Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot

Disclaimer: I received a free eARC of this book through netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Ah, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. A deck created 100 years ago. A deck that influenced all the decks that have come since. But where did Smith get her inspirations from? What is the real story behind this deck? That's what drove Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin to write Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot. They spent a lot of time researching into the past, to bring out documents, images, and letters to tease apart many of the decks secrets.

What I liked: This book works best like a history story–where we understand who Waite and Smith were as people and mystics. Where we relate real-life locations of Smith's past as backdrops to the cards. I loved learning more about “Pixie” and her design aesthetics, of seeing other paintings she done, and understanding how she translated the design instructions into art. I enjoyed how they related these tidbits back into many of the cards, as a way to unlock meaning inside the cards.

What I didn't like: Once we get out f the extensive card by card descriptions (which were great), we get into a few smaller chapters of murkyness. These chapters have interesting spreads in them but seem to be stuffed in at the last minute. There's no real explanation on how to use or lay out the cards. It's as if the authors decided to “stuff more into an already big book” because they can.

BOTTOM LINE: This book makes me yearn for a first edition Waite-Smith deck. It gives me a connection to the deck in a way that many other books haven't. I feel like I now understand this deck and want to treat it like one of my other, modern day, favorites. Get this book to understand some of the background behind the deck.