RWS books

Abrac

After looking more closely, I don't think it's a misprint in the PKT. It sounds like it was intended that way.

The Hidden Church and Manual of Cartomancy were both written before the PKT. So one of two things must have happened.

1. He changed his mind in the two years between when he wrote The Hidden Church and the PKT, or

2. It was done deliberately to throw the unsuspecting off track.

I believe the second one is the most likely because the actual meanings he gives to the cards correspond more closely to his original arrangement. For example, the Swords are generally bad (especially toward the end) as you find for Spades; and Pentacles deal mostly with money issues as in Clubs. :)
 

Teheuti

Hi,
Is there any RWS book you would recommend?
Thank you all
Maria Tarot. Could you be more clear about what you are looking for? Do you want to know what Waite and Smith intended by the cards? If so: Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot (PKT) and you may want to to check out The Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot by Katz and Goodwin - but be aware that the majority of the information on the cards are either quotes from PKT or the authors' speculations.

If you want to know more about how to read the symbolism in the Major Arcana then I recommend Paul Foster Case's The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages.

After that you get into the realm of general symbolism for which Pictures from the Heart: A Tarot Dicitionary by Sandra Thomson can be helpful.

Otherwise, for general reading techniques, the majority of books in English reference this deck - so check out recommended books in the Books & Media section of the forum.
 

chongjasmine

Do check up the book and media section of the forum.
I recommend the complete idiot's guide to tarot.
The writer is humorous, and it makes use of the universal waite deck, which is similar to the rider waite deck, except for the coloring.