Tarot

Why the Rider/Waite Deck ?

 

The Mage believes that all students desiring to learn the Tarot begin with the Rider/Waite deck. There are many reasons for this.

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The Rider/Waite deck contains 78 cards. This is the correct number of cards a deck should have. The cards fit into the scheme of Astrology as well as the Tree of Life in Caballah. 

 

Here is the breakdown:

22 Trump cards - These cover Planet, Sign, Number and Element. 16 Court Cards. 40 Minor Cards. More information about correspondences can be found throughout the tarot section. Suffice it to say that using the Rider/Waite will also teach these correspondences to the student. No other deck does this in as simple a format as Rider/Waite.

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The Rider/Waite deck is a deck of images. These images are rather basic and uncomplicated. This certainly makes memorizing the deck a much easier task. For example the 2 of Cups. The picture shows 2 people exchanging cups (love) sparking the idea of an emotional type commitment. They are dressed in festive clothes and  the most obvious association is a marriage or engagement. These images also contain the correspondences within the card that can serve as guideposts to the ideas intended.

 

Here is what I mean:

Because the suit is cups we know 2 things

1) Cups speak to emotional issues, which means that the issue expressed is Emotional/Relationship/Love. Cups represent  water, which is naturally of a positive polarity.

So the least we know is that we are most likely seeing a positive emotional experience. The number 2 is also of a primarily positive polarity. 

The image reflects this on a subconscious and even conscious level as well.

Knowing the nature of the the cards correspondences and how Planet, Number, Sign and Element work together is the technical part of understanding what forces are at work. The image also resonates on a psychic and/or subconscious level, particularly those that have natural clairvoyant abilities.

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2) If you can read and use the Rider-Waite deck with proficiency, you can read nearly every other deck as well. Nearly every deck that is available today is based off the Rider-Waite ideas and images at the core. This core knowledge is useful in understanding many tarot schemes. It can also be used in identifying more advanced decks as well as the bogus decks that are available.

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 One other point I would like to make is this. If you desire to go on and use more and more advanced systems of Magick you will time and again see tarot correspondences used as a means of defining and conveying the nature of the work. This applies to Astrology, Geomancy, Caballah and Enochian Magick particularly. 

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I am by no means saying that Rider/Waite is the only or even the best deck to use. Once the reader has grasped the basic principals of a reading there are a vast number of decks to choose. I myself am particular to Crowley's Thoth and The Witches Kaballah decks. I am saying that no other deck works nearly as well in simplifying the CORRECT ideas of the ART of tarot. Once these principles are understood they may be applied to any deck out there. These same principles are a base from which you may even advance on to develop your own cards or deck.

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The Rider/Waite provides a BASE of tarot instruction that cannot be equaled. 

I would be happy to hear your comments on this if any. They might even be posted !