Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot

by Marcus Katz

  Long gown with long sleeves: The simplicity of the gown, with a mere decoration of natural beauty suggests a state of naturalness or innocence. Note this is the same style as the dancing girl, Drusilla.

  Lion: In Waite’s words, the lion has “already been subdued by her

  beneficent fortitude.” He says that this version differs “from the conventional presentations,” for example, the contrast between this and Crowley’s “Lust” card. Waite also says that the lion “signifies the passions” and the woman “she who is called Strength is the higher nature in its liberation.” This means that the base side of nature is pacified, and there is a release from the state of being ruled by primal instincts. It is the alchemical process of sublimation, where a purification takes place, an exchange from body to spirit, to a purer place of being. Spiritualization of the body and corporatizing of the spirit. From the intangible to the tangible.

  Figure 8/lemniscate above her head: In the original version of Waite’s Key to the Tarot in 1910, and at least one version of Pictorial Key, produced by Rider, in the second impression of 1974 and probably prior, this symbol is referred to as also seen in the “card of the Hierophant” by mistake. It is corrected in other versions of Pictorial Key. Waite speaks of this symbol as a “symbol of life,” which we have seen in the card of the Magician, and that it “broods” over the head of the woman. This is saying that this is the state under which the woman lives. Waite says of fortitude itself that it is the strength that resides within contemplation. This is a religious contemplation, wherein we turn our attention only to the divine and not mundane matters.98 In a reading, this strength means we must turn our thoughts away to the war, not the particular battle—the long-term, not the short-term.

  Chain of flowers around the lion’s neck: Waite speaks of this symbol as being of the “higher meanings” of the card; however, it is expressed by “inference” rather than being too obvious. He says the “higher meaning“ is that the “chain of flowers” around the lion’s neck is “a sweet yoke and the divine burden of the Divine Law when it has been taken into the heart of hearts” and that this is “intimated in a concealed manner.” Waite is saying that service, when done for the right reasons, is not a burden. We see this at work in vocational professions such as medicine and nursing, where people face responsibilities that would break many others. Waite stresses that this state is not related to “self-confidence in the ordinary sense,” and in this he may be speaking of the ego, “but it concerns the confidence of those whose strength is in God.”

  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.

  In a reading: Strength tends to show a situation in “right relationship.” As ever, its position in a spread will denote whether the relationship in question is in the ideal balance of power or requires an introduction of this balance. Thus we see echoes of the Justice card, with which the Strength card has been exchanged in numerical sequence from the earlier Marseilles-type decks. It is a card of patience and fortitude, particularly if it appears with Temperance.

  The star goddess in this image was said to have left the world until she could return to bring utopia to humanity, so this card always signifies a long game, a big wait, or other long-term issues.

  Key words and concepts: Dynamic relationship.

  Waite: The name of the figure on this card is Astraea.99 This is a neat solution to the imagery of the card in its position in the numeric sequence. Astraea was both the goddess of purity and innocence, the star maiden and eternal virgin, and associated with the goddess Dike, or Justice. As Waite swapped the Strength and Justice cards in sequence between 8 and 11, this attribution works to maintain “justice” as a partial reading of the card. Waite was dismissive of the reasoning for this exchange, whilst claiming it was “for reasons which satisfy myself.” It was in fact to accord with the sequence given by the Golden Dawn for maintaining more fitting astrological correspondences.

  The connection of Astraea with the lion coupled with the beauty of the symbolism of this card is given in a text by the Roman philosopher and playwright Seneca, in Hercules:

  But what avails it to have freed the race of men from fear? Now have the gods no peace; the freed earth sees in the sky all creatures which she feared; for there hath Juno set them. The crab I slew goes round the torrid zone, is known as Libya’s constellation, and matures her grain; the lion to Astraea gives the flying year; but he, his burning mane upon his neck back tossing, dries up the dripping south-wind and devours the clouds … 100

  This marks, as does the Strength card in this symbolism, the transition of Leo into Virgo through the course of the zodiacal year. Here, in Waite’s design and Pamela’s art, Astraea, the Virgin as Virgo, stands perfectly between Leo the lion and herself as Libra, the goddess of Justice. For Waite also this is one of the cardinal virtue cards, Strength as Fortitude.

  Colman Smith: The female figure in this card is bedecked with flowers. In Pamela’s day, this would be significant on stage as denoting a “dancing girl.” The character may well indeed be the most famous of “dancing girls,” Drusilla Ives, the protagonist of The Dancing Girl. This role was played by Julia Neilson in a Haymarket production (1891).

  48. Drusilla the Dancing Girl. (Photograph courtesy of authors, private collection.)

  Drusilla is “two-thirds delightful Quaker innocence, one-third the Devil’s own wit and mischief.” She is seen as a type; in Russell Jackson’s words, “Women [in Henry Arthur Jones’ plays] stir up the baser instincts of the finer beings.”101

  Secret significance: We become that with which we fight.

  Reading tip: As the Strength cards shows a form of union (and pure strength in that union), it requires us to fulfil our side of whatever contract is implied within that union. It could be an external partnership or an internal agreement within the many parts of our own self.102 Look to any court cards in the reading to observe what aspects of the querent’s personality are being brought to attention in the situation; it is likely to be these aspects that are being called together. These constellating parts of the self can be extremely powerful when yoked as one team, the true meaning of the strength of this card.

  The Hermit: 9

  The Design

  Here Pamela has used the motif of a lamp-bearer from two prior images—one of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice played by Henry Irving, and the other of Lady Macbeth played by Ellen Terry in Macbeth. The Hermit is similar to that depicted in the Marseilles deck, which as Robert Place remarks, began to take the older version of a hunched man bearing an hourglass (symbolic of time and Saturn/Cronos) towards the more Neoplatonic concept of a hermit as a Christian ascetic.103

  49. Henry Irving as Shylock. (Courtesy of the National Trust, used under license.)

  Key Symbols

  In discussing the figure of the Hermit himself, Waite talks about what the man is not: He says that “he is not, as Court de Gebelin explained, a wise man in search of truth and justice; nor is he … an especial example of experience.” Waite stresses that the Hermit is not about “occult isolation as the protection of personal magnetism against admixture”; i.e. being all so precious about special occult knowledge leaking out to the unknowing. He makes it clear that it is not about the “concealment of the Instituted Mysteries.” Waite says the card is more about carrying the message of this simple truth: “that the Divine Mysteries secure their own protection from those who are unprepared.” The Hermit demonstrates that when we perform a reading, we can only ever receive the pieces of wisdom for which we are prepared.

  50. Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth. (Courtesy of authors, private collection).

  The “star which shines in the lantern”: This symbol again shows also that we can only ever absorb that which we are ready for; we can never know too much or too littl
e, we will always find our own natural level. As Waite says, the lamp’s depiction and the way the Hermit “is seen holding up his beacon on an eminence” demonstrate that it is about “attainment.” The lamp/beacon that the Hermit holds expresses his deepest nature, and that is of being the wayfarer, the one that goes ahead. Waite puts this very beautifully with the words “where I am, you also may be.” He is saying that this state of being is not just for the special chosen few; the way is being opened for all who follow the light of his lamp, the spirit that burns bright.

  Mountain eminence: This symbol, utilised by Waite and Pamela several times, is one of the initiatory and mystical quest for union. The Hermit is a card of the “attainment” of part of this process, whereas the Fool is the final attainment.

  In a reading: The Hermit is the self in its authentic state, so it is an end to seeking, questing, or questioning. It suggests the querent remove themselves from any situation, attachments, or the project in question, to perhaps examine it from a distance.

  Key words and concepts: Prudence.

  Waite: Most of the description of this card in Pictorial Key to the Tarot is Waite decrying the “frivolous renderings” of Éliphas Lévi, and telling us what the card is not. We get a brief line that does indicate the direction of Waite’s thinking on the card, which terms the figure as a blend of the “Ancient of Days with the Light of the World” (PKT, 104). However, it is in the earlier section outlining the sequence of the majors where Waite gives us three pages of comparison of this card and the cardinal virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. Waite’s correspondences are:

  Hermit: Prudence

  Justice: Justice

  Temperance: Temperance

  Strength: Fortitude

  Tip: When one (or more) of these cards appears in a reading, it can “trump” the other cards by showing the most important virtue a querent (or yourself) must practice to get the best out of a situation:

  Temperance: Self-control and moderation (hold back, don’t commit to anything now).

  Hermit: Consider carefully the likely consequences before acting.

  Strength: Confront the fear and act.

  Justice: Whether you act or not, justice will be served; all things will balance.

  This card is that of prudence, whose simple axiom is “waste not, want not” (PKT, 19). It is a form of “divine parsimony,” the lack of willingness to spend any time, resource, money, or attention on the “manifest impertinences of this life” (PKT, 19). The Hermit is the way of non-attachment to that which takes us to other than the divine heights.

  Colman Smith: The resemblance of the figure to Pamela’s earlier image of Irving as Shylock gives a fascinating resonance to the Hermit. Irving was one of the first actors to present Shylock as a proud and aristocratic character against the persisting stereotypes. If we compare the character to Lady Macbeth, we see perhaps common themes of plotting, ambition, and vengeance at work. Whilst the Hermit may have transcended these, this resonance may suggest, in a more cautionary way than as Waite wrote of the Hermit, “where I am, you also may be” (PKT, 104).

  Secret significance: You are already where you are going.

  Reading tip: The Hermit is a card of solitude, which in a deeper sense means that we are content within our multiple senses of self. Our single quest is now authenticity and this provides a star, a beacon, for both the divine and our fellows. It is also a card that can show that the truth of a matter is concealed until the querent is ready to fully receive it. It offers to the reader a counsel that the light will be seen when it can be of service and not before.

  The Wheel of Fortune: 10

  The Design

  The design is here based on Lévi, which Waite terms a “hypothetical reconstruction.” He gives the creatures as the sphinx, Typhon (as a snake), and whilst not referring to it directly in the card description, the Hermanubis.104 The Wheel is taken from the vision of Ezekiel, and contains the letters TARO (or ROTA, meaning “wheel,” depending on the order in which the letters are read), and the four Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton: Yod, Heh, Vau, and Heh (final). The four alchemical versions of the elements are also placed upon the Wheel. In the corners are the four living creatures of Ezekiel.

  Key Symbols

  Wheel containing eight spokes and alchemical symbols: Mercury, sulphur, salt, and the astrological glyph of Aquarius.

  The four living creatures of Ezekiel: The cherubim—the four Evangelists.

  Angel holding open a book: Symbolic of Matthew the Apostle.

  Eagle carrying an open book in its talons: Symbolic of John the Evangelist.

  Sphinx: The sphinx, says Waite, is the “equilibrium therein.” This suggest that its function is to maintain a constant “within the perpetual motion of a fluidic universe.” The sphinx has a similar role within the Chariot card, where they can draw the Chariot and charioteer forward but also maintain balance. Waite stresses that his version of the card, with the sphinx positioned so, represents “the essential idea of stability amidst movement.” This is unlike other depictions where they are “couchant on a pedestal above.”

  Winged bull/ox: Symbolic of Luke the Evangelist.

  Winged lion: Symbolic of Mark the Evangelist.

  Snake/Typhon: outlined above.

  Hermanubis: Waite does not mention this in Pictorial Key to the Tarot. For more detailed analysis, please visit our site: www.waitesmithtarot.com.

  In a reading: The Wheel is one of several change cards; the others are the High Priestess (unseen change), Death (transformative change), the Tower (sudden change), and the Moon (cyclic change). The Wheel is a change of position that arises from what has passed before. It indicates a reversal of current fortune, so it is a caution if one is on the up, and a hope for those on the way down.

  Key words and concepts: Rotation, revolution, switch.

  Waite: The most important concept in this card is that providence, the ability of the divine to intercede in the affairs of man, is above mere chance. Whilst the image speaks of change and fortune, it does not override the concept of a divine plan, which Waite sees as built into the Wheel. In his second set of tarot images (the Waite-Trinick tarot), he elevated the Wheel to the top of the Tree of Life, placing it on the path between Kether, the “crown” of the divine and and Da’ath, “knowledge.” It is for him the ultimate depiction of the universe held in the divine realm; the centre of the wheel is that point of unity, from which all things proceed and about which all things turn.

  Colman Smith: Pamela has utilised her “blue cat” image from 1907 here as the Sphinx. This image was based on her vision of Schumann’s Carnivale and warns of the fate of those who choose a sensuous life of wine and love.105 Here the blue cat does not preside over a cave of souls, as her original painting, but over the Wheel of Life. The study of Carnivale reveals that the opus has a short section, unnumbered in the whole piece, called “Sphinxes” and it is this piece of music that Pamela captured in her image, and sits atop the Wheel. You may like to find it online and listen to the sphinx who sits above all life.106

  It could also be argued that although there is ancient Egyptian symbolism in the card from Lévi, Pamela has slightly recast the two lower figures as the serpent and the devil, on the lower and hence “fallen” part of the Wheel. Her blue cat sphinx holds the sword that keeps these evils under control.

  Secret significance: Time is the moving likeness of eternity, and providence its nature.

  Reading tip: As with the other change cards, consult in particular the past, present, and future cards of the spread or your free-form reading. In this case, consult particularly the past card and divine from it the opposite—for this is what the Wheel brings to the situation. It will overturn the present state for good or ill, depending on the other cards.

  Justice: 11

  The De
sign

  One of three cards that features a figure seated between two pillars (the others being the High Priestess and the Hierophant). Justice contains the traditional image of a person holding a sword and pair of scales. However, she is not blindfolded.

  Key Symbols

  Androgynous figure dressed in ceremonial robes between two pillars: Waite speaks of the significance of the figure being “seated between two pillars, like the High Priestess.” Waite says it “indicates the moral principle that deals unto everyman according to his works.” However, “the pillars of Justice open into one world” (the world of the material) and “the pillars of the High Priestess into another” (that of the spiritual, the higher world). Waite says that it is analogous of the “fairy gifts and the high gifts and the gracious gifts of a poet: we either have them or have not, and their presence is as much a mystery as their absence.” Whereas Waite says of Justice that there is “no alternative.” It just is.

  Crown: This represents Kether and divine justice, and has a triune top to show the trinity, with a square central piece. This may be significant, although Waite does not mention it explicitly. The square (as a set-square) in masonry is an emblem of morality and truth. In fact, honesty as “square dealing” is a common phrase and applies to this card in readings, honesty and fair play.