Homage to Rachel Pollack

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Jun 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ArcanoMáximo	16 Jun 2005
I know that I am not the only one that at some time felt despair when finding not the way of figuring out the intricate symbolism of the cards. For me it was a Before and After on Tarot work from reading your books. I guess many people here will agree that you are one of the more influential, or the most, in the history of Tarot study. I start this thread for those who want to tell you how much they thank you. I know you are reading this at this moment and sure you’ll apreciate it, because even when I don't have the enormous privilege of know you personally and probably never will, every time when I read something from or about you I can feel that you are not just only a very wise woman but also an amazing being. Then to start i would like just say you a word. For sure you have already listened it but I think never is enough: THANKS! AM*

prudence	16 Jun 2005
"She strides past the whispers, her pet close behind her. She walks like a singer, Through the forest of souls." I love these words and the feeling they create. I am very grateful to Rachel Pollack for this gift (and the many many others found in her words) This poem is from the Shining Tribe Tarot book (renewed and expanded edition), from the 6 of Trees.

SunChariot	16 Jun 2005
My first deck was the Haindl, and I read three of Rachel's books about the deck when I was starting. She was in on the beginnings of my Tarot studies, and inspired me with the beauty of her ideas. I have other books of hers since and I must say Tarot has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. And if it had not been for Rachel Pollack and her books, I honestly do not think I would have found the depth in it that I did, or as much beauty. I am grateful for her role in my life. I always will be. Bar

Fulgour	17 Jun 2005
Rachel Pollack - Home Page http://www.rachelpollack.com/tarot/index.html "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." Rachel Pollack * :) If you find "Contact" there will be under that "Email Addresses" and then if you click on "Rachel Pollack" you can write her a letter...

Fudugazi	17 Jun 2005
8 or 9 years ago, when I first started with Tarot, I went to Mysteries in London (I lived in London at the time) and bought the RWS and a copy of 78 Degrees of Wisdom. I started there. Since then I have read that 78 Degrees is "not a book for beginners". Well, I didn't know that. It was the book for me: not many books would have engaged me as that one did. I always loved symbolism and myth - and 78 Degrees tapped into that love, and expanded it. The very personal commentary that Rachel adds to her in-depth study of the cards encouraged me to make my own personal exploration. 78 Degrees did not teach me to read tarot. But it taught me to explore and love tarot.

janstar17	17 Jun 2005
Helvetica wrote: Since then I have read that 78 Degrees is "not a book for beginners". Well, I didn't know that. It was the book for me: not many books would have engaged me as that one did. I always loved symbolism and myth - and 78 Degrees tapped into that love, and expanded it. The very personal commentary that Rachel adds to her in-depth study of the cards encouraged me to make my own personal exploration. 78 Degrees did not teach me to read tarot. But it taught me to explore and love tarot. I had the same experience with 78 Degrees as you did...my first tarot book and still the one I go back to often. I think Rachel really breathed life into tarot for me through her writing. I also own Forest of Souls but have yet to read it front-to-back. Last year I was at a MARS event (Mary [greer] and Rachel [pollack] Seminar) and had the great fortune to have Rachel read the cards for me. It was a wonderful experience. Both Mary and Rachel have an engaging presence and a joyful relationship with the tarot.

SunChariot	17 Jun 2005
Helvetica wrote: 78 Degrees did not teach me to read tarot. But it taught me to explore and love tarot. That in the end is way more important. The love and exploration will teach you more than any book ever could. Bar

NightWing	18 Jun 2005
I'm very grateful that Rachel Pollack took up tarot, and then chose to write about it. My very first book(s) on tarot were "78 Degrees of Wisdom" as two volumes, on the Majors and the Minors, that formed my introduction to tarot as a serious practice,...along with a standard Rider-Waite deck. Later I got her books on the Haindl Tarot, and "Forest of Souls", as well as "The Kabbalah Tree". She is a gifted writer and teacher, and it is hard to image tarot in the modern world without her. She has made all the difference to me. Read on, Rachel!

Moongold	18 Jun 2005
I agree. 78DW was my first tarot book. I couldn't understand much of it at first and later got The complete illustrated guide to tarot which is a great book for beginners. The Shining Tribe tarot called to me one night in the TS Bookshop and I have never regretted buying it. I love the images and the colours of the cards. I love the way Rachel writes about the myths. Her poetic style sings, and her insights are absorbed immediately. She and Mary Greer have been my greatest "teachers"..

WalesWoman	19 Jun 2005
Rachel if you are out there or being invisable, thank you for sharing your knowledge and enriching my tarot experience. My tarot spending budget is extremely limited... I've got exactly 6 Tarot books and three of them came with my decks. The books that I've referred to most and helped me understand what the cards were trying to tell me were 78 Degrees of Wisdom and The Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot. I've since given away the Complete Illustrated Guide to my son's girlfriend after I found out she wanted to study Tarot more... could not be that generous with 78 Degrees. She will have to get her own! I lucked out I guess by getting the edition that has the majors, courts and pips included in one volume. YAY! Your books made me think and look deep, but provided me with insights & understanding I'd never have come up with in a million years. Thank you!

Emily	19 Jun 2005
One of my first tarot books was a very old and falling apart copy of the 'Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom' Part I. I loved the style in which it was wrote, and I started to understand the Majors. I did move onto other books but also bought 'The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Tarot' - a book that is partly responsible for me having so may decks in my collection I think :) , and so I decided that I needed to read what Rachel had written about the Minors so I went out and bought a new copy of 78 Degrees. Its a massive book,information wise, not to be read in one session - but a very valued member of my tarot library. :)

SunChariot	19 Jun 2005
Emily wrote: One of my first tarot books was a very old and falling apart copy of the 'Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom' Part I. I loved the style in which it was wrote, and I started to understand the Majors. I did move onto other books but also bought 'The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Tarot' - a book that is partly responsible for me having so may decks in my collection I think :) , and so I decided that I needed to read what Rachel had written about the Minors so I went out and bought a new copy of 78 Degrees. Its a massive book,information wise, not to be read in one session - but a very valued member of my tarot library. :) Have that book! --'The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Tarot'. It was one of the first I got and it helped a lot as I was learning in the beginning. I love the meditations in it. Whenever I want to meditate on a card, that is always the meditation I use. I love it. That being said I am going to do a meditation tonight on a card from my Faeries Oracle. I will think of Rachel before I start, with gratitude.:-) Bar

ArcanoMáximo	22 Jun 2005
Yes, i must even confess that as many here i fell also that even when i do not agree with all your points of views, i cannot stop to impress me with them and to consider them extremely valuable. For example i don't read reversed cards, but the possible interpretation methods that you toast are very intelligent and i never let them pass. But undoubtedly of the things that more you achieved in me was that i no longer felt the prejudices toward the decks with drawings in their pips. I began to see those images like doors and to admire the RWS deck. Starting from that comparison tool my development as Tarot reader grew. I was of those that was convinced that the arcanums should be read as letters, no “to be interpreted.” You conquered in me that barrier and from then on i am wider and i love the diversity that the Tarot represents. The Tarot creators should be proud of having you among its specialists, and thanked by all the other readers that narrowed their approach to it because of you.

The Homage to Rachel Pollack thread was originally posted on 16 Jun 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.