Encounters with Rachel Pollack (an appreciation)
(Cover of book courtesy, Amazon )
The first time I encountered Rachel Pollack was through one of her many books on Tarot. I think it was 78 Degrees of Wisdom, that I picked up on a whim. I ended up returning to this book over and over. Each analysis and discussion of each card was incredibly provocative and thoughtful, as well as historically and culturally astute. Tarot for Pollack becomes a Jungian journey in self and social analysis, and she invites the reader along for this intense ride, as she plumbs many depths fearlessly, with humor and sensitivity. Tarot for her offers, not (just) a means to predict the future, but rather (also) a series of doors leading to self-discovery and out of the box thinking.
Rachel Pollack is a fantastic writer as well as explainer. I remember that, at at certain point, I stopped trying to do tarot card spreads, and just read the book cover to cover. I stopped after each entry, and picked up the card in question and looked at it, sometimes writing a poem in response. I believe I bought the volume covering minor arcana first, and then I bought the major arcana. You can now purchase both volumes in one book.
The second time I encountered Rachel Pollack was when I was considering applying to the Goddard Creative Writing MFA program. I wrote her about the program — of which she was a faculty member. Again, this was something of a whim; I didn’t expect a timely answer or even an answer at all. But I received one almost immediately. Gracious, friendly, encouraging of a stranger, she outlined the strengths of the program and invited me to apply.
I read more of Rachel Pollack’s tarot books, and I loved all of them. The Haindl tarot cards — which she created with the artist Hermann Haindl — and the book accompanying them are particularly notable because they get into deep and recent history, including the German experience of WW2, and the Jewish experience of the Holocaust (Haindl was German and Pollack was Jewish). The Haindl cards and books are a sober but at the same time fulfilling experience; the imagery relies on many different sorts of imagery, including Native American and kabbalistic — making a subtle but crucial connection between the genocide of Indigenous peoples with the murder of the Jews and other minorities in Europe and around the world.
(Haindl tarot cards spread, courtesy of https://benebellwen.com/2015/05/24/my-review-of-the-haindl-tarot/)
I read one of Rachel’s novels and I’m embarassed to say I don’t remember which one it was. It was really good. She also wrote comics and knew Neil Gaiman, who apparently (according to wikipedia), also consulted her on tarot. I need to read more of her fiction.
Much much later, when I had become involved with trans rights and lifting up the work of trans authors, did I discover that Rachel herself was trans. She never made a big deal about it. Nor did she hide it. She just went about her life, doing what all humans try to do — be themselves.
Rachel Pollack died in April of this year, and I wanted to share a little of my experience of her as a writer and as a public intellectual and activist. I want to encourage myself and others to learn more about this remarkable artist, activist, spiritual guide, writer and writing mentor.
If you are interested in trans authors, tarot, self-help, inner healing, art, feminism, spirituality and inspiration, I think you will find Rachel Pollack’s work to be beautiful and helpful.
Thank you, Rachel, for your kindness to a stranger on email.
Stephanie Barbé Hammer’s new suspense novella is due in November 2023. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to learn more.
