This book, (for the skilled practitioner) is a great source of knowledge, but more importantly, raw power! You will have your enemies growing tarantulas out of their mouths in no time! (hehe)

Not just another grimoire but a nice book for reading if you are interested in this kind of sorcery. Particulary nice illustrations of amulets, but if you have made plans of exercising these sacret rituals you'd better think twice, unless you are a skilled mage. Yet for the unskilled among us a nice book to get a picture of the rites as they were performed in and after the inquisition.

The Hermetic and Alccemical Writings of Paracelsus the Great is an AWESOME collection of Alchemical/Hermetic material. It was my first "Paracelsian" book, and probably not my last. If you have little or no Alchemical/Hermetic knowledge though, I think you should wait before buying this one.

Not only is this a collection of some lesser know works by Levi, but it is edited by A.E. Waite, one of the more important occultists of last century,and designer of the most influential and popular tarot deck this century. Waites knowledge turns this into an extraordinary buy.

The book is an awesome biography of the Mystical life of Louise Claude de St. Martin. The author fully described the sequence of events of the life of this Unknown Philosopher. Excellent reference for the students in Martinism or traditional Martinist Order as well as a path in the search of Truth by modeling from the examples of the book.

I've never been a big fan of the Rider Waite decks even though they are pretty much considered the general standard deck. The reason being that I don't care too much for the colors used in the illustrations. But like the other reviewer noted, I also felt like it was a deck I needed to add to my collection, since it is significant to the history of the tarot. So when I found a mini version, I decided I would check it out.

I have to say I'm very happy with this little deck. It's just the right size. It's small enough that you can easily carry it in a pocket or a purse and take it everywhere, yet it's big enough to allow easy shuffling and viewing of the cards. I also bought the miniature Universal Rider Waite, which is a much smaller deck (with cards roughly the size of a postage stamp) but it was way too small and delicate to be practical. (Even if it is a fun collector's item!) This deck however is a great compromise and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it. I like to bring it along with me when I go out with friends and we can easily do spreads for each other at restaurants. It's a great deck to carry around because people will ask you about it and it's a good opportunity to introduce the tarot to them as a postive divination tool.

I'd like to note that one of the reviewers above must have this deck confused with the Universal Rider Waite Mini deck. This deck does NOT come in a plastic case with a key chain...that is the much smaller Universal Rider Waite (which you can also find on amazon). Instead, the Rider Waite Miniature tarot deck comes in a regular cardboard box with a small booklet with the card's meanings. (Was that confusing enough?) :)

These are a great deck to carry in your purse or pocket for times you can practice reading your cards. A little bit smaller than an normal deck of cards these take up much less space than other decks. Rider Waite is of course, a great starter deck and is easy to use. Great addition to your tarot card collection

I've never been particularly attracted to the Rider-Waite or Waite-style decks, but as I've learned more about tarot I've realized that I probably should have one, since it's such a tarot standard. After looking at pictures of different Waite decks (artoftarot.com has a good compare/contrast section) I saw that size was the deciding factor for me. These cards are just so cute!

There seem to be many complaints here and in other reviews of this deck about the difficulty of shuffling such small cards. (They're slightly smaller than a standard business card, if the measurements don't really illustrate it for you.) While I did have the usual new deck slipperiness problems, after the cards were broken in a little I've found them easy to shuffle without bending. For me they're almost easier to handle than larger decks, and it's nice to be able to lay them out in a small space.

Really, I have no complaints about the deck except that the back is a blue and white plaid design, which makes me think of flannel shirts instead of tarot. Aside from that, if you're looking for a small Rider-Waite, I think this is a good choice.

Levi is on the level of Agrippa in historical importance, and while not always practical, his influence cannot be underrated. THis is one of his most important works and is a MUST for any serious occultist.

"The History of Magic" is a splendid literary work that unviels the shadowed predecessors of today's "Aquarian Lodge of Gnostic Anthropology". This book is a must for those who are serious enough to find it necessary to put together the pieces of the puzzling situation that we find ourselves in today, as students of occultism. Levi's knowledge is awe inspiring, as only a Master of the Universal Lodge of Intitiates could give.
When one reads this book, one may see the reason why so many esoteric schools and lodges, that have their historical roots upon the doctrine of the path of the Greater Mysteries, have now fallen into degeneration and black magick. It is clear to us, why there are so few institutions that remain untainted, giving freely the universal doctrine of all ages. The book that Eliphas Levi wrote, shows how the western tradition (GNOSIS in its true form)has developed throughout the many cultures, teachers, psuedo-esotericists, inquisitions, etc...
This is a must read for the student of occult arts...
To find out more about Eliphas Levi, and Gnosis, see gnosticinstitute.org

Basically a comparative compendium of several of the classic grimoires, it is quite reasonable as a sort of primer for those with an interest in the style of magic written about 5 centuries or so ago. I do not expect most modern wiccans would care for the attitudes and methods represented, but whether they like it or not, it is how magic was done and still is done by some.

Due to the rather comparative nature of the work, it was necessary for Waite to be rather sketchy in his examination of the grimoires. That is quite forgivable. He made no claim that he was including the ancient texts word for word, or even complete instruction from them.

As a sort of sampler, it is quite excellent. A person interested in the darker sides of magic can use this book to find what they might be looking for and then seek the actual text Waite quoted from in his excerpts. The older the better, since the modern reprints sometimes have left out bits the publishers feared might be "objectionable".

My one real displeasure in the reading was noting Waite's comment on the formula referred to as "The Composition of Death", where he mentions that it appears to him that the formula would result in a liquid rather than a powder. This indicated that he settled for available english translation of the time and did not bother to check the older versions. If he had, he would have known that the formula in the english version was incomplete.

That small displeasure was more than balanced by his reminder to readers that while in modern times the sacrifice of a lamb or goat to get parchment may seem bloodthirsty, it was an everyday occurrence since paper was not actually available when many of the old grimoires were written. The only way you could get a guaranteed clean sheet of parchment was to make it yourself, since some parchment dealers would wash writing off used parchment and sell it as new.

A classic in it's own way and always a refreshing read free of the "politically correct" viewpoint that seems to have become popular to impose over such works.

While I would not recommend it alone without additional reading from the original texts he quotes, it's quite reasonably well done.

If you like to dabble in Black Magic or Ceremonial Magic this book is for you.

This book is excellent in the ceremonial arts as well as the black arts. It teaches the summoning of demons and the bindings of them as well as a few works of hatred meaning hexes. Even though there not really hexes more like love spells and sex magic. But, believe me works in the book are very powerful. I wouldn't suggest this to a beginner.

A.E. Waite is a well-respected author in the study of The Mysteries. However, this book is not his best work. To be honest, I never could bring myself to do more than read sections of this book. I coul dnever read it straight-through. However, given the system of Tarot, flip-throughs are usually all you need, to discover what you need to know. There are many better books on the the subject of How to Study The Tarot, but this is a good Beginner's lesson. So many people try to make the Study of Tarot a "cut & dry" issue (i.e., "this is the way it is....")--however, in actuality, it is a life-long process of Study, Experiment, and Collection of Knowledge. It is best to read books by Many authors of Many perspectives and study Jungian Psychology, as well. Consider this book a "first stepping-stone on the Path of Enlightenment."

I've bought this book with expectations of getting loads of information in it, and was somewhat disappointed by it.

The book suffers from several problems :

- The book is a hard reading - Waite's style is obfuscated, which makes the non-trivial material harder to understand.

- Waite doesnt tell the whole truth, and not even half of it, not to mention the inclusion of misinformation. Examples include unexplained symbols (symbols on charioteer's belt, the fool's clothings, and many others), desciption of the emptress being 'virgo intacta', etc.

- Some of the cards' descriptions contradict, or at least appear to contradict, the pictures on the cards.

- Waite borrows a lot from earlier writers, but then goes on to pass criticism on his sources and belittles them.

So the book has to be read very carefuly, criticaly, and with a lot of patience. And those who do so *will* gain - the book is better than many of the instant tarot reading guides, giving truer and deeper information from the horse's mouth.

I suggest people to read this book, but *not* as the first book on the deck, and preferably along with other material (e.g. books about the golden dawn, tarot history, or symbolism).

Waite's pretentious as all get out, but he stresses that the tarot reader is "Boss". THat Tarot is esoteric, and above all, when there is question, it is the diviner him or her self that must come to the answer. THat is what it's all about. He's the first that stresed this. BUY THIS BOOK AND READ IT IF YOU READ TAROT

I purchased these cards in hope they did not look as rough as previous sets, I have seen of the Rider-Waite deck, but I was not too surprised that they do. This is not due to lack of craftsmanship, they are a nice set of cards, well packaged well-machined but the artwork, is clearly and older style. Also, I have a bias; I'm not too thrilled with lemon yellow and aqua-blue and that is the predominant color of these cards.

That being said, I'm sure these cards are faithful to the original plates, they are reproductions of. Also when I had tried to purchase these cards in a store they were nearly twice as expensive as they are here online.
Considering that, even with my disappointment they are a good deal.

I purchased these cards even though my favorite set is the Morgan-Greer deck. The Morgan-Greer deck has beautiful rich colors and full card illustrations. However, the Rider-Waite deck is one of the card sets available in the Tarot magic computer program I have. The Morgan-Greer is not. This computer program helps you learn Tarot, as well a providing readings from many sets and spreads. Of the sets on the Tarot Magic program, the Rider Waite deck illustrations more closely matches the Morgan Greer than the other decks do. I wanted to learn Tarot somewhat consistently. Also many Tarot books use the Rider-Waite deck as well. It is a handy reference deck to have.

For those unfamilliar with Arthur Edward Waite, he continued a "Christianized" version of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn after the original order was disbanned. The New Order of the Golden Dawn, headed by A.E. Waite continued to meet in the Isis-Urania Temple where the old order used to meet. During this time the idea for the "one, perfect and universal Tarot" was birthed. While the Waite-Rider deck is quite good (see TAROT REVELATIONS by Joseph Campbell and Richard Roberts for an in-depth psychological look), in my opinion it is simply too literal. A good idea is to compare A. Crowley's BOOK OF THOTH with the Waite-Rider deck. Notice how A.C.'s are more abstract. This, I believe, is the true nature of Tarot. I believe Waite was simply attempting to set his own concrete definitions of the cards (especially the trumps), while Crowley focused more on correspondences, leaving the actual definitions up to the aspirant. Conclusion: Waite's deck is good, but A.C.'s is better. :)

Things that are deeply touch people are the things that survive the test of time and are well known. The Mona Lisa, for example, is considered a pivotal piece of art and is universally recognized, even though there are thousands of portraits that are both more realistic and completely finished. Somehow, this piece resonates with people in some way so that it's appeal and visceral attraction never fades.

The same is true of the Rider Deck. As noted in other reviews, there are quite literally hundreds of decks ranging from everything from baseball to vampires to dragons to unicorns. Many people collect Tarot cards, but most everyone starts here with the Rider Deck. Indeed, of the hundreds of books published on the Tarot, almost every book I've seen for the beginner to the advanced uses the Rider deck as an example. Most decks are based in the symbolism of the Rider deck as well and if they don't work as well, it's because they've glossed over the symbolism so pivotal in the Rider.

Why, then has the Rider not only survived but evolved to be an archetype of the tarot itself? I think because it speaks to us and it's the easiest to understand even at a quick glance. The symbolism is so strong that the beginner can easily remember what any given card represents (no mean feat when there are 72 cards to remember and read!) The symbolism is also so detailed and deep that the advanced caster is always able to find deeper meaning, make more and more connections between cards during a casting.

Drawn almost like an illuminated manuscript in solid colors with clear, black outlines before the age of airbrush or computer 3D rendering, there is something timeless about it that connects us to it's rich and deep history. It's not flashy or zippy, but yet it's imagery is everywhere if we choose to look for it (didn't Led Zepplin even put the tarot of The Hermit on one of their album covers??)

While there's certainly nothing wrong with exploring other decks, the Rider-Waite is the perfect place for the beginner, ESPECIALLY because any good book on the tarot will use this very deck to explain the symbolism of the cards. Learn on the Rider, become proficient at it, then, if you like, branch out into something different like Egyptian tarot or the Halloween tarot (my other favorite for it's playful holiday symbolism). Beginning with a different deck and working with it right away will not be as satisfying or as easy to understand as the Rider. Like great art, it's timeless because it resonates with us in deep and profound ways. It may not have been the first, but in many ways, it may well be the BEST.

For the more serious eoteric user of the Tarot, the Albano-Waite deck is a deck of cards which uses the drawings of the Waite/Colman Smith/Rider deck, but with colours which conform more closely to esoteric tradition. It is almost like a Waite Deck with some of the hidden or more personal choices made by AE Waite brought back to esoteric tradition. A case in point: Key 14 (Temperance) traditionally has a rainbow associated with Sagittarius in its symbolism. Waite/Smith used irises. The Albano-Waite deck has all of Waite's elements, but adds the rainbow once more. See the book by PF Case on the Tarot for the more traditional symbols and colours. This book, originally written for the Rider deck, has been rewritten for the BOTA deck, and includes comparisons between the two decks. The Albano deck to a large extent fits the BOTA colours to the Waite drawings. The colours have meanings in meditation and contemplation, and are not meant to be "natural", hence one has yellow skies rather than blue in The Fool, etc.

The Albino-Waite Tarot Cards are bright and full of life. They are mostly based on the drawings of the rider-waite. These cards are very useful if you are interested in tarot or are thinking about learning about tarot.

I would buy this book again it was very interesting and enthouciastic for you to lern