A Book of Mystery and Vision

Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942) was a British scholarly mystic and poet, born in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in England and educated at a small private school in London. After his sister's death in 1874, he began psychical research and started reading into esoterism. In January 1891, Waite joined the Outer Order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He's best known for his co-creation of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, which was first published in 1910. Waite also wrote multiple books on the occult, such as the 1923 guide, The Occult Sciences - A Compendium of Transcendental Doctrine and Experiment.