Rider-Smith-Waite Tarot

This is considered the definitive or “traditional” tarot deck for non-game purposes. The images were created by artist Pamela Colman Smith at the direction of Arthur Edward Waite, who authored a book on the (fake) “mystical origins” of the tarot, and described 78 fully-illustrated cards. The cards and book were first published in 1909.

Jump to derivative decks gallery.

Recolored Decks

A number of decks have been produced using Pamela's artwork, remaining true to the original illustrations while adding an artist's own flair in recoloring the artwork. These are featured here for your perusal and comparison: Radiant Rider-Waite Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigRadiant Rider-Waite Tarot

Deck Notes

Card Gallery, Radiant Wise Spirit Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigRadiant Wise Spirit Tarot

Deck Notes

Card Gallery, and Universal Waite Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigUniversal Waite Tarot

Deck Notes

Card Gallery.

Major Arcana

The Fool

The Magician

The High Priestess

The Empress

The Emperor

The Hierophant

The Lovers

The Chariot

Strength

The Hermit

Wheel of Fortune

Justice

The Hanged Man

Death

Temperance

The Devil

The Tower

The Star

The Moon

The Sun

Judgement

The World

Cups

Ace of Cups

Two of Cups

Three of Cups

Four of Cups

Five of Cups

Six of Cups

Seven of Cups

Eight of Cups

Nine of Cups

Ten of Cups

Page of Cups

Knight of Cups

Queen of Cups

King of Cups

Pentacles

Ace of Pentacles

Two of Pentacles

Three of Pentacles

Four of Pentacles

Five of Pentacles

Six of Pentacles

Seven of Pentacles

Eight of Pentacles

Nine of Pentacles

Ten of Pentacles

Page of Pentacles

Knight of Pentacles

Queen of Pentacles

King of Pentacles

Swords

Ace of Swords

Two of Swords

Three of Swords

Four of Swords

Five of Swords

Six of Swords

Seven of Swords

Eight of Swords

Nine of Swords

Ten of Swords

Page of Swords

Knight of Swords

Queen of Swords

King of Swords

Wands

Ace of Wands

Two of Wands

Three of Wands

Four of Wands

Five of Wands

Six of Wands

Seven of Wands

Eight of Wands

Nine of Wands

Ten of Wands

Page of Wands

Knight of Wands

Queen of Wands

King of Wands

Derivative Decks

Lo Scarabeo has published a series of tarot kits derived from Pamela's artwork. The Before Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigBefore Tarot

Deck Notes

This deck is a new take on the standard Rider-Smith-Waite Tarot, depicting what happens after each standard card's illustrated scene. It's also the sibling of After Tarot. All three are included here for comparison.

Card Gallery and After Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigAfter Tarot

Deck Notes

This deck is a new take on the standard Rider-Smith-Waite Tarot, depicting what happens before each standard card's illustrated scene. It's also the sibling of Before Tarot. All three are included here for comparison.

Card Gallery decks depict the artist's rendition of what happened immediately before and after Pamela's scene, while Tarot of the New Visionplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigTarot of the New Vision

Deck Notes

Card Gallery presents Pamela's scene from the perspective of the audience. These make for interesting new ways of reading and understanding the deeper meaning of each card, and the artwork in all three decks is very close to the aesthetic of the original deck.

Lo Scarabeo also published Between Tarot, which aims to depict how each card is linked to the others, but the artwork and concepts are drastically different from Pamela's artwork, making the deck not derivative of the original.