What Question would you ask Miss Pamela?

Since I asked what question would you ask Mlle. Lenormand, I thought only fair I post the same about Miss Pamela Colman Smith.

My question to her would be did she change her mind regarding tarot later in life? I have read she embraced Catholicism and basically renounced the cards. I would like to ask her if that was really true and what lead to that? I would like to hear about this directly from Miss Pamela.

I would ask her whether she felt that drawing the cards was 'a calling' or just a paid job. From what I've read there does seem to be some disagreement between commentators over Pixie's motives and intentions regarding the creation of the RWS.

Interesting, Mycroft

And in a way, it kind of goes full circle to my question. I have wondered how many were really into the cards, The Golden Dawn, that much or how many saw it more like a social club, something avant garde. There were many artistic types involved at one time or another. I know Miss Pamela was quite young. It seemed more like she knew the right people to be involved and how fervent she was about it all is something I have been curious about. Reading that as she got older, she basically denounced it all and embraced the Catholic faith, also makes me wonder what she really thought. But all that said, I have a picture of her, the one that came out with the centennial deck and book, framed on my reading table . I think she was an incredible artist and that deck is my favorite.
It is interesting that both she and Mlle. Lenormand are both so well-known among readers, but Mlle. Lenormand for actually reading and I don't know how much, if at all, Miss Pamela ever did.

I have several questions that i would ask Pam first one would be why did she not ask for a bigger cut in getting a fairer percentage of money before the printing production of the cards first went on sale? secondly did she ever keep a printed copy of the her cards i would think she would now been proud of the fact how popular they had become around the world and did she ever keep one in her possession in her later years? and finally had she ever seen a movie with her cards being shown , i think there were cinema movies back in the 1940's that had used Tarot?

Not meaning to de-rail the thrust of this thread - which could be very interesting (the thread - not the derailing of it) - but we all are making a mistake (IMHO) that Pamela was some kind of in-depth Tarot card maven, and that Tarot was the all-encompassing passion of her life like it is in ours ... and I think you are all very mistaken! Whatever 'Tarot involvement' Pamela had from being a member of the Golden Dawn - Tarot was not the driving force in her life. She was a paid artist and produced the deck for Waite. I don't know of any instances where Pamela wrote about the cards or recorded using the cards in any way, shape, or form. We 'assume' that since she designed what has become the world's most recognizable deck that somehow she ate, slept, and breathed Tarot ... and I think that concept is very misguided. Pamela was not a card reader. {If I am wrong, I will retract the statements}

Several years ago Bill Greer of the Morgan-Greer deck joined AT and I think people were expecting him to be some kind of Tarot expert and answer all sorts of picayune detail questions when in reality Bill Greer was a paid artist, like Pamela - not as Tarotist.

The question I would ask Miss Pamela: 'So - what was Waite really like to work for?' 'Was the Golden Dawn really as noble as they pretended to be, or was it all one big clique?'

Not to be disrespectful.... I love the RWS cards and use them more than my other more beautiful decks, but looking at them, they look like a paid job to me. They are quick, efficient and to the point, easy to print and colour. Designed for mass production.
None of this detracts from how wonderful I think they are, I have certainly seen worse cards for artistic ability and much better cards that almost just lay there on the table and only say "pretty".

tarotbear said:

Not meaning to de-rail the thrust of this thread - which could be very interesting (the thread - not the derailing of it) - but we all are making a mistake (IMHO) that Pamela was some kind of in-depth Tarot card maven, and that Tarot was the all-encompassing passion of her life like it is in ours ... and I think you are all very mistaken! Whatever 'Tarot involvement' Pamela had from being a member of the Golden Dawn - Tarot was not the driving force in her life. She was a paid artist and produced the deck for Waite. I don't know of any instances where Pamela wrote about the cards or recorded using the cards in any way, shape, or form. We 'assume' that since she designed what has become the world's most recognizable deck that somehow she ate, slept, and breathed Tarot ... and I think that concept is very misguided. Pamela was not a card reader. {If I am wrong, I will retract the statements}

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Not only are you not wrong, you are absolutely correct, and it is important to look at the issue objectively. There seems to be such an idealization and almost deification of Smith in recent years. It is true, Pam was a minor member of Waite's version of the Golden Dawn, drawn to it mainly because (I assume) of her background in theatre and set design, she liked the ritualistic aspects and pomp, but her heart wasn't in it and she wasn't an occultist. Contrary to the Thoth, that really was a labor of love, the RWS was a work for hire. Less glamorous, perhaps, but there it is. However, there are stories about her from other GD members about her being psychic, whatever that means, so there is that.

As to what I would ask her... actually my questions would be about Waite, and less about her. What were his instructions? What did he tell her to draw? How much did he reveal to her? How did she manage to create a more or less viable GD deck while working in the dark?

I would also ask her how much she was actually paid. Her letter states it was a big job for very little money, but how stingy was the old boy, exactly? What constitutes very little money for a job like that?

closrapexa said:

However, there are stories about her from other GD members about her being psychic, whatever that means, so there is that.

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She may have been psychic, steeped in Jamaican folklore - but that does not make her a Tarotist ... just a very interesting person.

There is no doubt that Pamela lead a very interesting life up until her later years living in Cornwall, i've often wondered if she thought of herself as having some sort of psychic awareness or gift she had joined the Golden Dawn in 1901 and spent a considerable amount of years there? i feel she did have some ability and a great interest with spirituality.

When she had converted to Catholicism did she not have to tell the church about her involvement with the Golden Dawn?

I would want to know about her well known psychic abilities. Especially how they came into play when she was working on the deck.