The original rider waite tarot is the most popular and widely used tarot card deck in the world. First issued in 1910, each card is rich in symbolism and striking in its design. Divided into the major and minor arcanas, the cards were designed by pamela colman smith in accordance with a. E. Waite's instructions. An instructional booklet is included, explaining the tarot card meanings and how to use the cards for divination, with an introduction by stuart r. Kaplan. The original rider waite tarot deck is, perhaps, the most desirable tarot deck in the world. It comes along with an instruction booklet that explains the cards and their uses. Summary of the Book - Rider Waite Tarot Deck was originally published by William Rider & Son of London in the year 1909. The famous illustrator Pamela Colman Smith drew the cards as per the instructions given by the academician Arthur Edward Waite. The following year, A.E. Waite penned an instruction booklet The Key to the Tarot and explained in more detail as to how to use the deck, the history of the cards and the meaning and significance of each symbol. The booklet was combined with the deck and they were together sold as a set. It gradually became famous and has been playing a substantial role in the progress of tarot decks. The pictures on the deck appear simple yet every feature has a figurative connotation. The 78 cards are distributed into two Arcanas - Major and Minor. The instruction booklet explains how the 56 minor cards are further divided into four suits - wands, cups, pentacles and swords. Most of the tarot decks produced today are said to be replicas of the 1909 Rider-Waite deck, because of the resemblance in their illustrations and symbolism.