The picture key to the tarot
The images key to the Tarot (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot) is a book by Arthur Edward Waite in the Waite using the Waite Tarot explains the symbolism, the history and the use of the Tarot. It is still considered a basic work on the tarot today . The book appeared for the first time under the title The Key to the Tarot in 1910, but from the second edition from 1911 onwards it is titled The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
content
Preface
In the foreword AE Waite explains the need to present an alternative to the theories about the origin and representation of the Tarot, which he believes are sprouting like weeds.
First part
In the rather extensive first chapter of the picture key to the tarot, AE Waite refutes the theories according to which the tarot should come from ancient Egypt and does not skimp on swipes at the occultists Papus , Antoine Court de Gébelin , Etteilla and Éliphas Lévi . He explains his views that the Tarot should come from the circle of ideas of the Cathars and Gnosticism and justifies the changes in Pamela Colman Smith's Tarot , especially the exchange of the position of the cards Justice and Power . He doesn't say a word about the change in the minor arcana that Pamela Colman Smith made.
Second part
In the second part of the book, Waite describes the individual cards of the Major Arcana. For each card of the Major Arcana, he first explains the changes that can be found in the Rider Waite Tarot and then explains the symbolism of the card, understanding the cards as a way of initiation into the mysteries of Rosicrucianism and Christianity . It is noticeable that he arranges the card The Fool between the cards The Court and The World , whereby he adheres to the occultists, who are otherwise so scorned by him.
third part
In the third part, Waite is devoted to the minor arcana, where he makes a strong distinction between the esoteric major arcana and the minor arcana, which is almost appraising for him, and the associated methods of divination . He only writes a few short interpretive formulas for the cards of the Little Arcana, which even seem to contradict the pictures that represent the cards for some cards.
fourth part
Although a strict opponent of divination and fortune telling, AE Waite explains some methods of cartomancy in the fourth part of the book . He says this is what he does so as not to disappoint those who do not want to know better.
literature
- Arthur Edward Waite: The picture key to the original Rider Waite Tarot , AGM Urania Verlag, ISBN 3038190705