New Directions in Tarot: Decoding the Tarot Illustrations of Pamela Colman Smith

A look at how Pamela Colman Smith's theatrical knowledge and experience came into play when she drew the iconic cards of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.

The “secrets” in this book have been known all along, and they work in all who read Tarot on a subconscious level. This insightful book delves deeply into the images Pamela Colman Smith created for the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, and reminds us of what we may have known intuitively but had not been aware of on a conscious level.


• A brand-new approach that focuses on how, in her images, Smith utilized a sense of direction, body movement, posture, gait, facial expression, and more


• Compares the Tarot Minors to technical elements of theater, including plot, conflict, elements of a play, thought/theme, dialogue, music, and actors’ positions on stage


• Provides powerful tools for interpreting the cards and discovering new meanings that the reader can make their own


• Includes thought-provoking exercises that guide the reader in the mastery of these new insights

The result is a fresh take on Tarot that brings new meanings to light and enables the reader to evaluate what the Tarot provides like never before.