Origin Story of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot

In the early 20th century, a current of esoteric revival ran through Europe. One of the most influential groups at that time was the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society devoted to the study of magic, astrology, alchemy, and the mystical arts.

It was within this circle that Arthur Edward Waite, a mystic and scholar, collaborated with Pamela Colman Smith, a fellow member and visionary artist, to create what would become the most widely recognized tarot deck in the world. First published in 1909 by the Rider Company, the Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot (sometimes shortened to RWS, though many modern practitioners emphasize Smith’s name to honor her artistry) marked a turning point in tarot history.

Unlike earlier decks that left the numbered Minor Arcana mostly as decorative pips, Smith’s illustrations filled every card with symbolic scenes, rich with narrative and emotion. These images made tarot more accessible—suddenly, even a beginner could enter the story of each card without needing years of rote memorization.

But the Rider–Waite–Smith was more than just a new look. It carried the Golden Dawn’s esoteric blueprint: a web of correspondences tying tarot to astrology, Kabbalah, numerology, and elemental theory. Each Major Arcana card was linked with a planet or zodiac sign; the suits were aligned with the four elements; and numbers connected to both mystical and practical cycles.

This fusion created a multidimensional system of insight—where pulling a tarot card could also gesture toward an astrological archetype, a path on the Tree of Life, or an alchemical principle. The deck was both mirror and map: a tool of divination and a language of the cosmos.

That is why the Rider–Waite–Smith tarot has endured. It is not only iconic artwork—it is a living synthesis of mystical traditions, one that continues to guide seekers more than a century later.