Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot
Page 11
Winchelsea had a mysterious nature to it, being an ancient place set on a hill surrounded by marsh. It was founded in 1288 by King Edward I to replace an earlier town that had sunk beneath the sea. It prospered on shipbuilding, and as an important port many great ships left from there.
The Secret Landscape of the Deck
The landscape of the Waite-Smith deck is one of gentle hills and pastoral villages, courtyards and coastal scenes, lazily flowing rivers and arched bridges. A timeless, enchanted backdrop, almost medieval in its architecture but certainly presented through the lens of stage design. Many elements are repeated: the small cottage, the tower, the bridge over the river. A windswept group of trees is often seen, like a musical motif, suggesting an overall theme or source. It’s almost as if we are navigating ourselves around a dream place where a river runs through several locations, yet they remain disconnected—an incomplete map.
However, the map is of an actual place, even if drawn through inner vision and elaborated. We know that Ellen Terry lived at Tower Cottage between 1896 and 1906, in that year moving to Smallhythe, her more famous cottage. It is apparent that Pamela visited both Tower Cottage and Smallhythe and likely stayed, as we have a sketch by her that is undoubtedly Tower Cottage and the Strand Gate. This was drawn by Pamela from the strand or the sea road farther down the hill, looking back up at the gate and the cottage.
33. A Sketch Looking Towards Tower Cottage, Pamela Colman
Smith. (Courtesy of the National Trust, used under license.)
34. View towards Tower Cottage, photograph by authors.
35. Tower Cottage, photograph by authors.
It is certainly this landscape and style that were in Pamela’s soul when she came to draw the tarot three years later. Winchelsea’s landscape provided all the background for the scenes in the deck: the small ruined castle, the flat coastline, the style of the cottages and larger houses such as the armoury and court house, the gently rolling hills, and the arched ruins and towers. The town also rises out of low-lying marshland, providing the backdrop for the 8 of Cups. The town armoury courtyard is depicted in the 6 of Cups, giving part of the secret of the strange figure walking away from the scene with the spear or pike. The local church of St. Thomas the Martyr contains a famous tomb underneath a stained glass window, the model for the 4 of Swords.
36. Winchelsea Castle, photograph by authors.
The unique half-shaped oval building we see in some of Pamela’s idealised versions of Winchelsea is the old Water Tower, and further confirms the real-world location.
Perhaps the most interesting clue to this secret is a small bit of history: the town of Winchelsea is one of the “antient” towns of the “cinque ports,” five towns on the English coast dedicated to shipbuilding and coastal defence. The flag for these towns was composed of three lions and three ship sterns—a flag and standard on show throughout the town; Pamela would have seen both often. If we consider the coat of arms on the 10 of Pentacles, we see clearly a ship and castle, with three standards above. The man here holds the same spear that we see in the armoury image of the 6 of Cups.
37. Water Tower at Winchelsea, photograph by authors.
38. Cinque Ports Flag, photograph by authors.
And perhaps this simply explains the image of the 3 of Wands, which Waite clarifies as: “these are his ships” and gives the meaning as “established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery.” The merchants of Winchelsea made their money through shipbuilding and commerce, and through defence.
We cannot ever prove without written records that Pamela’s visit or visits to Winchelsea and Smallhythe provided a like-for-like correspondence to her tarot images; however, walking around those quaint towns and their landscapes is undoubtedly like stepping into the cards themselves. In fact, we found it difficult to take photographs without people getting in the way.
39 & 40. The Tarot Cards Came to Life Around Us, photograph by authors, and
the 5 of Pentacles. Card used reprinted with permission of U.S. Games Systems.
[contents]
Five
The Major Arcana Unpacked
If Waite had been consistent, he would have excluded all
magical and divinatory symbols from his Tarot in favour of strictly
mystical ones. Consistency was never one of his virtues, however.
–Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett,
A History of the Occult Tarot 1870–1970 (2002), 141
In this chapter, we will unpack the major arcana, concentrating on the writings of Waite in particular as the primary designer of the majors. Whilst we know Pamela incorporated her own designs and experience within the majors, we suspect that Waite was partially truthful in his assertion that he had “spoon-fed” several requests into the designs.
In each card we will look at what the author Robert V. O’Neill calls “quantitative iconography,” the assessment of each symbol individually. Where possible, we will refer to Waite’s writings and Pamela’s background to interpret their intention as closely as possible. If this is not possible, we will give our own interpretation as much as we can in the spirit of the time.
We will also refer to Waite’s unpublished writings on his second tarot images from the Waite-Trinick tarot, created ten years following his initial work with Pamela and only recently discovered and published.77 At the time of writing the Key to the Tarot, which was republished the next year as Pictorial Key to the Tarot with illustrations for each card, Waite was keeping his vows of secrecy on the symbolism. When he wrote his notes for his work with Trinick, he was more forthcoming; they were only for use within his own mystical Order.
The secrets of the major arcana are primarily:
They illustrate an ascending narrative of initiation that can only be communicated within an initiatory framework, through ritual and experience. This is a secret that can be hidden in plain sight.
They contain a wealth of symbolism with correspondence to the Kabbalah and the Grade System that was held secret to protect the teachings of the initiatory Order of the Golden Dawn.78
They hold personal meaning to Waite as illustrating the different aspects of the Shekinah, the feminine aspect of the divine, manifest in everyday reality.
The reason for this secrecy was not just to lord it over those who were not included in the secret; it was to preserve the possibility of experiencing initiation when certain combinations of information and experience were delivered together at specific moments and in a specific order in one’s spiritual progress. This delivery takes place in an organised sequence within an initiatory order, recognising and even catalysing spiritual and mystical experience. If you simply have the images, and even the associated teachings, you will not be able to benefit from the experience and guidance of those who have already been down the dead-ends and worked out the traps on the path.
We will not break down every object in each image as a symbol for interpretation—for just one example, the boots on the Fool. Whilst every object can serve as a symbol in a reading—and often does—we cannot be too prescriptive; boots (which are worn generally by anyone) may mean “self-confidence” but in other readings they could be “protection,” “wealth,” “purpose,” or a host of other meanings.79 Where quotes are given in this chapter without further reference, they are from their appropriate card description in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Waite’s description is usually given as the first paragraph underneath the card image, and our commentary immediately follows under different headings.
All symbols are multivalent (having many values) so they can be read in any way in different contexts. This is the power of the tarot (and indeed all symbolism) and important to recognise. It avoids the concern of many new students that they cannot learn exactly what a symbol means, and as Crowley said, the appreciation of multivalency is the mark of a great adept.
Pamela was hers
elf working within this framework, as a Symbolist: “She did not treat the symbol as an image with fixed meaning, but rather as something with its own existence which individuals are free to interpret as they choose.”80
The card images for majors, minors, and court cards are taken from the very first publication of the 1909 Waite-Smith tarot, the PAM-A deck, from a private collection with permission. We have provided a website for even more detailed interpretations of each individual symbols at www.waitesmithtarot.com.
The Fool: 0
The Design
The Fool is our first example of the deck’s secrecy. It is not based on the Golden Dawn image, but a more traditional European design as seen in the Marseilles tarot. The Golden Dawn radically amended the Fool image to be that of a small child beneath a rose tree accompanied by a wolf.81 As Pamela was not of the grade where this would be revealed, she would have been given the standard design. The rose of joy and the rose of silence on the Golden Dawn symbol have been partially and coincidentally reflected as the white rose of silence in this design.
Key Symbols
White Sun: The white sun is the light of Kether, the highest and first Sephirah of the Tree of Life, the pure point from which everything emanates, and to which, by definition, everything returns.
Mountain: The heights of the mountain, its edges and peaks are symbolic of the mountain of initiation and the trials and tribulations of the journey we each take up that mountain.82
Young man: The Fool is the seeker, the “prince of the other world” and the soul. He is the “spirit in search of experience” and the protagonist of all stories and myth. He is the Hero of a Thousand Faces in the archetypal journey.
Tunic: The tunic is decorated with the rich opulence of the world of experience. It denotes that the things of experience are as a garment to the soul: protective yet not intrinsically part of our soul.
Feather: The feather here is the symbol of air, to which this card corresponds. There is a secret here, in that the red feather also appears on the head of the child in the Sun card. The Sun card was designed ten years later by Waite in his Waite-Trinick deck more explicitly as Christ. The Sun and the Fool are both aspects of Christ for Waite: the glory of Christ and the hidden Christ; the becoming and returning of the divine soul (in each of us) to God.83
Wreath: The wreath, which we see in several other cards, denotes the triumph of the pure spirit over all the adversity of the world. It is transcendence, the ability to rise above all things to which we might be attached. In Greek mythology, the laurel was sacred to the sun god Apollo and symbolised victory. The outward display of the laurel wreath demonstrates an inner strength that overcomes negative influences. In a reading, it is urging a “rise above it” attitude, to get out there and win! We can also see the laurel wreath symbol in the Ace of Swords and 6 of Wands.
Circles with eight divisions: These are the symbols of the rising sun of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn is the precursor of the “everlasting day” of spiritual enlightenment.
Staff: The “costly wand” of the Fool is the symbol of a fulfilled life, authentic and true to purpose. It carries no regrets or confusion. A wand can be imbued with valuable magic or energies that can be protective in nature. Cirlot writes that “its significance derives from the magic power attributed to it, which in turn derives from the concept of every stick or wand in a straight-line, embodying implications of directions.”84 The wand will therefore protect and guide one along the way.
Wallet: The bag holds the experiences of the soul carried with us yet not belonging to us. Waite says very little about this; as we see above, it is the wand that is of value, but he makes a point of saying that “other descriptions say that the wallet contains the bearer’s follies and vices, which seems bourgeois and arbitrary.”
Rose (held by the Fool): The white rose of silence.
Eagle head: Another symbol of air.
Small dog: The small dog is faith, the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It accompanies us throughout our journey as a guard, a tormentor at times, and a faithful companion. Yet it is the very last thing that must be sacrificed before the abyss that separates us from divine union can be crossed. Faith is the only thing that can take us to the edge, and the only thing that can be truly sacrificed to step over that edge into the darkness of divine union.85
In a reading: The Fool can signify the seeker, freedom, extravagance, and enthusiasm. In a reading, this could speak of lessons the individual must learn—a sign that we are working through the physical experience in order to learn and develop. Life is a journey where we do not know the final destination until we arrive.
41. The Traveller, from A Book of Friendly Giants, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, 1914. (Illustration courtesy of authors, private collection.)
Key words and concepts: Seeking, silence, secrecy, purity, innocence.
Waite: The Fool card was arguably the most important card to Waite. In his Waite-Trinick images, he placed the Fool as connecting Da’ath and Tiphareth on the Tree of Life (knowledge and beauty). This card is the wisdom of this world, which is “foolishness with God.” 86
Colman Smith: To Pamela, this card was the joy embodied by the young Edward Gordon Craig, “Teddy” dressed in Ellen Terry’s kimono given to her by the artist Whistler.87 The kimono bore the repeated icons of the Japanese military flag of the rising sun, a suitable symbol of the “golden dawn” of this image. There are several photographs of Teddy dressed in the kimono, and Pamela uses the icon in other drawings of this eternal wayfarer in his journey through the everlasting day.
42. Leaping the Rainbow, from A Book of Friendly Giants, Illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, 1914. (Illustration courtesy of authors, private collection.)
It is youthful innocence and pure joy, with the dog, Ben, who was seen in photographs of the time jumping up in the same pose Pamela painted in the card. It is coincidental and neat that ben means “son” in Hebrew, so the name of the dog modelled here is that of the “son” of the divine, the pure spirit on earth.
Secret significance: This card is the truth that all of us are always and already free.
Reading tip: When the Fool is present, it is modified by the cards closest to it. Imagine how the colours of the closest cards would stain the white rose of the Fool using the symbolism we have elsewhere given for colours. What might this signify as to the effect that the situation is having on the spiritual life of the seeker? Whilst this may not be spoken aloud or of immediate relevance to the situation, it gives you as the reader a deeper understanding of the impact and lesson of the question to the querent.
The Magician: 1
The Design
The card carries the primary significance of union, above and below. It is an illustration of the hermetic dictum, “as above, so below.” The simplicity of the design carries the meanings of accomplishment, turning the previous “swindlers table” into a Golden Dawn altar replete with elemental symbols and weapons. It is of note that Pamela drew a more rustic setting and carved table rather than a Golden Dawn cubical altar. We suspect this shows more of her background in art than Waite’s direction in symbolism.88
Key Symbols
Wand (man holds up high in right hand)
Lemniscate above man’s head (infinity symbol); a mobius strip-like flat surface forever folding back on itself
Robe and gown
Headband
Snake belt at waist (ouroboros)
Festoon of roses over head
Left arm elevated away from body, hand clenched, index finger pointing down to ground
Table
Cup, sword, pentacle, wand
Lilies and roses entwined together
Three of the four elements on the table
In a reading: The card denotes succes
s, accomplishment, and a combination of skill and resourcefulness to complete projects, negotiate, engage in relationships, etc. It brings a magical ease to any situation and assures us that we are making higher connections, what Waite calls “the eternity of attainment in the spirit” (PKT, 72).
Key words and concepts: Unity, will.
Waite: In his work with Trinick, Waite kept much to the same symbolism of this card, although he attributed it between the paths of Chokmah to Chesed on the Tree of Life. He saw this card much as its correspondence in the Kabbalistic Sepher Yetzirah, as the “eternal intelligence” that was both individual and unifying at the same time. He describes the card as “the divine motive in man, reflecting God, the will in the liberation of its union with that which is above.” It is the first spark of independence, of separation, yet still intimately connected with its source.
Colman Smith: Pamela beautifully captures what Waite calls “the countenance of divine Apollo, with smile of confidence and shining eyes” in her Magician. He is Apollo, god of all oracles, paired with Diana, the goddess of all oracles embodied in the High Priestess, in this context.
Secret significance: The Magician tells us we are one and the same.
Reading tip: The presence of the Magician is a sign of success in whatever endeavour or position in which the card finds itself. It is adaptable and capable, connected and assured. When we questioned hundreds of readers to find their unconscious keywords for the cards, the word that was most often associated with the Magician across thousands of readings and many years was “success.”89
The High Priestess: 2