Getting started with tarot can feel both exciting and a bit overwhelming. That's why it's a good idea to choose a deck with clear images and symbolism that follows a well-known tradition. Most beginners start with decks based on the Rider–Waite Smith system. The images are easier to interpret, and there are often plenty of guides and literature to support you along the way.
See our collection of Rider-Waite-Smith decks!
A.E. Waite
Arthur Edward Waite, as he is actually called, is the founder of the world's most influential tarot deck. He was born in 1857 and died in 1942. He was a spiritual seeker and mystic who for a period freelanced as a translator. In 1889, he published A Handbook of Cartomancy, Fortune-Telling and Occult Divination, one of the first English books to describe how to work with tarot. In 1909, he created his first deck, the Rider Waite Tarot, together with Pamela Colman Smith. Their decks have become immensely popular and are suitable for beginners who need to learn the basics of tarot, but also for experienced readers as the imagery is rich and full of infinite richness.
Pamela Colman Smith
Pamela Colman Smith, also known as Pixie, was an English-American artist, illustrator and writer who spent part of her childhood in Jamaica. When she was older, she studied art in New York and then toured with an English theatre company. Between 1890-1910 she collaborated with W.B Yeats on various artistic projects. In 1909 she illustrated her first A.E. Waite deck. He then continued to employ her because he believed that her mediumistic abilities were an advantage for his tarot decks. And like A.E. Waite was also a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, which during the 19th and early 20th centuries was a closed order, founded by Freemasons, that influenced the entire Western mystery tradition. She was born in 1878 and died in 1951.