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Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot |  | Author: Rachel Pollack
Publisher: Weiser Books
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.31
as of 9/4/2010 07:27 PDT details
You Save: $7.64 (38%)
Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 20288
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 1578634083
Dewey Decimal Number: 133
EAN: 9781578634088
ASIN: 1578634083
Publication Date: September 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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. * Author is one of the most highly regarded tarotists in the world.
* The Major Arcana and The Minor Arcana brought together in one volume.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 61
 Tarot reader's bible July 8, 2010
amf0001 (New York, NY United States)
When I first started reading Tarot cards, way back when, I used to read these texts religiously (it was 2 books then, divided into Major and Minor Arcana) They were an amazing, thought provoking and very articulate basis from which to approach the Tarot. I like the thought and detail but it wasn't too fussy or arcane, rather it's accessible, well laid out, and gives you an extremely solid foundation from which to grow. I happily recommend it to anyone who asks for a starting point, and I trust her work
 A different perspective June 9, 2010
S. Montane (Vermont)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
While the card definitions have similarities to other Tarot authors, most of her perceptions seem to based on her own interpretations, which, like religion, are myriad and personal.. therefore not wholly useful to everyone else. She also spends a lot of energy making historical and esoteric claims that she cannot back with citations. Any serious author needs to back up their historical data with a trail that I, the reader, can follow. What drove me up the wall was how her sentences, even within the same paragraph, do not coincide, and often contradict themselves. They sound like chuntering, babble, and anyone with half a brain will not be able to make heads or tails of her assertions. I'm disappointed in the other reviewers for not pointing out the very important process of elimination by qualification. For serious, educated readers, this book must come up short. There are so many holes in the author's ideas, she would be laughed out of any credible society. It's so scary to think of so many people still living in the dark ages when it comes to knowledge and self-awareness. If you want a simple book on tarot, get Eden Grey's Complete Guide to the Tarot, or if you're looking for more in depth meanings, get The Spiritual Tarot.
If you have insomnia read this book February 24, 2010
Skye (Ohio)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is not a total waste of money,there's alot to be gleened from it...if you can stay awake.Maybe it's her going on and on in lenghty PhD language,not enough laymans terms.If you have trouble falling asleep at night-I recommend Rachel Pollack's "78 Degrees of Wisdom"or the "Bible".
Tarot Pocket Reference February 5, 2010
Marla (Illinois)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book, part 1, covers the major arcana. Part 2 covers the minor arcana and some spreads. There is now an updated version that comprises a single volume. I had bought and read the set a number of years ago and bought this to replace the part that I misplaced. I'm rereading it now and think it's a great treatment of the topic. It's very thorough in a small space; going into some depth, but obviously not exhaustive. I read it as a relative novice, and am rereading it as a relative expert. It's based on the Rider-Waite deck, with some references to other decks.
 Boring Dissertation August 8, 2009
Harper (Boston, MA)
8 out of 18 found this review helpful
This book reminds me of the saying "If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought."
This is probably the most exhausting, boring, unhelpful tarot book I've ever read. It's like reading someone's dry PhD dissertation. It this had been my intro to tarot, I would have been turned off totally from by it and never continued with the adventure. Tarot is about intuition. I don't need someone trying to make esoteric connections to every possible item or image encountered. Geesh! Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. There is way too much extraneous verbage to sort thru before you found the "wisdom" this book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 61
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