About this item
- This revised and updated version of the Shining Woman Tarot is more balanced approach to tarot than the original's
- feminist leanings. The artwork in the Shining Tribe Tarot is stylised and primitive in the tribal, cave-art sense and the
- suits are Rivers, Trees, Birds and Stones. The backs of the cards are dark red with an attractive yellow reversible
- design in the centre.
Specifications
Name
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Shining Tribe Tarot
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Creators
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Rachel Pollack
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Publisher
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Llewellyn 2001
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Deck Type
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Tarot Deck
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Cards
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78
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Major Arcana
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22
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Minor Arcana
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56
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Deck Tradition
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Mixed
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Minor Arcana Style
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Unique Scenes Without Suit Symbols
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Suits
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Court Cards
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The Fool
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is 0
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Strength
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is 8
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Justice
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is 11
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Card Size
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2.75 x 4.63 in. = 6.99cm x 11.75cm
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Card Language
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English
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Card Back
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Unknown
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Companion Material
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Companion book.
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Reviews
I count myself
amongst the people that were blessed to be able to attend
The Reader's Studio 2003. I say blessed, because it
was here that I got to meet Rachel Pollack and see
"The Shining Tribe Tarot" in person. Rachel used this
deck in her presentation on "The Forest Of Souls", her
latest book. I had seen this deck being discussed many
times on on-line Tarot lists, and it was on my "most
wanted" list - but I didn't have it yet. After seeing it -
I had to have it!
"The Shining Tribe Tarot" grew
out of a previous deck done by Rachel Pollack called
"The Shining Woman Tarot". Part of the reason for the
revision was that "The Shining Woman Tarot" was perceived
by some as a feminist deck, which in itself is not a
negative thing, but it was not the author's intention. The
deck was actually named for one card within it - the
Shining Woman, which was Rachel's representation of the
major arcana card The World.
There is much more than
that to the revision of this deck. At its heart, this
is a "deck of many cultures", represented by Stone
Age hieroglyphics, Native American and African
shamanism, Australian Aboriginal art and the Kabbalah. As
Rachel points out - these are amongst the earliest forms
of tribal art and divination. The artwork itself is
primitive - and yes, takes some getting used to if one
depends on the graphics for interpretation. The basic
nature of the deck has not changed - while the art is
non-traditional, the meaning and structure of Tarot has remained
intact.
The gift that Rachel brings us is one of
recognition - as readers, we are accessing the cards through
very old symbols, the symbols of the ancient ones, our
forefathers. As readers, we carry the same energy of our
forefathers - that of membership in the tribe of diviners.
The cards are on good quality, glossy card stock. At
approximately 2 3/4" by 4 1/2" they fit well into smaller hands,
and are easy to work with. The backs are earth colored
- the primary color being a burnt orange (or
something close to it!), with two yellow figures in the
middle. The figures are head to head, arms and legs
outstretched, with hands touching over their heads.Each figure
has three short lines over their head. There is a
great deal of energy here - and it would be impossible
to tell reversed cards before they were turned
over.
The face of the cards has a 1/4" yellow/gold border,
followed by a slender white border which encases the
picture. The name of each card is written across the bottom
in black letters. The artwork is primitive, including
some human forms, many birds, some buildings and
natural environment and many lines and spiral forms.The
manner in which the images came about fascinated me. They
were not drawn to either express an idea or to conform
to the intent of the card - they were encountered in
images (from stories and from sacred art found in books),
they came through meditation on the traditional Tarot
cards and they came from images that Rachel encountered
in her travels to sacred sites.
The titles have been
changed on four of the Major Arcana cards: the Hierophant
becomes Tradition, the Wheel Of Fortune becomes the Spiral
Of Fortune, the card of Judgement becomes Awakening
and the World becomes World - Shining Woman. In her
introduction to the Major Arcana, Rachel does a wonderful
presentation of the three layers of interpretation (cards 1-7
are line one, cards 8-14 are line 2 and cards 15-21
are line three, with the Fool appearing above them).
This is a presentation worth studying, as it tells not
only the story of the Fool's Journey, but it shows how
the cards relate to each other.
In presenting the
Major Arcana, Rachel shows a black and white photo of
the card, along with introductory words (I want to
call them poems - four short lines that describe the
card), a description and discussion of the card, along
with Divinatory (upright) and reversed meanings.
The
Minor Arcana suit names have been changed to reflect the
elemental nature of each suit. Trees represent Fire, Rivers
represent Water, Birds represent Swords and Stones represent
Pentacles. I am going to include Rachel's defining keywords
for the numbers, as they are very concise, lucid ...
and they are an integral part of the foundation for
interpreting the pips.
Aces: Prime quality of the suit
Twos: Duality and resolution
Threes: Strong expression of the element
Fours: Structure
Fives: Loss, sorrow, healing
Sixes: Passion, exploration
Sevens: Daring, communication
Eights: Movement, change
Nines: Confronting truth, healing
Tens: Fullness, completion
The presentation for the cards is the
same as for the Major Arcana: a black and white photo,
words of introduction, a description and discussion of
the card, and Divinatory (upright) and reversed
meanings.
With the Vision cards we add a new twist to
interpreting the Tarot. These are not direct counterparts to
the Court Cards in other decks. They retain the same
traditional energy, but are more directly connected to the
elemental energy of their suits, and to the understanding
and use of this energy. In Rachel's world of myth, the
first card encountered would be Place (Page) - this is
literally a physical location so that we can see this energy
as a concrete being, rather than as an abstract
thought. The Knower (Knight) then gives us the feeling of
actually experiencing this energy in our lives. The Gift
(Queen) speaks of leaving our world and entering the world
of spirit (please note - this is my interpretation of
this card). Here we are able to recognize the gifts
that we hold in our own lives. (The four Gifts appear
together on the card of the Magician.) The Speaker (King)
allows us to see images of acting from a place of power
within ourselves. I appreciate this view of the court
card energy, as it does not reflect the energy as
actual people in the Seeker's life, nor does it relate to
them as personality types. I love it when someone sees
things the way that I do!
At the end of the book Rachel
has written a chapter on reading the cards, where she
presents a series of spreads, along with examples. For me -
this is the best way of learning how a story can flow!
She also talks about doing Wisdom (Soul) readings,
which do not ask for personal information, but which
address specific issues. She also discuses activating a
Tarot card through working with meditation,
affirmations, writing and other venues. Rachel talks a bit about
reversals, and then she does something magickal - she
encourages the reader to form their own Shining Tribes - to
form Tarot study groups and do things like start their
own psychic fairs. What a wonderful gift - to
encourage the reader to recognize that they are part of the
"Shining Tribe", and to walk their talk.
While it may take
some getting used to, I recommend this deck to all
students at all levels of Tarot. It can be taken for
readings anywhere (public, private party etc), and is a
gentle guide and mentor. The accompanying book is a
marvelous gift on its own - full of both information and
inspiration. Rachel - many thanks for the work that you have
gifted us with here!
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