Rider-Waite

The record

It's very difficult to review a deck such as this one for several reasons. Firstly the images are so well known as to almost be wallpaper. This is after all the most widely circulated tarot deck in the world so much the case that its vast sales have more or less formed the foundation stone of its modern day publisher, U.S. Games Inc. The images go well beyond the consciousness of tarot enthusiasts. Mention tarot to many a layperson and chances are that these are the cards they will see in their minds eye, even if they dont know where they came from. Over the last year alone Ive seen the Rider Waite featured in two major advertising campaigns in the UK. Madonna even used giant projections of them as backdrops to her last tour. As is well known, the decks author, A.E. Waite gave detailed indications as to the content of the Major Arcana to artist Pamela Coleman Smith. The Minor Arcana however are thought to be Smiths own creation and it is her unique illustrations that have ensured the decks posterity. She was the first to consistently apply pictorial scenes to the pip cards, reflecting their divinatory meaning. She unwittingly created a new tradition so that even today, the majority

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