Tarot Fellow
Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite — Classic RWS Companion Book
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Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite — the original 1910 companion text written by the creator of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, providing Waite’s own interpretations of every card, the esoteric symbolism woven into the imagery, and his views on divination. Essential primary source reading for anyone serious about understanding the Golden Dawn and Kabbalistic foundations of the RWS tradition.
Description:Quick Specs
- Brand: A.E. Waite
- Type: Tarot reference book, paperback
- Size/Quantity: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches, approximately 340 pages
- Best for: Tarot students, RWS deck users, esoteric history readers
What the Pictorial Key to the Tarot Is
Arthur Edward Waite published "The Pictorial Key to the Tarot" in 1910 as the companion text to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the deck he commissioned from artist Pamela Colman Smith and which remains the most widely used tarot deck in the English-speaking world today. Both Waite and Smith were initiates of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the imagery they developed together was deliberately encoded with Kabbalistic, astrological, and Christian-mystical symbolism drawn from Golden Dawn teachings. The Pictorial Key is Waite's own explanation of those symbols, making it the primary source document for understanding why the RWS deck looks the way it does.
The book divides into three parts. Part One, "The Veil and Its Symbols," provides a history of the tarot, including Waite's scholarly critique of the then-popular theory that tarot originated in ancient Egypt, a claim he dismissed as unsupported by any historical evidence. Part Two, "The Doctrine of the Veil," contains the 78 black-and-white card illustrations alongside Waite's discussion of each card's symbolism and divinatory meanings, both upright and reversed. Part Three, "The Outer Methods of the Oracles," covers practical divination methods, including Waite's description of the Celtic Cross spread, which the Pictorial Key helped establish as the dominant tarot layout in modern use.
Why Readers Still Use the Pictorial Key a Century Later
Most tarot books written since 1910 are, in some measure, responding to, interpreting, or departing from Waite's original framework. Reading the Pictorial Key gives students direct access to the interpretive layer beneath the RWS images rather than filtered secondhand commentary. Waite's prose is Victorian in register, dense and allusive, and his meanings are sometimes deliberately obscured because he considered certain knowledge appropriate only for initiates. Readers who persist through the stylistic difficulty often report that it shifts their reading practice significantly, revealing symbolic intentionality in the imagery that most modern introductory books pass over entirely.
The Pictorial Key is most useful for practitioners who already read with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and want to deepen their engagement with the symbolism rather than just memorize divinatory keywords. It is not an ideal first tarot book for complete beginners, as the language and structure assume some familiarity with Western esoteric tradition. Pairing it with a modern introductory guide and the RWS deck itself creates a layered study approach that serves intermediate and advanced readers particularly well.
How to Use The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Use the Pictorial Key alongside your RWS deck and modern resources to build a historically grounded tarot practice.
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Read the History First
Start with Part One before the card meanings. Waite's historical overview debunks myths about tarot's origins. His critiques of earlier occultists who claimed an Egyptian origin clarify why his specific interpretations take the forms they do.
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Study Cards Alongside the Deck
Work through Part Two with your RWS deck beside you. Pull each card as Waite discusses it and compare the imagery against his description. His commentary highlights symbolic details in the illustrations that many readers initially overlook.
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Compare with Modern Sources
After reading Waite's meanings for a card, compare them with a modern guide. Note where contemporary interpretations align with his original intent and where they have shifted. This comparison builds a historically grounded approach to RWS reading.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock the Pictorial Key because it is irreplaceable as a primary source for Rider-Waite-Smith tarot study. No secondary book, however good, substitutes for reading Waite's own explanations of the imagery he commissioned. If you work with the RWS deck and want to understand it at the source level, this is the text. Explore my tarot and divination books for companion reading, or browse my tarot decks and divination tools to pair this book with the deck itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is A.E. Waite's 1910 companion text to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, explaining symbolism and meanings of all 78 cards. It covers tarot history and includes his description of the Celtic Cross spread, which helped establish it in modern practice.
The Pictorial Key is not an ideal first tarot book. Waite's prose is Victorian and assumes familiarity with Western esotericism. Beginners do better with a modern guide first. Return to Waite's original text once you have the fundamentals in place.
This is the book only, not a deck-and-book set. It contains black-and-white reproductions of all 78 RWS card illustrations. For best use, pair it with a separate RWS deck and work through Waite's commentary with the actual cards in hand.
It is the original source text for RWS symbolism, written by the man who commissioned the deck from Pamela Colman Smith. Most tarot books adapt Waite's framework. The Pictorial Key gives you direct access to the primary interpretation, unfiltered.
