Pictorial Key to the Tarot
- Pictorial Key to the Tarot
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot is A. E. Waite's influential guide to divinatory tarot, published in England in 1910 in conjunction with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. While Waite was an occultist, he was very concerned with the accuracy of the symbols he used for his deck, and he did much research into the traditions, interpretations, and history behind the cards.
The book (which Waite himself called "a monograph") consists of three parts.
:* Part I, "The Veil and Its Symbols", is a short overview of the traditional symbols associated with each card, followed by a history of the Tarot. Waite dismissed as baseless the belief that the Tarot was Egyptian in origin, and noted that no evidence of the cards exists prior to the 15th century.
:* Part II, "The Doctrine of the Veil", contains 78 black and white plates of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, and a discussion of the unique symbols chosen for each card. Waite drew upon the earlier Tarot of French occultist Eliphas Levi, at times retaining his changes to the traditional deck (as with the Chariot card, which both Waite and Levi picture being drawn by two sphinx, instead of horses), at other times criticizing him (as with the Hermit card, which Waite thought Levi misinterpreted).
:* Part III, "The Outer Methods of the Oracles", concerns matters of divination with the cards, including a description of the famous Celtic Cross Tarot layout, which the book helped popularize.
In 1918, an American author, L. W. de Laurence, published an exact facsimile copy of the book under the title "The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination, Illustrating the Greater and Lesser Arcana", without giving any credit to Waite.
Links and references
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/ HTML version of the 1910 text, with images]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot — Der Bilderschlüssel zum Tarot (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot) ist ein Buch von Arthur Edward Waite in dem Waite anhand des Rider Waite Tarot die Symbolik, die Geschichte und die Verwendung des Tarot erläutert und gilt heute noch als… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Tarot — The tarot (also known as tarocchi, tarock or similar names) is typically a set of seventy eight cards, comprised of twenty one trump cards, one Fool, and four suits of fourteen cards each ten pip and four face cards (one more face card per suit… … Wikipedia
The Hanged Man (tarot card) — The Hanged Man (XII) is the twelfth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. It may also be known as The Traitor, particularly in older decks.specify|date=March… … Wikipedia
The Book of Thoth (Crowley) — The Book of Thoth : A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians is the title of The Equinox , volume III, number 5, by Aleister Crowley. The book is recorded in the vernal equinox of 1944, An Ixviii Sol in 0° 0 0 Aries, March 21, 1944 e. v. 5:29… … Wikipedia
The High Priestess — (II) is the second trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.In the first tarots with inscriptions, the 18th century woodcut Marseille Tarot, this figure is crowned with … Wikipedia
The Empress (Tarot card) — The Empress (III) is the third trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot card games as well as divination. Description and symbolism Arthur Edward Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot… … Wikipedia
The Emperor (Tarot card) — The Emperor (IV) is the fourth trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. Description and symbolism A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations.… … Wikipedia
The Lovers — (VI) is the sixth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. Interpretation In some traditions, the Lovers represent relationships and choices. Its appearance in a spread… … Wikipedia
The World (Tarot card) — The World (XXI) is a trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It is usually the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence. In the tarot family of card games, this card is usually worth five points. Description In the early… … Wikipedia
The Devil (Tarot card) — The Devil (XV) is the fifteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. Symbolism In the Rider Waite Smith deck, the Devil sits above two naked human demons one male, one… … Wikipedia
