Universal Waite Tarot Deck and Book Set

I'll start off by stating that these are full sized tarot cards just to reassure anyone wondering about the size. So as my pictures show, I already own one Universal Waite already, and I just got this second deck to serve as a clone so I can take one around and not be too worried if one gets destroyed as my other will stay at home. The first thing I noticed is a difference in appearance so I compared them to examine closer. What I found is that the new deck has sharper image quality for cleaner images, but I liked the color more on the old deck. There is no dirty residue on these cards either like my original deck came with, so it is very nice to handle these cards with clean smooth shuffling and no dirty hands. My pictures don't really show what I'm talking about though and I need to scan the cards really for a more accurate comparison. I didn't even know it was supposed to come with the spread mat which I thought is very cool since I sadly could never remember the Celtic Cross yet, and being paper is kind of nice for portability. Because of the improved image quality and cleanliness of the new deck, I will probably bring my old deck as my travel deck or buy a second clone. My old deck is my first and only other deck and I feel a bond with it so I'm hesitant to use it for travel. Another possible improvement to the cards is that they feel a hair thicker, but this might just be because they are new. The book is nice reading material but it is more about the cards' artwork than the cards' divination meanings for the major arcana, but the minor arcana have more of divination meanings, so it's not like a bigger version of the little booklet in the deck. The font is large and the book is monochrome, so it's not that spectacular as a book, but it does contain a good amount of information. The start of the book is about the history of tarot cards, which is quite nice in depth for being one chapter long, and the book has a bibliography in the back for further reading, and also in the end of the book are some pages for alternate card meanings and spreads. I think the book is a good addition to the deck and handy spread mat. This was all for $23 when I bought it instead of $32, so I got a good deal here as my original deck was near $20. I would recommend buying this one because of those improved cards. My book and box were slightly damaged in shipping because the shipping package used was a bubble wrap envelope instead of a cardboard box. But the whole product is wrapped in plastic shrink wrap, and the cards are also in plastic wrap, so that's some extra safety against rainy delivery days or whatever. All of my cards were accounted for and had no printing flaws. Any error though and you can just exchange it, so. There are many versions of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and this one is my favorite because the colored pencil coloring looks so magnificent and lets the white card stock add brightness to the cards. I think the Universal Waite is the most beautiful version for it's bright, softly colorful but still vivid, and textured artwork. The Radiant Waite also looks good for the bold color depth but the colored pencil wins me over here. I should also mention that the back of the cards between both of my Universal Waite decks are still the same, so don't worry about losing that lovely star pattern. For the spiritual philosophy, there are plenty of people with videos and websites who have explored the tarot more deeply and explain just how complex and rich the meanings really are. The book and booklet are nothing compared to what modern people have been creating online and in books. Then for divination, this area is actually hugely lacking in the book and booklet. If you are new to this, you must look into divination, Hermetics, and psychic interpretation to understand how to use the cards. Critics to the system call it random cards, but it's more complex than that as the card reader handles the cards and interprets the cards. The cards themselves are just cards, but it takes applied meaning, interpretation, and some psychic insight to better work with questions, plus study from experienced tarot readers and lots of practice of course. The cards are more of a tool as the magic is in you. I only feel the need to type out this final paragraph because of how much people don't understand how this system operates so there is a lot of misunderstanding about tarot cards in general. I'm certainly no tarot expert myself but I've looked into finding the people that know what they're talking about. I've done some free readings for people for practice, and even though I've only done less than fifty readings probably, people say I'm very good and accurate because I've browsed around the internet quite a bit to learn how the cards work.

Wonderful deck! Packaging is solid, all items were in place. I've been studying Tarot off and on for several years as a hobby. I think most of us started with The Rider Tarot as our first deck, and I am certainly drawn to Pamela Coleman Smith's timeless images. It should be noted that the original images that she drew were in fact, black and white. The coloring was added much later. This deck was an effort by Occultist student and researcher Arthur E. Waite to make Tarot more accessible to the wider public by updating the imagery that had been previously used up until that time. His book (included with this set) The Pictorial Key to the Tarot should be read with a grain of salt; especially the sections in regards to Tarot history. Whereas it's fascinating to read what this man wrote and researched pertaining to The Occult (particularly in France), the history itself is not entirely factual. Where the book is primarily useful are the meanings attributed to each of the cards. All major and minor arcana cards are explained; as well as the symbolism and divinitory meanings of each card. There are also example spreads and spread information included as well. The booklet included in the deck box is primarily keywords for each card. Also included in this set is a Celtic Cross spreadsheet with each position explained. This spreadsheet will be most useful for beginning readers, advanced readers will most likely find it useless. The cards themselves are thick/sturdy/and glossy which makes them easy to shuffle. This set, The Universal Waite Tarot Deck, (originally published by US Games in 1990, and reprinted in 2004) is an updated take of The Rider Tarot published by US Games in 1971. This new set features a brand new back design (no more ugly blue plaid), a beautiful gold star pattern on a solid dark blue background, and the set has been recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts. This new coloring has been done in pastel and is much softer that its predecessor, which allows for more detail to be seen in the actual images themselves. Personally, I feel that the new coloring allows for greater depth in the original images. I've compared each and every card in this new set to the previous Rider Tarot, and each card in The Universal Waite stands out significantly more that its predecessor. Overall, I highly recommend this deck. There are several editions of The Rider-Waite deck available, and I feel that this is the set that I will be using.

I just spent time typing out a long review of The Universal Waite Pocket Size version of this same deck. For that reason, please go read it. I have over more than a decade bought and re-bought this deck. It is one of the best ever. It does last as long as any good, solid deck should. So far to my knowledge, this deck has always held quality in every aspect, including the card stock made with. ( Oops! I forgot something I had read in many reviews before this purchase. I will address it towards the end. So you might see what I just typed as "in my own purchases". ) I hope to never be without one of these decks. There is nothing but greatest in the Universal Waite Tarot that I have owned. (Perhaps underscore that last sentence.) If you want to know more of my feelings for the UW, please go see my review of the pocket edition. They are the great 78 renderings, except obviously the size, but also the art on the backs and the boxes that house them. Okay about the "Oops" typed about, here it is... I haven't checked to see if different manufacturers of this deck or what has made the change. One added note, I read and saw pictures of reviews of some newer decks having a glossy looking, reflective backs and the buyers of not caring for the change made. I don't blame them. So on seeing that and thinking perhaps they are making an inferior deck, (I already own the book by Waite), but I chose to buy the set thinking perhaps that these sets would still have the deck as ones of it I have loved. I believe it is one and the same. Yippee! I will have to go and compare an old deck to my current to know for certain. I so wish that all companies stop changing out production from quality to making lesser, more inferior replacements. I absolutely hate it. I am not stating that they have and I hope not, but several have reviews of and pictures of stating such. On the bandwagon, there is much to be said about making a great product and taking pride in (3 of Pent.) workmanship, instead of slyness, making you think you are buying the same item as before and grasping the almighty dollar for their inferiority. If this is to be the new norm, I pity what our children today and future generations will know and believe it's always been as such. THINK! How can we expect and demand from them in schools and later in the workplace to achieve honor, doing to their best, to work their best and in producing the best QUALITY, if we teach them lessons of pay big, buy inferior cramp?! I have stopped buying many things altogether and will continue to go without rather the buying unexceptable product. No $$ from me. If we all did this, there would "be a change coming".

The Universal Waite Tarot Deck and Book Set by Arthur Edward Waite comes with the card deck, small paperback book and a handout "map" for doing a celtic cross general reading (this shows where to place the 10 chosen cards). Overall, the deck is the tried and true Waite deck that is univerally the overally best! This deck is easy to read and each symbol explains a situation with the help of the paperback book. The book is easy to follow and informative for the beginner. In my opinion, this is a good book to carry around for answers, however, the book "Tarot Plain and Simple" by Anthony Louis is my personal favorite book. When I do a reading and refer to it, something in the reading of a particular card that I am searching the meaning to just jumps out and BINGO, this is what I need to hear at the time. Overall, this is a GREAT BEGINNER SET that will get you started in this. I sometimes refer to the cards when I have a question. The cards just give me more advice and insight than anything else. The readings and answers given show me what MAY happen if I do nothing to change the situation. I do not look at this as a fortune telling but more of advice and getting my questions answered. This is why the cards help. Only I can work on my future!

I love this version of the RWS deck better than the original or radiant versions. The coloring on these cards pics op more of the details missed in the original, and the colors are more natural than the radiant deck. I have not found the booklet, written by Waite to be useful to me at all in my practice. The writing is from around the early 1900s I believe and they were still trying to maintain some secrecy at the time it seems so this book is just not useful. If you can save money and just get the deck alone that’s the way to go. Would be a better set to have a more modern booklet with this deck.

These are the best Universal Waite cards you can get. These cards that come with the book are different from the other ones you get when you buy the deck alone. These cards are better in my opinion because the have a nice satin finish instead of the super glossy, shiny finish of the other deck. Very nice card stock. Not too thick but not too thin or flimsy. I was hoping these cards were going to be the satin finish and I was so pleased when I opened them to find a lovely satin finish. So if you want the less shiny, satin finish like I do, these are the ones to get. Hope this helps.

So, I have to write a review for this because this just arrived in the mail today and now I have the answer to something I was really wondering about. There is another Universal Waite Tarot Deck on Amazon that just comes with the deck and nothing else. I got the set because at the time of purchasing it was actually slightly cheaper than the standalone deck. However, what I was wondering was this: on the other deck, a lot of people mentioned that the cards were super glossy. This was a slight turn-off for me but not a deal breaker. But I was wondering if this set was different. It is! When I opened the cards, they were more matte than the other deck and actually had a slightly satin feel to them. The cardstock is nice and feels fairly sturdy as well. Other than that, I love this deck - it captures the feel and "magic" of the original Rider Waite Smith deck while being colorful and new feeling. The images have so much more depth as well and resonate with me a lot more. This deck also came with the pictorial key to tarot and a large poster/paper thing with a Celtic cross spread on it. I just had to make a note of this because this version doesn't have as many reviews as the other, and I figured it would be helpful to anyone who might have had the same question I did.

Firstly, they came quick which I was happy about. Ordered them on Thursday night and I got them by the following Tuesday! I was happy the backs of the cards were dark blue with the gold stars like I wanted, I was kind of worried they would send me the plaid blue and white ones I've seen before. They're great. Bright and not faded, thick not flimsy, and they're bigger than I thought they'd be. The book comes with different spreads you can try but they give you a poster with the 10 card spread/celtic cross spread guide on it for beginners like me. Cant wait to learn and experiment more with these cards, great investment if you're looking to get into tarot reading more :)

The included book has all the alternate meanings you could need as well as explanations of the artwork on the cards. Also covers "repeating" cards, draws and patters. Deck is as you would expect, the best deck you would use for just about any reading You can feel the energy/vibrations right out of the box; tuned to me right from the first reading and has been getting more accurate ever since. Every reader needs this deck as part of their collection; and is best used as the GO-TO deck for anything.

If u r a Rider waite follower then this is a much brighter version of d same.. O got bored of my regular one started finding it a bit pale so went for this.. Ofcourse readings are as always accurate.

Short version review: - The cards I received are totally sticking together. Only bending the whole deck in different directions made them come loose. Re-shuffling doesn't help. Spreading deck impossible as they keep sticking together. Unusable. More detailed review: - The "used" set packaging came slightly damaged, which is not an issue for me as it is not really needed. - The card deck + booklet packaging & the book by A.E. Waite came in fine condition. What I like about this deck: - The lovely recolouring of the cards by Mary Hanson-Roberts. What I don't like so much, but is ok: - The colour printing seems a tad faded on a couple of cards. - The backs of the cards. Why use such a dark blue background with this lovely coloured deck? What I don't like: - About the accompanying book by A.E.Waite: It seems to be a 'reprint' from 1971. Print layout feels pretty 'out-dated'. The print itself is more or less fading on different pages, hence 'reprint'. Worst print quality is the index with the tinier font used here. The text is printed in a bigger old serif font + the card images are in black & white. The overall texts, meanings & interpretations of the cards feel a bit cryptic to me after my first reading. Not a fan so far. What is really putting me off: - The cards were all sticking together when I got them out of their box. I had to bend the whole pack a couple of times to make them come loose. Shuffling them is quite tedious, too, as they keep sticking together. Drawing a couple of cards for a first reading, 1 card stuck to another which I didn't see at first! Re-shuffling them a couple of times didn't help. They don't glide at all, so it is impossible to spread the deck before you to draw cards, you have to un-stick every single card. That's really not fun! If your cards usually get a lot of wear & tear, you might be happy with this deck edition, as the lamination seem to make it quite sturdy. Compared to another tarot deck I own, I'm not happy with these cards at all. I'm not sure if I'm going to use these at all even with a different guidebook for the reading.

Me parece que tiene una buena relación calidad precio. Es la mejor versión del universal rider waite en mi opinion. Los colores son bonitos y se baraja bien, veremos con el uso que tal. Viene con el libro original y una cartulina para la tirada de la cruz celta.

Lovely set and it's my first ever Waite deck. Love the cards and the book but the book is a little confusing due to the meaning but I prefer the little white book as it's not as negative with its meanings. But I still recommend it.