We have seen two readers sit across from each other at the same table. One lays out cards from a deck where the colors bleed into one another: deep purples, electric blues, gold leaf that catches the light. The other uses a deck of muted earth tones, a young woman holding a lion’s mouth closed, a hanged man suspended in a calm green field. Both are reading the same spread, but the meanings diverge. The Thoth Tarot and the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot are the two most influential tarot decks of the 20th century, each built on a distinct philosophical foundation and intended for a different kind of work. Knowing which one fits your practice begins with understanding what makes them different.
Compare the Thoth Tarot and Rider-Waite Tarot: history, symbolism, differences in Major Arcana, court cards, and practical reading approaches.
The Thoth Tarot was created by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris, published in 1944. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck was designed by Arthur Edward Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, first published in 1909. Both decks draw from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, but Crowley’s deck incorporates Thelema, astrology, alchemy, and the Qabbalistic Tree of Life, while Waite’s deck emphasizes Christian mysticism and straightforward narrative symbolism. The Thoth deck demands study; the RWS deck invites intuition.
Where do these two decks come from?
Arthur Edward Waite joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1891, the same esoteric society that later expelled Aleister Crowley in 1900. Waite wanted a tarot deck that would be accessible to the general public while still carrying the Golden Dawn’s symbolic structure. He commissioned Pamela Colman Smith, a stage designer and illustrator, to produce the artwork. The deck was published in 1909 by William Rider & Son in London. Smith’s illustrations gave each Minor Arcana card a full scene, a radical departure from the earlier Marseille tradition where the minors showed only geometric arrangements of suit symbols.
Crowley, working decades later, had a different goal. He wanted a deck that encoded the entire system of Thelema, his own magical and philosophical current. He began collaborating with Lady Frieda Harris in 1938, and she painted the cards over five years using innovative techniques like airbrushing and gold leaf. The deck was completed in 1943 but not published until 1944, three years before Crowley’s death. It was titled The Book of Thoth, after the Egyptian god of writing and magic. The deck did not reach a wide audience until US Games Systems reprinted it in 1977.
That history explains why the two decks feel like they come from different worlds. The RWS deck was designed for the bookseller’s shelf. The Thoth deck was designed for the magician’s altar.
How the Major Arcana differ in symbolism
The most visible difference appears in the ordering of the trumps. In the RWS deck, Justice is number 8 and Strength is number 11, following the sequence of the Marseille Tarot. Crowley reversed them: Strength becomes 8 and Justice becomes 11. This follows the Golden Dawn’s astrological attributions, where Strength (Leo) precedes Justice (Libra) in the zodiac. Crowley also renamed several cards. The RWS “Strength” becomes “Lust” in the Thoth deck, a card that depicts the Whore of Babylon riding a seven-headed beast, a direct reference to Crowley’s The Book of the Law. The RWS “Temperance” becomes “Art,” representing alchemical union. The RWS “Judgement” becomes “The Aeon,” a card that marks the dawning of the new age of Horus.
Each Thoth Major Arcana card carries explicit astrological, planetary, and Hebrew letter attributions printed on the card itself. The RWS deck hides these attributions in the imagery. For example, the RWS High Priestess holds a scroll marked “TORA,” a hint at the Torah and the hidden wisdom. The Thoth High Priestess shows a veiled figure with a bow and arrow, referencing the Moon and the path of Gimel on the Tree of Life.
The colors alone tell the story. The RWS deck uses muted yellows, greens, and blues, with a matte finish. The Thoth deck is glossy, saturated with deep reds, purples, and golds that seem to shift under lamplight. Crowley instructed Harris to use colors that correspond to the Qabbalistic spheres and paths. A reader who knows the correspondences can read the Thoth deck without a guidebook. The RWS deck relies on the narrative scene to convey meaning.
The Minor Arcana and court cards: two systems
The RWS Minor Arcana shows a single scene for each card, often drawn from everyday life or medieval allegory. The Five of Pentacles shows two beggars outside a church window. The Three of Swords shows a heart pierced by three swords against a rainy sky. These images are easy to read intuitively. A beginner can look at the card and guess its meaning.
The Thoth Minor Arcana is abstract and densely layered. The Five of Pentacles shows a pentagram made of five disks, surrounded by astrological symbols and geometric patterns. The Three of Swords shows a sword piercing a rose, with the petals falling. The meaning is not immediately obvious. It requires knowledge of the card’s astrological and elemental associations. Crowley assigned each card a specific planetary and zodiacal ruler, and the imagery reflects that.
The court cards differ entirely. The RWS deck uses Page, Knight, Queen, King. The Thoth deck uses Princess, Prince, Queen, Knight. Crowley’s system follows the Golden Dawn’s elemental hierarchy: the Knight represents Fire of the suit’s element, the Queen represents Water, the Prince represents Air, and the Princess represents Earth. The RWS court cards are more straightforward: the Page is a messenger, the Knight is a warrior, the Queen is a nurturer, the King is a ruler. A Thoth reader must learn the elemental dignities to interpret the court cards correctly. An RWS reader can rely on the character’s posture and setting.
How readers actually use each deck
We have seen practitioners choose one deck over the other based on their working style. The RWS deck is the default for general readings, especially for beginners. Its imagery is intuitive enough that a reader can give a meaningful interpretation without memorizing correspondences. It works well for the Celtic Cross spread and for daily draws.
The Thoth deck is used more often for deep psychological exploration, magical ritual, or Qabbalistic pathworking. Its explicit astrological and Hebrew letter attributions make it a tool for meditation on the Tree of Life. Many Thoth readers use the “Thoth Spread” or the “Tree of Life Spread” to map a situation onto the sephiroth. The deck rewards study. Crowley’s The Book of Thoth is dense, but readers who invest the time find that the deck speaks with precision.
Some readers use both decks interchangeably, but this requires adjusting the meanings. The Thoth deck’s “Lust” is not the same as the RWS “Strength.” The Thoth “Art” is not the same as “Temperance.” A reader who switches between decks must know which system they are operating in.
Common misconceptions about the two decks
The Thoth deck is often called “dark” or “evil” because of its association with Crowley. This is a misunderstanding. The deck is not malevolent. It is demanding. Its imagery confronts the reader with uncomfortable truths, but that is the point. The RWS deck is sometimes called the “original” tarot, but it is not. The Marseille Tarot predates it by centuries. The RWS is simply the most widely used English-language deck.
Another misconception is that you cannot read the Thoth deck without reading The Book of Thoth. Many readers learn the deck through secondhand sources, online guides, or by studying the astrological symbols on the cards themselves. The deck can be read intuitively once you understand the elemental and planetary language.
Some believe the two decks are incompatible. They are not. The underlying structure of the Major Arcana and the suits is the same. The differences are in emphasis and attribution. A reader who knows both systems can move between them, but the meanings will shift.
FAQ
Which deck is better for beginners?
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is generally easier for beginners because its illustrated scenes allow intuitive reading without memorizing astrological correspondences.
Can I use Thoth and RWS cards in the same reading?
You can, but the meanings will not align card for card. It is better to choose one system and stick with it for a single reading.
Why is the Thoth deck called “Thoth”?
Crowley named it after the Egyptian god of writing, magic, and wisdom, whom he associated with the Greek Hermes and the Roman Mercury.
Are the Thoth and RWS decks compatible with the same spreads?
Yes. Both decks work with any spread, though Thoth readers often prefer spreads that incorporate the Tree of Life or astrological houses.
Closing
The choice between Thoth and Rider-Waite is not about which deck is better. It is about which language you want to learn. The RWS deck speaks in stories. The Thoth deck speaks in correspondences. For a deeper look at how the Major Arcana evolved, see our guide to tarot history. To understand the Qabbalistic attributions that Crowley used, visit our glossary entry on the Tree of Life. And for more comparisons between decks and reading techniques, explore the full tarot section of the library.