Pamela Colman Smith on Reading the Cards

Pixie was merely reiterating the clue that Waite put forth with the companion-book for the deck, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot… The “key” to the Tarot being found within the pictures of the Rider deck. Some keys being fairly easy to spot (2 Swords = Moon in Libra,) while others being slightly obtuse (Queen Wands’ cat = Freya = Mars = Aries,) etc… Hence, one could actually “read” the cards instead of having to memorize correspondence listings for each card.

Most Biographies of Pamela Colman Smith, dismiss the last half of her life as a dismal failure. She was responsible for painting scenes on all the Tarot Cards, that previously only had pictures on the major cards for the most part. As a result, she is probably the most reproduced artist the world has ever known. Had she received the royalties from the sale of her Tarot Cards alone, today she would be a wealthy woman financially. But is satisfaction and happiness in life always gained by the amount of money someone may possess? Sadly oftentimes the answer is yes. The 100th Anniversary of the publication of the Tarot Deck she primarily designed and painted will be in 2009 and celebrated at the Annual Tarot Celebration held in San Francisco, California. A very festive event is planned for that event, generally held in October of each year.

Miss Smith spent the last half of her life living in England. Little is known of her activities, other than the fact that she became a devout Roman Catholic in 1911, only two years after she had returned to England and for the most part seemingly had given up her interest in the Art world and the employment and business she had once seemingly hoped to attain.

Pamela Colman Smith’s devotion to the Roman Catholic Church was seemingly indeed very strong. She turned her home into a retreat for visiting Catholic Priests providing bedding and meals. From all accounts, she did this primarily as to have a Priest available to perform daily Mass at the special Chapel she had built adjacent to her home in England. She even painted a Crucifix on the front of the home, and incurred the wrath of the local inhabitants, as she later had to remove it because of complaints. The Chapel built behind her home was called “Our Lady of the Lizard”, after the strip of land named thusly that protruded from the coastline near this village in England.

Pamela Colman Smith was visiting friends in New York City during the year of 1947, and encouraged them to join the Roman Catholic Church, as “it was such fun”. This was only 4 years away from her death in 1951.

It obviously appears that since her conversion to the Roman Catholic Church in 1911, she remained very active in all the devotions and activities the Catholic Church has to offer, including daily Mass. Not many Catholics build their own Chapels, and provide free lodging for Priests, thereby providing someone qualified to offer a daily Latin Mass. Of course with all the other activities within the Church, including a variety of devotions, rituals, Rosary recitations, and daily Latin Mass, she kept herself quite active. Pamela Colman Smith must have been a very busy, satisfied and happy individual because of the Spiritual fulfillment she was able to obtain through her daily activities as a Catholic. Whatever she lost in not being successful in the Art world, she evidently found in the Catholic Church.

Although her art business did not succeed during her lifetime, she obviously occupied the remainder of her life practicing a faith she found fulfilling and emotionally satisfying. Even though she died without any funds, and possibly in debt, her life can in no way be considered a failure. She spent the last half of her life, by all accounts, engaged in Spiritual activities and interests that obviously brought her much happiness and fulfillment.

Dear SomeoneElse,
Thanks for your response. I really did not know where to put this information in the list of tltles, perhaps one listed as “The Last 40 Years of Pamela Colman Smith’s Life” could be added?

Anyway, the majority of information I mentioned from the above comment, is from The Encyclopedia of Tarot Volume III by Stuart R. Kaplan. Mr. Kaplan dedicates this Volume (of now IV) to Pamela Colman Smith. He has done a wonderful job with the information provided. He includes an In Memoriam Page and then a 45 page Biographical essay entitled, Pamela Colman Smith: The Rider-Waite Tarot Artist. This includes illustrations, pictures, poems and very specific information about her life from birth to death.

As I have discussed the last 40 years of her life, this could go on for quite sometime, so for this comment I just wanted to give this source information to you, and hopefully continue with additional comments from the facts that are known.

There are many sites on PCS, and Holly Volly has one of the most interesting. Both Holly and myself feel that the general feeling that PCS’s life ended in a dismal failure and unhappiness is untrue. Most biographies end with the fact that she had not money, and therefore conclude she must have been miserable. Melinda Parsons has is preparing a book on the complete life of Pamela Colman Smith, but I think she is still looking for a publisher.

There are many comments I would like to make in this regard, but will do so in future comments.

There are two things to think about at this stage. One, PCS became a devout Catholic in 1911.
Two, she evidently left the presence of William Butler Yeats screaming to get away from him. I have read that somewhere, but cannot remember where. Can anybody enlighten me on this circumstance?
Thirdly, from my readings, PCS only referred to the Tarot Cards she painted once, and that was in a letter to Alfred Steigletz, informing him she had just finished a time consuming project in painting and designing these cards for “very little money”.

Almost immediately she converts to the Catholic faith (1911) and remains there until her death in 1951. In the Kaplan Biography he relates a visit to her friend Alphaeus Cole and wife Peggy in New York City shortly after World War II. She could not have been entirely penniless, making such a trip in 1947, just 4 years before her death. During the visit Pamela asked Cole’s wife, “Why don’t you become a Catholic. Peggy? It’s such fun”. It certainly does not sound like she took to the morose side of Catholicism. I have a lot of ideas on that one and many other aspects of her life after 1911 until her death in 1951!

I wonder if PCS ever even read the cards or took them seriously back in 1909, or just took on the job because she was desperate for money as she converted to the Catholic Church so shortly thereafter? As you mentioned, many people of a “new age” persuasion think that any Catholic would automatically be closed minded and miserable. I think that is one reason this aspect of PCS’s life has never been explored. It is not something most “New Age” people like to discuss or acknowledge as the life’s end for the most famous Tarot illustrator and designer the world has ever known. Let’s hope this opens some new doors! Anyway, here are some ideas to think about. I certainly look forward to any comments. Richard

In regards to the 80 cards mentioned in the letter to Alfred Steiglitz, I have generally read that PCS’s comment in the letter to their having been 80 designs, probably refers to (2) potential patterns that she designed for the back of the Cards, and the reference is to this rather than additional images with the Major and Minor Arcana.

In Stuart Kaplan’s Vol. III with the Biography of PCS, he does have a photograph of the Catholic Chapel PCS had at the back of her house in England, which was really a small Catholic Church with Altar, pews, candles, and all the necessary decorations and Statues necessary for such a set-up. PCS named the Chapel “Our Lady of The Lizard”, after the protrusion of land known as the Lizard in Cornwall and of course, the Virgin Mary. At first the name struck me as very odd, but then I realized that “Lizard” is the name of the land protrusion in the village, which is clearly visible on a map.

The visiting Catholic Priest’s PCS offered a home and retreat center, would offer Mass when available. Evidently, the services were open to anyone wishing to attend from the local community. I have read nothing in regards to the services or who may have attended them, other than PCS, and the Catholic Priest.

I wonder if any pictures exist of the Crucifix and other images that she had painted on the front of her home, and which later had to be painted over, because of the complaints of the local towns people? I assume they felt it to be garish, and not appropriate for a private home, even though a small Catholic Chapel was attached to the house.

There may have been more paintings of the Virgin Mary and other designs, as from the information, she certainly made the exterior of the house quite colorful with Catholic Saints, and the image of Jesus on the Cross, as well as vines painted around the entranceway to the home.

The comment dated Oct. 8 by SomeoneElse, provides a link to an image of PCS’s post Catholic Artwork in Our Lady of Czestochowa, which was painted in 1917 by PCS. This image is quite beautiful. As the Our Lady of Fatima Apparitions began around that time just prior to World War I, I wonder if PCS did any work of the Virgin Mary in that or other Marion apparitions, as Our Lady of Fatima continues to be greatly venerated today in the Catholic Church.

an afterthought…PCS is sometimes classed, I think correctly, as an exponent of Symbolism and as a Symboliste and in France that artistic movement was always closely associated with a highly aesthetic Catholic sensibility.

So her Catholicism seems not to be out of character with her general creative and cultural mindset.

Best Wishes,
Nigel

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–Robert Shumake