The Influence of Etteilla &
His School on Mathers & Waite
By James W. Revak
The
Influence of Etteilla &
His
School on Mathers & Waite
By James
W. Revak
Waite’s Contributions
Like Mathers, Waite has significantly influenced practitioners of Tarot divination. He designed the influential Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot which was published in 1909 (Kaplan, 1978; see also Waite, 1910) and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, a fellow member of the GD (for a profile of Smith, see Greer, 1995). “It established a standard against which tarot motifs and interpretations most commonly are evaluated even today (Jorgensen, 1992, p. 151).” This deck has proven to be very popular; it remains in print in multiple editions (e.g., Waite & Smith 1909/1971, 1909/1987, 1909/1990; to specify a few). Authors have often illustrated their books with it (e.g., Connolly, 1979; Gray, 1960, 1970, 1971; Greer, 1984; Pollack, 1997; Wang, 1987; to specify a few). In addition, occultists and artists have clearly used it as inspiration for new decks (e.g. Gargiulo-Sherman, 1982; Morgan & Greer, 1979; Palladini, 1970; Wood, 1991; to specify a few).
As a handbook to explain the deck, Waite wrote The Pictorial Guide to the Tarot (PKT) (1910), which was illustrated by Smith and includes DMs for each card (both upright and reversed orientations) and selected card combinations (e.g., four kings, three Kings, two Kings, etc.). With regard to the DMs, Waite explained, “I have drawn, from all published sources, a harmony of the meanings which have been attached to the various cards” (p. ix). PKT has been republished multiple times (e.g., see Library of Congress, 2000). Its influence continues to this day; it is in print in multiple editions (Barnesandnoble.com, 2000). Butler (1975) and Riley (1995) quoted liberally from it in their popular compendiums of DMs. Additionally, Jorgensen (1992), in his academic study of Tarot divination from a sociocultural viewpoint, quoted liberally from PKT and described Waite as “the best known authority on tarot” (p. 164).
Like Mathers, Waite had a command of the French language and knowledge of the French esoteric scene. He translated major works of French occultism into English, including Lévi’s Transcendental Magic (1854-55/1910) and History of Magic (1860/1913), and edited the second edition of the English translation of Papus’ The Tarot of the Bohemians (1889/1910). In the bibliography of PKT (1911), he noted, “I have cited nothing that I have not seen with my own eyes” (p. 319), and lists numerous references in French, including:
“The Works of Etteilla. Les Septs Nuances de l’oeuvre philosophique Hermétique; Manière de se récréer avec le Jeu de Cartes, nommeés [sic] Tarots; Fragments sur les Hautes Sciences; Philosophies des Hautes Sciences; Jeu des Tarots, ou le Livre
de Thoth [sic]; Leçons Théoriques et Pratiques du Livre de
Thoth [sic]. . . .” (pp. 320-321).Interestingly, he does not list Etteilla, ou manière de se récréer avec un jeu de cartes (cited in Decker, Depaulis, & Dummett, 1996), which, as mentioned previously, treats divination with playing cards. However, Waite does list Papus’ Le Tarot divinatoire (1909) and Le Tarot des Bohémiens [The Tarot of the Bohemians] (1889/1910). Of non-French works, he includes Mathers’ The Tarot (1888/1993).
CONCLUSIONS In light of the SE’s achievements and published output (both books and decks) and leading occultists’ familiarity with them, one is now in a position to reflect on the SE’s possible influence on such occultists. Specifically, one may reasonably argue that the SE significantly influenced the composition of DMs by: (a) Mathers in The Tarot (1888/1993); and (b) Waite in PKT (1910), because, criticism of him notwithstanding:
- Etteilla was renowned for his skills as a professional cartomancer;
- Etteilla had published DMs in Manière de se récréer . . . Tarots (1785/1993; see also Decker, Depaulis, & Dummett, 1996) and as keywords in his Tarot deck (Etteilla 1785/1993, c. 1788/c. 1975; see also Decker, Depaulis, & Dummett, 1996).
- These DMs were further popularized and extended by the SE, e.g., D’Odoucet’s Science des signes (cited in Decker, Depaulis, & Dummett, 1996; and Papus, 1909).
- Both Mathers and Waite were familiar with the French esoteric scene, including the output of the SE; and
- Both had a command of the French language.
One may also reasonably argue that the SE significantly influenced Mathers because he cited Etteilla as a source for a subset of DMs called Special Insights in his The Tarot (pp. 63-65, 1888/1993).
One may also reasonably argue that the SE significantly influenced Waite because he cites among his sources in PKT (biblio., 1911): (a) the works of Etteilla; and (b) Papus’ Le Tarot divinatoire (1909), which, as explained above, reproduces DMs from the SE.
Finally, one may reasonably argue Mathers significantly influenced Waite because Waite cites Mathers’ The Tarot (1888/1993) as a source in his PKT (biblio., 1910). This argument is relevant to this study because, as noted above, Mathers, by his own admission, is indebted to the SE for a subset of his DMs. For Waite, therefore, Mathers is a potential source of DMs from the SE.
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