Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot by Fiebig & Burger

The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot is a symbol-by-symbol companion to the most widely read tarot deck in the world. Rather than offering a single keyword per card, authors Johannes Fiebig and Evelin Bürger break down the ten most important symbols on each of the 78 cards, with hundreds of illustrations, then give a short interpretation of every card across the situations you actually read for. The result is a quick-reference guide that helps you see not just what a card means but why. Whether you are learning the Rider-Waite-Smith system for the first time or deepening a practice you already have, this is the kind of book that stays open on the table beside your deck.

Key Features of the Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot

Ten key symbols per card. Every one of the 78 cards is broken down into its ten most important symbols, with hundreds of illustrations for easy reference.

Interpretation by topic. Each card is read across several angles: primary meaning, prognosis or tendency, spiritual meaning, love and relationship meaning, daily meaning, and success and happiness.

Built for quick reference. European tarot authorities Fiebig and Bürger add tips, hints, facts, and lore in a format designed to improve your readings right away.

About This Book

From the publisher, Llewellyn: discover everything you ever wanted to know about the world's most popular tarot deck. The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot details the ten most important symbols on each and every card in the deck, complete with hundreds of illustrations for easy use. In addition to an explanation of the symbols, each card is given a brief interpretation by topic, including its primary meaning, prognosis or tendency, spiritual meaning, love and relationship meaning, daily meaning, and success and happiness meaning. Writing in a format designed for quick reference, European tarot authorities Johannes Fiebig and Evelin Bürger also provide tips, hints, facts, and lore to improve your reading right away.

Evelin Bürger and Johannes Fiebig have written more than twenty tarot books, translated into over a dozen languages, with a combined circulation of more than two million copies.

Product Details

• Paperback, 216 pages
• Authors: Johannes Fiebig and Evelin Bürger
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (2013)
• Format: quick-reference guidebook
• Covers all 78 Rider-Waite-Smith cards
• ISBN: 9780738735795
• SKU: BULTGUIR

The Spiritual Significance

The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is the most widely used tarot in the world, and almost every tarot book written in the past century describes its imagery. What makes Pamela Colman Smith's 1909 illustrations so enduring is their density of symbols: a single card can hold a mountain, a cup, a hand reaching from a cloud, a color echoed from another card, each detail carrying meaning. Learning to read those symbols is much of what it means to learn tarot.

This guide takes that approach seriously, isolating the ten most important elements on every card so you can see not only what a card means but why. Reading the images this way tends to deepen intuition rather than replace it: once you understand why the Eight of Cups shows a figure walking away beneath a waning moon, the card speaks more clearly the next time it appears. For anyone building a lasting practice on the Rider-Waite-Smith foundation, a good symbol guide is one of the most useful books on the shelf.

How To Use This Book

1. Keep it beside your deck as you read, looking up each card as it appears in a spread.
2. Start with the ten symbols listed for a card, then read the interpretations by topic to see how it shifts across love, daily life, and spiritual questions.
3. Use the quick-reference format for fast lookups during a live reading.
4. Over time, let the symbol explanations train your eye, so you lean on the book less and your own intuition more.
5. Pair it with any Rider-Waite-Smith deck; because the imagery matches card for card, everything in the book applies directly.

Pairs Well With

• Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck: the classic bordered Rider-Waite-Smith deck this guide explains card for card.
• Smith-Waite Borderless Tarot Deck: the same imagery edge to edge, ideal for studying the symbols up close.
• Tarot Original 1909: Lo Scarabeo's restoration of the first-edition deck, for readers who want the earliest artwork.
• Tarot Vintage: an antiqued take on the same Rider-Waite-Smith imagery.
• Llewellyn's Complete Book of Tarot by Anthony Louis: a comprehensive guide to reading tarot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which deck does this book work with?

It works with any Rider-Waite-Smith deck, including the Smith-Waite Centennial and Borderless editions, Tarot Original 1909, and Tarot Vintage. The imagery matches card for card. Note that this is a guidebook only; the deck is sold separately.

Does the book include tarot cards?

No. This is a 216-page reference book, not a deck. It explains the symbolism and meanings of the Rider-Waite-Smith cards, so you will want a Rider-Waite-Smith deck to read alongside it.

Is it good for beginners?

Yes. The quick-reference format, symbol breakdowns, and plain-language topic meanings make it approachable for newcomers, while the depth of detail keeps it useful for experienced readers who want to sharpen their interpretations.

What is covered for each card?

Each card gets its ten most important symbols explained, plus interpretations by topic: primary meaning, prognosis or tendency, spiritual meaning, love and relationship meaning, daily meaning, and success and happiness. Hundreds of illustrations support the explanations.

Who wrote it?

Johannes Fiebig and Evelin Bürger, European tarot authorities who have written more than twenty tarot books between them, translated into over a dozen languages with a combined circulation of more than two million copies.