Arthur Edward Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot Illustrated Arthur Edward Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot is a divinatory tarot guide, with text by A. E. Waite and illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. Published in conjunction with the Rider tarot deck, the pictorial version (released 1910, dated 1911)[1] followed the success of the deck and Waite's (unillustrated 1909) text The Key to the Tarot.[2] Both Waite and Smith were members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Waite was very concerned with the accuracy of the symbols used for the deck, and he did much research into the traditions, interpretations, and history behind the cards.