The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot by Johannes Fiebig & Evelin Burger

The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot encourages you to consider what each symbol in a tarot card represents, and as the name makes clear, in this instance they are applying this approach to the Rider Waite tarot deck. The Ultimate Guide follows a very basic layout. It begins with “10 reasons for writing this book” and continues with the 10 this or that throughout. To be honest I was a bit childish in my initial rebellion to reading the section titled, “The 10 most important rules for interpretation” because I baulk at the idea of rules in reading the cards. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found I agreed with them all. I was indeed reminded, as rule 8 suggests to “Give [myself] time to observe without jumping to conclusions.”

In comparison to other books I have The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot is quite short yet it can be a valuable resource for anyone wanting to explore the symbology in the Rider Waite deck. Further, with the inclusion of the “10 useful tips for interpretation” and the “10 rules” it simply and succinctly provides access to tools that offer a solid basis for reading tarot.

For each card in the deck, the authors give what they consider to be “The 10 most important symbols” and an account of how they interpret them. They also provide a basic meaning as well as brief information on what the card may mean in terms of spiritual experience, as the card of the day, as a prognosis/tendency, for love and relationships, and for success and happiness.

The strength of this book isn’t whether or not you ultimately agree with the authors interpretations. For me, it’s that it encourages you to look at the card and to consider the relevance of the various symbols. Even if you disagree with how they see a particular symbol, you have gained something because you have thought about what it means to you. Another aspect I like is that they highlight similarities that can be found in other cards encouraging you to make connections and to consider the relevance of repeated motifs in relation to how you interpret the card.

To finish off, the book provides 10 spreads including one called “Living with Uncertainty” which since I’m writing this review whilst currently in lockdown I felt drawn to stop writing and use. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but it produced some great insights that confirmed some things for me and encouraged me reconsider others. The timing of seeing this spread again was incredibly apt. If you’re wondering no I didn’t use one of my three Rider Waite decks because my Lightseers Tarot was close at hand. Though I do feel that the information in this book crosses over to other decks anyway. I think that having explored the Rider Waite tarot you can take the authors approach and apply it to any deck you want to work with.

About the Authors

Husband and wife team Johannes Fiebig and Evelin Burger have published numerous books (Complete Book of Tarot Spreads; Tarot; Tarot Basics; The Thoth Tarot Book and Card Set; Tarot for Magical Times; The Ultimate Guide to the Thoth Tarot; and Tarot: The Secret of the Symbols) that take a psychological approach based on symbolism. They are considered leaders in their field with their books, in various translations, having sold over 2 million copies.

The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot Contents

10 reasons for writing this book
Tarot interpretation – the easy way
An overview of the Major and Minor Arcanas
Important Symbols and interpretations
The top 10 spreads
Tarot and Astrology

The format of this book makes it ideal as a quick reference book but it can also be used as a launching pad into a much deeper exploration of the Rider Waite tarot. It provides full colour illustrations of every card so even without your own Rider Waite deck you can use this book. Although, I’m of the belief that everyone can benefit from having the Rider Waite deck in your collection.