The Rider-Waite Tarot re imagination of the classic 70s top bottom box. One of the major adjustments was improved depth of color. (note: The original palates were destroyed during the bombing on London during WW II.)

The cards themselves are 2 3/4" by 4 3/4", of good quality, glossy card . The faces show the same 1/4" white border surrounding a central picture. The Greater Arcana show the card number at the top of the card, with the title across the bottom. The court cards show the suit and title across the bottom of the card. The pips show the card number across the top of the card, with full scenes in each card.

19. The Sun. Material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment; Reversed: The same in a lesser sense.

King of Wands: The physical and emotional nature to which this card is attributed is dark, ardent, lithe, animated, impassioned, noble. The King holds up a flowering wand and wears, like his three correspondences in the remaining suits, what is called a cap of maintenance beneath his crown. He connects with the symbol of the lion, which is emblazoned on the back of his throne. Divinitory Meanings: Dark man, friendly, countryman, generally married, honest and conscientious. Reversed: Good but severe; austere, tolerant.

Ace of Cups: The water is beneath and on it are water lilies; the hand comes out of the cloud, holding in its palm the cup, from which four streams are pouring; a dove, bearing in its bill a cross marked host, descends to place the wafer in the cup, the dew of water is falling on all sides. It is an intimation of that which may lie behind the Lesser Arcana. Divinitory Meanings: House of the true heart, joy, content, abode; nourishment, abundance, fertility, holy table, happiness; Reversed: House of the false heart, mutation, instability, revolution. 3

Waite presents what I feel is an important section, and one that often is overlooked: the meaning of multiples of the same card in different suits. i.e. Multiples of Aces, Kings, Pages, Tens etc. The same energy coming from a different elemental aspect can have great impact on a reading, and should not be ignored. It shows the present state of the issue being read for, as well as the key to the "way out".

Waite presents two spreads - the classic ten card Celtic Cross, as well as what Waite calls a Thirty-Five Card Spread, which acts as a followup to the Celtic Cross reading.

The Original Rider Waite Tarot is probably the most basic deck for a student to learn with. From there, the student has a sound grasp of Tarot basics, and can make their own decisions as to how they want to read the cards, and what decks they want to read from. This is also a must have deck for Tarot reference work - and the re-coloring, combined with the original card backs are a lovely added "bonus".


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dRofrjkz_8

Name: Rider-Waite Tarot
Alternate Names: Rider Tarot, Waite Tarot, Waite-Smith Tarot
Creators: A. E. Waite, Pamela Colman-Smith1
Deck Type: Tarot Deck
Cards: 78
Major Arcana: 22
Minor Arcana: 56
Deck Tradition: Rider-Waite-Smith
Minor Arcana Style: RWS-Based Scenes
Suits: Cups, Swords, Wands, Pentacles
Court Cards: Page, Knight, Queen, King
Major Titles: Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, The World
The Fool is 0
Strength is 8
Justice is 11

Card Size: 2.75 x 4.63 in. = 6.99cm x 11.75cm
Card Language: English
Card Back: Reversible