Customer Reviews

Miniature Rider Waite Tarot Deck

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've never been a big fan of the Rider Waite decks even though they are pretty much considered the general standard deck. The reason being that I don't care too much for the colors used in the illustrations. But like the other reviewer noted, I also felt like it was a deck I needed to add to my collection, since it is significant to the history of the tarot. So when I found a mini version, I decided I would check it out.

I have to say I'm very happy with this little deck. It's just the right size. 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 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. (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 like to bring it along with me when I go out with friends and we can easily do spreads for each other at restaurants. 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'd like to note that one of the reviewers above must have this deck confused with the Universal Rider Waite Mini deck. This deck does NOT come in a plastic case with a key chain...that is the much smaller Universal Rider Waite (which you can also find on amazon). Instead, the Rider Waite Miniature tarot deck comes in a regular cardboard box with a small booklet with the card's meanings. (Was that confusing enough?) :)

I retired my full sized Rider Waite deck a few years ago in favor of this half size version. It fits my hands perfectly. In fact, in my humble opinion this should be the "standard size" of the deck. You can clearly make out all of the rich, symbolic, detail of the larger decks. 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. He was a mage and theurgist that was truly touched by the divine. 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 may leave deeper meanings up to your own meditation on the matter, but he never intentionally obscures or misleads. 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. I'll close this by saying that I do not regard these cards as mere artifacts, but as trusted friends.

I found this set to be very useful while travelling and the detail on the cards were very accurate. This deck is great for the beginner because it is easy to read and straight forward. I would highly recommend this deck to anyone interested in learning the tarot.

I've never been particularly attracted to the Rider-Waite or Waite-style decks, but as I've learned more about tarot I've realized that I probably should have one, since it's such a tarot standard. After looking at pictures of different Waite decks (artoftarot.com has a good compare/contrast section) I saw that size was the deciding factor for me. These cards are just so cute!

There seem to be many complaints here and in other reviews of this deck about the difficulty of shuffling such small cards. (They're slightly smaller than a standard business card, if the measurements don't really illustrate it for you.) While I did have the usual new deck slipperiness problems, after the cards were broken in a little I've found them easy to shuffle without bending. For me they're almost easier to handle than larger decks, and it's nice to be able to lay them out in a small space.

Really, I have no complaints about the deck except that the back is a blue and white plaid design, which makes me think of flannel shirts instead of tarot. Aside from that, if you're looking for a small Rider-Waite, I think this is a good choice.

I retired my full sized Rider Waite deck a few years ago in favor of this half size version. It fits my hands perfectly. In fact, in my humble opinion this should be the "standard size" of the deck. You can clearly make out all of the rich, symbolic, detail of the larger cards. 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. He was a mage and theurgist that was truly touched by the divine. 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 may leave deeper meanings up to your own meditation on the matter, but he never intentionally obscures or misleads. 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. I'll close this by saying that I do not regard these cards as mere artifacts, but as trusted friends.

This is one of my favorite Tarot decks because of its portability. It is the miniature version of the Waite deck, and it roughly fits in the palm of my hand, which makes it very easy to shuffle. However, I just want to share a few praises and pointers that I've run across while using these cards.

On the positive side, these cards are beautiful with hints of classical and medieval themes, which makes these cards feel nostalgic and unique. Another great aspect is that there are many "Learn How to..." tarot books on the market that use this deck in their lessons. An additional asset is this deck's portability. It's truly fantastic. This deck is great for travel and it's discrete. Let's face it, how many of us want to explain why we're toting tarot decks? Unfortunately, mysticism, esoterica and tarots are still frowned upon by many.

On the challenging side, I find the very Judeo Christian imagery limiting because it's so emphatically chivalric in tone, and few modern people achieve this state. Additionally, the suit of wands--which generally symbolizes elemental passion, the ego and desire--hardly conveyed anything I would associate with these themes. Also, the gender divide is a bit awkward. We have two male archetypes, which are the King and the Night. The female archetype is the queen. Last, we have an androgynous page, which can be male, female or epicene. What this gender arrangement translates to is an older gentleman (King), a young man (knight), androgynous individual (page), and a female (Queen). So where is the maiden? How is it that all women are lumped summed under a queen? Many readers use the pages to represent young women, but I find this troubling, since the page can be a young woman, an adolescent male or female, an epicene, a child etc, and when it shows up in the answer, who do we point to? I feel that this kind of gender schema leads to confusion and makes this deck a bit dated. My last concern is that the Rider Waite tends to veil the darker and more shadowy sides of human nature and our complexities, which makes readings a bit harder to interpret because results tends to be resoundingly "good and moral," or "bad and duplicitous," and few people are so extreme. Hence, a more realistic tone would be nice, but I realize that this kind of tone would directly conflict with its medieval and chivalric picture schema.

All in all, once you get used to the pictures and its antiquated themes, you'll find this deck enchanting because it's so lovely and convenient. Other decks are about that have more modern pictorial representations for the Major and Minor Arcana--which incorporates a broader religious spectrum, which is nice--but this is still the handiest deck to tote around, and you can do it discretely.

These are a great deck to carry in your purse or pocket for times you can practice reading your cards. A little bit smaller than an normal deck of cards these take up much less space than other decks. Rider Waite is of course, a great starter deck and is easy to use. Great addition to your tarot card collection

This is an amazing piece of Ingenuity! Normally, I would give this deck a slightly lower rating (***), however it receives an extra * for being Easily Transportable & Easily palmed to prevent Zealous eyes from wondering what you are doing. If you live in The Bible Belt, this deck is your best friend! Women find this deck a great asset to keep in their purse & it is Perfect for pocket-carrying by men. The hard, plastic case prevents the deck from being jostled into oblivion & snaps-shut, tightly. This would probably also be a good key-chain item. The first few times I saw this deck, I thought it was "cute" and laughed it off as an "interesting" nick-nack. However, when I finally gave-in to the urge to check it out, I discovered that it is Surprisingly Usable ! I assumed it would be difficult to manipulate and work-with--yet, I was mistaken. It is Easy to use and just as Accurate as any other deck! I honestly believe All Tarot Readers would enjoy this Deck....if for no other reason than the fact that it will probably become a Collector's Item !

Great for my small hands. The only deck I use anymore. Also like the fact that it takes less space for a spread. And easily carried in purse or pocket.

I own several decks, and this is one of my favorites. Besides generally agreeing with the Rider designs, I find this to be an extremely easy deck to work with. (perhaps because I spent a lot of time with standard playing cards, and this is closer in size to them than the usual oversized tarot deck) It also has the added benefit of being easy to keep in a purse, backpack, etc. Probably not a good first deck (due to the TINY book that accompanies it) but very useful for an experienced reader.