The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Arthur Edward Waite
A Golden Dawn initiate who increasingly emphasised Christian mysticism and sacramental initiation rather than practical magic.
- Dates
- 1857 – 1942
- Dating
- documented dates
Place in the tradition
The deck he directed became probably the most influential Tarot design in modern history, and his Pictorial Key is still the text most readers meet first.
a note on the record
History and later legend
His Holy Kabbalah is massive and idiosyncratic, written from a mystical-Christian perspective rather than a historical one.
the written record
Principal works
-
1898; later substantially revised
The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts
A historical and critical survey of the grimoires rather than an instruction manual.
-
1910
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
The textual companion to the deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith.
held in the source catalogue Read at wikisource.org ↗
-
1929
The Holy Kabbalah
A massive if idiosyncratic history and interpretation of Kabbalah from a mystical-Christian perspective.