Learn the Rider-Waite tarot from scratch: a complete guide

What is the Rider-Waite-Smith?

The Rider-Waite — more precisely Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) — is a tarot deck published in 1909 in London by the Rider company. It was conceived by the occultist Arthur Edward Waite and illustrated by the artist Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the esoteric society that shaped modern tarot. For decades it was simply called "Rider-Waite", but today the decisive role of Pamela Colman Smith — who drew all 78 cards — is recognized, hence the "S" for Smith.

It is by far the most-used deck in the English-speaking world and the basis of hundreds of derivative decks. If you have seen tarot cards in a film or online, they were almost certainly RWS or a variant.

Why the RWS is the best deck for beginners

There is a single, enormous reason: all 56 Minor Arcana are fully illustrated with narrative scenes. In the Tarot de Marseille and other traditions, the Minors are "pip" cards: the Five of Swords is, literally, five swords in a geometric pattern, with no scene. You have to deduce the meaning from number, suit, and element.

In the RWS, by contrast, the Five of Swords shows a figure gathering swords while others walk away defeated, with an emotion readable at a glance. You read the picture rather than deduce from scratch. This drastically lowers the barrier to entry: you can start reading evocative scenes from day one, before memorizing anything.

This does not make the RWS "better": the Tarot de Marseille teaches you to read from first principles (numbers, elements, symbols), a highly transferable skill. They are two equally valid traditions. If you are torn between them, compare them in Tarot de Marseille vs Rider-Waite. To start reading with images as soon as possible, the RWS is the gentler path.

The structure: 78 cards

The RWS shares the classic tarot structure:

• 22 Major Arcana: the great archetypes, from The Fool (0) to The World (XXI).
• 56 Minor Arcana, split into four suits of 14 cards each (Ace to Ten, plus four court figures).

The four suits and their elements:

• Wands = Fire = action, will, passion, projects.
• Cups = Water = emotions, relationships, intuition.
• Swords = Air = ideas, conflicts, mental clarity.
• Pentacles (or Coins) = Earth = money, work, health, matter.

Each suit has four court figures: Page, Knight, Queen, and King. They usually represent people, stages of maturity, or facets of your own personality.

The numbering quirk you must know

There is a peculiarity of the RWS that confuses anyone coming from older decks. Waite swapped two trumps relative to the traditional order of the Tarot de Marseille: in the RWS, Strength is VIII (8) and Justice is XI (11). In the Marseille it is the reverse (Justice VIII, Strength XI). Waite did this for astrological reasons tied to the Golden Dawn. It is not a mistake: it is the RWS's signature. If you follow a guide and the numbers do not match, this is almost always why.

How to learn the RWS, step by step

1. Start with the 22 Major Arcana: the Fool's Journey

The Majors are the heart of tarot and nearly identical between RWS and Marseille. The classic way to learn them is as the Fool's Journey: a narrative in which The Fool (0) passes through each archetype and matures all the way to The World (XXI). Read in order, they tell a story of growth, which makes them easy to remember. A few to begin with:

• The Fool: impulse, freedom, and the leap of faith.
• The Magician: the conscious beginning and the will to act.
• The High Priestess: inner knowledge and intuition.
• The Empress: creativity, abundance, and the sensual.
• The Emperor: structure, power, and stability.

2. Learn the Minors by suit and element

Once you master the Majors, study the Minors suit by suit. Do not memorize 56 loose meanings: learn the energy of the element (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) and the progression of the number (the Ace is a seed, the Ten is completion), and let the illustrated scene confirm the rest. In RWS, looking at the picture almost always gives you the right emotional direction.

3. Read the scene: gestures, gazes, and symbols

The core RWS skill is reading the picture. Where is the figure looking? Is their posture open or defensive? What is in the background — storm, sun, still water? Pamela Colman Smith filled every card with readable symbols. Before reaching for the "official meaning", describe out loud what you see: often you are already reading.

4. Practice 3-card spreads

Real reading begins when you combine cards, not when you recite meanings. The three-card spread (situation – challenge – advice, or past – present – future) is the best starting point.

An 8-week study plan

A concrete plan beats a hundred loose tips.

Weeks 1–2: the first 11 Major Arcana

One card a day, in order, as the Fool's Journey. For each, note: name, number, keyword, and a question to reflect on. Write three sentences about what the image told you today.

Weeks 3–4: the second 11 Major Arcana

Same method. By the end you will have met all 22 Majors in a month — the "22 arcana in 22 days" plus a review margin.

Weeks 5–6: two suits of Minors

Spend one week on Wands (Fire) and one on Cups (Water). One card a day: first describe the scene, then confirm with the meaning. Connect each suit to its element.

Week 7: the two remaining suits and the courts

Swords (Air) and Pentacles (Earth), plus the 16 court figures. The courts are the easiest to personify: think of real people who embody each energy.

Week 8: spreads and combined reading

Practice the card of the day and the three-card spread. This is where real reading begins: weaving a narrative across the cards, not listing definitions.

The mistakes 90% of beginners make

• Trying to memorize meanings before doing real spreads. In RWS you learn by looking at and describing the scene, not by hoarding definitions.
• Skipping the journal. It is half the learning: that is where you see your interpretation patterns.
• Ignoring the image and rushing to the little booklet of meanings. The RWS's advantage is precisely the illustrated scene; use it.
• Getting confused by the Strength/Justice numbering (VIII and XI) without knowing it is an RWS peculiarity.
• Obsessing over reversed cards from day one. Master the upright meanings first.
• Searching for "the right answer". Tarot is a mirror, not a yes/no oracle.

Physical deck or app?

For real spreads, a physical deck is ideal: shuffling, cutting, and laying out the cards is part of the learning. A classic RWS deck costs 15–30 € / 20–35 USD and is very easy to find. An app like Luz de Arcano is complementary: it helps you study between readings with spaced repetition, quizzes, and lessons that teach you to read the scene. The best part of Luz de Arcano is that you can learn both the RWS and the Tarot de Marseille with the same tools, with each deck's progress tracked separately, so you never have to choose for good.

Resources to keep learning

• Books: "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom" (Rachel Pollack); "The Pictorial Key to the Tarot" by Waite himself.
• Deck: any Rider-Waite-Smith edition (the Smith-Waite Centennial is a faithful reproduction).
• App: Luz de Arcano, to study the RWS or the Marseille with spaced repetition, a daily ritual, and reading lessons. See the plans here.

One warning: be wary of anyone promising certainty. Tarot is interpretive, not predictive.