Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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In the beginning was the word, and the word was SEVENTY-EIGHT DEGREES OF WISDOM, (often called the "Tarot Bible" by Pollack disciples) and we saw that it was good.
And now, building on that masterful work, Ms. Pollack has written a "tell all" book of Tarot. In this unique body of work, she has ingeniously integrated Tarot history, traditional meanings, astrology, Kabbalah and mythology, along with reading techniques, original spreads, and her own rich life experiences as a Taroist, author and teacher.
In these challenging economic times, if you are looking for that one book that gives your the biggest bang for your buck, look no further: It is TAROT WISDOM. Scott Martin

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.

In the introduction, Pollack describes Tarot Wisdom simply as "what I have learned about Tarot over the past forty years." Like her earlier book, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Tarot Wisdom discusses each card in turn and offers ample information on interpreting the cards in a reading. But whereas Seventy-Eight Degrees focuses mainly on the popular Rider deck, Tarot Wisdom takes a more comparative approach. Pollack discusses the Rider meanings and images in relation to older decks and approaches, including the Visconti, Marseille, and Golden Dawn decks. She also frequently discusses how her understanding of cards informed the designs in her own Shining Tribe deck.

I usually enjoy Pollack's writing style in her Tarot books, and this book was no exception. While she consistently provides list of correspondences and historical and modern meanings for the cards, her discussions are more free-flowing, concentrating on what she finds most interesting about each card. Occasionally this left me wishing she had spent more time discussing a particular meaning or image, but it also kept the writing from becoming overly dry or tedious. I enjoyed her analysis of the Major Arcana cards, but the most informative parts of the book for me were centered around the Minors and the court cards. She goes into some detail about interpreting Marseille-style pip cards and offers both Pythagorean and Kabalistic number theories as guides. Her chapter on the court cards made these cards come alive for me in a way other books have not achieved, and made it worth including in my collection. She also includes a useful comparison of Rider and Golden Dawn titling conventions.

The book ends with some spreads and pointers for giving readings. Tarot Wisdom would serve well as an fairly detailed introduction for someone new to Tarot. If you already have some books on Tarot meanings or history, much of the material will be repetitive, but if you are interested in comparative approaches or have enjoyed Pollack's other works, Tarot Wisdom is definitely worth a look.

This book is a great sequel to Pollack's excellent book, Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom. After giving a brief history of the Tarot decks, she gives in-depth discussions of all the cards of the deck. The book is loaded with illustrations, and the discussion of each card includes illustrations of each card from a few decks. Pollack's method of writing is enjoyable to read. Her discussions of the cards give some new insights regarding psychological interpretations of the cards in the Tarot Deck.

I have been looking forward to Rachel's book from first hearing about it. I was fortunate enough to participate in a few of her intensive workshops and have been waiting for the book to fill me in on the ones that I missed.

Her book is surpassing my high expectations and captures both her wit and wisdom. Rachel creates a personal and intimate connection to the Tarot for the reader. She mixes in detailed knowledge and insight. It is a very impressive book and useful resource for anyone interested in Tarot.

Adding a little more to review: Rachel has created a very helpful recursive technique to explore cards (and new decks) and teaches it quite well in her new book. Basic idea is to consider thematic elements of a particular card, or suit, or symbolism, or deck, or other characteristic and draft some good questions around them. Once the questions are created you do a reading on them. The results can be surprising and very often add a lot of insight. In workshops we did this with some rather challenging decks with good results. In Tarot Wisdom, Rachel explores each card from various resources and then completes the exploration with some very effective exploratory readings.

Rachel has a way of being able to share her passion and knowledge in her books & through an esoteric osmosis you receive what you need without much effort & I have learned soooo much (this is not stereo instructions)This book is a joy to read for the novice to the seasoned reader.....It is the readers read. Thanks Again Rachel

Just occasionally one stumbles across genuine hidden treasure...

As a priest I taught for many years that the greatest treasure is often discovered through the cracks and flaws of life's journey. It is as if the very act of being bruised by falling down can open us up to a deeper level of truth and wisdom. This is, of course, a common motif within the realm of myth and fairytale. Why? Well quite simply because these tales draw upon a well of deep human experiences, and make metaphors out of them.

My most recent 'stumbling across this inner treasure' occurred when a certain book fell into my hands. I have long admired the cards of the tarot, for they seem to point to and throw light on exactly the same human experiences as those I just mentioned, and (like myths) they depict them symbolically. So tarot speaks to me very powerfully.

My favourite book for years has been Rachael Pollack's awesome Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom. And, (again as a priest) I can well understand why it has been called the Tarot Bible. Well the other day, in Waterstones Bath, at my own book signing, a new gift was given to me. I have to confess that I had not sold a single book myself so I decided to have a break and pop upstairs to check out the esoteric bookshelves. And there the gift awaited my arrival. Rachel Pollack's new book Tarot Wisdom was standing out with bright lights ... 'I'm yours' the inner voice said.

I have since been entranced and amazed by the contains. The author has given the tarot fraternity another gemstone. She takes us on even deeper journeys into the long lost hidden gold which these mysterious cards points to in us.

What I adore about this book is that it is not only filled with the author's wisdom but, like all her books, it remains humble, easy to comprehend and shows YOU how to be the reader, rather simply telling you what to see or find. I whole heartedly recommend this beautiful book to all who wish to know more about their own deepest treasures.

Mark Townsend

I have only read about a quarter of this book and gave up.

I'll be honest. As an absolute beginner, I feel like I've jumped in at the deep end.

This book is OVERWHELMING. Its literally bursting with information on the Tarot and everything it could possibly connect to throughout history. The card meanings are not simple at all... it delves into EVERYTHING including Astrology, Kabbalah, Greek and Egyptian mythology, Christian and Jewish biblical stories, Paganism, Numerology, Geometry... seriously, the list goes on and on...

No doubt this would be highly valuable tool for an experienced reader who is ready to take the next step on their Tarot path (and I hope one day I will reach a level of understanding when I will be prepared to read this book again and actually gain clarity from its insights).

But this is NOT suitable as a beginner's guide.

I'm new to reading Tarot. I started with Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot, and while that book is fantastic for getting your toes wet, and remains a useful resource, it didn't offer enough depth for me.

Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom is exactly what I was looking for -- an in-depth look at each card, its history, and its meanings that I will be able to use for years. The thoroughness really helps me get a feel for each of the cards, and the more esoteric info about the Kabbalah, numerology, etc, will be useful as I gain more practice and familiarity with the cards. This is one of those books that you can read and re-read, and get something new with each reading.

For each card, several different versions are shown: Visconti, Marseille, Rider, Golden Dawn Ritual, Egyptian, and Shining Tribe. The comparative approach is very useful as an accompaniment to the discussions of symbology, and helps to show how the cards and their meanings have progressed over time. Also useful are the lists of historical interpretations of the Major Arcana cards, and how those have differed from and/or influenced contemporary meanings.

I also really enjoy the Wisdom Readings that are included throughout the book. Each of the Major Arcana has a reading, as well as one each for the Court Cards, Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The Wisdom Readings help to reinforce the meanings of the cards, and what those cards signify to me personally. For example, a few of the questions from A Fool Reading are:
How have I been a Fool in my life?
Where in my life do I need to be more Foolish?
Where do I find the Fool outside myself?

One note: the book includes the author's personal experiences with and interpretations of the cards, as well as the more academic information. The personal anecdotes, while interesting, aren't for everyone. I would also have preferred not to have the inclusion and explanations of the author's Shining Tribe cards. However, these two drawbacks don't lessen the overall usefulness of the book.

This book would not be suitable for a beginner who just wants an overview of Tarot, who wants to keep things simple at first and memorize a few keywords for each card. However, for a beginner who wants to immerse themselves in layers of meaning and symbolism for each card, this book is outstanding.

I've considered "78 Degrees of Wisdom" my "Tarot Bible" for many years. This book, by the same author, is very interesting. It does contain some of the same information, but also much more and is well worth reading and having as a reference. I've studied with her and find her knowledge and insights to be amazing.