Rider-Waite tarot deck

While the images are simple, the details and backgrounds feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to that found in earlier decks, but overall the Waite-Smith card designs represent a substantial departure from their predecessors. The Christian imagery of previous decks was toned down; for instance, the "Pope" card became the "Hierophant" and the "Papess" became the "High Priestess". The Minor Arcana is illustrated with allegorical scenes by Smith, where earlier decks (with a few rare exceptions) had simple designs for the Minor Arcana.[8]

The symbols and imagery used in the deck were influenced by the 19th century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi,[9][10] as well as by the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.[11] In order to accommodate the astrological correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck. He switched the order of the Strength and Justice cards so that Strength corresponded with Leo and Justice corresponded with Libra.[12][13] He also changed the Lovers card to depict two people instead of three in order to reinforce its correspondence with Gemini.[12]

• 
  0 – The Fool
• 
  I – The Magician
• 
  II – The High Priestess
• 
  III – The Empress
• 
  IV – The Emperor
• 
  V – The Hierophant
• 
  VI – The Lovers
• 
  VII – The Chariot
• 
  VIII – Strength
• 
  IX – The Hermit
• 
  X – Wheel of Fortune
• 
  XI – Justice
• 
  XII – The Hanged Man
• 
  XIII – Death
• 
  XIV – Temperance
• 
  XV – The Devil
• 
  XVI – The Tower
• 
  XVII – The Star
• 
  XVIII – The Moon
• 
  XIX – The Sun
• 
  XX – Judgement
• 
  XXI – The World

The cards were first published in December, 1909, by the publisher William Rider & Son of London.[8][12] The first print run was extremely limited and featured card backs with a roses and lilies pattern.[8][14] A much larger run was printed in March, 1910, featuring higher quality card stock and a "cracked mud" card back design. This edition, often referred to as the "A" deck, was published from 1910 to 1920.[15] Rider continued publishing the deck in various editions until 1939,[16] then again from 1971 to 1977.[17]

All of the Rider editions up to 1939 were available with a small guide written by A. E. Waite providing an overview of the traditions and history behind the cards, texts about interpretations, and extensive descriptions of their symbols. The first version of this guide was published in 1909 and was titled The Key to the Tarot. A year later, a revised version, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, was issued that featured black-and-white plates of all seventy-eight of Smith's cards.

The success of the Rider-Waite deck spawned numerous reproductions by other companies. U.S. Games (now U.S. Games Systems) began publishing an authorized reproduction deck in the United States in 1971.[17] In the 1990s, they began publishing the Universal Waite deck, a version recolored by illustrator Mary Hanson-Roberts.[18]

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the deck, U.S. Games Systems published the Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck in 2009. This deck is a faithful reproduction of the original deck published in 1909 and uses the muted colors originally chosen by Smith.[19]

Some controversy exists around the copyright status of the deck.[20] Under UK copyright law, works fall into the public domain 70 years after the death of the author,[21] which may refer to either Waite (1942) or Smith (1951). Australian copyright law currently has the same term under a 2004 amendment; however, unlike in the UK's 1995 amendment, this law was not retroactive, and the deck therefore passed into the public domain 50 years after the author's death. In the United States, the deck fell into the public domain in 1966 (publication + 28 years + renewed 28 years), and thus has been available for use by American artists in numerous different media projects. U.S. Games Systems has previously claimed[22] that copyright over the deck expires in 2021, 70 years after the death of the author, in accordance with the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act (which does not apply to works published prior to 1923). This claim has yet to be tested in a court of law.

• Learning materials related to A Psychological Interpretation of the Tarot at Wikiversity