Eliphas Lévi was born Alphonse Louis Constant in Paris in 1810, the son of a modest shoemaker. By all logic, his life should have been ordinary — but fate had other designs. He entered a seminary in his youth, training for the Catholic priesthood, yet never took his vows. Somewhere…

Marguerite Frieda Bloxam—known to us as Lady Frieda Harris (born 13 August 1877 in London)—was far more than the painter behind the Thoth Tarot; she was the arcane artist who breathed life into Crowley’s cosmic vision. Daughter of a surgeon and wife to a Liberal politician-turned…

The Privileged Rebel of the Occult Aleister Crowley was never destined for an ordinary life. Born Edward Alexander Crowley on 12 October 1875 in the genteel town of Leamington Spa, England, he arrived into the world cushioned by serious wealth. His father, Edward Crowley, had retired young after making a…

Pamela Colman Smith (16 February 1878 – 18 September 1951) was an artist, storyteller, folklorist, and theatre designer — and the woman who painted the images that would become the most recognised Tarot deck in history. Born in London to American parents, Pamela grew up between England, New York, and Jamaica, absorbing…

Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) is a name most Tarot readers know — even if they’ve never read a biography about him — because his Rider–Waite–Smith deck has become the “default” Tarot of the modern age. Born in Brooklyn but raised in England after his…