by Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman-Smith

The Original Rider Waite Tarot deck is the most popular in the world. First published in 1909, created by two members of the secret ‘Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’, and was the first historic deck to illustrate all forty Minor Arcana Cards. 

Arthur Edward Waite had a huge thirst for occult knowledge and believed that it should be shared with the world. He commissioned Pamela to illustrate all 78 cards and it is believed that she was inspired by the historic Italian Sola Busca tarot cards during a visit to the British Museum. She completed the entire deck within six months.  

After fading into obscurity they were re-introduced by Stuart Kaplan,(founder of US Games Inc.) to the general market in the late 60s early 70s. Today, over 100 million copies have been sold worldwide.  

MARIA SAYS 

“This is still my go-to deck after 30 years of reading the cards. They are familiar, traditional and second nature to me and I love that they are still one of the best-selling decks reinforcing their classic status and the OG traditional deck. So many Tarot teachers and tutorials use this deck for beginners too, that it’s universally accepted as a starter deck. Once you’ve mastered it there are enough modern variations available making it easy to transition. There’s a reason that many professional tarot readers still use this deck in their readings. It’s a workhorse and yes, I’m biased but I’m not alone!

My quick summary of the cards:

• Standard deck box
• Small paper guidebook
• Sturdy card stock
• Images combine Astrological and Occult symbology

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