Arthur 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). As his biographer R. A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of Western occultism—viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of protoscience or as the pathology of religion."[1]
Arthur Edward Waite was born on 2 October 1857 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, to unmarried parents.[2] Waite's father, Capt. Charles F. Waite, died at sea when Arthur was very young, and his widowed mother, Emma Lovell, returned to her home country of England, where he was then raised.[2] They were well enough off to educate Waite at a small private school in North London.
When he was 13, he was educated for two terms at St. Charles' College.[3] When he left school to become a clerk he wrote verse in his spare time. In 1863 Waite's mother converted to Catholicism and Arthur was raised a Catholic.[4] The death of his sister Frederika Waite in 1874 soon attracted him into psychical research. At 21, he began to read regularly in the Library of the British Museum, studying many branches of esotericism. In 1881 Waite discovered the writings of Eliphas Levi.
In 1903 Waite founded the Independent and Rectified Order R. R. et A. C. This Order was disbanded in 1914. The Golden Dawn was torn by internal feuding until Waite's departure in 1914; in July 1915 he formed the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross,[7] not to be confused with the Societas Rosicruciana. By that time there existed some half-dozen offshoots from the original Golden Dawn, and as a whole it never recovered.[8]
Waite photographed in London, 13 January 1921
Freemason
Waite was interested in the higher grades of Freemasonry and saw initiation into Craft Masonry as a way to gain access to these rites. After joining the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and the Knights Templar, Waite traveled to Switzerland in 1903 to receive the Regime Ecossais et Rectifie or the Rectified Scottish Rite and its grade of Chevalier Bienfaisant de la Cite Sainte (C.B.C.S.). Waite believed that the Rectified Scottish Rite, more than any other Masonic Rite, represented the "Secret Tradition" of mystical spiritual illumination.[2]
Writer and scholar
Waite was an author and many of his works were well received in the esoteric circles of his time, but his lack of academic training is visible in his limitations as a historian and in his belittling of other authors.[2]
Waite also wrote two allegorical fantasy novels, Prince Starbeam (1889) and The Quest of the Golden Stairs (1893), and edited Elfin Music, an anthology of poetry based on English fairy folklore.[11]
Tarot deck
The High Priestess, left, and illustrator Pamela Colman Smith, right, from the now-famous tarot deck.
Waite is best known for his involvement with the Rider–Waite tarot deck, first published in 1910, with illustrations by fellow Golden Dawn member Pamela Colman Smith. Waite authored the deck's companion volume, the Key to the Tarot, republished in expanded form in 1911 as the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, a guide to tarot reading.[12] The Rider–Waite tarot was notable for illustrating all 78 cards fully, at a time when only the 22 Major Arcana cards were typically illustrated, with the Sola Busca tarot, 1491, being a notable historical exception. Prior to the publication of this deck, many esoteric tarot readers used the Tarot de Marseille playing card deck. The Rider-Waite deck has gone on to have a large influence on contemporary occult tarot.
Personal life
In 1888, he married Ada Lakeman (also called "Lucasta"), and they had one daughter, Sybil. From 1900 to 1909, Waite earned a living as a manager for Horlicks, the manufacturer of malted milk.[2]
Lucasta died in 1924.[2] In 1933, Waite married Mary Broadbent Schofield.[13]
Waite, A. E. (1913). The Secret Doctrine in Israel A Study of the Zohar and Its Connections. London: William Rider & Son Limited.
Waite, A. E. (1914). The collected poems of Arthur Edward Waite, in two volumes. London: William Rider & Son Ltd.
Waite, A. E. (1916). The Unknown Philosopher The Life of Louis Claude de Saint-Martin and the Substance of His Transcendental Doctrine. London.
Waite, A. E. (1921). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.
Waite, A. E. (1922). Saint-Martin: The French Mystic and the Story of Modern Martinism.
Waite, A. E. (1924). The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross: Being Records of the House of the Holy Spirit in its Inward and Outward History. London: William Rider & Son Ltd.
Waite, A. E. (1925). Emblematic Freemasonry and the Evolution of its Deeper Issues. London: William Rider & Son Limited.
Waite, A. E. (1926). The Secret Tradition in Alchemy: Its Development and Records. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Waite, A. E. (1929). The Holy Kabbalah.
Waite, A. E. (1933). The Holy Grail, Its Legends and Symbolism. Rider & Co, Ltd.
Waite, A. E. (1938). Shadows of Life and Thought: A Retrospective Review in the Form of Memoirs. London: Selwyn and Blount.
Translations
Jennis, Lucas (1893) [1625]. Musaeum Hermeticum [The Hermetic Museum]. Translated by A. E. Waite. London. Two volumes.
Anonymous (1894) [c. 900]. Turba Philosophorum [Assembly of the Philosophers]. Translated by A. E. Waite.
Petrus Bonus (1894) [c. 1330-1339]. Margarita Preciosa Novella [New Pearl of Great Price]. Translated by A. E. Waite. James Elliott and Co.
Papus (1958). The Tarot of the Bohemians. Translated by A. E. Waite.
Gilbert, R. A. (1986). . Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. 99. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010 – via MasterMason.com.
Gilbert, R. A. (1987). A. E. Waite: Magician of Many Parts (1st ed.). Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Crucible. ISBN185274023X.
Graham, Sasha (2018). Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot: A Journey Through the History, Meaning, and Use of the World's Most Famous Deck. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN978-0738753195.
Howe, Ellic (1972). The Magicians of the Golden Dawn. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Arthur Edward Waite at Library of Congress, with 97 library catalogue records
Media related to Arthur Edward Waite at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to A. E. Waite at Wikiquote
April 07, 2023
waite, arthur, edward, waite, october, 1857, 1942, british, poet, scholarly, mystic, wrote, extensively, occult, esoteric, matters, creator, rider, waite, tarot, deck, also, called, rider, waite, smith, waite, smith, deck, biographer, gilbert, described, waite. Arthur 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 As his biographer R A Gilbert described him Waite s name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of Western occultism viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of protoscience or as the pathology of religion 1 Arthur Edward WaiteWaite in 1911Born 1857 10 02 2 October 1857Brooklyn New York United StatesDied19 May 1942 1942 05 19 aged 84 London EnglandResting placeBishopsbourne Village in the county of Kent EnglandNationalityBritish AmericanKnown forRider Waite tarot deckSpouse s Ada Lakeman m 1888 died 1924 wbr Mary Broadbent Schofield m 1933 wbr Children1 daughterHe spent most of his life in or near London connected to various publishing houses and editing a magazine The Unknown World Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Golden Dawn 2 2 Freemason 2 3 Writer and scholar 3 Tarot deck 4 Personal life 5 In popular culture 6 Works 6 1 Translations 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Works cited 8 Further reading 9 External linksEarly life and education EditArthur Edward Waite was born on 2 October 1857 in Brooklyn New York United States to unmarried parents 2 Waite s father Capt Charles F Waite died at sea when Arthur was very young and his widowed mother Emma Lovell returned to her home country of England where he was then raised 2 They were well enough off to educate Waite at a small private school in North London When he was 13 he was educated for two terms at St Charles College 3 When he left school to become a clerk he wrote verse in his spare time In 1863 Waite s mother converted to Catholicism and Arthur was raised a Catholic 4 The death of his sister Frederika Waite in 1874 soon attracted him into psychical research At 21 he began to read regularly in the Library of the British Museum studying many branches of esotericism In 1881 Waite discovered the writings of Eliphas Levi Career EditGolden Dawn Edit Waite joined the Outer Order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in January 1891 after being introduced by E W Berridge 5 In 1893 he withdrew from the Golden Dawn In 1896 he rejoined the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn In 1899 he entered the Second order of the Golden Dawn He became a Freemason in 1901 6 2 and entered the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia in 1902 In 1903 Waite founded the Independent and Rectified Order R R et A C This Order was disbanded in 1914 The Golden Dawn was torn by internal feuding until Waite s departure in 1914 in July 1915 he formed the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross 7 not to be confused with the Societas Rosicruciana By that time there existed some half dozen offshoots from the original Golden Dawn and as a whole it never recovered 8 Waite photographed in London 13 January 1921 Freemason Edit Waite was interested in the higher grades of Freemasonry and saw initiation into Craft Masonry as a way to gain access to these rites After joining the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and the Knights Templar Waite traveled to Switzerland in 1903 to receive the Regime Ecossais et Rectifie or the Rectified Scottish Rite and its grade of Chevalier Bienfaisant de la Cite Sainte C B C S Waite believed that the Rectified Scottish Rite more than any other Masonic Rite represented the Secret Tradition of mystical spiritual illumination 2 Writer and scholar Edit Waite was an author and many of his works were well received in the esoteric circles of his time but his lack of academic training is visible in his limitations as a historian and in his belittling of other authors 2 He wrote texts on subjects including divination esotericism freemasonry and ceremonial magic Kabbalism and alchemy he also translated and reissued several mystical works He wrote about the Holy Grail influenced by his friendship with Arthur Machen 9 10 A number of his volumes remain in print including The Book of Ceremonial Magic 1911 The Holy Kabbalah 1929 A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry 1921 and his edited translation of Eliphas Levi s 1896 Transcendental Magic its Doctrine and Ritual 1910 having been reprinted in recent years Waite also wrote two allegorical fantasy novels Prince Starbeam 1889 and The Quest of the Golden Stairs 1893 and edited Elfin Music an anthology of poetry based on English fairy folklore 11 Tarot deck Edit The High Priestess left and illustrator Pamela Colman Smith right from the now famous tarot deck Waite is best known for his involvement with the Rider Waite tarot deck first published in 1910 with illustrations by fellow Golden Dawn member Pamela Colman Smith Waite authored the deck s companion volume the Key to the Tarot republished in expanded form in 1911 as the Pictorial Key to the Tarot a guide to tarot reading 12 The Rider Waite tarot was notable for illustrating all 78 cards fully at a time when only the 22 Major Arcana cards were typically illustrated with the Sola Busca tarot 1491 being a notable historical exception Prior to the publication of this deck many esoteric tarot readers used the Tarot de Marseille playing card deck The Rider Waite deck has gone on to have a large influence on contemporary occult tarot Personal life EditIn 1888 he married Ada Lakeman also called Lucasta and they had one daughter Sybil From 1900 to 1909 Waite earned a living as a manager for Horlicks the manufacturer of malted milk 2 Lucasta died in 1924 2 In 1933 Waite married Mary Broadbent Schofield 13 In popular culture EditH P Lovecraft s short story The Thing on the Doorstep includes a character named Ephraim Waite According to Robert M Price this character was based on A E Waite 14 Works EditThis section needs more complete citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding missing citation information so that sources are clearly identifiable Citations should include title publication author date and for paginated material the page number s Several templates are available to assist in formatting Improperly sourced material may be challenged and removed November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Waite A E 1886a Israfel Letters Visions and Poems London Allen Waite A E 1886b The Mysteries of Magic A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi London George Redway Waite A E 1887 The Real History of the Rosicrucians London Waite A E 1888a Alchemists Through the Ages Waite A E 1888b Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers London George Redway Waite A E 1888c Songs and Poems of Fairyland An Anthology of English Fairy Poetry London Waite A E 1891 The Occult Sciences A Compendium of Transcendental Doctrine and Experiment London Kegan Paul Trench Trubner amp Co Ltd Waite A E 1893 The Alchemical Writings of Edward Kelly London Waite A E 1896 Devil Worship in France London George Redway Waite A E 1898 The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts Waite A E 1909 The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail Waite A E 1910 Steps to the Crown Waite A E 1911a The Pictorial Key to the Tarot London William Ryder amp Son Ltd Waite A E 1911b The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry London Rebman Two volumes Waite A E 1912 The Book of Destiny and The Art of Reading Therein London William Rider amp Son Ltd Waite A E 1913 The Book of Ceremonial Magic London Waite A E 1913 The Secret Doctrine in Israel A Study of the Zohar and Its Connections London William Rider amp Son Limited Waite A E 1914 The collected poems of Arthur Edward Waite in two volumes London William Rider amp Son Ltd Waite A E 1916 The Unknown Philosopher The Life of Louis Claude de Saint Martin and the Substance of His Transcendental Doctrine London Waite A E 1921 A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Waite A E 1922 Saint Martin The French Mystic and the Story of Modern Martinism Waite A E 1924 The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross Being Records of the House of the Holy Spirit in its Inward and Outward History London William Rider amp Son Ltd Waite A E 1925 Emblematic Freemasonry and the Evolution of its Deeper Issues London William Rider amp Son Limited Waite A E 1926 The Secret Tradition in Alchemy Its Development and Records New York Alfred A Knopf Waite A E 1929 The Holy Kabbalah Waite A E 1933 The Holy Grail Its Legends and Symbolism Rider amp Co Ltd Waite A E 1938 Shadows of Life and Thought A Retrospective Review in the Form of Memoirs London Selwyn and Blount Translations Edit Jennis Lucas 1893 1625 Musaeum Hermeticum The Hermetic Museum Translated by A E Waite London Two volumes Anonymous 1894 c 900 Turba Philosophorum Assembly of the Philosophers Translated by A E Waite Petrus Bonus 1894 c 1330 1339 Margarita Preciosa Novella New Pearl of Great Price Translated by A E Waite James Elliott and Co Papus 1958 The Tarot of the Bohemians Translated by A E Waite References EditCitations Edit Gilbert 1987 p 361 a b c d e f g Gilbert 1986 Gilbert 1986 fn 4 Caleb 2007 p 316 n 2 King 1989 p 52 Anon n d Prosser 2004 Howe 1972 p page needed Waite 1938 p page needed Gilbert 1987 p page needed Stableford 2009 pp 420 21 Waite 1911a Graham 2018 Timeline Price 1995 p vi Works cited Edit Anon n d Arthur E Waite Freemasonry bcy ca Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon Retrieved 30 November 2022 Caleb Amanda Mordavsky ed 2007 Re creating Science in Nineteenth century Britain Cambridge Scholars Pub ISBN 978 1847182203 Gilbert R A 1986 The Masonic Career of A E Waite Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 99 Archived from the original on 5 September 2010 Retrieved 23 May 2010 via MasterMason com Gilbert R A 1987 A E Waite Magician of Many Parts 1st ed Wellingborough Northamptonshire Crucible ISBN 185274023X Graham Sasha 2018 Llewellyn s Complete Book of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot A Journey Through the History Meaning and Use of the World s Most Famous Deck Llewellyn Worldwide ISBN 978 0738753195 Howe Ellic 1972 The Magicians of the Golden Dawn London Routledge amp Kegan Paul King Francis X 1989 Modern Ritual Magic The Rise of Western Occultism Prism ISBN 978 1853270321 Price Robert M ed 1995 The Azathoth Cycle Tales of the Blind Idiot God Oakland California Chaosium ISBN 978 1 56882 040 8 Prosser Lee 6 April 2004 Arthur Edward Waite Ghostvillage com Retrieved 30 November 2022 Stableford Brian 2009 Waite A E The A to Z of Fantasy Literature Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0 8108 6829 8 Further reading EditGilbert R A 1987b The One Deep Student a life of Arthur Edward Waite Wellingborough External links Edit Wikisource has original works by or about A E Waite Short Biography Works by Arthur Edward Waite at Project Gutenberg Works by or about A E Waite at Internet Archive Works by A E Waite at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Works by Arthur Edward Waite at sacred texts com plain text and HTML Arthur Edward Waite at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Arthur Edward Waite at Library of Congress with 97 library catalogue records Media related to Arthur Edward Waite at Wikimedia Commons Quotations related to A E Waite at Wikiquote Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A E Waite amp oldid 1142402849, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
