Godmother Night is now one of my favourite books & it's the most moving book I have read since Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. It's seemingly influenced by both the myth of Orpheus & Cocteau's film, Orphee, which also features a well-dressed woman who is literally death & is attended by motorcyclists. Readers interested in feminist, "women's" or lesbian fiction, as well as those attracted by magickal realism, pagan related fantasy & fairy tales, or just about anyone who loves brilliantly crafted & eloquently written books will not be disappointed. The love affair between Laurie & Jaqe is highly believable & I could strongly relate to their relationship & to the problems that Laurie encounters with her academic studies, it was like seeing parts of my life & aspects of myself on the page. At points I found the book distressing which only added to its power, it takes on serious issues from "life" & beyond. Though I already had some of the comics she has written (The Geek & Doom Patrol), the Vertigo Tarot book, & The Body of the Goddess, (which are of an equal standard to Godmother Night!) this book propelled me onto a quest to read more of her work. Prepare for an intense love affair with this author's work! It's a must read that has left me urgently needing MORE Rachel Pollack books.

This book really grabbed me... and I am not a feminist. If you read it because you're a politically correct moron and only read "women's books" or just because it's a really good book (the best feminist fiction I've ever read, far better than anything of Atwood's, and I've read three of hers) by all means, read it! The writing is wonderfully crafted, and the romance is beautiful. This is not a sex book, this is a love, life, and DEATH book.

Rachel Pollack is amazing, her accurate account of two women falling in love and then losing each other, is amazing. It leaves out all of the feminist crap that most writter's seem to put into books these days if it just happens to be about ...... dykes.

If you happen to pass this by, pick it up read it and I can almost promise satisfaction.

I have been immersed in reading these cards, and I must say that despite the gloom and doom predicted by most reviewers, the Haindl tarot is undoubtedly the most evocative deck I have ever come across. Each card is rich in symbolism which is not overwhelming or off-putting. Haindl, moreover, incorporates a sensitive rendering of our relationship with our planet within his cards which to my mind make them eminently worthwhile for study. No, they are not "easy" -- but the return you get for the effort you put in is incalculable. Well done to both Haindl and Pollack. And if you want to spend your time and money well, buy both of Pollack's books on the Major and Minor Arcana. What a joy to read!

This is a wonderful deck and an insightful companion book. Very solid Qabala; interesting parallel with Runes and the I Ching; and the paintings by Haindl are breathtaking.

Particulary helpful is the Hagall spread established just for this deck. I've given some of the best readings (as my friends and colleagues tell me) with this deck. It's chock full of spiritual, ecological, and practical inspiration.

From the book: "The HAGALL SPREAD separates the deck into the Major, Minor and Court cards, mixing and setting out each group separately........."

First, four Minor/Suit Cards -- Card 1: shows the current condition or overriding issue. Card 2: shows the background Card 3: indicates querent's beliefs and how those beliefs affect the situation... Card 4: indicates the likely result of the situation as it stands now

Then, three Major Cards -- Card 5: the person's "Spiritual History" in relation to the practical issues raised in the Minor cards Card 6: shows the "Spiritual Task" Card 7: "Metamorphosis"

Finally, three Court Cards -- Card 8: "The Helper," card represents either a person or image that can allow us to visualize special qualities available to us to face what lies ahead. Card 9: "Yourself," the mythic character, god/dess shown in the card describes a way of being that the person has taken on in the current situation. Card 10: "The Teacher" -- signifies what kind of lessons need to be learned, how they can be learned, and who or what can assist us either as a gentle or stern guide...

This deck is really good - it's very beutiful, unlike most other decks it's multicultural (American Indian, India Indian, Egyptian, Europe, etc), and loaded with symbols (Hebrew letters, runes, I Ching) that help a knowledgeable reader to give in-depth and broad readings.

The deck is hard to read - especially to people who havent read with cards before or dont know the symbols - without the books, which is why I recommend buying the deck with the books as a set.

This tarot deck is the one I use above all my others, having done Tarot for over seven years. I spent a long time researching to find the perfect deck for me, and this is the one, using images and archetypes from nature rather than the material ones (eg. swords, knight of.., etc). It has been used constantly since that time and has been an invaluable guide. I cannot recommend it too highly.

Truly amazing - female images with all sorts of cultural references - truly diverse - wonderful to intuit with as you read, fun to show off to friends.

This has become my first deck, and even my tarot teacher was impressed with it.

If you love tarot, you'll love this deck; if you're new to it, well it's my daughter's first and only deck -- she isn't well versed in standard deep tarot, but gets a great deal out of it.

Rachel Pollack, author of the Tarot classic, Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom, has created a deck of great depth and simplicity by returning to the symbolism of root beliefs in cultures worldwide and demonstrating their contemporary meaning. The book is filled with wisdom stories from tribal, native and aboriginal sources. Full of spirit and very grounded, for the big picture of the soul's path through daily life I have found no better deck. I've worn out 3 of them-hard to be satisfied with anything of lesser scope. Patricia Worth

Wow. What a book. It's totally changed my view of human history (and, more to the point, herstory) and brought fresh insights about the Goddess. The dawn of civilization and religion, the matrifocal civilization of Catal Huyuk and Crete, the Gallae, and the Eleusinian Mysteries are all covered, with a spin on such things as landscape, the labrys, and the Venus of Willendorf that I've never seen elsewhere.

Oddly enough, she manages to miss the central mystery of the Attis myth -- that He was reborn as a woman -- but all in all, this is an absolute tour de force.

Rachel Pollack's unique insights are an important addition to the literature on Goddess religion.

She brings alive the visual impact of the body of the Goddess in landscape--including the surroundings of sacred sites in Europe--in a way I've not experienced in other books. She sheds new light on parts of Greek mythology I previously felt were hopelessly fragmented by patriarchy. In particular, her moving discussion of the Persephone myth transforms many of the most disturbing aspects of the patriarchal version of this myth into a metaphor of the continuing power of the Goddess and of women.

Add to this, Pollack's fearless look at sexuality, gender fluidity and gender-changing in ancient Goddess religions and you have a wonder-filled tour de Source.

Rachael Pollack has provided a thorough and exhaustive description of each card -- her knowledge encompasses psychology, mythology, history, sociology, art and literature. All of this amounts to the deepest analysis of Tarot symoblism we are ever likely to see, and reading this book can only improve your readings. She uses, as do most authors, the Rider-Waite deck as the basis for her explanations; but she also explains where and why it deviates from historical examples. This is perhaps one of the most valuable facets of this book -- it establishes the symbology of the Tarot as universal and timeless. The section on reading the cards is also well done, and she gives instructions for a number of spreads. Scholarly and beautifully written, a must for anyone interested in the Tarot.

Rachel Pollack's SEVENTY-EIGHT DEGREES OF WISDOM is a key work described by many (including Joseph Campbell) as an important source for understanding the wisdom of the Tarot. The book appears to have been first published in the early eighties in two volumes, one dealing with the Major Arcana and the other with the minor Arcana. Since few authors examine the minor cards Pollack's book is a must for serious students.

Pollack writes insightfully and intelligently, including longer passages for each of the cards of the Major Arcana. She includes reversed meanings and encourages shuffling the deck so as to ensure some cards fall upside down for a reading. She provides two examples for each card, one from A. E. Waite's deck illustrated by Pamela Coleman and the other from various other decks. Pollack notes that when she first wrote her book no one compared the different pictorial representations of various decks. She includes points of agreement and disagreement with interpretations from Waite's "The Pictorial Key to the Tarot", Aleister Crowley's "The Book of Thoth" and other works.

Unlike many contemporary authors on Tarot, Pollack subscribes to the notion that one can use the Tarot not only for interpretation of current circumstances but for seeking advice. She describes how to cast the Celtic cross a descriptive tool which can be used to gain insight into a present situation. She also shares a layout she created that the reader can use to gain insight into possible courses of action regarding work situations. Of the many books I've read on Tarot so far this one is the best.

I bought this book along with others because of the great reviews I saw. However, most of the other books did not live up to the great reviews. With one exception. SEVENTY EIGHT DEGREES OF WISDOM. This book doesn't give you formulas to memorize and it moves away from tradition and dogma. Ms Pollack asks the reader to let the tarot speak it's own unique language to each individual reading, querent, student and situation.

It gives the historical, mythological, spiritual, etc., meanings and attributions for each major card and also her personal insights and experience. She does the same for the minor cards, however, she doesn't go much into history and myth here but delves into her own experiences and interpretation. She also has GATE cards that allows the reader to get connected to particular cards that elucidate the intrinsic meanings of the suit. I'd love for her to do a book about meditations on the tarot.

To the back of the book there is an exposition on doing divination with the cards and she gives examples of the two spreads she covers to explain them better. Her Work Cycle spread is one with promise although I was left wanting a little more. I can't seem to find a resource where one can learn more about this spread.

There is one thing that I would ask every newbie to do when studying the cards. Get a resource that details occult symbols and colours. See how they fit into the particular cards and then you have a more detailed description of the cards. The meaning of some cards often don't appear in the artwork (figures etc) however the colours (red, orange, black etc) and the symbols (white rose, black staff, circle, etc) will clear up anything you have a question about.

Also, see MK Greer's book: Tarot for youself and Rachael Pollack's new book: The Forest of Souls.

Phoinix Sky

This is the first book by Rachel Pollack I've read, she's written a few others which have been highly acclaimed - and after reading this excellent book, I can understand why.

Pollack opens with a description of the various histories and mythological guesses at the origins of the Tarot, combining it with its known history, and personal experience. Spirituality, symbols, myths and archetypes are common themes explored in this book as Pollack approaches the decks in a more spiritual rather than divinatory light.

The text is beautifully accompanied by a variety of black and white illustrations of various Tarot decks, many of which I've never seen before. She examines the commonalities found within them, and explains much of the mythology and reasoning behind such images. Pollack relies heavily on the Shining Tribe Tarot she created, obviously as that symbolism resonates best with her understanding.

There are methods of asking questions of the Tarot that she seems to feel others would find heretical. Coming from a chaos magick background myself, I can't quite understand why, though I've found my work enhanced by her suggestions. She expands upon the traditional spreads listed in every other book with spontaneous questions and insights of her own. Previous to reading Forest of Souls, my Tarot readings were much more ridgedly structured. Ms. Pollack has given my practice a much needed breath of fresh air, allowing for much more creativity and spontaneity in my readings.

An excellent book for expanding one's thought on traditional histories and practices of Tarot, highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Tarot.

In her new work, Rachel Pollack takes readers deeper into the Tarot than many would have thought possible. With tales of myth, history, and personal gnosis we move from the origins of the Tarot thourgh the origins of the universe... and through the inner workings of our own souls.

Although this book is not about how to read Tarot, it will do more to enhance your reading skills than almost any other book. (Assuming a basic knowledge of the cards.) It provides methods for using Tarot to enhance spiritual study and self-exploration, and for broadening the use of Tarot beyond simple divinitation or meditation. Also, by comparing and contrasting how different Tarot authors have intrepreted different key concepts and cards, it gives the opportunity to expand your own visions.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in taking Tarot beyond fortune-telling.

The author begins her book with a "Gallery of Quotations," utilizing diverse sources--a Reconstructionist Jewish prayer book, personal correspondence, T.S. Eliot, and the Bible. Being a font of fabulous quotations, Pollack is also self-referential.

In the ensuing chapters, like the reverently irreverent Tracy Ullman, Pollack takes on such subjects as the Tarot's origins, wisdom questions (as opposed to asking, "Will X marry me," she asks, "What is marriage?"), Jewish and Kabbalistic thoughts as they pertain to the Tarot, and formulating new versions of the Fool's Journey. The author does a reading for God ("God's Reading") and finds Christian symbolism abounding in her own Shining Tribe deck when she performs "A Reading for the Resurrection: Easter 2001."

What do I mean by reverently irreverent? Some might call doing a spread for God irreverent. Yet Pollack's awe is reserved for what is truly profound, and part of that profundity is in pushing the limits of what we have done before or think we know. She pushes those limits not out of irreverence, but reverence for the truly infinite. And for the tarot, in what it can offer us in terms of infinite wisdom

If you have been fortunate enough to attend a workshop with Rachel Pollack, you know that her style is humorous and digressive. She is widely read and thinks and speaks in an unconventional, intellectually searching voice. This voice is manifested in The Forest of Souls, far more than in her previous tarot writings. I could actually hear her in my head, alluding to Professor Irwin Cory and tales of her dog's exploits. The tone of the book has an immediacy and vitality that makes it easy to read, which is an amazing feat, as the concepts and thoughts are both complex and challenging.

They are also unique. I cannot think of another book like this in the tarot oeuvre. It is also demanding, particularly in its structure. While Pollack offers us a panoply of different ways in which we can use the tarot, this is no traditional workbook. She describes what she has done, but she certainly doesn't set up a format that we can follow by rote. She doesn't make it easy. One example is her approach to alternative Major Arcana journeys. I am excited by doing one of my own, but I must admit I would have preferred some step-by-step instructions, even as I feel challenged in a positive way. Pollack's Forest of Souls isn't a stop on the Carnival Tour. This isn't the Easily Digestible Approach to Tarot, but one of visionaries, dreamers, and explorers. Only adult tarot readers need apply.

In high school, I read Elie Wiesel's The Gates of the Forest, a moving novel about the holocaust and Kabbalah. I remember being so engrossed in this book that I was shocked to feel something wet on my shoulder. It was a tear that had fallen without me even being aware that I was crying, so enmeshed was I in that compelling story. The title of that book, so similar to Rachel's, brought that memory back to me. The synchronicity of the subject matter seems to align with the magic of the Tarot, another inviting and complex forest for which we are blessed to have a guide like Rachel Pollack.

An international cast of bad girl goddesses star in this irreverent treatment of mythology. Isis from Egypt, Osmotar from Finland, Freya of the Norse Gods, Maeve of Ireland, Judith and Jezebel from the Middle East, Lilith from the Garden of Eden, and Kali from India are among the featured players in Trina Robbins' collection.

The overarching theme that Trina Robbins puts forth in her arch, humorous stories about these goddesses is assertive females. Well, she's a feminist so that's no surprise, but they form a different perspective compared to the traditional way goddesses in mythology are portrayed.

Here's an example of her biting humor when she tells of Elisha telling Jehu he could be king. "Guess what? Jehovah just told me that you can be the next king of Israel. All you have to do is slay that sl-- Jezebel and her grandson. Jehu went, 'Cool,' and gathered an army to invade the palace. Today we call this a military coup, but Jehu simply insisted that God was on his side."

On extraordinary feats performed by Osmotar (how she created the various creatures) and Kannaki (how she destroyed the city), Robbins accurately writes: "Warning: do not try this at home."

In most stories, there is a small postscript telling of similar situations or an expansion of the theme. For example, after telling Lilith's story, Robbins explains that Lilith was left out of the Bible because, guess which sex wrote the Old Testament? One guess, and it isn't women. Also, guess what sanitized story evolved out of Freya and the dwarves who owned the diamond necklace she wanted so bad? Hint: can you sing, "Hi ho!"?

Oh, and for those of you wondering who Pele is as in Tori Amos's Boys For Pele album, you'll find that answer here.

Definitely not on the scholarly side, but maybe this book will get people without a previous inkling about these goddesses to find out more about them. Those familiar with them will get a laugh. Maybe.

Wonderful collection of the old Goddess mythological stories told in a (like totally) modern way. Very uplifting and fun to read.

This was my first book by Trina, and I absolutely loved it! She offers her own unique take on the often misrepresented or just plain forgot about "bad" girls of the ancient world.

This is the book to read before you read Rachael Pollack's "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisodom". This is her "The Hobbit" to her "The Lord of the Rings" (so to speak). An excellent introduction to the Tarot and its history... richly illustrated in full color/glossy pages... beautiful to look at. The pictures alone make this a great coffee table book and conversation starter. Buy this and "78 Degrees" together and lock in your tarot book reading for a long time to come.

Rachel Pollack's TAROT is the most beautiful book I have seen on the tarot. I discovered it brousing through a bookstore and as a new practicioner of the science and art of tarot reading, a process which amazes me every time with its ability to bring clarity to ones life - find the core of ones individuality and that of your friends and family... I highly and earnestly recommend this book to EVERYONE. Rachel Pollacks book is brilliant and meaty, It will leave you something to devour every day, this book is a tool and a guide for interpreting the meaning of your spreads.

Look no farther. This book is a great introduction to the art and history of tarot. Each section is approximately two pages long - open the book and read. It might be designed for the patience-challenged reader, or the "quick fix" audience. Even though you could stash this book in the cabinet for bathroom reading, you'll love it. Each page has wonderful full color photographs that beautifully illustrate the text and expertly enhance the learning experience. If you only have time to read one section, you'll definitely want to come back for more. Rachel Pollack has put together a great resource for the teacher, the beginner, or the advanced tarot enthusiast.

Perhaps best known for her award-winning SF/F novels, Rachel Pollack continues to push the envelope of genre in this book. As in her SF/F writing, this new mystery challenges both the genre and us as readers to expand and allow ourselves to see things differently.

Pollack turns her magical pen to the mystery genre with a multi-faceted plot, and a change to a sparer, more grounded writing style appropriate to the change in genre. This reveals Pollack to be an even more versatile writer than we may have previously suspected. The style is both appropriate to a mystery novel whose protagonist is a cop, and a challenging way to present the emotionally charged material of the story. The author brings us a novel that not only crackles with suspense of an unsolved murder but explores the perhaps greater mysteries of gender identity and sexuality. Telling more would give away plot twists best left to be discovered by the reader. Suffice it to say that this novel is sure to extend Rachel Pollack's reputation as one of the more fascinating novelists of our time.

For several days now, my husband has only seen the top of my head; at last I have finished Ms. Pollack's gripping murder mystery which also tells the story of one woman'ssearch for her identity. The characterizations are dense and multilayered. The dialogue is natural and witty. The interlaced plots move at a near perfect pace. The ending was certainly a surprise. What more could a girl ask out of a book?

I've been reading mysteries for 45 of my 60 years, and can usually see the end coming long before I get to it, but this one was a surprise. Actually two surprises :-)

The explanatory parts woven into the story in part 2 that the editorial reviewer objected to I found necessary to make sense of the characters as this information was largely missing from my knowledge base.

This sounds to me like a first in a series and I am eagerly waiting to see how Simon Goltree's personality and detecting techniques carry over and develop in subsequent books.

I don't know what it was that attracted me to this book-- perhaps it was the striking cover art of a floating figure with a flaming mask. Perhaps (as I now think having read it) it was something greater than random chance.

This is not a book that I would characterize as a light, enjoyable read. It is exceedingly strange, both in form, and in the world it describes. The world of the book is loosely based on our own, although that world has been transformed by a spiritual force acting through designated tellers of stories. These stories are so apocryphal and so powerful as to have led to a "revolution" in the very nature of the world. The story is told as a narrative with bits of these world- defining recitations interspersed. The main character, a plain young woman who works servicing the shrines to the revolution, is battered by visitations that appear contrary to the ones sanctioned by the government. Her struggle to understand the meaning of her experiences is mirrored by the reader's own attempt to understand them in the context of our own, more mundane world.

It is difficult to describe the power of this book because of its very unusual nature. The oddity of this book persists throughout until the very end, when this reader (for one) experienced that moment of pure clarity and light which makes me think back on it, even thought I read it almost a year ago now. Overall, for those who like speculative and unusual fiction and who are willing to spend the time puzzling over Unquenchable Fire's deeper meanings, I would highly recommend this as one of the most striking books I have read in many years.

Lastly, the protagonist becomes pregnant during the story, and this is a central event to the narrative. I think that anyone who is expecting (as my wife was when I read this book) or is a new parent will get something extra from this book!

Jennifer Mazdan is pregnant.. except she's a virgin, and there was no man involved but an Agency who needs Jennifer to give birth to this child to save humanity from dry morals, banal religion and oppressive dogma.

Wait.. doesn't this seem familiar...?

Here, Rachel Pollack has created a Messiah story that focuses on the mother of the Messiah, and how she doesn't want to be "chosen", how she'd prefer to be left alone and be obscure, the same way everyone else in her world is - dry, homogenized, merely going through the motions of life. Jennifer rebels in every way possible, but the Agency finds ways to keep her on track... but never docile and accepting.

The book tells several stories at once, each from different times, told for different purposes - "The Place Inside", "The Meaning of a Story", "The Lives of the Founders", Valarie Mazdan's adventures (a few), and, of course, Jennifer Mazdan's saga. "The Place Inside" chills me still.

The editing is uneven to say the least, but we can't fault the author for that, but rather Tusk Press. Typos abound.

Find a copy of this book and enjoy it.

In the medium-near future, a revolution has taken place. The forces of science and rationality have lost. The newage Founders of the new reality have loosed the forces of mysticism and the world has changed. Miracles happen routinely. Government and society have restructured themselves to accomodate this new strange reality.

A suburban woman has a strange experience during a holy day. She finds that she has been made pregnant by an unknown agent. How will she cope? How will her very suburban neighborhood cope?

My husband had been trying to get me to read this book for ages. Finally he got me when I couldn't escape and began reading this aloud to me. When he stopped after the first chapter, I demanded he hand the book to me so I could finish.

This book came from nowhere for me. I don't know of anything like it. I guess this is shamanistic fantasy. It feels SF-ish, though, in that it's a consistent future world with sensible rules. Whatever it is, it's a stunner, the kind of book that leaves me incredibly excited and optimistic about the state of SF & fantasy.