Thoth Tarot Vs Rider Waite | Which One is Best?

Are you getting confused about selecting Thoth Tarot and Rider Waite? Well, we have provided the differences in this article.

The Thoth and Rider Waite Tarot are the two most popular Tarot Decks. Although their fans love both, they look and feel differently. The most significant difference between Thoth Tarot and the Rider Waite deck is the Minor Arcana. The court cards in the Thoth deck (page, knight, queen, king) are modeled after the aristocracy and the court of ancient Egypt rather than the medieval England of the Rider-Waite. In the Major Arcana, the images are similar, but the names of the cards are different. The Magician is “Magician” in the Thoth deck and “The Hierophant” in the Rider-Waite deck.

The difference that varies is most of the artists created individual decks. You may see they have changed their name or can notice that Justice is the 8th card in many decks, whereas, in some other decks, it is the 11th card. All the cards depend on the artist. The deck can be unique, but the elements are the same.

The Thoth Tarot is a unique and powerful tarot deck. It is one of the most popular decks in the world—it is the deck of choice for many famous tarot readers. However, some might think this deck is difficult to use because it is very different from traditional tarot card decks, with very different illustrations from those used in Rider Waite Tarot. Here we will tell you the differences between the Thoth and Rider Waite Tarots.

Thoth Tarot Vs. Rider Waite

Let’s check the comparative differences between these two tarot decks:

Thoth Tarot Tarot Deck

The Thoth Tarot, also called the Crowley Thoth Tarot, is a unique deck created by Aleister Crowley in 1904-1909. It is said to be based on the rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society founded by him. The deck is also said to be based on the Qabalah. The Thoth Tarot is a unique deck with words on the cards, one of the few Tarot Decks. These words are primarily written in English but partly in Latin and Egyptian. The deck is notable for its complex symbolism; each card is associated with several ideas, making it hard to study for beginners.

The Thoth Tarot is a deck designed by an influential ceremonial magician and founder of Thelema’s religion and philosophical system. It is based on the Qabalah, a symbolic system popular in Western esotericism. The Thoth Tarot is the deck of choice for many practicing magicians. Aleister Crowley invented it as a tool to access the astral plane and comprehend the universal truth. His book “Liber 777” describes the purpose and use of each card.

Main Features: 

Thoth Tarot deck is a divinatory deck that Lady Frida Harris illustrates. The deck has been made according to the instruction of Aleister Crowley. Crowley mentions this deck as the book of the Thoth.

The deck is a small 78-card deck whose illustration signifies the symbolism of images, including Crowley’s science and philosophy and various enchanting systems.

The deck was published on December 31, 2005, by the US Games System. It is composed in the English language. It weighs 1 pound and has a dimension of 2.75*0.39*4.37 inches.

Pros:	Cons:
The artwork is beautiful, and all the suit cards come in bold letters. The cards are easy to shuffle and come in exact sizes. The details are provided on the back of the card.	There is a slight depiction on the card.

Rider Waite Tarot Deck

The Tarot Deck is a well-known tool many famous fortune tellers use, but what is the meaning of Rider Waite? Rider Waite is a deck that Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created. It is a deck that is so well known that it is the most used deck in Tarot readings. The deck was made in 1909. The deck has twenty-two Major Arcana cards and fifty-six Minor Arcana cards.

The imagery on the cards is rich and evocative, leaving a lot to the imagination, so people can easily project their ideas onto the cards.

Main Features: 

This is a popular traditional deck written by Arthur Edward Waite and painted by Pamela Coleman Smith. This deck is one of the top ten tarot decks. The deck graphic images authorize interpretation without the need for repetition. It comes with vibrant images that signify full scenes with figures and symbols.

The US games system published the deck on January 01, 1971. It is composed in the English language. Its weight is 7.8 ounces, and its dimensions of 4.9*2.9*1.2 inches.

Pros:	Cons:
It comes with a sturdy and durable deck. The card stock is heavy, thick, and comes in high quality. The deck features vibrant images and has original artwork. The cards are easy to shuffle and contain a small booklet providing action.	The booklet doesn’t provide precise details.

Review of the Differences Between the Thoth Tarot and Rider Waite

The Thoth tarot contains all the kabbalistic and astrological attributes, whereas the rider Waite contains archetypal images.

In the Thoth tarot, all the symbols are based on Crowley’s incorporations, whereas Smith’s original hand-drawn titles draw Rider’s Waite full pictures.

Pentacles are known as a suit in Rider Waite, whereas, In Thoth tarot, pentacles suits refer to disks.

All the court cards are named in Rider Waite as page, knight, king, and queen, whereas in Thoth tarot, it is called to Page as a prince, Knight as Prince, and king as a knight, where the queen remains the same in both the deck.

Some of the prominent arcana names also differ. Rider Waite magician card is known as magus in Thoth deck, the strength card is known as lust, and Justice is known as a judgment in Thoth deck. Also, have more cards where the name differs from the Thoth deck.

Details are provided on the back of the Thoth card, whereas, in Rider Waite, no details just come with a pattern design.

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Conclusion:

So, we hope that you have got the differences that we have provided in the article. Keeping the theme the same, the decks are different from each other only in their name and symbols as they are illustrated and created by different artists.

If you want to buy any 1 deck, go with the one you want. Both the deck are accessible and provide basic information, But if you know Kabbalah and astrology, we suggest you choose the Thoth deck.

Happy Shopping.

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Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API