Today is anniversary of the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck.

It is the most influential tarot deck design and the talented artist who drew the images, occultist Pamela Colman Smith, was a woman of colour.

Geraldine Beskin of The Atlantis Bookshop in London wrote this entry in the Moon Books community book Every Day Magic about Pamela and the Rider-Waite-Smith deck:

Pamela Colman Smith was a freelance artist who was commissioned to paint a tarot deck. Nowadays it happens all the time, then it was risky and radical. When she did it, the stars aligned as the mystical magician Arthur Waite gave her the job and directed her as she worked. Their genius was to make each card show the inner and outer meaning for the first time and so the world’s best-selling tarot was born. The subconscious cannot deal with words, only symbols, and that is where the enduring power and delight in using the deck comes from.

Every Day Magic - A Pagan Book of Days has contributions from about 50 Moon Books' writers and offers something to do every day of the year, including spells, rituals, meditations, Pagan prayers, divinations, poems to read, recipes  and craft projects. You can order copies via the Moon Books website www.moon-books.net or buy the paperback at The Atlantis Bookshop, 49A Museum St, London WC1A 1LY.

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