R
Ray
In Tarot, this symbolises the creative or destructive power if the Sun. Its heat can give life but also take it away.
Reader
The Reader is the person that is conducting the Reading.
Reading
The activity of using Tarot cards in divination, including using Spreads and any associated rituals, shuffling and interpretation.
Reading Record
This is a record of the date and time of a reading, the cards drawn, their positions, reversals, interpretation notes and other impressions. Your journal is the perfect place to keep your records.
Renaissance
Period of European history from the 14th to the 16th Centuries, marked by a great revival of art, literature and learning. The era is descsribed as the transitional period between the medieval and the modern world.
Reversal/Reversed
Term used to describe a card that is drawn upside-down in a reading.
Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, Waite Smith Tarot or RWS
Tarot deck conceived by Arthur Edward Waite and illustrated by PAmela Colman Smith, published in 1910. It was the first deck since the Sola Busca deck to illustrate the Minor Arcana and paved the way for modern Intuitive Tarot Reading. It is one of the world's most popular Tarot decks. The inclusion of 'Rider' in it's name is a reference to the original publisher.
Ritual
In the context of reading the Tarot, a ritual is any form of repeated activity usually conducted prior or following a reading. It can include lighting a candle, speaking certain words or simply tapping the deck on the table.
Roles
In Tarot, roles are tge way that a particular suit operates - masculine/feminine, rational/intuitive, etc.
Rope
Symbol of the binds between individuals and things.
Rosetta Stone
A stone discovered in 1799 near Rosetta, Egypt, bearing inscriptions that made it possible to decipher ancient Egyptioan hieroglyphics.
Rosicrucians
A secret society operating in the 17th and 18th centuries, devoted to the study of metaphysical, mystical and alchemical lore.