The Pictorial Key to the Tarot

Arthur Edward Waite

may 2007 · Cosimo, Inc.

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"American-born British author and master of esoterica ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE (1857 1942) was cocreator of the famous 1910 Rider-Waite Tarot deck, and in 1911, he published what is still an essential guide to unleashing the prognosticatory power of the cards. Discover the history of the tarot, the secret traditions that inform it, and most vitally detailed explanations of each of the cards in the tarot deck and what they signify, including: the High Priestess (and what the scroll in her hand represents) the Lovers (and what mythological couple they evoke) the Wheel of Fortune (and what dangers it implies) the Hanged Man (and the significance of the tree of sacrifice) and all the rest of the cards. Complete with all the illustrations from the original 1911 edition, this information and entertaining work will delight anyone interested in the tarot, in mythological symbology, and everything arcane."

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Arthur Edward Waite was born on October 2, 1857 in Brooklyn, New York. He was a poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Waite joined the Outer Order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in January 1891 after being introduced by E.W. Berridge. In 1899 he entered the Second order of the Golden Dawn. He became a Freemason in 1901, and entered the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia in 1902. In 1903 Waite founded the Independent and Rectified Order R. R. et A. C. Waite was a prolific author and many of his works were well received in academic circles. He wrote occult texts on subjects including divination, esotericism, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, and ceremonial magic, Kabbalism and alchemy; he also translated and reissued several important mystical and alchemical works. His works on the Holy Grail, influenced by his friendship with Arthur Machen, were particularly notable. A number of his volumes remain in print, including The Book of Ceremonial Magic (1911), The Holy Kabbalah (1929), A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1921), and his edited translation of Eliphas Levi's 1896 Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual (1910), having seen reprints in recent years. Waite also wrote two allegorical fantasy novels, Prince Starbeam (1889) and The Quest of the Golden Stairs (1893).