This is the primary book I advise my students of Tarot to obtain when they develop beyond the basics and want more depth of understanding.

If you are at that point yourself, you want this book.

This is on my "top 5" best books on Tarot in my personal library.

Thank you for writing this book, Rachel Pollack.

I was wary of buying a tarot book online, though I finally did make the decision to buy this book based on the reviews here as compared to the reviews of other tarot books. I've been rather impressed with this book. The author chose, wisely, to use the gold-standard in tarot, the Rider-Waite deck for her demonstrations and detailed study of the tarot symbolism. The Rider-Waite is widely available in both the original as well as other variations (I personally love the Universal Waite deck... same deck with prettier colors).

I've waited for some time to review, but decided now would be as good a time as any since I can see that this is a book I will be working through for some time. I've given it a once-through, and have been using it as a reference since I bought it.

This book emphasises learning and study (which takes years) over quick-fix guides to the tarot which suggest one could effectively read tarot in only minutes. And it is a long process, one I've been working on for over a decade casually, and one which I will continue to work on for years to come, aided by this very good reference.

Seventy-Eight degrees of Wisdom also presents the use of the tarot without excess new-age trappings, focusing on the cards and their symbols themselves, not on extraneous things, particular religious views, or other things which I've read in scanning other tarot books.

I think this book is excellent for intermediate students of the Tarot, and gives a wonderful sense of the complexities of tarot, while keeping it to the basics, focusing on the foundations of learning rather than a host of many spreads to use. May your journey of learning be fruitful.