replace them with softer or more vague versions. Accordingly, I recommend using Pictorial Key as your guide to your own readings if, for some reason, you would like them to be snarkier than they already are.

The information, though rich, is pretty poorly organized. The symbolism of the Greater Arcana are discussed, then the symbolism and divinatory meanings of each Lesser Arcana, then he goes back to the Greater Arcana to their discuss divinatory meanings, then back again to the lesser for more potential divinatory meanings and what certain patterns of card rank might imply. It sort of see-saws back and forth like this in a fashion that makes for a good narrative but a poor reference manual.

Finally, it discusses some Waite-approved tarot spreads which are refreshingly familiar after several worrisome chapters of card meanings not being what I was used to.

I highly recommend this whether you want a richer tarot experience or even just a short, enjoyable read.

[Sierra Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley and Repeater Books for this ARC!

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by AE Waite is a beautifully written reference book to accompany your tarot journey. My favorite part of this book was the foreword! Do not skip it! I will be buying this edition specifically for the foreword by Sereptie. The actual book itself is really written for more experienced tarot users, but if you feel drawn to it earlier on, I would recommend picking it up whenever feels right for you. I enjoyed the emphasis on tarot symbolism lying in the collective unconscious and about how it is to be used less as a fortune telling tool, but more as a tool to open a dialogue with the person having the reading done.

[Lloyd Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this in Jan, 2009; the book is okay, it comes with the tarot cards and a small poster of information about the cards and the different common spreads that are used in a tarot reading; I had another book with more detailed information of each card, and the meaning of each card in detail, as well as the meaning of the cards in reverse fashion, but this book does its job and it opens the doors in some detail, to inform you of the meaning of each card.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve got some BEEF with this book. He’s just spewing all this shit about why all the people who ever had anything to say about the Tarot are wrong and lame, but he never says why or offers a new perspective on anything. Poorly built sentence after sentence without any real meaning. Then when he actually DOES say something it’s some bullshit like how the Queen of Wands is chaste. Oh really, Arthur? Queen of Wands is chaste? I bet your wives were, too.

[Aust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pačių žinomiausių taro kortų autoriaus instrukcija, kaip šias kortas naudoti ir pasakojimas apie jų reikšmes. Daug sudėtingesnis nei modernūs jų aiškinimai ir, daugeliu atvejų, su griežčiau neigiamomis reikšmėmis. Jeigu modernusis taro naratyvas yra labiau apie tai, kad laukia geri dalykai, šiuose paaiškinimuose yra užtektinai blogų dalykų.

Bet įdomu tai, kad knygelė parašyta labiau iš mokslinės/analitinės pusės, autorius vietomis net, rodos, gana skeptiškai žiūri į galimybę išsiburti savo ateitį – nors ir smulkiai aprašo, kaip tai daroma.

Labai įdomus dalykas tos taro kortos, su savo turtinga simbolika, leidžiančia konstruoti istorijas.

[Sanpaku · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10.
It's a classic, and probably for a reason. It explains what it has to explain in a concise manner (and sometimes dumbs down the form to make itself clear).
But now the criticisms.
First of all, too fancy of a style, not backed by an equivalent level of content.
Secondly, it criticizes everyone who disagrees with it while using the same reason for his own design choices (i.e. being completely arbitrary); and the "Secret Doctrine" is way to vague of a source to give it any attention.
Lastly, poorly constructed: for some reason, the divinatory and symbolic meanings of the Major Arcana are in three different sections, the Minor Arcana has two, the history of the Tarots follows the first explaination of the two Arcanas, the Preface is followed by the Table of Contents.

[Cep Subhan KM · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to start. I read this book to help me interpret the symbol available in "The Castle of Crossed Destinies". Why do I called it as a start because the latter uses the older tarot cards as visualization of the story: Visconti-Sforza and Marseilles Cards, instead of using Rider Waite Cards. So, I'll need the other books for giving additional information about the symbols in the novel questioned.

[Lilith Reading Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good but very wordy

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

So while I am generally intending to read all the books I’ve borrowed from other people in the next four weeks or so, I decided to take a quick detour to get (or stay) in the occult mood and read Arthur Edward Waite’s The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, which I picked up at the gift shop at the PEM last year.

All my tarot decks are based on the Rider-Waite-Smith in terms of what cards are what, but I don’t have an actual copy of the classic RWS deck, so I’m not super familiar with Pamela Colman Smith’s iconic illustrations, or at least not as much as I probably should be after reading tarot on and off for like 20 years now. Fortunately, Pictorial Key contains black-and-white versions of all of Smith’s cards, so the reader can more easily follow along with Waite’s discussion.

The book is structured a little oddly and is definitely most valuable as a historical document and foundational text (™) more than as a primer for new readers. Waite spends a lot of time dunking on earlier occult writers, especially French ones. (I find this extremely funny; YMMV.) The Major Arcana are covered in two separate sections, one of which discusses the illustrations and their symbolism (and is accompanied by pictures of the cards), and then a separate section gives their divinatory meanings in a simple list. The Minor Arcana give the divinatory meanings right alongside the illustrations and discussions thereof, in a section that sits between the two Major Arcana sections, and also for some reason goes in reverse order (King, Queen, Knight, etc. down to Ace). Major Arcana card 0, the Fool, sits in between card XX (The Last Judgment) and card XXI (The World), with no reason given other than that Waite decided “not to rectify” it. There are also some spreads, including the famous Celtic Cross, and a hilarious bibliography that seems to be mostly about how much Waite hates nearly everything else that had ever been written about the occult as of 1910.

This will probably not become my go-to reference on card reading anytime soon, however, it’s an invaluable document all the same, and I’m glad I read it and will be keeping it.

Originally posted at What's the symbology there.

[Conor Primett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Arthur Edward Waite’s The Key to the Tarot presents itself as the official interpretive guide to what has become the most globally ubiquitous tarot deck, the Rider–Waite, but to read it—especially growing up in the UK, where tarot packs and “companion manuals” were staples of second-hand bookshops and Woolworths’ clearance shelves—is to experience not illumination but a kind of English fog. The prose is dense, frumpy, written in that peculiarly Edwardian register that seems incapable of letting an idea breathe without suffocating it first in convoluted syntax. For someone like me, who as a teenager scoured every corner of the “occult” sections of provincial charity shops and musty bookstalls, often for less than two quid, this book had the aura of forbidden knowledge but quickly revealed itself as something closer to clerical nagging. Waite spends much of his energy sneering at rival interpreters, “parlor wizards” whose systems he deems fanciful, while simultaneously grounding his own interpretive scheme almost exclusively in a Judeo-Christian symbology that he refuses to acknowledge as just as constructed, just as arbitrary.

From a Jungian standpoint, the failure here is not merely stylistic but archetypal. Tarot cards, in their enduring cultural life, resonate because they crystallise aspects of the collective unconscious: the Magician as the figure of agency and transformation, the Tower as catastrophic rupture, the Lovers as the drama of choice and union. Jung himself, though ambivalent, recognised the archetypal power of such imagery, allowing the unconscious to speak through symbol. Yet Waite does everything possible to stifle this vitality. He anchors the imagery so tightly to Christian allegory that the archetypes are flattened into moralistic instruction. The anima, the shadow, the Self—these are not allowed to emerge in the polyvalent play of symbol, but are repressed into the narrow confines of dogma.

This foreclosure becomes sharper when examined archetype by archetype. Take the shadow: in Jung’s model, the shadow is the repository of disavowed impulses, the darker double that must be integrated rather than denied. In Smith’s Rider–Waite imagery, the Devil card powerfully channels this: chains, instinctual bondage, a reminder that liberation comes only through recognition of what is disowned. Waite, however, treats it as little more than a cautionary Christian allegory against sin. By refusing to acknowledge the shadow as integral to psychic wholeness, he neuters the symbol, turning it from an opportunity for integration into a sermon for avoidance. Likewise, when the Tower falls—an archetypal image of the breakdown of old structures, of individuation through crisis—Waite frames it as a divine punishment. But individuation, Jung reminds us, requires precisely these shocks; the destruction of false edifices is what allows the Self to emerge. Waite’s reading is thus a refusal of individuation, a return to pious obedience where psychic development demands confrontation.

The anima and animus suffer the same flattening. Cards such as the High Priestess, the Empress, or the Star embody the anima in multiple registers: the mysterious guide, the generative mother, the distant beacon of hope. In Jung’s reading, these are not simply “women” but psychic functions within all individuals, the counter-sexual archetype that mediates access to the unconscious. Waite, however, insists on translating them back into Christian typologies—the Virgin Mary, ecclesiastical virtues—denying their dynamism as inner figures. Similarly, the animus in its positive aspect, suggested in cards like the Emperor or the Hierophant, becomes in Waite’s hands little more than affirmation of hierarchy, order, and institutional power. The cards that should represent the creative masculine principle, the rational guide within the psyche, are transformed into endorsements of clerical authority.

Finally, the Self, Jung’s term for the archetype of wholeness, finds only indirect expression in the tarot, perhaps most clearly in the World card, where the wreath, the four beasts, and the central figure indicate integration of opposites. In Waite’s reading, this becomes a simplistic eschatology, the “consummation of the great work” framed within a Christian teleology. Yet the Self is not an end-state of perfection imposed from without; it is the ongoing, often painful process of integration from within. Waite’s text thus robs the cards of their very psychological power, replacing an open invitation to individuation with a closed moral system.

And this is where the individuation process must be named outright. To Jung, individuation was the supreme task of life: the integration of conscious and unconscious, the harmonisation of shadow, anima/animus, and ego into the Self. The tarot, at its richest, can be read as a symbolic map of this process: the Fool’s journey from naïve beginning through trials, temptations, crises, and revelations, culminating in integration. Waite’s Key betrays this possibility. It mistranslates individuation into salvation, demanding conformity where growth requires confrontation. Rather than a spiral of psychic development, he offers a ladder of dogma. The reader who takes his interpretations at face value is steered away from self-discovery and back into submission to authority. In this way, Waite’s book does not just fail as a guide to the tarot; it actively obstructs the very psychic work the cards could facilitate.

Growing up in the UK, where the tarot was never entirely serious—half occult curiosity, half kitsch—it was precisely this rigidity that rankled. The Key tries to present itself as the only authorised interpretation, but in that attempt it reveals its own fragility. The more Waite insists on control, the more the unconscious resists. For a teenage reader, it was impossible not to start scribbling alternative meanings in the margins, not to project one’s own dreams, fears, and archetypes onto the cards. Waite’s dogma became the whetstone against which individuation sharpened itself.

This paradox is what redeems the text, albeit unintentionally. By so strenuously denying archetypal multiplicity, Waite provokes it all the more. Reading him today, the book is almost unendurable in its Victorian prolixity, but as an artefact it is invaluable: a window onto the way occult culture in Britain tried to reconcile its appetite for mystery with its terror of the unconscious. And by failing, it left the field open for Jungians, artists, and ordinary seekers to reclaim the tarot as a living symbolic system.

The irony, of course, is that Waite called his book The Key. But a key is meant to open a lock, not seal it tighter. The true key to the tarot lies not in his moralising but in the very symbols he tries to police, which continue to speak across cultures and centuries because they are archetypes, not dogmas. Individuation cannot be commanded, only undergone. And so the cards themselves escape his grasp, just as they escaped mine when I first tried to follow his tedious exegesis and instead found myself dreaming new meanings into them. That is the unconscious at work, that is the Self pushing through repression, that is individuation in action. Waite tried to write a key; what he produced was a padlock. But in struggling against it, readers discover the real key lies in their own unconscious, in the archetypal journey the tarot still embodies despite him.

[Doctor Gaines · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waite seems to have been a highly self-impressed, self-absorbed, wannabe scholar, who managed to use as many words as possible to say almost nothing at all. The book is overly verbose and uses the most complicated, obscure adjectives for no reason other than to appear impressive. I realize there is the factor of language and vocabulary being different a hundred years ago, but even so, his sentences are so dense and puzzling that I can’t imagine even his contemporaries being able to parse what the hell he was trying to say. His descriptions of the Tarot’s symbols and divinatory meanings are inconsistent and often infuriating, for he frequently spends more time criticizing how historical interpretations got them wrong than actually expressing the correct things to glean from each card. In some cases he provides no divinatory clues whatsoever. This book is *rarely* helpful though it does have a few bits of helpful information when Waite’s ego is momentarily set aside and he actually provides a useful explanation. There are far better free online resources and modern books that go into much more useful detail and are easy to understand. My impression of Waite is he was an arrogant dick who desperately wanted to be included by the intellectuals of the day, the kind of guy we all avoid at parties. Crowley has some colorful quotes about the man that seem to confirm this. An interesting book to have on the shelf for its significance in the history of magick/Tarot, but is little more than a mildly helpful reference guide.

[Nate D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to mark this "non-fiction?" but the extra marks didn't take and it flew to my usual non-fiction shelf. Read for art project research (and general symbolism-understanding research), this book did much to condense the modern tarot archetypes, both as dubious philosophy and as divination. Since a bunch of this was supposedly privileged knowledge at the time, Waite is amusingly circular about some pretty obvious points and well-known bits of ceremony (he "reveals" the celtic cross arrangement for instance, and acknowledges but skirts kabbalic attributions by noting that the prevailing thought of his time was incorrect without making any move towards further explanation.) Much of the same material was revealed much more completely (albeit in an equally amusingly occult-clouded manner) by Aleister Crowley some years later. Yes, I really did just read a book about cartomancy and devote an entire paragraph to it.

[senseijutsu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teniendo en cuenta que uno de los mazos usados hoy en día fue ideado por Waite y este libro no esté a la altura de la creación de Pamela Colman Smith me parece medio preocupante. Ella lo creó bajo la dirección de Waite, sin embargo nunca obtuvo todo el reconocimiento que debería haber tenido.

Este libro es corto, aburridísimo y carente de información. Medio sarcástico teniendo en cuenta que hoy todos los libros de tarot están basados en este mazo, y contienen información más valiosa y significativa. Pero bueno, nunca fui muy allegada a la Golden Dawn (Waite era miembro). Un libro muy apegado a las ideas judeo-cristianas, cuando el tarot tiene mucha simbología para ofrecer y analizar. No recomiendo para principiantes que busquen contenido sustancial.

[David Burkam · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I prepare to teach a university course on the Tarot, it seemed appropriate to read Waite's own book on the imagery and interpretation of the famous 1910 Rider-Waite (or Waite-Smith or Smith-Waite or Rider-Waite-Smith) deck. The book is more of an historical interest at this point -- there are far richer, far deeper discussions written in recent decades. Waite's book often takes a more traditional divinatory approach rather than one of personal spirituality and development. An important book to have in one's Tarot library although not one I will regularly turn to for guidance.

[Taliesin Mcknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes with the Rider Waite tarot deck and is used to interpret that particular deck. Arthur Edward Waite first published this book along with his tarot deck in 1909. I think this is a very good book. For anyone seeking to learn tarot, i would highly advise both the Rider Waite tarot deck and this book. One thing that i really like is how Waite gives a critical examination of tarot history. I give this book 4 stars.

[Lee Fitzsimmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting work... Currently perusing the section that deals with the Minor Arcana...

Currently, I am too busy creating my own content (both written and musical), so I do not have very much time to read the content of others.

[Jean Marie Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the classic book on tarot. Years ago I embraced several spiritual paths and became open to the artwork of the many tarot decks, and the ancient belief systems depicted. This path led to the mystical and Kabbalah, then to other sacred texts, then back to my Judeo-Christian roots.

[Teleri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate this book, commonly packaged with beginner Tarot sets. I'll eventually add ones I prefer. Yes, I own it; someone gave me a copy.