Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
by Rachel Pollack
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rachel PollackEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-01
ISBN: 1578634083
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Weiser Books
Book Reviews of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
Book Review: Not useful
Summary: 2 Stars
I found this book to be pretty useless.
The meaninings described in the book are plain confusing because they are wrong. Someone who'd been studying tarot before would not find one single match between their card meanings and the card meanings there. I was wondering which deck did the author use to get inspiration for the card meanings. I have been reading Tarot for a while and I found zero useful information in this book, I believe it could confuse someone who just started studying tarot. As for more experienced tarot readers, it is completely useless, as they will not be able to add anything to their knowledge and experience.
I also didn't find any other Tarot related information that could be of interest
Update: Perhaps I should clarify a few things. What I meant by "not useful" is that the card meanings described in the book deviate significantly from traditional ones and also no specific deck is mentioned and it's not stated whether the author is talking about a traditional deck or not. So, in my opinion it is not possible to apply the knowledge from the book to a regular tarot deck and if one is looking for learning about traditional tarot meanings and wisdom, I would not recommend this particular book.
It seems to me that author gave her own interpretations of tarot, without giving consideration to traditional meanings and that's why I found it so confusing. For example on 6 of cups, traditionally, there is a little girl and a little boy, but author called little boy a "dwarf". This book is not a guide to definite symbols of tarot but a glance at what the author saw in each card. It does not mean her opinion is not interesting, because it is, but I would not recommend this book as a guide to tarot.
Unfortunatelly I cannot remember more specific exaples besides 6 of cups since it has been a while since I read the book and I sold my copy.
Summary of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
A top tarotist's secrets to personal growth, one card at a time. The two volumes of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom have inspired a whole generation of tarot students. It has often been described by readers, booksellers, and teachers as the "Bible of tarot readers." It is also often cited as one of the landmark books in modern tarot, and it helped to launch the "Tarot Renaissance" of the 1980s. The two texts-one for The Major Arcana and one for The Minor Arcana--appear together in this volume, which is a reissue of the 1998 edition first published by Thorsons. Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom draws on mythology and esoteric traditions and delves deeply into the symbolism and ideas of each card. It also gives the cards a modern psychological slant based on the pictures rather than a system of occult symbolism. This endlessly useful reference tool provides a concise history of tarot, introduces common spreads, and is a clear and readable book for both the beginning and advanced tarot student.Tarot Books
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