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Pictorial Key to the Tarot (Paperback)

~ Arthur Edward Waite (Author) "THE pathology of the poet says that " the undevout astronomer is mad " ; the pathology of the very plain man says that genius..." (more)
Key Phrases: divinatory meanings, minor arcana, court cards, Trumps Major, The Pictorial Key, High Priestess (more...)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Price: $16.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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  Kindle Edition, January 27, 2008 $2.99 -- --
  Hardcover, April 30, 2007 $26.95 $24.26 $24.25
  Paperback, January 22, 2008 $8.63 $8.63 $6.63
  Paperback, January 1, 2008 $16.95 $6.99 $0.01
  Unknown Binding, December 31, 1965 -- -- $1.74

Frequently Bought Together

Pictorial Key to the Tarot + The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck + The Complete Guide to the Tarot
Price For All Three: $36.69

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The classic text for the Rider-Waite deck. Discusses the major and minor arcana, what each card means, reversed card meanings, and how to do a basic reading.


About the Author

About the Author:

"Arthur Edward Waite (October 2, 1857 - May 19, 1942) 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." Born in the United States, and raised in England, A.E. Waite joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1891, became a Freemason in 1901, and entered the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia in 1902. The Golden Dawn was torn by further internal feuding until Waite's departure in 1914; a year later he formed the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, not to be confused with the Societas Rosicruciana. By that time there existed some half-dozen offshoots from the original Golden Dawn, and as a whole it never recovered." (Quote from wikipedia.org) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: RedWheel / Weiser (January 1, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0877282188
  • ISBN-13: 978-0877282181
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #625,325 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THE pathology of the poet says that " the undevout astronomer is mad " ; the pathology of the very plain man says that genius is mad ; and between these extremes, which stand for ten thousand analogous excesses, the sovereign reason takes the part of a moderator and does what it can. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
divinatory meanings, minor arcana, court cards
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Trumps Major, The Pictorial Key, High Priestess, Court de Gebelin, Lesser Arcana, Outer Method of the Oracles, The Doctrine Behind the Veil, Greater Arcana, Secret Tradition, Wheel of Fortune, Grand Orient, Divinatoyy Meanings
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (2)
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A hard to read, obscure, and confusing little book., June 1, 2000
By Uri Raz (Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I've bought this book with expectations of getting loads of information in it, and was somewhat disappointed by it.

The book suffers from several problems :

- The book is a hard reading - Waite's style is obfuscated, which makes the non-trivial material harder to understand.

- Waite doesnt tell the whole truth, and not even half of it, not to mention the inclusion of misinformation. Examples include unexplained symbols (symbols on charioteer's belt, the fool's clothings, and many others), desciption of the emptress being 'virgo intacta', etc.

- Some of the cards' descriptions contradict, or at least appear to contradict, the pictures on the cards.

- Waite borrows a lot from earlier writers, but then goes on to pass criticism on his sources and belittles them.

So the book has to be read very carefuly, criticaly, and with a lot of patience. And those who do so *will* gain - the book is better than many of the instant tarot reading guides, giving truer and deeper information from the horse's mouth.

I suggest people to read this book, but *not* as the first book on the deck, and preferably along with other material (e.g. books about the golden dawn, tarot history, or symbolism).

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Waite not at his best..., December 17, 1999
By Roel van Leeuwen (Tauranga, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
While Waites influence and authority in the esoteric world is without question, and equally without question is the massive influence he had on the art and practise of tarot, this book is not his finest work.

'Pictorial Key' is tolarable as a simple catalogue of meanings (which now can be got at any number of web pages) and gives a simple spread it is deviod of any real explination of why and wherefore. It does not explain the principles underlying the construction of the tarot and the practical results that come with the understanding of those principles. I would even go as far as to say that Waite deliberatly obscured and provided misleading information, prehaps in order to keep his obligations of secrecy to the G.D. or his own Order.

As a practical beginners text I would say look elsewhere for clearer texts that have expanded and illustrated what Waite has published in 'Pictorial Key'. For more advanced folk I would say the 'Pictorial Keys's best application would be to bury it in peat for several hundred years, dig it up and use it to light a fire. I gave it a rating of three purely for its historical importance. To rate it on a scale of usefulness would be to rate it several points lower.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A necessary if unpleasant reading experience, July 27, 1997
By A Customer
Rating this one is difficult. The rich symbolism of Tarot was forever impacted by the Order of the Golden Dawn, and A.E. Waite's "Pictorial Key" is a glimpse into that symbolism. Readers with a serious interest in occult Tarot will find this an essential text. Waite, though, considered himself bound by vows of secrecy, and mixes misinformation and blinds in his work to lead the "uninitiated" astray, so reading critically is a must. To make matters worse, his prose style is ponderous and leaden, deliberately overcomplicated and abstruse, less animated than Al Gore. However, modern tarot decks borrow and adapt from the Waite-Smith deck design; to understand the symbolism that underlies almost every deck on the market today (frequently symbolism the deck designers had no awareness of), this book is absolutely necessary. It won't be a fun read, but it *is* necessary
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars ILLUSTRATED--NOT?
I downloaded the free sample--there were NO illustrations! The text was not long & boring as other reviewers have said; Is the sample a bad representation?
Published 4 months ago by Ronald W. Johnson

2.0 out of 5 stars Really fragmented.
I do not have this edition. I got from another publisher. Anyway, I will comment on the content. Really fragmented information. Gives only description of cards. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Kyana

1.0 out of 5 stars Awkward, Difficult and Arduous
THE PICTORIAL KEY TO THE TAROT: BEING FRAGMENTS OF A SECRET TRADITION UNDER THE VEIL OF DIVINATION
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is the MOST DIFFICULT to read... Read more
Published 14 months ago by R. Allard

4.0 out of 5 stars Cheers!
I got this book along with the Universal Waite deck. I was interested in the original book that A.E.Waite published along with his now-famous deck of cards. Read more
Published on September 13, 2006 by Madhavi S. Ghare

5.0 out of 5 stars An Awesome Book
I finally got the Rider Waite tarot and I was impressed with that, it was the first modern tarot card deck and it became the standard that all other decks are judged by. Read more
Published on November 5, 2005 by Joseph Adams

5.0 out of 5 stars A most valuable tool for Tarot Readers!
There are tons of books out there on how to read Tarot, but get serious - they are all knockoffs from the master himself. Read more
Published on October 3, 2005 by Queen of Cups

3.0 out of 5 stars Pictorial Tarot
To begin I have been reading cards for well over 10 years and was taught by family members with regular playing cards. Read more
Published on June 1, 2004 by Vandella X

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential obfuscation!
This book is essential to figuring out the RWS and clones Tarot decks, Waite's personal insights bring forth things in the cards that no one else can, even though others have... Read more
Published on March 21, 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to The Tarot, for Beginners
A.E. Waite is a well-respected author in the study of The Mysteries. However, this book is not his best work. Read more
Published on August 12, 2001 by Graham Douglas Lincoln

5.0 out of 5 stars A must to help wade through the other "Tarot muck"
Waite's pretentious as all get out, but he stresses that the tarot reader is "Boss". THat Tarot is esoteric, and above all, when there is question, it is the diviner him... Read more
Published on January 26, 2000 by William R. Sigmon

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