Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Tarot Journey to Self-Awareness (A New Edition of the Tarot Classic)

So many tarot books out there give a 3-page history of the tarot, then dive into what each card means. This book takes the time to look at the way the deck is structured, how the order of the cards makes sense, the symbolism and numerology, and then what each card means. But more than just keywords and vagaries, you learn the Why behind the meanings, and gain highly useful, grounding perspective that helps you remember those meanings. For me, it was the perfect combination of elements that kick-started my tarot learning into higher gear. Looking forward to exploring the author's other tarot works, which I'm certain are as thoughtful and knowledgeable as this one.

Pollack has a refreshing voice which is at once scholarly and pedestrian. Her writing is easy to follow, well laid out, and comprehensive. She goes into much detail regarding symbolism, history, and interpretation—yet somehow manages to keep every bit of the content completely relevant and useful. (I also really enjoy The Ultimate Guide To Tarot Card Meanings by Brigit Esselmont. However, Esselmont‘s descriptions tend to have this heavy filter of “positivity”, which I find really distorting at times. Her philosophy is a personal one, and that’s fine; but it’s nowhere near as well researched or earnestly delivered as Pollack’s book.)I was continually confronted with this book since the start of my tarot journey several years ago. My gut didn’t tell me to buy it until a couple months ago, and for great reason (in retrospect). While at first I was upset I hadn’t bought it sooner, I now concede that having a well-established understanding of tarot and the mystery schools made my reading experience much more impactful. However, I do feel a neophyte will get a lot out of it. And honestly, it’s a must-have for anyone who is serious about tarot... make the investment.The binding is nice on the paperback edition; I can bend the spine to my liking with no damage or bad creasing. My only complaint is to the publisher for such TERRIBLE editing. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors abound. While I tend to be picky about that sort of thing in general, I still feel the next edition needs a serious editor... this is a gem and should be preserved in its best light. However, to the buyer: DO NOT let that keep you from purchasing!

This book was recommended to me when I purchased my first Rider Waite tarot deck and knew SO little about tarot. What a difference this book makes in helping you learn and understand the traditional Rider deck!! The rich themes, stories and nuances of the cards do Not come thru in the tiny booklets that come with the decks....this book Really gives great depth of understanding the cards in upright and reversed positions. Absolutely a necessary companion to tarot in my 'book!' ;-)

This book is so incredibly informative, easy to understand, and now officially my right hand go-to if I ever have trouble with interpretations. Thank you Rachael Pollack!!! The annotations I’ve made on this book are at an insane level. Beginners could benefit a lot from this book. It’s help me gain more insight than just watching YouTube.

This book was one of the first books I read when I began studying tarot and to begin with I didn't have enough knowledge to appreciate the depth and complexity of the book. Now that I have learnt the basics of Tarot I see that this is a must-have item for any reader worth their salt.

this work gets four stars for giving a comprehensive thought analysis on why Tarot works, how to interpret the cards in the Major Arcana in relation to each other, how to interpret different spreads, her nod to appreciating all the work that was put into the cards by previous generations, and an excellent analysis on the ways in which modern science can be just as rigid, inflexible, and dogmatic in its explanations of the deep mysteries of life and the universe. that being said, the meanings she gives to the cards are what turned me off to Tarot for so many years. they are just so overwhelmingly negative and filled with a sense of inescapable doom and gloom. i recommend this book for anyone serious about learning Tarot. but there are other ways to interpret these cards. this book is a good start but i have been reading about general symbolic interpretations about colors, numbers, animal imagery, the layout of images on the cards (left or right/top versus bottom), the symbols themselves (conjunctions, circles, spirals, squares, triangles) and combining that with astrological meanings to get a less gloomy view of the cards. i also always factor in the reversed meanings for every card and thus i never have them reversed when laying out a spread. when i do this, i always get lots of upside down cards and it really affects my mood. but i don't ignore reversals, they have to exist in order for the upright meaning to exist so i consider it all, sideways, crossways, whatever keeps me grounded and focused.

Incredible book! Do not hesitate

I was searching for a book on symbolism in the Tarot And chose this because of the positive reviews. it was not what I was searching for, a quick easy to use reference guide to quickly gain an understanding of symbolism. What it IS Though, is A well written, easy to read, in-depth Understanding of the deck. I have no desire to use it as a quick reference guide, but to slowly read through card by card. I am only halfway through the major arcana and I am so enjoying learning, again that in depth understanding Of history and symbolism and how different cards tie together to create a story. The writers style Resonates with my learning style. This book is not for those Looking for a Basic understanding to read cards for friends. For those looking to really connect with the history of the cards This is the book. I am savoring every minutes I’m reading it