There are countless ways to understand tarot. Some people view tarot cards as an unbound storybook containing seventy-eight pages changing with each card shuffle. Other tarot users focus on the social and historical background of the cards and the allegorical symbols that appear on the cards. Whether your interest in tarot centers on meditation, inspiration, or guidance, Sasha Graham reveals new interpretations of the symbolic images drawn by Pamela Colman Smith.
Although Pamela Colman Smith and Sasha Graham live a century apart in time, some of their interests are strikingly parallel. Pamela was active in the theater, a storyteller, and an author. Sasha too is active in the theater, a storyteller, and an author. Each of them entertains the public in unique ways. Pamela dressed herself in colorful scarves and frocks, lit oil lanterns, and entertained with her Jamaican folk tales. Sasha dresses in sequins and silks, lights candles, and entertains by reading tarot at glittering Manhattan parties and events. Pamela and Sasha leave a legacy of books, Pamela with multiple illustrated and authored volumes such as The Book of Friendly Giants and The Annancy Stories. Sasha has authored three books on tarot: Tarot Diva, 365 Tarot Spreads, and 365 Tarot Spells, and she has contributed to several additional tarot titles.
I first met Sasha in 2012 at a booksellers trade show in New York City. There was an immediate connection between us. We both had symbolic birthdays: Sasha was born on Halloween, and I was born on April Fools’ Day. At age seventeen Sasha longed for a deeper cultural life and fled from her family’s country home to New York City, where she would enroll at Hunter College. At age eighteen I fled from New York City to Paris, France, and enrolled at the Sorbonne. She appeared in a variety of off-Broadway theaters and became a B-movie star, playing roles as a vampire, a werewolf, and an alien. After receiving a degree in literature and comparative religion, Sasha forged a career in the metaphysics of tarot. Our mutual interest in the Rider-Waite tarot is a special bond that all tarot believers share with each other.
My first encounter with tarot was in my mid-thirties when I traveled to the Nuremberg Toy Fair. I came across the Swiss 1JJ tarot deck at a printer’s exhibition booth. My direction for tarot was to publish the cards by U.S. Games Systems and to make them readily available. Thereafter, I secured the rights to the Rider-Waite tarot deck, which is now the most popular tarot deck, enjoyed by millions of people.
Sasha’s first encounter with a tarot deck was at twelve years of age. She always had an interest in the unexplained, and she was drawn to the yellow Rider-Waite box that she saw in a store. The mysterious card images inside the box intrigued her. After studying the tarot, Sasha became proficient in reading the cards and has enjoyed a loyal following for many years. She delights in finding innovative ways to incorporate tarot into modern life.
This book is quite unique in a marketplace selling hundreds of books about the Rider-Waite tarot deck. Sasha gathers the complexity and history of Pamela’s deck and presents it to the reader in an entertaining and understandable way. Pamela reached beyond the veil to reveal hidden worlds with her brushes and inks; Sasha does the same with her language and research. Sasha takes up Pamela’s role as storyteller and crafts a text that is grounded in practical tarot information yet reveals the divine nature of the creative minds that created it.
The book often reads like a novel, and other times we feel we are in the hands of a mystic. Sasha’s research moves us to the original source of the deck. She returns us to Pamela and Waite’s original intentions repeatedly. Using her knowledge of the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, Sasha Graham presents a down-to-earth approach to understanding the Rider-Waite tarot deck in a fresh and lively manner. Each card is described in detail as it relates to the branches of the Tree of Life.
The result is a text as rich, complex, and entertaining as the tarot deck itself. This book is indispensable for the tarot lover. It is a rare text that can be read for learning and pleasure. Sasha, in her undeniably creative way, finishes her beautiful book with seventy-eight spreads. Each spread is based on one of Pamela’s cards so the reader may get to the good work of reading their cards and putting their newfound knowledge to use.
After Pamela finished creating the Rider-Waite tarot deck, she never again referred to the cards. Instead, for Sasha and for me, the Rider-Waite tarot deck opened new opportunities that altered our future careers.
Pamela would be surprised to learn that her cards today enjoy a worldwide popularity. Readers of this book will view the Rider-Waite tarot deck from a new perspective. They will come away with a greater appreciation for the depth of the Rider-Waite tarot thanks to Sasha’s insights and research.
Stuart R. Kaplan
stamford, ct