Rachel Pollack: Tarot and Divination

Tarot and Divination

Tarot came to me in early 1970, when a fellow English teacher in the State University of New York offered to read my cards if I would give her a ride home. I remember nothing about the reading except the effect the cards had on me. The pictures, and the stories hinted at in them, and the book of symbolism that went with them totally fascinated me. I found a deck and began to read for my friends, and explore what lay behind the pictures. That exploration continues more than ever.

My first Tarot books, 78 Degrees of Wisdom, Parts 1 and 2, appeared in 1980 and 1983, with a new edition, revised, in one volume, in 1997. Over the years I have heard from people all over the world, from Europe to South Africa to the U.S. and Canada, to South America, about how much these books have meant to them.

I have had the great privilege of being asked to write the text for various individual decks, especially the Tarot decks of Salvador Dali and Hermann Haindl. Now I have had the wonderful experience of creating my own deck, The Shining Tribe Tarot, whose pictures are inspired by tribal and prehistoric art. They go back tens of thousands of years, and come from all over the world. See Artwork for availability of the 78 images.

I have always looked at the Tarot more as a spiritual guide, a kind of wise friend that helps us discover who we are, than a device for fortune-telling. For me, the term divination means a way to have a two-way conversation with the divine. I have developed this theme most deeply in my book The Forest of Souls, published by Llewellyn in September of 2002.

Notes

Reviews can be found here.
Rachel's own words about this book, written from her soul, are to be found here.

I do a limited number of private readings with people in my home or in New York City. These can be face to face (whenever possible ó often I will set aside a day after a workshop), or over the telephone, or by email. Please email me for details.

Booklist

Tarot & Divination books.