The Universal Waite Tarot Card Deck is a re-colored version of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot card deck. The images have been colored by none other than Mary Hanson-Roberts, who has also created the Hanson-Roberts Tarot card deck. After reading with the Rider-Waite-Smith for a few years, I switched over to the Universal Waite deck and I have never looked back! This deck took my studies of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot to a new level. This deck has now become my go-to deck for all my professional and personal Tarot Card Readings.

Let’s take a look at the different aspects of the Universal Waite Tarot Card Deck and find out why it is so…

The Cards

The cards are a very decent size to hold and to shuffle. The back of the deck is reversible – which is fantastic because I do consider reversed cards in my readings. The re-colored images are stunning, and the different elements within the images of the cards are now easy to see. The overall coloring is also very pleasant and soothing. I quite liked the way the cards and their images became more clear for the eye to see – and how the cards suddenly seemed to have more ‘light’ in them.

I must confess, I use this deck all the time – for my personal and for my professional Tarot card readings as also for when I teach Tarot to my students. It is no secret that I am totally smitten by this deck! 😛

The LWB

The deck that I had ordered came with a copy of the Pictorial Key to the Tarot (or the PKT). The book was written by A.E. Waite and therefore was written in a style quite reminiscent of the 1900s (the RWS was published first in 1910). So it took me some effort to decipher what he was trying to say, but eventually, I did get it! And well, A.E. Waite can often be quite sarcastic, and witty about what he has to say about some people. 🙂

However, the book did contain some very interesting interpretations. From a historical as well as from a study perspective, the PKT is invaluable. The PKT has explanations and interpretations of each card, along with both upright and reversed meanings of each card.

The Majors

The Majors of the Universal Waite are simply stunning! Naturally, the images are the same as the Rider-Waite, but they are clearer and stuff in the cards is easier to see.

For example, one can easily see the water body in The High Priestess or the boat in the Death card.

Other than that, the Majors of the Universal Waite present the journey of the Fool through his trials and tribulations, his awakenings and his understanding of the different levels of life and evolution. My favorite cards among the Majors are The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Chariot, The Hermit, Temperance, The Star, and The World.

The Minors

The Minor cards are pretty brilliant, if you ask me. The re-coloring often does a good job of it to help bring out the different elements from within these images. I did however get bothered by the way the expressions of some of the people on the Court Cards got changed – the Queen of Wands for example! She is one of my fav Courts!

As such, I only found a recurring theme of the environment in the Court Cards for each of the Suits. The Wands Court is found in a desert-like environment, the Sword Court is found among a mountainous terrain, the Cups Court is found near water bodies, while the Pentacles Court is found amongst trees and forests. Of course, this is very much in keeping with the Elements that they represent – Wands being Fire is found in a warm environment, Swords being Air is found in a very airy, windy place, Cups being Water is found near water, while Pentacles being Earth is found where Nature is plentiful.

Reading With The Universal Waite Tarot Card Deck

Reading with the Universal Waite is always a pleasure. I have never had any problems with it. I use this deck for my personal and professional readings, and also for when I teach Tarot.

I prefer to use this deck because of the depth of readings I can get with these images – of course, I must say here that I have spent a lot of time studying this deck and its images. But the way I have connected with these images is pretty powerful.

When I use these cards for teaching, I find that students who are totally new to the cards can easily relate to the images. And as they progress through their study, they can also understand the deeper elements of the cards. As such this is a deck that can be used by all Tarot-ists – beginner to advanced.

The Cards I Liked

Now lets look at the cards from this deck that I like.

The first card I am going to talk about is naturally The Fool card. When one is confronted by such situations in life where a leap of faith is the only way that one can proceed ahead, this card is very inspirational. And it has been! Somehow, the energy of this card cannot be diminished, no matter what. Every time I am stuck because I don’t take that certain leap, this is the card I turn to.

The next card I am going to look at is The Star. This is the card that really made me see things in a way I could never see before. I meditated with this card once, and stuff inside of my head just clicked! Everything just started to make sense… This card has given me some great insights over the period of time, and I find that the lessons to be learnt from this card are invaluable and life changing.

The next card is the 8 of Pentacles. The apprentice sits there, working hard at his craft, creating perfection – working towards it step-by-step. This is so a card that I can always relate with! 

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  7 of Swords

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Amongst the Sword cards, despite their gloom and doom imagery, I find myself drawn to the 7 of Swords card. Typically called the ‘Cheater’ or the ‘Thief’, this card is also the card of the ‘Trickster’. Somehow, this card tells me that each time we lose something or get cheated by someone (and of course steal something or cheat someone) we are to learn something important. Besides, the Trickster in all of us has the urge to take advantage of opportunities, but how many of us do that?

And of course, from among the Cups suit, I love the 3 of Cups card. A celebration, a harvest and friends getting together to have fun! Who wouldn’t love this card, eh? ? 

And of course, from the suit of Wands, I love the Queen of Wands. She is one heck of a woman, from amongst all the women in the deck. Not only does she give off the energy of being someone who is an equal to her King, but she is also warm and understanding, while being a smart go-getter. 

Some Technical Stuff

This deck is the re-colored version of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, so naturally, the technical aspects of the RWS apply for this deck too. A.E. Waite changed many things about the way the cards in this deck were presented. For example, he changed the positions of the Strength and Justice Cards, and he changed some aspects within the images of the Lovers, Judgement and the Sun cards — this was quite a divergence from the prevalent styles outlined by the Golden Dawn Society to which he belonged to, and he certainly faced some criticism for it. However, from a certain point of view, those changes only added value to those cards’ meanings, and added to the overall accessibility to the Tarot that this deck created

The images of the RWS revolutionized the way Tarot card imagery has been drawn — and for that I must make a special mention of Pamela Coleman Smith, the artist who actually drew these illustrations. 

Your Turn

What do you think about this deck? Do you use this deck or any other deck in your readings? What are your experiences with the images of this deck?

Do write to me in the comments below, and lets talk!

Images used with permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc.