Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot

by Marcus Katz

Waite would no doubt smile wryly knowing that out of the two most influential decks of the twentieth century, his became the most popular and arguably the most influential. It can be surmised that when Waite gave Pamela the proposition about designing the deck, he would have stressed that it was a spiritual tool, and she would have accepted the project knowing Waite was a Roman Catholic. The spiritual tool would aid one’s spirituality rather than cause it to degenerate. In later life we know that Waite interpreted the pip images Pamela had created, so this proved that he had not distanced himself from the deck to adhere to any religious guilt or rules. If this is so, there is no reason for Pamela to have disowned her tarot deck, unless of course Pamela was more devout than Waite.

  We will leave the final words of this book to Pamela. As she saw her favoured Symbolist and Arts & Craft movements becoming obsolete, ahead of the two world wars that would dismantle any hope of a better future, she railed against the lack of inspiration caused by the “the incessant roar of high-power presses.” She despaired of the suppression of individualism and the “prudishness and pompous falseness of a great mass of intelligent people.” There was only one power she thought ideal, and one quest—the return of charm and grace, the charm and grace she was to capture forever in her seventy-eight images drawn in the summer of 1909. The year before, she wrote this:

  Use your wits, use your eyes. Perhaps you use your physical eyes too much and only see the mask. Find eyes within, look for the door into the unknown country.

  “High over cap” on a fairy horse—ride on your Quest—for what we are all seeking—Beauty. Beauty of thought first, beauty of feeling, beauty of form, beauty of color, beauty of sound, appreciation, joy, and the power of showing it to others.

  —Pamela Colman Smith’s personal correspondances

  115. A Pilgrim Followed by her Doubtful Thoughts, Pamela Colman Smith. (Illustration courtesy of authors, private collection.)

  [contents]

  Afterword

  Throughout the research and writing of this book, Tali and I felt close to Pamela, as described in our respective prefaces. This presence was so pervasive that during the final editing stages, I dreamt of reading an interview with Pamela illustrated with some of her artwork we had not seen before. One image was similar to her “Waves” drawing—a face appearing in cascading waves. Another was an abstract image of a burning bush in the wilderness, and a third was a sketch of three ships arriving in their home port. Also featured was a full-page portrait of Pamela telling stories, and she was holding a handmade paper mobile that revolved around a lit candle. In the portrait, she was telling stories as the shadows of the characters circled around the room’s walls.

  In the dream, I started to read the interview wondering if it mentioned how she was carefully holding the papercraft so as to not set fire to the figures and how typical that would be for her character—but then I woke.

  In awakening, I felt the departure of a strong presence, and I was left with the lingering image of three ships, conveying a nostalgic emotion. It was a feeling of the unmistakable relief of having travelled a very long way but now, at last, I had arrived home safely.

  [contents]

  Q & A Key

  A1: There are four dogs, two on the 10 of Pentacles, one in the Fool,

  and one in the Moon.

  A2: There are definitely three angels, one watching over the Lovers and two upon the chalice of the Queen of Cups. Then there are between one and six other angels, depending on whether we see the figure on the Temperance card as an angel or the goddess Iris, who is winged. It also depends on whether we see the Devil card as the fallen angel Lucifer, and whether we count that state as “angelic.” The four figures on the World card are cherubim and counted amongst the angelic realm even if they are not technically of the rank of angels. So the answer is certainly three, and up to nine.

  A3: There are many birds and bird motifs in the deck, however, we cannot find agreement on an actual number. Take a look at the various counts in the Appendix: Honorary Members of the Waite-Smith Bird Watching Society.

  A4: The 2 and 8 of Swords are blindfolded; the 9 and 10 of Wands cannot see in front of themselves.

  A5: The 2 and 3 of Wands have a sea view. Interestingly, the minors have the best views apart from the Hermit having the best view of the majors. To see everything clearly one must be removed from it—this is the true secret of confession.

  A6: The Fool is the happiest because his happiness depends on nothing at all. Equally the child in the Sun card is as yet innocent and therefore happy. However, in the latter case, this will change in time. The Fool has transcended even time itself. The saddest is the 9 of Swords, followed by the 5 of Cups, however this latter card is not entirely hopeless as Waite says, “something remains over” (PKT, 216).

  A7: The 10 of Cups is having the best of it. The 10 of Swords is having the worst of it, but at least it is over.

  A8: A salamander “lives” at the feet of the King of Wands’s throne. However, serious spotters of salamanders may notice that these creatures also form a motif on the back of the King of Wands’s throne and on his cloak. There are also salamanders emblazoned on the tunic of the lusty Knight of Wands and the tunic of the Page of Wands.

  A9: The Hierophant and the Devil. The Hierophant teaches and keeps you on the path, whereas the Devil tempts you from the path … and more!

  A10: The Queen of Cups is the most oracular; as Waite says of the Queen and her ability to be a sybil: “Beautiful, fair, dreamy—as one who sees visions in a cup.” However, she does not just see, as she “also acts, and her activity feeds her dream. She engages with her gift and lives it fully … She will do service to the Querent.”

  A11: The King of Swords, as the head of the pack of being organised, would have to be accompanied in this task of organisation by Justice, as she would enable him to balance out any task at hand. However to be more practical we would also pair the King of Swords with the 6 of Pentacles. This shows the difference between major cards, minor cards, and court cards. The major cards lend their energy to the task, the minor cards create the activity, and the court cards personify. The two cards of the pack that would be most chaotic together are the Page of Cups and the 5 of Wands. Imagine the scenario of the 5 of Wands, totally slapdash with their construction style; you see wands flying this way and that. Then they all turn to the Page of Cups as their chief architect, for guidance and he turns round and says, “Oh look! A fish!”

  A12: King of Swords, Queen of Cups, and Strength.

  A13: Five of Wands, the reason being somewhat obvious; however, it also shows how the cards can denote career choices and workplace occupations.

  A14: The High Priestess and the Hermit. When we consider cards like this, we can see that this pair together would signify in a reading secrecy and silence. If the querent had asked whether they should tell a friend a particular confidence, these two cards would say not. In all of these questions you can play with the opposites. For example, which two cards would signify gossip?

  A15: Temperance because it would know moderation, whereas the Star wouldn’t know when to stop going over the same old thing!

  A16: This depends on the theme of your event, and of course, on you—are you a cups kind of person? Swords? It’s all up to you, as it’s your event and it should be about you! Decide whether you want it to be fun and extravagant or elegant, witty, and sophisticated, depending on your own unique tarot energy. If it is a dinner party and you want to have an evening of sharp and erudite conversation, then you must invite the Queen of Swords. There will never be a boring moment with her in your presence, and she is quite smart and can cleverly start conversations. Think about compatibility and who will gel with whom—and who will not. Who would you sit side by side or across from each other?

  A17: The High Priestess is the most favourite of tarot readers followed by the Star. The least favourite was the Hierophant.
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br />   A18: There is a skull on the skeleton in the Death card and one hidden on a cup on the 7 of Cups.

  A19: In the suit of cups we see both the figures on the 4 and 9 of Cups with their arms noticeably folded.

  A20: It would appear that the Queen and King of Pentacles have arrived at your party!

  [contents]

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  [contents]

  Glossary

  Amphorae: A particular type of usually ceramic container in use since prehistoric times. This type of container was in popular use in both Roman and Greek cultures and features in class
ical art.

  Book T: A set of written instructions on the tarot created within the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, founded in 1888. Book T was a short manual of essential keywords, correspondences, and the Opening of the Key method for reading tarot cards.

  Ciborium: A cup shaped originally in the form of a water-lily and later used more specifically in the Catholic Eucharist for holding the host (wafers). It means “drinking cup” and is used as the cup design for Pamela’s suit of cups. It can also refer to the large canopy over the altar, although these are now used more rarely.

  Golden Dawn, Hermetic Order of the: A group open to both men and women, founded by three members of the S. R. I. A. (an esoteric group drawing mainly on Freemasonry for its structure and teachings) in 1888. The Order taught the Western Esoteric Initiatory System, using tarot as an illustration of the teachings of each grade of magical and mystical progression.

  Kabbalah: A set of mystical teachings within Judaism, meaning “to receive” or “tradition.” It uses the Tree of Life as a central symbol, illustrating the nature of the universe and its manifestation. The Kabbalah was appropriated by the founders of the Golden Dawn who also used it as an illustration of the initiatory system—with tarot.

  NLP: Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a set of techniques developed originally by Richard Bandler and John Grinder for communication skills, hypnotherapy, and many other applications. The fundamental approach of NLP is to model any gifted person’s communication or internal thought processes, and replicate it in such a way as to teach it to others. This can be done by live observation in therapy work, or from detailed written records by or about a person—such as the “Walt Disney Creativity” model. It can also be used to model “unwanted” behaviour patterns such as addictions and phobias, and then change these behaviours by changing the way in which they are performed. In this book we have used NLP to model the creation of the Waite-Smith tarot and reverse that process with several techniques allowing us to “get into” the head-set of the creators.