“What exactly is it about this deck? The Rider deck truly has a soul, and its images shoot straight to the heart. People can often "intuitively" read this deck without any previous experience with the tarot. If the point of art is to make you feel your humanity, this deck's art is truly amazing. For all its coarse lines and flat colors, the deck somehow rises above itself, gracefully conveying all aspects of the human condition. The Rider deck is a perfect first and last deck. Pamela Colman Smith's unique symbolism ranges from the simple to the truly arcane... It stirs the psyche and livens the soul.”

This is my favourite Tarot deck: a classic with archetypal imagery that works to this day. The images have a timeless appeal and are carried by a rich underlayer of symbolism, created by the visionary artist Pamela Colman Smith. Because all the cards have images, even the little Arcana it is the ideal deck for beginners and advanced tarotists alike. The miniature version is also my favourite Rider deck to work with: it is the ideal size for people with small hands, like me and fits neatly into my bag or pocket. Ideal for travel or for use at home or in the practice room. For larger spreads like the Celtic Cross it is ideal: it does not take quite so much room on the table!

Wendy Gillissen, Amazon customer

I have to say I'm very happy with this little deck. It's just the right size. It's small enough that you can easily carry it in a pocket or a purse and take it everywhere, yet it's big enough to allow easy shuffling and viewing of the cards. I also bought the miniature Universal Rider Waite, which is a much smaller deck (with cards roughly the size of a postage stamp) but it was way too small and delicate to be practical. (Even if it is a fun collector's item!) This deck however is a great compromise and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it. I like to bring it along with me when I go out with friends and we can easily do spreads for each other at restaurants. It's a great deck to carry around because people will ask you about it and it's a good opportunity to introduce the tarot to them as a postive divination tool.— Lynn B, Amazon customer

I retired my full sized Rider Waite deck a few years ago in favor of this half size version. It fits my hands perfectly. In fact, in my humble opinion this should be the "standard size" of the deck. You can clearly make out all of the rich, symbolic, detail of the larger decks. As for the Waite Rider in general- Arthur Edward Waite was one of the greatest experts on spiritual and metaphysical teachings and symbolism that ever lived. He was a mage and theurgist that was truly touched by the divine. Unlike some other well-known figures from the same period, I have never found deliberately misleading or false information in any of his published works. He may leave deeper meanings up to your own meditation on the matter, but he never intentionally obscures or misleads. By the way, an excellent companion reference is Eden Gray's _A Complete Guide to the Tarot_, though Waite's own _The Pictorial Key to the Tarot_ is the gold standard. I'll close this by saying that I do not regard these cards as mere artifacts, but as trusted friends.— Oakshaman, Amazon customer

Excellent mini deck. Makes it easy to do full spreads such as the Celtic Cross using a small amount of space. Though the cards are miniature don't let this fool you. They are plenty big and the various details of the images are easy to see. This deck is small enough to fit in ones pocket. Mine gets daily use.— David Dougherty, Amazon customer