The tradition we reference
Our reference is the Rider–Waite–Smith tradition and A. E. Waite’s The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. First published in 1910, the per-card electronic text we cite is labeled 1911. We also link a scanned, proofread 1922 reprint. Pamela Colman Smith designed the original card imagery.
Waite’s esoteric historical claims belong to his interpretive tradition and are not asserted here as archaeological facts. We use Smith’s original illustrations. Each card page separates the historical text from our contemporary interpretation.
Documented history
The Morgan Library situates tarot in fifteenth-century Italian card games for aristocratic players. Divination and occult interpretation were later uses; similarity to later Egyptian imagery does not establish an Egyptian origin. Morgan Library ↗
22 + 56 = 78
There are 22 major arcana. The minor arcana has four suits, each with Ace through Ten, Page, Knight, Queen, and King. We use RWS numbering: Strength VIII, Justice XI, and the Fool 0.
Our modern themes organize Wands around action and creativity, Cups around emotion and connection, Swords around thought and conflict, and Pentacles around resources and daily practice. This does not claim one universal meaning across all traditions.
Spreads and reversals
A single card offers one perspective. Our three-card spreads are Situation–Challenge–Advice and Past–Present–Possible Future. These are our modern reflective spreads, not claimed as Waite’s original methods. Cards are drawn from all 78 without replacement; optional reversals have probability 1/2.
A reversal may suggest obstruction, excess, or an inward expression. It is neither always negative nor a strict opposite. Our reflective meanings focus on imagery and are labeled separately from historical divinatory statements.
Primary texts you can consult
《周易》· Chinese Text Project ↗
Read the judgments and line texts separately from the later commentarial Wings. Traditional authorship accounts are not treated as established historical fact.
Zhouyi, received text · Digital Chinese Classics ↗
Each hexagram’s classical text is extracted from its chapter. Traditional characters and editorial punctuation are retained; modern annotations are not reproduced.
A. E. Waite · The Pictorial Key to the Tarot ↗
First published in 1910; our reference is the 1911 text transcribed by Sacred Texts. Written by A. E. Waite, with original card designs by Pamela Colman Smith.