Original Rider Waite Tarot - CARDS

By Cate Gardner View Profile
For a beginner's deck you really cannot beat the Rider Waite. I have a friend, who after years of readings still won't use anything else. After all these years they are still one of my husband/handfasted partner's favourite decks.

These cards really do impart a knowledge of Tarot from the first reading, where you are clutching your 'beginner's guide and frantically looking up meanings as you go along. They are a pictorial rather than pip deck (all cards are illustrated - not just Major Arcana) easy to handle, easy to remember and most importantly easy to interpret. Highly recommended.

By Brett Almond View Profile
Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942) was a leading scholar of the occult who produced the Rider Waite deck in 1910 in collaboration with artist Pamela Colman Smith. It has been the best selling Tarot deck of the twentieth century. Each card is rich in symbolism and clear in its design. It doesn't have the more modern appeal of some recently published decks, but there are many subtleties in these paintings, which means that years after starting to use this deck you will be noticing new details. Many Tarot books use the Rider Waite deck for their illustrations.

By Rob, Chessington
I would just like to say that if you are looking for your first deck then go ahead and click purchase. There is not one thing I can fault about these cards, every little thing is perfect. I have many decks and many different versions of this deck including the pocket and radiant yet this is the one I pull out for every reading. I know many readers who have been reading for years and still stick with this deck, so I would also recommend it for advanced readers especially if you need pictures to trigger an answer that you seek. Come on now, 8 wands on a white background is not really going to provoke any feelings except maybe frustration that the designer hardly gave any thought to the cards and was not very original. Original is a good word here as this deck sparked hundreds upon hundreds of clones and set the basic standard of most decks these days. Whatever path you choose, may you be blessed with love and light. Blessed be )O(

By Jackie, East Sussex
I had an older pack of Rider-Waite where the colours are somewhat brighter. The detail on the Original pack is stronger and the colours are almost Pre-Raphaelite, with tones of brown and greens. This is my preferred pack, and they yield many insights with continued use.