The Pictorial Key to the Tarot

A new edition of A.E. Waite's classic The Pictorial Key to the Tarot that explores tarot's radical political potential and its usefulness for the left.

A.E. Waite’s The Pictoral Key to the Tarot has been a mainstay among tarot reference guides for more than a century.

As an acclaimed occultist and scholar of the Kabbalah, Waite collaborated with artist Pamela Colman Smith to create what has become possibly the world’s most famous tarot deck. The pictoral key offers a rich introduction to the history and symbology of the modern tarot in addition to providing a detailed explanation of the 78 cards found in the original Smith-Waite deck. Readers will enjoy an in-depth exploration of the tarot’s secrets while gaining insight to the conventional meanings and reversed readings associated with each card.

Repeater’s re-release of this classic text contains a forward by Sereptie (Craig Laubach), creator of The Philosopher’s Tarot, celebrating the importance of the tarot to artists, activists, and others seeking to transform a world fraught with material and psychic oppressions. This expanded edition also includes an appendix featuring a quick reference guide to common keywords and interpretations."In a time when witchcraft is mostly just shopping and all our spiritual leaders are so very well paid, it's wonderful to be reminded of the intimate ties between the occult and revolution, the spiritual and the political. Waite's essential text reminds us the stakes of spiritual practice are larger than our comfort or desires."
– Jessa Crispin, critic and author of The Creative Tarot and The Dead Ladies ProjectArthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith or Waite–Smith deck).

Sereptie is the mystical moniker of Craig Laubach, host of the philosophy and theory podcast Acid Horizon. He is also a co-author of Anti-Oculus: A Philosophy of Escape (Repeater Books, 2023) and the author of Red Alchemy (Repeater Books, 2025).