By the turn of the 20th century, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn had synthesized a potent system blending Kabbalah, astrology, numerology, and ritual magic. For its members, Tarot was more than a game or a fortune-telling device — it was a symbolic map of the cosmos and the self.
In 1909, Golden Dawn member A.E. Waite collaborated with artist Pamela Colman Smith to produce a deck that would revolutionize the art of reading: the Rider–Waite–Smith. Smith’s illustrations brought life to the Minor Arcana, giving every numbered card a full scene instead of just suit symbols. This visual storytelling allowed readers to draw meaning intuitively, without relying solely on memorized keywords.
The RWS deck’s symbolism was steeped in Golden Dawn correspondences, yet it was accessible to anyone. Over the decades, it became the most widely published, taught, and studied Tarot deck in the world. Its imagery has been endlessly imitated, reinterpreted, and subverted — but its influence remains foundational to modern Tarot practice.