Flashes of Insight

A Tale of 2 Decks:The Wise Woman’s Tarot /Rider Waite Smith

I started reading cards with the Rider Waite Tarot and it is a good primer, used it for years and was only going to write a good “how to book” for it’s use when the Goddess took control and turned my few pages called “Visions for a New Deck” into a 25 yr. lifework called The Wise Woman’s Tarot.

I definitely was influenced by RWaite but I felt like I wanted to create images that were relevant to all races and that were also very Goddess oriented.

Some people have used the Tarot as a way to offer Feminist rhetoric but I have found to my delight that no one need put such an overlay on the Tarot because feminism, and a woman-centered magical philosophy was already present if one wold but look more deeply,which is exactly what I did.

.I also wanted to show images that were not from some Medieval Days which were such bad times for women.

A little known fact that I learned during a conference with Stuart Kaplan the prez of US Games was that Pamela Coleman Smith who was actually the artist for RW[which should actually be called Rider /Waite /Smith]was a lesbian of color from the Islands. She died in poverty though her art work should have brought her a small fortune in residuals alone for RWS.

To his credit,Stuart Kaplan has made a museum at the USGames Factory for Pamela Coleman Smith’s artand I dedicated my Wise Woman’s Tarot to her.

Feel free to peruse my website below to view the WWTarot and read some excerpts from the book too.

Blessings Flash