Internationally renowned Tarot author, teacher and artist, Rachel Pollack, presents a fascinating and lively session on doing readings with cards from the Major Arcana only.

The traditional Tarot consists of two parts, the twenty-two  very evocative “trump” cards, known as the Major Arcana (“arcana” means “secrets”), and the four suits, similar to playing cards, known as the Minor Arcana.  In modern Tarot readings we usually use decks that have action scenes on all the cards, to make it easier to read the Minor Arcana.  But older decks only have scenes on the trumps.  And some very striking modern decks do not even have suits, but consist only of beautifully painted, highly symbolic Major Arcanas.  Is it possible to read with just the Major cards?  Will the reading just focus on big issues, or will it illuminate all the subtleties of a “normal” reading?

In this session Rachel briefly discusses the structure and imagery of the Major Arcana, using examples from some ancient and rare decks. She then shares various spreads she and others have developed for deep readings using only these powerful 22 images.

About the presenter

Rachel Pollack is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the modern interpretation of the tarot. During her lifetime she published numerous books on the Tarot, including Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom, which is considered a modern classic. She also designed and drew the Shining Woman Tarot, described by Caitlin Matthews as “the crowning jewel of geocentric shamanism.” She was a member of the American Tarot Association, the International Tarot Society, and the Tarot Guild of Australia, and was conferred the title of Tarot Grand Master by the Tarot Certification Board, an independent body located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Rachel Pollack was also a poet, fiction writer, and a comic book artist. As a fiction writer, she was bestowed many honors and awards, among them the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction (for Unquenchable Fire) and the World Fantasy Award (for Godmother Night). She was a recommended member of PEN International, and wrote for numerous publications. Pollack held an honors degree in English from New York University, a master’s degree in English from Claremont Graduate School, and taught English at New York State University.

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