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Reddit mentions of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
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Reddit mentions: 17
We found 17 Reddit mentions of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot. Here are the top ones.
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- Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
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More or less, yes. There are a lot of great resources out there. I did have a friend who read them, but even though she got me into them, I really taught myself.
First, discard any and all nonsense about "you have to be gifted your deck" or "you have to bury your old deck in the ground." It's bull, really. A lot of Tarot "myths" like that are, mostly born from traditions passed down, I imagine. But you can absolutely buy your own deck, and used decks too. It's a great way to see if you like a style of deck without dropping a ton of money for nothing.
Some people recommend never reading for yourself, while others swear that they can only read themselves. In reality? Read for whoever you want.
The main thing is to realize that Tarot really is what you make of it. So many people have so many ideas of what it is, from communing with spirits/collective unconscious/gods, to psychology and Jungian archetypes, and I don't think any one way is right or wrong. Tarot is Tarot, whatever that means to you.
There are also a lot of decks out there. "Tarot" isn't limited to just Tarot; there's actually a lot of different types of cartomancy out there, like Lenormand and Oracle cards. I don't know Lenormand myself, and am only beginning on working with an Oracle deck.
And then you have different types of Tarot itself: Thoth Tarot decks and similar ones, mostly "invented" by Aleister Crowley; Rider-Waite/Rider-Waite-Smith decks, sometimes called RWS, commissioned by the Order of the Golden Dawn; historical decks, based off the tarrochi card game popular in the Renaissance; and some decks just barely following a Tarot deck and pretty much created by the author. None of them are better than another, it's all just based off of what you like and what you feel drawn to/comfortable with.
For good or for bad, there are many, many resources out there. Always critically examine what you're reading from.
Aecletic Tarot is a good first stop. Not only does it have listings of decks, from popular to rare, with pictures and sometimes reviews, but it has a lively forum section where you can find just about anything related to Tarot there.
Biddy Tarot is a site I have used in the past. Careful, though, it seems that they have been promoting their online Tarot course more and more. I've never taken it, so I can't say whether its bad or good, but I always feel a little wary about Tarot courses. I feel like you never know what kind of instructor you'd get -- there are some people out there who are a little too... "fluffy bunny" as it can be said at times. That is to say: no scholarship or scholarship based on poorly-researched books, often promoting an unbalanced and inaccurate worldview on the Roma people or Wiccans or anything else. I digress: if you stick to the free parts of the site with card meanings and spreads, its pretty good, and generally the first place I hit when I can't quite get the feel of a card.
Next, there's always reddit's very own /r/tarot. It's not terribly active, but there's good people there. Ask questions, read what is posted, and you can learn a lot. Everyone has different opinions, though, so keep that in mind. And plenty of people trade free readings there, so it's a good place to practice as well!
There are some wonderful Youtube channels out there as well. I'd like to link you this one in particular, because it's a great place to start learning how to discern sources. I also love Rose from The Cackling Moon, and she has a great Tumblr blog that could point you to a ton of good diviners there as well.
As for actual books, I had some around here, but its been so long since I read them that I don't know where they've gotten to. I know one was Tarot for Dummies, which was okay for a start. The other was Complete Book of Tarot Spreads, which I'd peg at intermediate. (That's probably the level I'm on myself). One I want but have yet to get is Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack. Again, Aecletic Tarot has a good list going, and you can always ask /r/tarot for their favorite books as well.
A few tips for getting your first deck:
Last but not least, I have to comment on your username... I love pugs! Sadly, the last pug in the family, my grandma's old guy, was put down tonight. I'm going to miss him, but it was his time to go to rest.
Good luck with your journey into Tarot. I hope it pans out well for you, and that I was in some way helpful :)
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack has been very useful to me as I'm still learning: https://www.amazon.com/Seventy-Eight-Degrees-Wisdom-Book-Tarot/dp/1578634083
For Rider-Waite deck I like the classic Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom book by Rachel Pollack.
I got a great deal from 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollock.
https://www.amazon.com/Seventy-Eight-Degrees-Wisdom-Book-Tarot/dp/1578634083
Its my first book on the tarot and I'm not quite done but I know its getting instantly reread as soon as I'm done. Its really insightful and opens up so many approaches.
78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack is a great resource.
Honestly one of the best books I've found for starting is Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack
https://www.amazon.ca/Seventy-Eight-Degrees-Wisdom-Book-Tarot/dp/1578634083
It gives a great fundamental look at the history of the cards as well as teasing some more advanced topics, so you can really take any topic from the book and go wild with your journey. It works with the RWS deck which most people start with I would say, but the wisdom is universal. It's a great resource and I've never stopped sourcing it even though I've gone through tons of other books since reading this one.
I would recommend Rachel Pollock's 78 Degrees of Wisdom as the best book for someone who wants to take tarot seriously.
As to packs, it really is down to what 'gels' with you. It's not a bad idea though to start with a standard Rider-Waite deck and then move on from there.
> I had especially in mind free resources from the internet.
All of these books are interesting in places: sacred texts tarot
The best ones I have read are not online:
The Thursday Night Tarot: Weekly Talks on the Wisdom of the Major Arcana by Jason Lotterhand
and
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot by Rachel Pollack
I have enjoyed this one.
Probably not a beginner's book, and I don't agree with everything that's presented, but it has helped me make connections that I might not have come to on my own. Easily one of my favorites.
By far my favorite is Rachel Pollak's Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot https://www.amazon.com/dp/1578634083/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_alPTCb8MYZDZ1
The tarot can be for you whatever you want it to mean.
I've been doing it on-and-off for maybe about six years now, and every single time I return to it my method feels more refined and more "me" as I get older and learn more about myself.
For me, tarot is like a fun-house mirror. The same mirror can be held up to different people and they can have much different reactions to it. Some people go "Wow, I look funny!", and others can go "Dammit, my thighs are huge". People have different reactions and interpretations of the same readings.
I've met a tarot reader who would always un-reverse the cards because he doesn't like reading reversals. I've met another one who would only answer yes/no questions with a full tarot deck. Some people take the pictures on the cards as the only definition, some people depend entirely on books that are independent from the cards, and some people just make shit up entirely depending on their own personal experiences. Some people think they have supernatural properties, and some people (like me) think they're entirely random, but when people read them they put meaning into them based on their lives.
There's no wrong way to use a tarot deck, and there's no wrong way to view tarot or to interpret the cards. They're a subjective tool in that way, almost like an art. How you want to approach tarot will come in time as you practice and refine your methods and you come to figure out what the cards mean to you.
In getting to know them: that really depends on you. I started out with reading this book, completely unrelated to the tarot, but it helped jump-start my interest in it. I also give readings to other tarot readers, since I've found them more likely to "believe" and therefore less likely to argue, so long as they lean more eclectic. I also give myself readings frequently, just single-card readings to answer simple questions, or I toss out a card when I'm hanging out with my friends and they ask questions like "What would happen if I ordered pizza at three in the morning". I know a common method is to just draw a card each morning and dedicate that day to paying attention to that card, but I'm too scatterbrained to remember to do that, plus I feel it imparts too much importance to something that I don't take all that seriously normally. I also like writing so sometimes I do spreads for my characters or for story planning.
That's a lot, but I hope some of it helps!
Good advice. I recommend this and this for those reading this thread.
Ok. Start with these books. And know that despite what you’ll learn, it is still 100% okay for you to enjoy Tarot without using them for divination. Lots of people do and that’s a wonderful thing.
The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
Tarot - The Open Reading
http://www.amazon.com/Seventy-Eight-Degrees-Wisdom-Book-Tarot/dp/1578634083
Just get a copy of that. It's fifteen bucks, get a common deck like the Rider-Waite. Another 10 probs.
Tarot is more of a personal learning experience. Paying someone a hundred bucks to pat you on the back isn't gonna help. Learn it with your wife maybe?
I enjoy it. I pull it out every so often and learn a bit more about the subconscious shit going on with me in my life. Meditation is similar.
btw, that book is the best.
I recommend [Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1578634083/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Nsbyyb2ZCJ74A)
I decided to cruise the town one day and check out all the local occult shops. One was mostly focused on wicca. I happened to put my address on their e-mailing list, and one day I received an e-mail from them about a series of beginner tarot classes that would be held nearby for $30, presumably taught by an acquaintance of the owner of the shop.
I didn't attend these particular classes, but my point is you might try finding local community stuff in a similar manner, by poking your head in an occult shop and asking around.
I have consulted these sources: