The Pictorial Key to the Tarot Book

By Arthur Edward Waite

Book Overview

Arthur Edward Waite was a profound scholar of the occult. He was a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn and made the tarot accessible to the reader with the release of his seminal work, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, in 1909. The book is broken into three parts: "The Veil and Its Symbols" which provides a history of the tarot along with traditional symbols associated with each card; "The Doctrine of the Veil" comprising 78 black and white images of the Rider-Waite deck along with regular and reversed meanings; and "The Outer Methods of the Oracles" which discusses the art of tarot divination, including the now famous Celtic Cross Spread. Paperback contains 340 pages with black and white illustrations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B007D00MOE
• ISBN13: 9780913866085
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.4" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot

This is the book written by one of the creators of the most iconic and well-known Tarot deck, A.E. Waite. He breaks down the history of the Tarot, the symbolism in each card, how it all connects to Kabbalah/Qabalah, and the key words and various meanings for each card. I would argue that for anyone who wants to learn the art of Tarot reading and enhance their knowledge on the subject, look no further than this book!

Great addition to my growing tarot collection.

Happy to have this in my growing little tarot collection but to be very honest, it was a tough read sometimes. It might be fine to flip through for help with meanings, but I read all the ready parts and had a hard time of it. I'm not going to lower the star ratings because of the way my brain is wired.

A good place to start

This book is my first exsperince with tarot. It is helping me learn quite well.It gives great difanitions of the cards & thare reversed means.

Essential, but leaving me yearning for more

Having delved into modern tarot explanations, it was a blessing for me to come across this jewel from the creator himself. The reading was long, and long, and long, and boring. Only because I am the type of person that can run for 3 hours on a treadmill, did I find it also entertaining. The bottom line is though, who better to learn from then the creator of something. Waite explains and demystifies a lot; the main point, "Physician, heal thyself" Go with what comes to you.A must for anyone striving to be a diviner of the Waite deck.