Salvador Dali's Tarot

Rachel Pollack is an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. Pollack has been a great influence on the women's spirituality movement. The book provides a commentary on every card, with beautiful full-color reproductions of each design. There are two motifs which Dali used throughout the deck: the butterfly and the linear figures. Both motifs can be seen in The Fool, shown above. On the left is the figurative image of a person raising a staff above the Fool's head. The staff reflects the shape of Hebrew letter Shin. The figure is also painted in red which may represent the element associated with this Hebrew letter: Fire. A blue butterfly can be seen over the belly of the rider, and a pattern of butterfly wings can be seen in the blanket which covers the horse. The intellectual plane is symbolized by butterflies, expressive of irrationality and the alienated soul, the consequence of fickleness and disorder. The Fool himself is not identified, but appears to be a depiction of either a saint or Don Quixote. The prophetic meaning given for this card is the expiation of disorder. The Lovers, which incorporates a painting by Gossaert of Adam and Eve. The serpent himself takes the place of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the fruit of the tree is represented by the shape of an apple. The meaning of Trump X is Changes in Fortune. The man at the top of the globe signifies Time, who wields the sword of Destiny. Trump XVII is The Moon. This modern version of the card is based on the New York city skyline. The silhouette of two howling dogs can be seen in the distance, and the two towers have become two skyscrapers. In the foreground is a lobster, and above him is a moon with a woman's face. The lobster as symbolically similar to the Egyptian scarab beetle, representing the transformation of the superficial into the useful.