The Haindl Tarot is the most comprehensive Tarot ever --a contemporary deck that illustrates traditional archetypes with modern symbols. The cards interweave themes of ecology, mythology and the Goddess, with true visionary power.  Rachel Pollack (1945–2023) was the leading light and foremost influence on modern tarot. Her bestselling book  Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom , first published in 1980 and never out of print, is widely described as the “Bible of Tarot.” She was also a great influence upon the science fiction, fantasy, and comics communities, as well as being a trailblazer within the transgender community. A master of many genres, Pollack is renowned for her run of issues #64–87 of Doom Patrol (Vertigo Comics), where she created the first transgender superhero. A prolific author of both fiction and nonfiction, her other books include A Walk through the Forest of Souls, Unquenchable Fire, Godmother Night, and The Fissure King . She was the creator of the Shining Tribe Tarot and wrote the guidebooks for numerous other decks, including The Vertigo Tarot and Salvador Dali’s Tarot . Pollack taught at the famed Omega Institute for over thirty years. The Haindl Tarot The Major Arcana By Rachel Pollack Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC Copyright © 2002 Rachel Pollack All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-56414-597-0 Contents Foreword, Preface, Introduction to the Major Arcana, 0 The Fool, 1 The Magician, II The High Priestess, III The Empress, IV The Emperor, V The Hierophant, VI The Lovers, VII The Chariot, VIII Strength, IX The Hermit, X The Wheel of Fortune, XI Justice, XII The Hanged Man, XIII Death, XIV Alchemy (Temperance), XV The Devil, XVI The Tower, XVII The Star, XVIII The Moon, XIX The Sun, XX Aeon (Judgement), XXI The Universe (The World), Major Arcana Chart, Readings (& Spreads), Meditation, Epilogue, Painter's Notes and Acknowledgments, Index, CHAPTER 1 The Fool Hebrew letter: Aleph, the "ox" Rune Wynn: "Joy" Astrology: The planet Uranus Element: Air The Kabbalistic letter for the Fool is Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Aleph means "Ox" or "Bull," a sacred animal in many parts of the world. With its curved horns the bull symbolizes the Moon, and so the bull became known as the male partner of the Moon Goddess (see the High Priestess and the Empress). The bull represents active life energy. Unlike all of the letters in the Roman alphabet, Aleph is actually silent, a carrier for vowel sounds. This means that it symbolizes the mystery of the spirit, which cannot be described in ordinary words. Aleph begins the Ten Commandments, the first sentence of which reads, "I am the Lord, thy God." In Hebrew, "I am" is "Anokhi," spelled beginning with the letter Aleph. Thus, when God declares Himself to humanity, the first letter is silent, symbolizing that knowledge of God cannot be spoken in human terms. Some people describe it as the mouth opening to speak, or the drawing in of breath in preparation for sound. Look at the shape of the letter. We can imagine it turning, like the blades of a fan. Think of it as the whirlwind of pure existence before Creation set everything in order. So it is with consciousness. The silent aleph symbolizes the state of total awareness before ego and conditioning put everything in categories. This is the state of the Fool. The Rune for the Fool is Wynn, or W, meaning "Joy." The Fool is a child, rejoicing in life. To look at the world as the Fool does means to delight in existence, to dance through the challenges of the trumps. The Rune also means to bind forces together, or to bind people into a community. The Fool, the Aleph, is the silent force that binds together all the varied experiences of the Major Arcana. The Fool's astrological planet, Uranus, emphasizes the unexpected, the joy of surprise that moves the Fool through the different steps of life, forever daring to move on into the unknown. The white border around the card indicates that the element is Air. Usually Air means thought, but it also symbolizes Spirit. Though the card is filled with symbols and ideas, the image is direct. We see in the foreground the Fool himself. He stands outside the border, as if he has not yet entered the world of the trumps with all their challenges. He wears a multicolored coat with one sleeve entirely brown; he also wears six bells. Behind and slightly above the Fool, we see the swan, and beyond that six planets in a night sky. When we think of the term archetypes we tend to imagine stories, or dreams, or encounters with mysterious old men or strange children. We call an idea or an image an archetype because of its importance to daily life. Archetypes are found not only in mythology but in social and cultural institutions. The Fool is reality as much as story. Countless myths and fairy tales present to us the image of the Fool — an innocent, who lacks education or worldly sophistication, yet ends up wi