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The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (Dover Occult) Paperback – June 10, 2005

by A. E. Waite (Author)

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Long used in telling fortunes and popular today among New Agers, Tarot cards are regarded by many as "the training wheels" on the bicycle of psychic development. Centuries of scientific progress have not diminished the irresistible attraction of gazing at picture cards to see the future and determine one's fate.
This book by Arthur Edward Waite, the designer of the most widely known Tarot deck and distinguished scholar of the Kabbalah, is the essential Tarot reference. The pictorial key contains a detailed description of each card in the celebrated 78-card Rider-Waite Tarot deck, along with regular and reversed meanings. Contents describe symbols and secret tradition; the four suits of Tarot, including wands, cups, swords, and pentacles; the recurrence of cards in dealing; an ancient Celtic method of divination; as well as wonderful illustrations of Tarot cards.
While the perfect complement to old-style fortune telling, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot also serves to make the Tarot entirely accessible to modern-day readers. It is also the classic guide to the Rider-Waite deck and to Tarot symbolism in general.

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (Dover Occult)

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Editorial Reviews

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 out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Series: Dover Occult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (June 10, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486442551
ISBN-13: 978-0486442556
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #244 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality > Divination > Tarot
- #1443 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult & Paranormal

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Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		41%
4 star		17%
3 star		20%
2 star		11%
1 star		11%

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Top customer reviews

A Classic for Every Tarot Enthusiast.

ByXander Devereauxon May 17, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is an amazing companion book for anyone who wants to learn the history of the Waite-Rider deck. Waite was an initiate of the Golden Dawn when he created this deck. For those who are not familiar with western esotericism and occult symbology, this may be a difficult read for some. Although Waite may appear to be vague in many of his descriptions, he is being purposefully vague as only "those with eyes to see and ears to hear" were considered worthy of that knowledge based upon that time period. In today's world of instant knowledge via the internet, a lot of these "secrets" and "allusions" have been removed; however, it takes a true initiate into those occult mysteries to have a more complete and tangible understanding of the imagery as Waite understood them to be. All in all, it's a great book to have for the collection but I would not recommend this for someone who is trying to learn how to read the tarot for divination purposes.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Reference of historical interest

ByCitrus Jon November 28, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book is THE reference for AE Waite's development of the modern standard tarot deck. You will gain insight into much of the symbolism he included in the deck. It's worth having in your library, but it is not a book for beginners. The Victorian writing style is dense and wordy; Waite carries on vendettas with other tarot writers with whom he disagrees (this can be humorous, though); and he often refers to aspects of the cards that weren't actually painted into the cards by his artist, Pamela Colman Smith. You will not find a lot of guidance here for actually reading a spread, and his definitions of the cards are necessarily old-fashioned (tall, dark stranger) as opposed to the more modern, intuitive, holistic approach. But if you need a quick reference to remind you what those 2 pillars beside the High Priestess represent, you can quickly find the answer here.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Only if you lost your deck's booklet.

BySparkleon April 8, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Don't waste your money. This is a big version of the tiny booklet that comes with any deck. Two stars because there is tons of extra room on the page to write notes. Pretty much want my $11 back.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great text- low quality illustrations

ByE. TalericoVINE VOICEon April 27, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The book is an excellent, high level overview of the Tarot, with some very detailed explanations for the Major Arcana. I would have preferred better reproductions of the cards- which is why this book only gets three stars.

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if you're anything like me, you'll probably need to keep Google by ...

ByTrent Defooron December 29, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Definitely chock full of poetic language that fills the majority of the book. Overall, I'd say it was a worthwhile read but, if you're anything like me, you'll probably need to keep Google by your side to define his many Latin phrases and to further look into the symbols he illustrates are in the cards. He's certainly vague so don't think that this book is going to explain everything to you. You'll need to read between the lines of this whole book to get the most out of it

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A wonderful primer on the Tarot

ByEric Learon July 20, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A wonderful primer on the Tarot. Perhaps not the only or ultimate source for perspective, but clear and concise enough in most instances to provide some insight to anyone pursuing awareness of traditional divination practices.

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A hard to read, obscure, and confusing little book.

ByUri Razon June 1, 2000

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

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).

33 comments 78 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Not very useful. Bought a soft cover Book

Bycancelaccounton December 19, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Not very useful. Bought a soft cover Book. More in depth information. The Book is an absolute for those who want to go as far as they can. To know all you can know about the best, closest to Original Tarot deck in todays grasp. Best of luck. Namaste, My Friend.

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Most recent customer reviews

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY --- DOES NOT GIVE MEANING OF ART/ARCHETYPES

"pictorial key" simply means that they included a picture of the card next to the card's meaning. Is this abridged or something??Read more

Published 3 months ago by Sun Pixies from Dixie

Although Waite created the Tarot deck now known as the ...

Although Waite created the Tarot deck now known as the Rider Deck, his writing......let's just say dated and intentionally arcane and leave it at that.

Published 5 months ago by Michael Wylde

Very

Very helpful

Published 7 months ago by theresa gaud

A Great Classic

An excellent standard reference.

Published 7 months ago by The Other Me

but extremely dry and boring.

Very informative, but extremely dry and boring.

Published 7 months ago by Rsiedy

One and only original

The all time great Tarot classic - the one and only original

Published 11 months ago by truthorconsequences

Five Stars

Great product

Published 1 year ago by Amazon Customer

Historically Important, but not a Book for Beginners

This is perhaps one of the most historically important texts on the Rider-Waite-Coleman Tarot deck ever written - because it was written by the man who designed the cards.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Trout26

Kindle need to have

Great book for reference and pair that with the kindle app and you have a perfect paring.

Published 1 year ago by J. Vain

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