Arthur Edward Waite
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
We are preparing a complete Russian translation of Waite’s book and a separate English edition. The Russian edition will feature new Esonum illustrations; the English edition will retain Pamela Colman Smith’s historical drawings.
Edition in preparation
Translation, illustrations, and typesetting are in progress. The complete Russian and English editions will be available here to read online and download as PDFs.
Read the historical English text ↗
Inside the book
- 01
The Veil and Its Symbols
The history of Tarot, the Greater Arcana, and the four suits.
- 02
The Doctrine Behind the Veil
The secret tradition and the inner symbolism of each of the 22 Greater Arcana.
- 03
The Outer Method of the Oracles
The 56 Lesser Arcana, upright and reversed meanings, combinations, and methods of reading. Waite’s bibliography concludes the book.
First illustrations for the Russian edition
A new painting style with the symbolic content preserved. Each card is checked against Smith’s drawing and Waite’s description.
New illustrations for Esonum based on the historical Waite–Smith iconography.
Authorship and edition
The original text is by Arthur Edward Waite. The historical deck was drawn by Pamela Colman Smith. The original English text and historical illustrations are in the public domain in the United States. Esonum’s copyright notice applies only to new copyrightable contributions to this edition.
Russian translation and editorial work: © 2026 Esonum.