“Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyant,

Had a bad cold, nevertheless

Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,

With a wicked pack of cards.” – T.S Elliot’s The Waste Land

Where does the drive to know the truth begin, and where does it end? How do we find the words or images to make meaning out of our seemingly meaningless existence? Philosophers, poets, and artists (if not all the same being) have sought to bring to light these questions, but often their answers provide little solace for those on the receiving end. Who do we trust to make such meaning, a friend, a stranger, a wise man, a fortune teller? Despair in the modern world led T.S Elliot to write The Wasteland, and in his epic poem, he references the Tarot several times, using it to relate back to his own life and create a masterpiece. The deck whose cards he references is the Rider-Waite Deck (Leavitt, 14). His poem would be considered one of the greatest poems of the twentieth century, but with countless literary, philosophical, and spiritual references would only be completely understood by a small population. Still, without comprehension of every footnote, much like the tarot cards themselves, the poem can be appreciated and loved by many who read it.

Pamela Colman Smith

Most occult historians surmise that the beginnings of the Tarot are shrouded in mystery. Some say it originated in ancient Egypt and then traveled to the Levant and onward to Greece and Europe.  Others insist that it did not appear until Renaissance era Italy (Gray 6). There are many conflicting hypotheses of why exactly it was created in the first place,
making it a hard craft to study. During the mid-15th century the tarot pack would have been used for playing card games by nobles, and even specially painted to resemble the families that were given. Although Edward IV had outlawed the importation of decks into England, the tarot still made its way into the country with the help of traveling gypsies (Gray 8).

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Cat People Tarot: Strength

In 1886 the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was formed in England. Many celebrities were part of the order, including W.B Yeats (Raine 6). In 1910 Arthur Edward Waite enlisted the help of Pamela Colman, another member of the Golden Dawn and renowned artist of the time, to paint seventy-eight allegorical paintings using Waite’s descriptions of the Tarot pack (Gray 9). These images have served as the standard for Tarot packs in the English-speaking world and have influenced the creation of thousands of different unique decks since then, which include subjects from “Cat People Tarot” to “Zombie Tarot” and beyond.

Those who study the occult often make a business out of it. A haggard man on the street in Woodstock once offered to read my sister her cards for ten dollars (or “whatever you have to spare”). In my imagination, I concoct elaborate images of gypsies and magi who studied the tarot hundreds of years ago. I do not know of any others in my own life who practice the art themselves but have tried to reach out to those in the community to learn more to no avail. Until recently, there was a shop in town called “The Silent Muse” that advertised on their website psychic readings, antiques, and items of the occult. If one was to peek in the dirty windows of The Silent Muse, they would see an old Knight’s suit, glass displays containing different spiritual stones, and dusty tapestries hanging on the walls. Although the owner had a list of available hours on the door, they were never open. Recently the sign was taken down, and the inside of the store was cleaned out.

In 1971 The Rider-Waite Tarot deck copyright was purchased by U.S. Game systems Inc. The new world merges with the old, and those who can strike the balance are left in the dust. There is no concrete evidence to support the accuracy of fortune-telling. One thing is for sure, the images of the tarot will continue to delight, inspire and confuse for a long time to come. More than anything, the deck serves as a way of connecting with archetypes of the past rather than a method of predicting the future.

Works Cited:

Gray, Eden. A complete Guide to the Tarot. New York: Bantam Books, 1970. Print.

Leavitt, June. Esoteric Symbols: The Tarot in Yeats, Eliot, and Kafka. Lanham: University Press of America, Inc. 2007. Print.

Raine, Kathleen (1976) [1972]. Liam Miller, ed. “Yeats, the Tarot and the Golden Dawn”. New Yeats Papers II (second ed.). Dublin: Dolmen Press. p. 6.