In the 1908 article published in "The Craftsman," famed British illustrator and designer Pamela Colman Smith expressed how she believed art should be experienced, writing, "Learn from everything, see everything, and above all feel everything! Find eyes within, look for the door into the unknown country."
Perhaps the same line of reasoning is what she had in mind when designing the world's most recognizable deck of tarot cards in 1909. That said she wasn't alone in this creative process, as she had help from the poet Arthur Edward Waite, a fellow lover of spiritualism, rituals, and the mystique.
Both of the eccentric creatives met as colleagues within the secret society of the "Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn," and eventually published their joint project in 1910. Today, the tarot card set is known as the "Waite-Smith" edition.
Before the 1990s, however, this particular deck was also recognized as the "Rider-Waite-Smith" which included the name of the original publisher and in turn largely obscured Smith's contribution in the title.
Recently, the German luxury book publisher Taschen has released a new facsimile set of Smith and Waite's original design dubbed "The Tarot of A.E. Waite and P. Colman Smith," which also includes a book entitled "The Key to the Tarot" regarding the deck's creation, history, and importance, written by tarot specialist Johannes Fiebig.
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In an interview with CNN, Fiebig said that Smith and Waite's particular iteration of the 78 illustrations within a tarot deck, originally from 15th-century Italy, was an "important cultural junction" in the first half of the 20th century.
He added that during this period, there was already a "positive sense of personal liberation, of living freely, more artfully." That said, these artistic "uprisings" were cut short by the impending First and Second World Wars of the time.
Then, in the 1970s, a second wave of this "artful living" was ushered in, and brought along it was the renewed interest in tarot, and consequently, in the Waite-Smith edition. Alongside the rise in popularity of the deck was the increased notoriety of various movements centering around feminism, anti-war sentiments, and international human rights.
In current times, tarot cards are often used as a tool for self-reflection as practiced in singular readings, interpretation of dreams, and the like. According to Fiebig, tarot readings and the meanings derived from them will be different from individual to individual, essentially acting like "a mirror."
Because of this, the imagery featured within the cards becomes an integral element in achieving an accurate "inward reflection," something the "Waite-Smith" edition seemed to have nailed down as inferred from its long-enduring popularity.
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History of the 'Waite-Smith' Tarot Cards
Smith was born and raised in the city of Manchester in England, before moving to Jamaica with her family in her younger years, and finally taking up higher education in Brooklyn, New York, as she grew older. This moving around influenced the artist's creativity, infusing colorful experiences upon it.
Later on in her life, she settled in London where she delved deeper into the city's artistic scene, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with famed contemporaries like WB Yeats, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and even the composer Claude Debussy.
According to Mary K. Greer, another author of the new book, Smith's unique illustration style of highly noticeable hues underscored by intricate details was the product of her being exposed to Jamaican folktales and Japanese designs, along with her experiences as a theatrical performer and set designer.
Greer also adds that both Smith and Waite have likely visited an exhibition within the British Museum in 1907 that showcased a 15th-century Italian tarot deck which consequently served as inspiration for the duo's foray into the medium.
The "Waite-Smith" cards themselves feature characters, motifs, and symbols set in front of backdrops typically linked to the English environment, with its rolling hills and extended coastlines.
