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oisin175 's review for:
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
by Rachel Pollack
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A good look at the interpretation of tarot cards and spreads. This could have been a 5 star but there were a number of tech edit failures (i.e. Water was spelled as Wat in back to back sentences and grammar was confusing in some places) and there were some unsupported historical claims that bring to mind the Margaret Murray hysteria. Specifically, the claim that, prior to patriarchal conquest it was common practice in both Europe and India for priestesses to sacrifice the king at every winter solstice as an offering to the Goddess, necessitating the selection of a new king, is just fantasy. It assumes the existence of a pan-European (from the northwestern tip of Ireland to the southeastern tip of India) Goddess cult that was overrun and replaced by the IE cultures (who then created diverse but linked cultures?). Worse, these factual claims came without even a perfunctory citation.
Ultimately, this book gets 3 stars because of the Tarot info. It should have left the pseudo history on the cutting room floor and desperately needed a competent tech editor. It could have been a 5 absent those problems.
Ultimately, this book gets 3 stars because of the Tarot info. It should have left the pseudo history on the cutting room floor and desperately needed a competent tech editor. It could have been a 5 absent those problems.