Description
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom is 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.” Often cited as one of the landmark books in modern tarot, helping 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. A reissue of the 1998 edition first published by Thorsons. This book 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.
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom is an essential part of every Tarot library. Some even refer to it as the “Tarot Reader’s Bible.” Using images from the popular Rider Waite deck, Pollack shares the in-depth meaning of each card. She examines it from several differing aspects in terms of the symbolism, mythological, astrological, numerological, historical and psychological. It also focuses on readings, not simply as predictions, but rather as a way of discovering ourselves, and beyond that, the spirituals wonder of life.
This Tarot journey to self-awareness is organized into three parts for easy reference: major arcana, minor arcana and readings.
Part One: The Major Arcana
The purpose of the Major Arcana is twofold. First of all, by isolating the elements of our lives into archetypes. Enabling us to see them in their pure forms, as aspects of psychological truth. Secondly, it helps us to truly resolve these different elements. In reality, perhaps the innocence symbolized by the Fool never existed. Somehow, we experience as something lost. The Major Arcana tells us how to get it back.
Part Two: The Minor Arcana
The Tarot demonstrates many things, some very unexpected. These things emerge through interpretation of the Tarot’s images, through joining those images in meditation, and through seeing the combinations formed in readings. Taken separately, the cards of the Minor Arcana present us with a grand panorama of human experiences. Together, and in union with the archetypal Major cards, they draw us into ever wider knowledge of the changing wonder of life.
Part Three: Readings
Readings teach us a general lesson as well as a very important one. In a manner no explanation can possibly equal, they demonstrate that no card, no approach to life, is good or bad except in the context of the moment. Giving readings gives each person a chance to renew his or her instinctive feeling for the pictures themselves. All the symbolism, all the archetypes, all the explanations given prepares you to look at each picture and say, “This card tells me…”
Product Detail:
ISBN: 9781578636655.
Paperback, 368 pages.
Publisher: Weiser Books, Published Date: March 2019 Third Revised Edition.
Size: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches, Weight: 1.2Lbs.
Author
Rachel Pollack (1945-2023) was the leading light and foremost influence on modern Tarot. Her bestselling book, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, published in 1980 is widely described as the “Bible of Tarot.”
A prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction, her other books include A Walk Through the Forest of Souls, Unquenchable Fire, Godmother Night, and The Fissure King. She was the creator of The Shining Tribe Tarot and wrote the books for numerous other decks, including The Vertigo Tarot and Salvador Dali’s Tarot. Pollack taught at the famed Omega Institute for over thirty years.
Reviews.
“What is your favorite tarot book? The answer is always 78 Degrees of Wisdom. It was the third tarot book I read but the first to speak my language so I could understand those ideas that previously were right outside of my grasp. The tarot was a tool, and it fit in my hand. This book taught me how to use it and I am forever grateful to Rachel Pollack for making this accessible, brilliant guide to my future.” —Melissa Cynova, author of Kitchen Table Tarot
“78 Degrees of Wisdom holds a very special place in my heart and was very influential in shaping my relationship with tarot. The wisdom from Rachel’s words still weaves through my work with the cards, even after three decades. Anyone interested in learning tarot can’t go wrong including this book in their reading list. Her words will stick with you and help create a strong foundation, no matter where your tarot journey takes you.” —Barbara Moore, creator of Steampunk Tarot
“If there is such a thing as tarot royalty, then Rachel Pollack is its queen and 78 Degrees of Wisdom is the trailblazing text that ordained her as such. Essential reading for the beginner and a classic that tarot masters will return to time and time again, this is the book to have in your library. I make it a point to sit down and reread 78 Degrees cover to cover at least once every five years, and that makes a cardinal difference in my personal development. All my reverence and admiration to the inimitable Rachel Pollack.” —Benebell Wen, author of Holistic Tarot
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