05/21/2022

*Video above is not mine

So, I've finally got my first ever Tarot deck! (If the title wasn't already obvious that is).

It is the original Rider Waite Tarot Deck and it was concieved by A. E. Waite (I'm guessing a descendant)? The cards were designed by Pamela Colman Smith, but more about her later.

Here's what the box looks like:

It's a pretty simple design but I quite like it! I am especially drawn towards the infinite snake in the middle of the box's design.

Here's what it looks like when opened:

On the left is the stack of cards. They're sealed in a thin layer of plastic, which prevents them from getting damaged in the box. Of course, I kept the empty box to the right. If you notice, the deck comes with an instructions manual (I'm most definitely going to need that-)

The instructions manual is pretty small and the whole thing is just very compact. Now, I've seen a lot of people do tarot deck reviews in YouTube, and one thing they almost always talk about is the size of the cards. Since this is my first ever deck and I have more...petite hands, I have no idea if this is a bigger size or not. But if I were to make an educated guess, I would say that it is of average size.

Now, this is what the cards look like:

*Starting from the left*

There is of course the instructions manual. You can see that it is smaller than the cards. The first card shows the "brand" (I honestly don't know what to call it). And going on, there are the major Arcana. Starting with the Fool, to the Magician, to the High Priestess, and so and and so forth. Now, I want to mention this cool detail which is the fact that they're all in order. If you notice the Roman Numerals on the top of the cards, you can see that for yourselves.

One more thing to take into account is the fact that this is the original deck. And because of this, there are some cards with adult themes (as in containg graphic artwork) . So, I would recommend people above the age of 16 to use this deck. If you would like to try some Tarot out for yourself, there are other modern decks which do not have graphic artwork and instead have other types of art ranging from symbols to cutesy artwork.

I'm not going to upload a picture of all of the cards because that's too much work, but I would like to point out a few more things.

I was under the assumption that these cards would have, say for example, "Ten of Cups" written on them but actually, they just have a picture of whatever the item is (e.g., cups, swords, etc.) and a Roman Numeral depicting how much of that item there is. That's one of the features of the original deck.

Many modern decks these days actually have the card's name written at the bottom or something like that.

Now, I did say that I would talk about Pamela Colman Smith. When I flip the card over (where the blue floral design is seen), the first card that shows up is a card dedicated to Pamela and has her history in there.

So, what I'm going to do is just type out (here in the chapter) exactly what's in that particular card.

PAMELA COLMAN SMITH

She was born February 16, 1878, in Middlesex, England, of American parents. Her childhood years were spent between London, New York, and Kingston, Jamaica.

During her teens, she traveled throughout England with the theatre company of Ellen Terry and Henry Irving. Thereafter, she took up formal art training at the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, graduating in 1897.

Although American by birth, she returned to England, where she became a theatrical designer for miniature theatre and an illustrator, mainlu of books, pamphlets, and posters.

Around 1903, she joined the Order of the Golden Dawn and began to paint visions that came to her while listening to music.

In 1909, she undertook a sesries of seventy-eight allegorical paintings described by Arthur Edward Waite as a rectified tarot pack, including full scenes on every card. The designs, published in the same year by William Rider and Son, exemplify the mysticism, ritual imagination, fantasy, and deep emotions of the artist.

Despite occasional art shows and favorable reviews by critics, the continued slow sales of her works and rejections by commercial publishers left her deeply disappointed.

Smith never married. She had no known heirs except for an elderly female companion who shared her flat. She died on September 18, 1951, penniless and obscure. Much of her work has never been found.

Pamela Colman Smith would be all but forgotten except for the seventy-eight tarot paintings known as the Rider-Waite Tarot pack. She would be astonished and gladdened to know that today the deck touches the hearts and emotions of millions of people.

Reprinted from The Encyclopedia of Tarot, Volume III, by Stuart R. Kaplan.

So that's that about Pamela Colman Smith. A sad ending, but one that I've heard many times (still doesn't change the fact that it's sad).

There's more about Arthur Edward Waite in the little pamphlet included with the deck as well as a little more information about the deck as a whole, but I won't be including that in this chapter.

The pamphlet (instructions manual) starts off by listing and explaining the Greater Arcana and their Divinatory Meanings.

For those of you who don't know (myself included), the Greater Arcana (stop thinking about the otome game Vera-) consists of the following cards:

0.) The Fool

1.) The Magician (love this card)

2.) The High Priestess

3.) The Empress

4.) The Emperor

5.) The Hierophant

6.) The Lovers

7.) The Chariot

8.) Strength

9.) The Hermit

10.) Wheel of Fortune (one of my personal favorite cards)

11.) Justice

12.) The Hanged Man

13.) Death

14.) Temperance

15.) The Devil

16.) The Tower

17.) The Star

18.) The Moon

19.) The Sun

20.) Judgment (another one of my favorite cards)

21.) The World

Now if any of you guys want a list of all of the cards in a tarot deck (I'm talking Greater and Lesser Arcana) and their meanings, let me know! Perhaps I'll make a chapter about it.

I have a few things about the Greater Arcana that I want to share with you, and yes, they both have to do with fandoms-

Firstly, there's this otome game called "The Arcana" and all of the main characters are associated with each of the Greater Arcana. My favorite character (whom I proudly simp for) - Asra Alnazar - is the Magician.

Secondly, there's this anime called "La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia" or simply "Arcana Famiglia." Basically imagine a mafia but they're all associated with a major Arcana card. For example, this character called Liberta is the Fool.

The pamphlet includes the meanings of all of the Lesser Arcana as well and BOY THERE'S A LOT-

They're organized from Wands to Cups to Swords to Pentacles. The pamphlet's also got other information such as "The Recurrence of Cards in Dealing" and a bunch of other stuff.

To conclude this chapter, I would like to say that I'm very excited to finally get started with this deck and delve into the world of Tarot dealings and that sort of mysticism.

I'm thinking about making a book where I do readings for people, but I'm not sure how to actually go about that. If you would like to see that and/or have any suggestions about this, please feel free to let me know!

Until next time!

- The Marchioness

Vera Lisle