Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom: Spiritual Teachings and Deeper Meanings

Pollack is very good as always, she is more relaxed here and tells some stories, these are actually sort of a high point as they illustrate her perspective in action. In terms of content, this does not eclipse her 78 Degrees of Wisdom, but augments it with material from classical mythology and the Kabbalah tradition. So, not critical imho if you have 78 Degrees. Also, the book is full of large arbitrary decorative graphics and swooshes, the publisher's idea of making it look both accessible and more important. Well, to each their own, but for me it did the opposite.

I was already a fan of Rachel Pollack's after using her earlier classic, 78 Degrees of Wisdom, as one of my main sources as I first began to study the tarot in earnest. This is a perfect follow up, providing deeper, more in-depth background and insights into the individual cards, as well as the suits/elements, and more. I would highly recommend this to any intermediate-level tarot reader looking to go further than the garden-variety introductory books on tarot.

Wow, I have tried to teach myself tarot so many times. This book has allowed me to do it in a thorough and lasting way. The first night the book came in the mail, I read the overview portions of the book. Since then, I have been reading each card's section, one by one, taking notes and highlighting as I go, as the cards come up in tarot spreads I set for myself. I love that the author talks about so many different interpretations of each card, as it allows me to read what is 'cannon' and/or what fits for me, personally from each card. My nerdy self loves this presentation of tarot. I am studying it as though I were in school again. :)

The item itself was in pretty good sjape being a used book. Everything in tacked except for a corner on the front and back page had a crease and folding a little. Inside the book was unmarked and in great shape. As far as the book itself goes this is a 480 page book about the meanings of the 78 tarot cards. Unlikw most books the author discusses the whole deck and not just the major arcana. 251 of the 480 pages of the book are discissing the major arcana. Definitely more depth with the major arcana but that is to be expected since these are bigger life experiences. I've read the whole intro to the book up to the first card meaning and so far the history behind tarot and all her info on it and her personal beliefs are very interesting. Not specific complaints about the reas thus far.

If you don't already have 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Ms. Pollack then this is definitely worth it. And she has added more info than in her previous treatment on the subject. She provides descriptions on all of the cards with in depth info. Everything from Cabala to Christian hermetic mysticism; a detailed section on each card regarding its key concept from Paul Huson's books on the subject naming ideas from GD, Waite, Crowley, Macgregor Mathews, Levi and more. She also provides a special section on each card for personal growth readings asking questions like "how has being the fool helped or hindered you in your life?" This is a fantastic book for the person just starting out in Tarot. It's definitely a good read, but more importantly it is a handy reference for both teacher and student of the Tarot.

I've had 78 Degrees of Wisdom, for a long time, and if anyone asked, I would have called that book my absolute go-to Tarot guide, for beginner, and experienced alike.Now, 78 Degrees is my SECOND favorite, next to this one. Each of the Major Arcana has a history, detailed explanation, meanings, reverse meanings, and one or two readings focusing on the meaning of each card. Each minor has a page, within a chapter. Very in depth.Every chapter is a journey. Every new spread she offers adds so much insight to the cards. Nevermind how much knowledge I'm getting from the book, but it's an absolute pleasure to read. It's not textbooky at all, not dry and disconnected, like some Tarot books can be. It feels like Ms. Pollack is right here, with me at my table, guiding me through the deck. The illustrations are interesting, the layout is excellent, her voice (as always) is terriffic. I love the comparisons of the cards throughout history, too. It's such an interactive book, never did I find myself passively reading. Every time I picked it up, I had to dig out a deck and mull it over, as I read.I can't say enough good about this book, but I feel like it would be a very valuable addition to every Tarot reader's shelf.

Im learning tarot and bought this book to learn what other decks and symbology can mean. It gave a brief history on tarot and so far it's an easy to use guide as well as a fount of knowledge. Ive been able to add so many things to my notes. I highly recommend this book. It covers as many aspects as possible and you don't have to be a certain kind of tarot reader to use it. It's a great read for anybody learning tarot

I have a few of Rachel Pollack as books. They don't just skim the surface explaining the tarot. This book is the same, very in-depth information. Great source of information.I spent years making due with the little white books that came with my decks and it is hard to learn that way. I began buying some books and learned a lot.For anyone starting out with Tarot this would be a great book.

From the back: "Offering an abundant array of new ideas mixed in with enlightening discussions about Tarot's checkered past, this guidebook features innovative ways to interpret and use Tarot...All seventy-eight cards are explored from fresh angles: history, art, psychology, and a variety of spiritual and occult traditions, using cards from seven diverse decks so you can easily contrast and compare."Touted as the follow-up to "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom", in most ways I think this book actually goes way beyond the original. "Seventy-Eight Degrees" will remain a "bible" because it takes a clear look at the Rider Waite deck, while also examining psychological aspects and offering practical and insightful approaches to a number of spreads. "Tarot Wisdom", though it is certainly accessible to the beginner, is more a book to grow with. There is much here even for the knowledgeable and experienced tarot reader.The book is divided into four main sections: The Major Arcana, The Minor Arcana, The Court Cards, and Readings, as well as having a 25 page introduction. Each of the seventy eight cards is given from 2 pages (the Minors and Court cards) to 16 pages (for the Fool), with most of the Majors having at least 10 pages each.As the blurb states, illustrations from seven different decks are shown, in black and white, to give a feel for the variety of meaning that has been expressed in each card. In fact, the same six decks are used to illustrate the majority of the Majors: the Marseille, Rider, Golden Dawn Ritual, Egyptian, Visconti and Shining Tribe (Rachel's own deck). Meanwhile, the Minors are illustrated with the Marseille, Rider, Golden Dawn, Visconti, Sola Busca and Shining Tribe. The Sola Busca is considered the first deck historically to have had illustrated pips, so its inclusion for the Minors makes sense, trying to show the development over time of the meanings attributed to and illustrations used for them. Finally, the Court cards show the Marseille, Rider, Golden Dawn, Visconti and Shining Tribe. I love this aspect of the book - it's not just academic information and lists, but also beautiful images and really seeing what she's talking about, and perhaps making your own new connections in the light of these comparative images.This use of multiple images matches up with the fact that the book gives a wide variety of attributions for each card, including, but not limited to: Astrological, Kabbalistic, Pythagorean, Picatrix (from an arabic esoteric text), Elemental, Sephirah, Golden Dawn Title (for the Courts), Rider physical quality (for the Courts), Rider theme and associated Majors (for the Minors).The bulk of the book is made up of a discussion of each card - including history, esoteric aspects, personal anecdotes, some questions it may raise - a whole spread for each of the Majors, and a spread for each suit, as well as a spread for the Court cards. There are also a number of one card and two card spreads, and six multiple card more general spreads. "Tarot Wisdom" also talks about, and gives some examples of, wisdom readings. Basically, you use the tarot to ask philosophical questions - divination in the sense of talking with the divine - rather than simply trying to find out more about your own, or someone else's life. This is a concept Rachel Pollack introduced in "The Forest of Souls", and which I find quite profound - I've always gotten a lot out of the wisdom readings I've done.As well as a general introduction, the book gives an introduction to each of the sections. For the Majors, this discusses the correspondences that Rachel Pollack chooses to highlight: it's a non-systematic approach, focusing on what she personally considers most relevant. So, this may seem rather eclectic or opinionated to those who have a preferred system. However, this is partly explained by her discussion of the Majors as a path to spiritual enlightenment - as such it is a personal path, and also a mystery. The book is designed to give pointers to possible paths for different people, rather than claiming to give any definitive answers. In this respect, Pollack talks about the esoteric history of the Tarot, but argues for there being no "scientific" or correct interpretation. She explains her own structural approach to the Majors, dividing them into three lines of seven, representing three different phases in people's lives, but also looking at these as columns of three - the common threads that return at different levels and in different ways at various times. Although she offers "divinatory" meanings, Pollack mainly wants to open up the interpretation of the cards, rather than narrow it down.The Minor Arcana introduction has a sub-section on the suits: their history; mythological, biblical, kabbalistic and elemental attributions; their relation to the Majors and the Virtues. Another sub-section on numbers: general numerology; Rider Themes (comparing all the Rider aces, all the Rider twos etc); Pythagorean and Kabbalistic numerology; and astrological decans.As for the Court cards, Pollack offers a number of ways to explore them, including drawing a house for each "family" and asking questions about what they're like, where they'd live, and what it would be like if they swapped houses for the weekend with another Court (very a la Mary K.Greer - not surprising as they've been teaching together for nearly two decades). The section on "Permutations" uses a formula to create different "families" of the Court cards, for example Page of Cups, Knight of Swords, Queen of Pentacles, King of Wands, asking how this court would be different than if all the members were from the same suit, or from other permutations. There are also sections titled: "If Court Cards Are People, Who Are They?", and a discussion of "Significators", giving Waite's approach, and Pollack's own. Then, my favourite: "Movie Stars, Fairytales, Superheroes, and Noble Worthies" - exploring who each Court card could be from any area of interest, and suggesting a fun superhero quaternity method of looking at them (Hero, Partner, Nemesis, Sidekick). There are also sections on elemental attributions, the various name changes that have been made regarding the Courts (in particular by the Golden Dawn), and the Court Cards on the Tree of Life. Finally, she looks at the Courts as "A Progression of Qualities" - once again a structural, developmental approach. So, there's plenty to help deepen understanding of the Courts - and that's before we even get to the discussion of each card and related images!As well as offering the spreads described above, the "Readings" chapter has a section discussing some "rules" about tarot reading - mainly to disclaim them. This was the most "beginner"ish section of the book, and one I feel it could have done without. However, I imagine it was felt necessary in order to be able to sell this as a book for every level.Altogether, "Tarot Wisdom" is both academic and accessible, profound, yet profoundly readable. Whether you want to study it from cover to cover or dip in and out to find what you want at any given time, it's a wonderful, fascinating book, full of insight, anecdote, and information.

I have 78 Degrees of Wisdom and The New Tarot Handbook by the same author. This is a nice book to have in addition but it really is just a mixup of the aforementioned titles and not really that necessary as it says nothing new except compare different decks and push her own deck the Shining Tribe. 78 Degrees is my absolute go to book and the handbook is a good 'quick' reference to back that up.

it is a nice book but l personally don't love it .... however l dont regreat buying it as it is still insightful

Brilliant book and gives very interesting information. Well worth reading for anyone interested in the Tarot.

If you are interested in mythology and the history of the tarot cards I would recommend this book. It is my absolute favourite tarot book so far. It shows pictures from various decks and gives a summary of different meanings for each card and how they have changed over the years. The author explains the links to the Kabbalah and I have found the whole book is like a course in itself. I still use other books too but this seems to bring the cards to life!