This early work by Arthur Edward Waite was originally published in 1923 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Lamps of Western Mysticism' contains a wealth of information on the history and practices of Western mysticism, including the Dionysian heritage, post-reformation mystics, and mystical realisation. Arthur Edward Waite was born on the 2nd of October, 1857 in America. Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of western occultism - viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of proto-science or as the pathology of religion."