Good for reference but not the best Tarot book out there unfortunately- quite dry and at points too many information thrown at the reader

A recent forward but pretty much the same of previous releases of the book. The cover is pretty nice. Good if wanting a recent edition of it.

Sehr hilfreich für Anfänger! Verständlich und einfach erklärt. Ich habe viel gelernt, sowohl über das Nutzen des Tarots, als auch über die Geschichte. Es gibt auch Bilder drin, die helfen.
Vielen Dank an Netgalley.de für dieses Buch!

This book is an excellent scholarly resource, but please do not pick this up as your very first guide to interpreting a tarot reading.

Waite's (as in THE Rider Waite deck) book dives into the meaning behind tarot and its history, mixing serious study with mystical vibes. It is a product of its time and can be tough to get through, but it gives deep insights into the Smith-Waite deck, showing how tarot can help with spiritual and personal growth.

Waite carefully breaks down outdated beliefs about divination, explaining the cards as a symbolic system that goes way beyond predicting the future. The book also places tarot in a larger context of thought and mysticism, making it a good resource for anyone serious about tarot, whether they're practitioners or scholars.

Thank you to Repeater Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC at no cost and with no obligation for me to review.

The book was interesting and my favorite part was learning new methods of reading the cards. I would give it 3.5 stars because the text is dry and I found myself wanting to constantly skim the blocks of text. There also wasn't a lot of new information which makes sense if this is a reprint of an old book. Overall, it's interesting in a historical/scholarly type of way.

I absolutely love tarot. And when I got the change to arc read this wonderful book I was so happy!

Waite explain the card and history so different than I have read. I liked seeing it from another side.
However it was a very dry read! This book is not meant to be as your first tarot book. It’s way too dry for that. There were times I had trouble getting trough it.

That said the information is I think valuable

Absolutely loved! I love to do tarot and I really appreciate this new perspective, especially with the world as it currently is. This is exactly what I needed!

It's nice to see The Pictorial Key to the Tarot back in print. Other than the forward, it's the same word for word as my original 1918 copy. This book is how the Smith Waite deck is ment to be interpreted and studied.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about A.E. Waite? It is a classic, and anyone/everyone who is familiar with tarot knows this deck.

This Pictorial Key to the Tarot was great. It is thorough, classic and to the point. While learning about Tarto can feel daunting and overwhelming, a key (guide) such as this one is exactly what you need. Is offers everything you need to know in order to understand the craft and using the deck. While it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing deck (there are so many incredibly beautiful ones out there) it is one you should be aware of.

I highly recommend this book, for new dabblers and seasoned practitioners. It’s a wonderful addition to our library.

As someone that just got into tarot, this was a fun and informative book with nice illustrations. I can see myself coming back to this again and again as I practice more tarot.

A.E. Waite’s The Pictorial Key to the Tarot is a foundational text for anyone serious about understanding tarot, particularly the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Published in 1910 alongside the deck he co-created with Pamela Colman Smith, the book explores tarot’s symbolism, history, and divinatory uses. It’s divided into three parts: an introduction to the theory behind tarot, detailed descriptions of each card, and a section on divinatory meanings. While the writing can be dense, the book offers rich insights into the spiritual and symbolic layers of tarot.

For advanced readers, the book’s greatest value lies in its exploration of the Major Arcana. Waite’s interpretations uncover deeper, mystical themes, encouraging readers to see the cards as more than tools for divination—they are keys to spiritual growth. His descriptions of cards like The Fool and The High Priestess reveal a shift in focus toward inner wisdom and archetypal energies. However, Waite’s writing style, filled with archaic language and cryptic phrasing, can make the text hard to follow. He also holds back on explaining some symbols fully, leaving readers to fill in the gaps themselves.

The Minor Arcana receives less attention, and Waite’s divinatory meanings for all cards can feel brief or overly rigid. Despite these shortcomings, the book’s historical importance and its role in shaping modern tarot cannot be overstated. It’s especially valuable for understanding the intent and symbolism behind the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which remains one of the most widely used tarot decks today.

While beginners may find Waite’s approach too theoretical, experienced readers will appreciate the depth of his interpretations and the insight they offer into tarot’s esoteric roots. For those willing to put in the effort, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot provides a deeper connection to the spiritual and symbolic aspects of the cards. It’s a challenging but rewarding read that continues to inspire tarot practitioners over a century later.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’ve read many books on tarot. I can say that this one was concise, easy to follow, and the authors voice was distinctive. The pictorial key to the tarot is great for new practitioners

Repeater Books provided an early galley for review.

The first volume of this reference was published back in 1910, and Waite is one the recognized o.g. resources when it comes to all things tarot. This book predominantly features the classic card designs by Pamela Colman Smith (while not the same as those on the Morgan-Greer tarot deck I own they were still very familiar to me).

The introductory sections talk about the history of tarot before diving into the details of twenty-two cards of the Greater Arcana and the fifty-six cards (broken across the four suits: wands, cups, swords and pentacles) of the Lesser Arcana. Most helpful are the two summary sections that quickly provide the standard natural position and reverse meanings of the cards when used in divination activities.

One area that was new to me was the additional meanings of the recurrences of cards of the Lesser Arcana when they happen within a reading (both for the natural positions and the reverse).

The final sections focus specifically on the art of divination and provide various layouts with which to do readings: the Celtic layout of ten cards, a more detailed forty-two card reading, a slightly different thirty-five card method. Of these, the Celtic one was the method of which I had been previously introduced as it tends to be one of the quicker versions. I have also seen even simpler readings made up of three cards or just a single card (the latter much like a daily horoscope approach to divination with tarot).

For someone just starting to dive into all things tarot, this volume with its roots in the classic publication is a good place to start.

Thank you, Repeater books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own: As someone who loves tarot, this book has been an incredible addition to my collection. Waite’s explanations of the cards are detailed but easy to follow, making it great for beginners and experienced readers alike.

What really sets this edition apart is the forward by Sereptie—it gives the tarot a whole new layer of meaning, connecting it to activism and social change. I also loved the quick-reference guide in the appendix; it’s super handy when you need a quick keyword during a reading. If you’re into tarot for more than just divination, this book will definitely give you something to think about. If you are a tarot reader this book is a classic, so probably you already have one in your shelf, also I loved the cover. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So let's get this out of the way first-- this is the original 1910 text by Arthur E. Waite repackaged in a new edition for 2025. As far as the main body of text goes, everything to the best of my memory is exactly the same. What's new here is the very pretty cover and a nice foreword by Sereptie (Craig Laubach). There are many editions of Waite's text (910 according to Goodreads but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot more than that), so why this one in particular?

Your decision is likely going to come down to if you like the cover or if you enjoyed the foreword. If you don't care about that, there are infinite different versions of this same text.

Now then to the actual text itself: if you consider yourself a tarot reader, witch, esoteric, or are at all interested in the history of magic, this is a must read. Waite's explanations of the cards and what they mean are the modern gold standard everybody and their grandma uses for their tarot readings, and for good reason. This is basically a tarot reader's bible: every other tarot book out on the market today is derivative of this work, even if they're coming up with a unique deck divorced from the Rider-Waite interpretation, they would have to know this stuff to be certain their deck is actually unique. You've got some sample card spreads here, the meaning of each and every card, a decent bit of historical information, and a bibliography in the back for further reading (which I highly suggest you do, but I'm a history nerd).

All this to say: if you don't have a copy of Waite's original text, there's no reason not to get this one. For better and for worse, they didn't change anything other than add a foreword and a nice cover. The language has not been updated to be more modern or to suit modern sensibilities as best I can tell. Keep in mind this was originally published in 1910. It's a must have book for anybody who says they're "witchy" or reads the cards.

I hadn’t realized that this was just a reprint of a book from the early 1900s by one of the authors of the original RWS tarot. There is a lot of info here that is helpful for some reference but the tone is condescending and pompous and I was hoping for a more updated and inclusive interpretation tool.

I found the 2025 new edition of The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite to be a challenging read due to its overly complex language. While the card descriptions were somewhat helpful, the writing style made it difficult to fully engage with the material. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book to readers looking for a clear and accessible guide to tarot.

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot is an update of the original. You can find books that are more modern, and some that are more creative, but this book is worth the read. It gives you the original and visual meanings from the actual card meanings.
If you are a student of the tarot, you shouldn't miss this title.

Thank you to Repeater Books and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#RepeaterBooks #NetGalley #ThePictorialKeytotheTarot #AEWaite

Im still a beginner of tarot. This was a LOT of information, which is good... I just found it very boring. Haha but that doesn't negate the fact that it's an excellently informative book.

Great resource for people new to Tarot but lacking in greater depth for those with a solid background in reading.