Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot

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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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Not useful, 2008-05-13
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


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Inspirational, lucid, Insightful, 2008-04-20
Reading this book was sheer delight. Rachel Pollack does an excellent job of sharing her extensive knowledge of Tarot from a multitude of angles. My primary interest in reading it was psychology. I got the same kind of buzz reading this book as I usually get when I read Carl Jung - a deep-rooted feeling of seeing the world in a different light. Pollack spends a lot of time explaining the detailed symbolisms of the cards, and this is exactly what makes the book valuable. This approach is far more engaging than just offering 'reading formulas' for the cards. Unlike science, spiritual knowledge cannot be presented merely as facts, it needs to be felt and experienced. Fully comprehending the book could be a challenge for the novice reader, but well worth the effort, especially if you're a reflective person. My only criticism of the text is the occasional spelling error. The editor needs to do a better job of proof reading.


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Seventy eight degrees of wisdom a book of tarot by rachel pollack, 2008-03-30
This is the very best book for insights into interpretations of Tarot cards, at least for the intellectuals among us. It suggests sources of meaning in myth and legend, especially Hebrew tradition, for each card. It has helped me plumb the depths of my own unconscious to find meaning in my current life situations. The book is clearly written by someone who has deep intuition into the psychology and cultural traditions of the modern Tarot user. Unlike superficial "recipe books" for reading Tarot cards, this book acknowledges the importance of the reader's personal situation and deep thought processes for assigning meaning to the cards.


1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Book bought, 2008-03-27
The book came in a timely manner and was well packed and in good shape. I would buy from this seller again.


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

The Sage speaks through the tarot..., 2008-02-24
I refer to Ms. Pollack's brillant book, Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom, time and time again. It gives wonderful sight to the seeker, and speaks of the timeless connections to God & Universe through the study of the tarot. There is an eloquence in her writing that make for several AHA! moments, just great!!!

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