Shining Tribe Tarot

Shining Tribe Tarot

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.


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Card Images from the Shining Tribe Tarot


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Shining Tribe Tarot Review by Bonnie Cehovet

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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Shining Tribe Tarot Review by Solandia

I had heard great things about the original Shining Woman Tarot and I was looking forward to seeing the revised and updated version of Rachel Pollack’s deck - the Shining Tribe Tarot.

At first glance, I found the art in this tarot deck to be hard to like. It is intentionally primitive looking, based on prehistoric and indigenous art and culture from around the world. It looks similar to cave-art, and has a spare, two-dimensional flatness. The boundaries between human, animal and land are indistinct.

A medium thick border of a pale yellow to deep yellow blend surrounds the card scenes. The ‘sky’ in the cards are a range of pastels; pinks and blues and most often pale lemon yellows. Physically the cards are well-made, thin and flexible cardstock of the standard Llewellyn size. The back of the card is ochre-red, and two stylised, deep-yellow human figures are placed head to head in the centre of the reversible card.

According to the Shining Tribe Tarot book, the deck doesn’t use private symbolism and is based firmly in tarot’s origins. It does use the traditional tarot structure of 78 cards, major and minor arcana, but I initially found it difficult to derive much meaning from the cards without reading the companion book.

In the Shining Tribe book itself, black and white image of the card and its title are shown first. (Some cards are also dedicated to particular people.) Then two to three pages of associations, snippets of history and word play to accompany the card. Finally, there is a succinct paragraph of divinatory meanings, and a paragraph of reversed meanings.

Unusually, this book also lists the titles of major arcana cards that have been renamed from the originals. The Hierophant has been renamed Tradition; the Wheel of Fortune the Spiral of Fortune; the Hanged Man the Hanged Woman; Judgement to Awakening; the World to the World/Shining Woman.

The Shining Tribe Tarot deck is self-admittedly more inclusive than the original deck and now includes men and well as women. The suits have been renamed from the usual Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles to Trees, Rivers, Birds and Stones. The deck also does not have court cards as such, but now Vision cards of Place, Knower, Gift and Speaker.

Don’t let your initial impressions of the art put you off. The few readings I have done with the deck have been illuminating. It is possibly better suited for those with enough time to memorise and get used to a new set of card images and meanings; I think, though, that it would be worth the effort.

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Shining Tribe Tarot Review by La Vonne Parker

Like the Fool, yesterday, I stumbled into Ferol's Shining Tribe Tarot study group an embarrassing 20 minutes late. Not knowing what to expect, the Magician always brings along an open mind, a backpack of favorite reference books, writing material and both her Shining Woman and Shining Tribe deck and like a good Priestess, I was prepared for anything.

Our wise leader, Ferol, began the meat of the session by painstakingly guiding the group through reading every word in the companion book, or least through page 3 by beginning with the very first word in the book. I kid you not! We started with the very first word. And, sure enough, before we even got to the table of contents the Empress within me gave birth to an epiphany.

I cannot disclose the entire epiphany, being that it is somewhat personal, but I can tell you that this epiphany reminds me that my life number is 4, The Emperor. In Rachel Pollack?s Shining Tribe Tarot book she explains that the antlers symbolize the branching off of creative thoughts.

Those creative thoughts included a decision of a new Tradition, a Tradition of always starting a new book from the very first word. As I sat there in my unforgiving folding chair I began to feel the warmth of the Lovers rising as I was Dreaming of all the inspired Google searches I wanted to do as soon a I got home.

But, before I was truly lost in dream our leader, Ferol, directs us to get up off our Chariot to practice the stance of the 'horns of consecration'. The stance was very helpful. I felt like I was revived and recovered a little of the Strength I lost while driving around looking for the study group for 20 minutes in the dark.

However, as one of my branches of creative thought I began to realize that a Hermit eagerly accepts whatever he will learn on his inner journey. And so, I hold my lantern up high and am illuminated to the added benefits of reading the parts of a book that most of us usually skip over.

Around and around the room we went, seeking our Spiral of Fortune as we took turns reading every paragraph and every word of that companion book all the way through the section titled 'The Structure of Shining Tribe'. It took awhile but we agreed that there would be no Justice to working with The Shining Tribe tarot unless we are properly prepared.

You see, The Shining Tribe is a deck of self discovery. One must surrender to the Hanged Woman to reap all its benefits. A tiny little Death within gives rise to new revelations. I hear and read words describing the fluid application of objects of nature giving rise to Temperance, replacing the man made objects of common decks. This deck draws on corresponding chemicals of nature rather than the corresponding tools of humans.

Sometimes I think it was no accident that the Devil is depicted as a man. Patriarchal energy has been so very destructive over time, lacking matriarchal balance and truths . The truths held in the symbols of these cards are bound to the truths of the earth, even when put under a microscope.

As the voices of women permeated the air, my thoughts climbed a ladder to the top of a Tower and danced with revelation. But I did not stop there. I then climbed my ladder to the brightest Star. I danced an ecstatic dance to the heartbeat of the Moon because I remember when I first received my Shining Woman deck as a gift from a friend many years ago. I instantly found the cards both primitive and challenging. I instinctively knew these cards held many journeys into the mystery of the soul and the unawakened.

Infinite possibilities danced through my creative thoughts. Many more possibilities danced through my thoughts than any mature rack of prime steed could branch. But, just as the Sun must surely rise every morning, so our Shining Woman Tarot study group must come to an end.

I was suddenly Awakened from my pondering as Ferol asked us to carry our coffee cups to the table while others were already folding their chairs along with the shimmering brocade tablecloths. As I snuck out the door and trotted down the stairs I gave birth to yet another creative thought.

This deck, The Shining Tribe or The Shining Woman which is the one I use, never fails to shake my reality, my belief system, my World. In the seven years I have been using this deck, its truths have held my hand through a myriad of personal journeys.

Rachel Pollack explains in the Preface that the deck is intended to light the way for travelers on their own sacred journey. From personal experience I know she has accomplished her goal. And since I am willing to be a Fool again I anxiously await for next Saturday so I can attend the Shining Tribe study group all over again.

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Shining Tribe Tarot Review by LuminariaStar

A key question poses itself- Is the shamanic state madness? Or is it the wisdom of another time and place, where dreams and shadows walk and the day-world is only an echo of our busy thoughts, glamouring us into thinking it is the only place- making us choose to forget the dream-time, and the infinity within.

To translate the experience from this time beyond time is not an easy task- it requires thought beyond sense, and language can not dance with it properly. To properly appreciate this deck, you must move beyond traditional Tarot systems, and enter into a state that goes far beyond the rational. This is not a divination method for people whose primary focus is on the outer world. This is a visionary tool, specifically, and it might just upset your apple-cart if you go to it seeking advice about the usual workaday concerns that are the usual fare. However, if you are seeking depths within yourself that you sense but can't easily access, this is a marvelous vehicle.

As for the more mundane questions that might also be posed- this is a beautifully printed deck, with illustrations done in a primitive style evocative of aborigine art and petroglyphs. The printing is good quality, and the card stock is fairly sturdy. The book is very good, and explains the author's interpretations in an elevated manner that is not intended for novices. yet is still very down to earth.

It was difficult to write this review because of how extremely unusual this deck is, and due to the other-worldly power of the artwork. If you are a reader who easily slips into "state" you will know exactly what I mean. This is no ordinary deck, and should not be treated lightly, even though it has a playful aspect to it.

This kit was a much treasured gift from the author/designer, for whom I have boundless respect.

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Complete Details of Shining Tribe Tarot

Creators: Rachel Pollack
Publisher: Llewellyn 2001
Deck Type: Tarot Deck
Cards: 78
Major Arcana: 22
Minor Arcana: 56
Deck Tradition: Mixed
Minor Arcana Style: Unique Scenes Without Suit Symbols
Suits: Rivers, Stones, Birds, Trees
Court Cards: Place, Knower, Gift, Speaker
The Fool is 0
Strength is 8
Justice is 11
Card Size: 2.75 x 4.63 in. = 6.99cm x 11.75cm
Card Language: English
Card Back: Unknown
Companion Material: Companion book.

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