Early 20th Century Figures

Oswald Wirth    1860 – 1943

  • Associated with a circle of people around Papus (especially de Guaita)
  • Published a set of Tarot Trumps in 1889, The 22 Arcana of the Kabbalistic Tarot.
  • Contributed “An Essay on the Astronomical Tarot” to Papus’ The Tarot of the
     Gypsies in 1889 (often translated The Tarot of the Bohemians).
  • Published a revised set of trumps in 1926, The Tarot of the Mediaeval Artists.
    — Published an illustrated book by the same name in 1927 . . . [Decker, et al, 238-239, 241-242]

Arthur Edward Waite    1857 – 1942

  • Member of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
  • Student and Scholar of Occult Philosophy/Sciences
  • Supervised the creation of what is probably the most popular Tarot deck in history, often referred to as the Rider-Waite ® Tarot Deck.

 

Pamela Colman Smith    1878 – 1951

  • Member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
  • Illustrated what is probably the most popularly influential Tarot deck in history, often referred to as the Rider-Waite © Tarot Deck.
  • Died in relative obscurity and poverty…

Aleister Crowley              1875 – 1947        (Wikipedia)

  • Member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
  • Known as “The Beast” and “The Wickedest Man Alive”…
  • Founded the religion of Thelema
  • Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
  • Love is the law, love under will.
  • Joined and promoted the Ordo Templi Orientis or O.T.O. (‘Order of Oriental Templars’)
  • Supervised the creation of the modern, very distinctive Thoth Tarot Deck in collaboration with Lady Frieda Harris.
  • Published The Book of Thoth in 1944 (in conjunction with the Tarot card project)
  • Died before the Tarot deck was definitively published in 1969.

Frieda Harris      1877 – 1962        (Wikipedia)

  • Painted the Crowley/Thoth Tarot images.
  • Encouraged, cajoled, and inspired Crowley along the way…
  • Acknowledged by Crowley in the Introduction to The Book of Thoth
  • Died before the Tarot deck was definitively published in 1969.

Paul Marteau 1885-1966

  • Disciple of Oswald Wirth
  • As the head of the Grimaud card-making firm, he reissued a Tarot of Marseille in 1930.­­­­­
  • He helped to popularized the name, The Tarot of Marseille, publishing a book by that name in 1949.  [see Decker, et al, 242]

Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, Paul Foster Case, and others  will be included in section eight on two esoteric schools…

Late 18th Century Figures

19th Century Figures

Early 20th Century Figures

Next Up: –> 8. Two Esoteric Schools Worthy of Special Mention