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The Haindl Tarot: The Minor Arcana
Describes each card of the Minor Arcana in great detail, lists all of its symbolic structures, and describes the card's spiritual meaning as well as the way these meanings appear in readings.
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1990
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About the author
Rachel Pollack
207 books344 followersRachel Grace Pollack was an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. Pollack was a great influence on the women's spirituality movement.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 5, 2015
The book is written in Rachel Pollack's usual style that's very readable and feels like a thorough explanation from a personal teacher. This deck separates the minors from the courts.
I come from a primarily RWS background and these Minors (cards ace - 10) have a very different feel to them, both in that they are Thoth-like "moody minors" (rather than illustrated) and in their intention. Cards 2 - 10 each have an I Ching hexagram on them. Haindl didn't choose hexagram that best represents the meaning of the card, he choose a hexagram that he felt best rounds out or balanced the meaning of the card. I remain conflicted as to whether this adds value to the cards or muddies the waters, but that's an issue with the cards themselves. The book does a very good job of explaining the meaning of the card and the intention in choosing the hexagram Haindl did.
The Courts aren't your typical courts at all. These feel far more archetypal than the courts usually do. Named mother, father, daughter, and son, it would be a mistake to see them as just renamed king, queen, knight, page. The book gives a couple pages to each court discussing the relevant mythology and/or history of the card. While that is informative, it doesn't always present the information in a way that easily translates to tarot card interpretation. Divinatory meanings are given, but are rather short. Since these cards don't easily correspond to standard courts, I'd have liked to see a bit more function given in this section.
I come from a primarily RWS background and these Minors (cards ace - 10) have a very different feel to them, both in that they are Thoth-like "moody minors" (rather than illustrated) and in their intention. Cards 2 - 10 each have an I Ching hexagram on them. Haindl didn't choose hexagram that best represents the meaning of the card, he choose a hexagram that he felt best rounds out or balanced the meaning of the card. I remain conflicted as to whether this adds value to the cards or muddies the waters, but that's an issue with the cards themselves. The book does a very good job of explaining the meaning of the card and the intention in choosing the hexagram Haindl did.
The Courts aren't your typical courts at all. These feel far more archetypal than the courts usually do. Named mother, father, daughter, and son, it would be a mistake to see them as just renamed king, queen, knight, page. The book gives a couple pages to each court discussing the relevant mythology and/or history of the card. While that is informative, it doesn't always present the information in a way that easily translates to tarot card interpretation. Divinatory meanings are given, but are rather short. Since these cards don't easily correspond to standard courts, I'd have liked to see a bit more function given in this section.
March 24, 2022
Very meandering, contradictory at times and the court cards all seem to have the same characteristics. It's also very poorly edited which makes it even harder to read.
December 27, 2011
Long ago I fell in love with the Haindl Tarot deck. The art is mystical, multi-cultural, captivating. The imagery is so rich and complex that I sought the book. However, it turns out to be books: Volumes I & II. For some reason they were unavailable, out of print and the few copies listed were hundreds of dollars.
Recently I started a tarot study group and introduced everyone to the Haindl deck. I looked again to see if Rachel Pollack's commentary was available and found it on amazon.com (So, if you can't find a book today, persist, for one day it will be available. Perhaps. Still, the pursuit is worth the effort.)
Rachel* lived with artist and visionary Hermann Haindl and his wife to write this book. She writes of what Haindl intended and why and image is just so. This personal aspect of the book enhances understanding often not available with older decks where we must rely on an interpretation of an interpretation.
An overview:
Swords: Egyptian
Wands: Indian
Cups: European
Stones (Pentacles): Native American
*I first met Rachel sometime in the 90s at a tarot conference in Denver. She connected with the group of rural women who studied tarot, spent time with us, stayed with me and we continue to stay connected.
Recently I started a tarot study group and introduced everyone to the Haindl deck. I looked again to see if Rachel Pollack's commentary was available and found it on amazon.com (So, if you can't find a book today, persist, for one day it will be available. Perhaps. Still, the pursuit is worth the effort.)
Rachel* lived with artist and visionary Hermann Haindl and his wife to write this book. She writes of what Haindl intended and why and image is just so. This personal aspect of the book enhances understanding often not available with older decks where we must rely on an interpretation of an interpretation.
An overview:
Swords: Egyptian
Wands: Indian
Cups: European
Stones (Pentacles): Native American
*I first met Rachel sometime in the 90s at a tarot conference in Denver. She connected with the group of rural women who studied tarot, spent time with us, stayed with me and we continue to stay connected.
June 10, 2013
Thickly layered with information and insight, this book will take many more perusals before I've begun to absorb what it offers. I don't think I'd even begin to understand this deck without this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews