~Curtis - I agree with you about the importance of the GD - and even of Freemasonry - as an influence to the RWS symbolism. I agree w/ you too when you say the symbols Tarot portrays can be part of our own initiation process... They indeed seem to be somewhat universal, to that matter. That must be the reason why so many people like to compare the Tarot symbols to the jungian archetype theory.
~Abrac - Lord, you hit the point when you mentioned that book - Frank Jensen's The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot. I placed my order for that book a couple weeks ago, it will probably be here before xmas. I've read some reviews, and it seems that the book focuses more on the history of the deck, and not so much on its symbolism or divinatory use - and I want to know more about both. Anyways, I should be aware that I won't be able to grasp the entire deck in one month, so I gotta be patient.
About the symbolism being based on Astrology and Qabalah, I agree with you. I try never forget that these doctrines are just frameworks imposed on the Tarot symbolism, especially after the "tarot awakening" in the late 18th century. However, as soon as correspondences were established, new decks were created, with these so-called "corrections". All this changed the way Tarot symbolism has been depicted. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a "universal" or "archetypal" Tarot. The RWS deck is probably the most popular nowadays, but we all know it represents one of so many was to approach Tarot. While the main symbolism remains the same, the way it is portrayed depends on the approach of each occultist. And that does change the cards. Just compare decks like the RWS with the Thoth deck, for instance. I realized that I would have to choose between one of the very many systems to study - just for now, at least. So I chose the RWS.
Besides, astrological/qabalistic correspondences do really well in readings.
~teomatis and King of Cups - thanks for your suggestions. I found the Book T online - it's really good, particularly for its astrological correspondence system. It seems to work pretty well, and to make a lot of sense. About the PF Case book, I have heard about Case, but never really read any of his books. This one seems to be a good book about Tarot.
A question for you guys - do you all use the RWS in readings? How do you work with its symbolism while performing readings?