Rider Waite Symbolism

I have decided that I want to sit down, and actually study the symbolism of the RIder-Waite-Smith deck. I was just wondering what a good book for this would be. I would actually prefer something aimed at a beginner, or something that isn't to....I guess you would say eloquent...something written in plain, everyday speech.

Thanks!

Actually, DO NOT read A.E. Waite's own book 'The Key to The Tarot' - it is dry and written in that 'high sounding' literary style of 100 years ago. His vocabulary and ideas need to be updated and edited for a modern audience.

Why dont you try Eden Grays "Mastering the Tarot" or "The Tarot Revealed" which deal with the Waite deck. You might also find Rosemary Guiley's "The Mystical Tarot" ( Not to be confused with a deck with a similar name) to be helpful.

I suggest also checking Nina Lee Bradon's compilation of Robert O'Neill's work on the sources of Rider Waite/Colman-Smith symbolism at:

http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/2282/oneill/index.htm

Thanks guys! I have the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, and I hate it.

I have 78DW, is that good for the RWS decks? I haven't really had time to sit down and read it.

More serious Study Group?

Phoenix:

I would love to participate in an in-depth study of the symbolism of the Waite deck. That it was used as a tool by an influential occult group, and remains the basis for a great number of modern decks, is quite significant. As you probably know, Paul Case devoted a great deal of time to the symbols on his own deck, which was closely aligned with the Waite symbols. *Many* years ago I took about a year's worth of the BOTA lessons, and actually thought they were quite useful. A number of modern Tarot books have been published in the past years written by members and former members of the BOTA group.

If you want to start a more serious endeavor here, count me in. Perhaps we could examine the cards individually (I'm thinking Major Arcana), and then look for the obvious links between different cards (those with angelic beings, or water, or mountains, or dual towers, etc.)

Actually Ophiel, I would love to do an actual study group of the RWS deck!

Count me in for this too. I've never really taken a lot of time to study all the symbolism in the RW cards. Right now I'm reading 78DW, and it's got me looking at the cards in a different way. I'd love to see what other people feel and think about the symbolism in the cards.

BTW, Phoenix posted a message about a study group in the Study Group > General category. If you are interested, you might want to go to that thread and post a hand up.

For what it's worth, I learned a lot from the first two sections of A.E. Waite's book, The pictorial key to the Tarot. It was wordy and curious to read but there is a lot of interesting stuff there...

What about Joan Bunnings book, I'm sitting here and I can't remember the name, that is all about the Rider Waite and you can see it online before you decide whether to buy and study from the book