Lately I have become obsessed by Pamela Colman Smith, aka Pixie, the illustrator of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. I had started reading Tarot with this deck decades ago, but had actually burned it in the fireplace when I was 19 and had been very frightened by a message that came true. I moved on to Tarot with illustrations I felt more comfortable with.

But last fall I unexpectedly came across this deck and randomly drew a couple of cards. Again, they were dramatically on-point, but this time in a good way. I decided to research this seminal deck to see what I had been missing all these years. And I discovered a young, passionate, mystical artist.

It is well-known that Arthur Waite conceived the deck that bears his name. He channeled the meanings and images of the Major Arcana. Since he was not an artist, he hired Pamela Smith, a member of his psychic circle, to be his illustrator. Besides painting the Majors the way Waite directed, she herself channeled the Minor Arcana.

This knowledge led to a deep connection for me. I learned to read cards from my Grandmother Esther who used regular playing cards. These, of course, correspond to the minor arcana of the Tarot! Most people are more drawn to the larger themes of the Majors, but I have always loved the suits with their timely, specific messages for our lives now.

Another ‘Aha!’ association for me was how Pixie is connected to Georgia O’Keeffe! Pamela Smith’s art was first displayed in the art gallery owned by Arthur Stieglitz in New York. In fact, she was the first painter he ever exhibited there since his primary interest was photography. Stieglitz, of course, was married to Georgia O’Keeffe. His gallery was also the primary showcase for her work. I love the American southwest and O’Keeffe has long been one of my favorite artists. We have visited her museum in Santa Fe many times and have also journeyed to her home in Abiquiu.

I have found no evidence that Pixie and Georgia ever met in person. But they were contemporaries in a world just beginning to honor innovative work by women. And they were both mystics, entering the heart of the world in different ways. Even their styles are somewhat similar: bold colors, intense focus.

Now that Smith’s deck has come back to me, I am discovering even more about the magic of the Tarot. And I feel called to return yet again to O’Keeffe country in the southwest. I just a couple of weeks ago realized that Pixie signed each of her cards with her own intricate symbol.

I love the way, in life, what we are called to in different times, a range of places, through various means, comes together to re-create and re-inspire our world and our own purpose and work.