Smith-Waite Borderless Tarot Deck by Pamela Colman Smith

Borderless, edge-to-edge art. With the white borders removed, Pamela Colman Smith's illustrations fill each card completely, for a more immersive reading and easier reading of multi-card spreads.

The classic muted palette. The colors match the acclaimed Smith-Waite Centennial edition, reproducing the soft, subtle tones of the original 1909 artwork.

Larger cards, 84 in all. Slightly oversized cards with a semi-matte finish include the full 78-card tarot plus bonus cards of Pixie's non-tarot artwork, with an instruction booklet.

From the publisher, U.S. Games Systems: Pamela Colman Smith's beloved tarot artwork, created in 1909 under the direction of Arthur E. Waite, is presented here in a borderless format for a more immersive reading experience. This 84-card deck includes four extra cards reproducing samples of Pixie's non-tarot artwork, along with an instruction booklet. The colors are the same soft, muted tones as the Smith-Waite Centennial edition; removing the borders simply lets the imagery reach the very edge of each card.

Pamela Colman Smith (1878-1951), nicknamed Pixie, was a Jamaican-British artist, illustrator, and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Long under-credited for her role, she is now widely recognized as the creative force behind the world's most influential tarot imagery.

• 84-card deck: the full 78-card tarot plus bonus cards of Pixie's non-tarot artwork
• Instruction booklet included
• Format: borderless, edge-to-edge art on slightly larger cards
• Finish: semi-matte
• Palette: the muted 1909 colors of the Centennial edition
• Art: Pamela Colman Smith, under the direction of A.E. Waite
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
• ISBN: 9781572818835
• SKU: DSMIWAIB

It is hard to overstate the influence of the deck Pamela Colman Smith illustrated in 1909. Before it, most tarots left the Minor Arcana as plain arrangements of suit symbols; Smith gave every one of the 78 cards a full illustrated scene, a person, a moment, a story, and in doing so made the tarot legible to anyone. Nearly every modern deck descends from her work, and nearly every tarot book describes her images.

For a long time the deck was called simply Rider-Waite, after its publisher and the man who directed it, while the artist who actually drew it went largely unnamed. Restoring Smith to the title, as Smith-Waite or Waite-Smith, is part of a wider effort to honor her enormous, once-overlooked contribution.

To read with this deck is to work with the foundational language of modern tarot. The Major Arcana trace the soul's journey, the four suits map the textures of daily life, and because the imagery is the reference point for a century of tarot scholarship, whatever you learn here will carry over to almost any other deck you pick up. Removing the borders only deepens that immersion, letting each scene meet you without a frame.

1. When the deck is new, clear it in whatever way suits you: passing it through cleansing smoke, resting it under the moon, or simply shuffling while you set your intention for your work together.
2. Spend time with the imagery. Because this is the foundational Rider-Waite-Smith deck, its scenes are the ones nearly every tarot book describes.
3. Choose a spread and shuffle while holding your question in mind. In larger layouts, the borderless cards flow together as a single visual field, which can make the relationships between cards easier to see.
4. Read the cards with the booklet or any Rider-Waite-Smith guide close at hand, letting the images guide your intuition.
5. Close your reading with a moment of thanks or reflection, and store the cards somewhere that feels right, wrapped in cloth or kept in their box.

• Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck: the same muted 1909 artwork in the traditional bordered format, for readers who prefer a classic frame.
• Tarot Original 1909: Lo Scarabeo's restoration of the actual December 1909 first edition, for purists who want the earliest colors and details.
• Tarot Vintage: an antiqued, linen-finish take on the same imagery, for readers who want an aged, well-loved look.
• Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot: a card-by-card companion that maps directly onto this deck's imagery.
• White Sage Smudge Sticks, Set of 6: cleanse your deck and reading space with sacred smoke before you begin.

How is the Borderless different from the other Waite-Smith editions you carry?

This edition removes the white borders so the art fills each card, on slightly larger stock, while keeping the muted 1909 palette. The Centennial is the same art in a traditional bordered format; the Tarot Original 1909 is Lo Scarabeo's first-edition restoration; and Tarot Vintage gives the imagery an antiqued, aged finish.

What does going borderless actually change?

With no frame, each illustration reaches the edge of the card, which many readers find more immersive. In larger spreads the cards read as a single flowing image, and the slightly bigger size makes fine details easier to see.

Is the artwork the same as the Centennial edition?

Yes. The imagery and the soft, muted 1909 colors are the same as the Smith-Waite Centennial deck. The main difference is simply the removal of the borders and a slightly larger card size.

Is this deck good for beginners?

Very much so. It is the foundational Rider-Waite-Smith imagery, so nearly every tarot book and online resource matches it card for card, and the borderless format can make the scenes easier to study.

How do I cleanse or care for a tarot deck?

Many readers cleanse a new deck before first use by passing it through cleansing smoke, setting it under the moon, or knocking and reshuffling to reset its energy. Store the cards in their box or wrapped in cloth, keep them dry, and handle them with clean hands to protect the art.