Rachel Pollack

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.