We take for granted much in the world around us. For instance, it seems common knowledge to just assume that a Tarot card deck would have 78 cards with colorful illustrations, and that these cards would be divided into major and minor arcana. However, this wasn’t always the case. The Tarot cards seen in modernity really had their base in the Rider-Waite deck, which was introduced in 1910. This deck was the result of the combined efforts of scholar Edward Waite and illustrator Pamela Colman Smith. They were able to build off of the popular Tarot de Marseille seen in France through use of the illustrations on each card. By cramming the symbolism each Tarot card represented onto the cards themselves, the Rider-Waite deck made interpreting the cards’ meanings even easier. This solidified their presence in the world of divination, and ensured their place in the occult to this very day.
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