A Little Dictionary of RWS Symbols: Twelve Recurring Motifs

The Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot became the century’s standard largely because artist Pamela Colman Smith translated abstract meanings into readable visual language. That language has a vocabulary — the same symbol recurring across cards with consistent meaning. Knowing them gives you the foundation for reading without the book.

1. White Rose

Pure intention and innocence. The Fool holds one; Death embroiders it on a black banner — beginning and end share one flower: the pure state of letting go of clutter.

2. Red Rose and White Lily

In The Magician’s garden both bloom: red rose = desire and passion; white lily = pure thought. The work of will needs both.

3. Twin Pillars

The High Priestess’s black and white pillars; pillars beside Justice and The Hierophant — paired columns mark a threshold: pass between opposites (light and dark, mercy and severity) to reach what lies deeper.

4. Pomegranates

On The High Priestess’s veil, The Empress’s robe — Persephone’s fruit: fertility, the unconscious, knowledge you cannot un-taste once tasted.

5. Castle on a Distant Hill

In Two of Wands’ vista, behind the figure leaving in Eight of Cups — a far grey structure: achievement already gained, or security left behind. Its position answers: are you looking toward it, or walking away?

6. Flowing Water

Behind The High Priestess’s veil, between Temperance’s cups, in The Star maiden’s pool — water always points to emotion and the unconscious. Note its state: calm ( mastery ), rushing ( loss of control ), frozen ( absence in Cup cards is itself a clue ).

7. Grey Sky vs. Golden Sky

Smith’s skies speak: golden backgrounds (The Sun, The Magician) = bright conscious moments; lead grey (common in Swords) = cloudy thought. Same event, different sky — completely different emotional tone.

8. Sunflowers

On The Sun’s wall, in Queen of Wands’ hand — unreserved vitality and frankness. Always turned toward light; never doubting light exists.

9. The White Horse

Death rides one; The Sun’s child rides one — mount of pure force. Death and rebirth ride the same horse — one of the RWS deck’s deepest echoes.

10. Red Cloak over White Robe

Many figures wear white within, red without (The Magician, The Emperor): white = pure spirit; red = action and blood. White within, red without = outward action driven by pure intent.

11. Crowns

Authority and attainment — but note who wears it and whether it sits steady: the crown struck from the tower is the bluntest image of “authority built on false ground.”

12. Dog and Wolf

The Fool’s small dog = domesticated instinct — loyal warning at the cliff’s edge; in The Moon, dog and wolf howl together at the moon — two faces of the same instinct, tame and wild, both calling to the unconscious.

How to Use This Little Dictionary

Before reaching for keywords, do a visual patrol: what colors does the figure wear? What tone is the sky? Where is water, and in what state? Is there architecture in the background? Each answer is a note Smith left for you.

More than a century later, those notes are still fresh — that is the strength of visual language over text.