In esoteric studies, Arthur Edward Waite is most renowned for his work with the Tarot. Waite, a scholar, poet, and translator, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 2, 1857. However, his most enduring contribution is the tarot card industry, specifically the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, which is still in use today. Even days, Waite’s work is easier to get across than ever because of the proliferation of websites offering a free tarot card reading online.
Waite belonged to the esoteric study and practice group known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Waite’s interest in tarot cards began during his membership in the Golden Dawn. While he saw the Tarot’s potential as a valuable tool for divination and introspection, he found the preexisting decks needed improvement. So, Waite made his tarot deck, which eventually became the Rider-Waite Tarot.
It’s generally agreed that the Rider-Waite Tarot was one of the most influential tarot decks ever created. Each of the 78 cards in the deck is packed with rich symbolism and imagery. Pamela Colman Smith, the artist who illustrated the deck, collaborated closely with Waite to realize his ideas for the pictures.
The widespread availability of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck significantly contributes to the deck’s enduring popularity. Those with little or no experience with Tarot will benefit considerably from the deck’s accessibility due to the simple imagery it employs. The deck’s meaning is also culturally neutral, making it accessible to people from all walks of life. In addition, many free tarot card reading online websites and applications feature the Rider-Waite Tarot deck because of its widespread availability.
The Rider-Waite Tarot deck was not Waite’s only significant gift to the tarot community. Also, he was an accomplished author, having written various works on Tarot, such as “The Pictorial Key to the Tarot” and “The Book of Black Magic and Pacts.” Waite’s books on Tarot are still read and studied by anyone interested in the subject many years after they were first published.
Waite took a different approach to Tarot than many of his contemporaries. He thought Tarot might be used as a vehicle for introspection and development. He concluded that the reader’s intuition and inner wisdom were crucial to correctly interpreting the cards. Many modern tarot readers have been affected by this perspective, and it is not unusual for tarot readings to center on the seeker’s development and introspection.
The influence of Waite’s work in the field of Tarot is undeniable, and his cards remain helpful even now. Waite’s Rider-Waite Tarot deck and his writings are more widely available now than ever due to the rise of people offering free tarot card reading online websites. People in all corners of the globe are thus discovering Tarot’s transforming potential.
Overall, Arthur Edward Waite was an innovator, and his contributions to the field of Tarot are still felt today. As a result of his work, the Rider-Waite Tarot deck is widely used today, and the subject of Tarot is discussed in a wide range of books. In addition, the growth of tarot card reading has made Waite’s work more widely available than ever before. Waite’s influence on the tarot community will last for a long time as long as people keep turning to the cards for insight and understanding.