This brand-new tarot deck and book set from Llewellyn is actually a revised and reprinted edition of an earlier tarot deck published under the name Shining Woman Tarot, that Rachel published back in 1992 through Aquarian Press.  I am one of the fortunate people who happens to have one of the first edition decks, so I can make comparison notes throughout this review.  I do want to say, right up front, that I am personally of the opinion that this new edition is terrific in every way, and am very pleased to see that it is available again.  The Shining Woman Tarot was out of print for several years now, and has continued to be one of the more popular decks on the secondary market, both because it's hard to find, and because most people who had a copy would not sell it; it is a very well-liked deck.
 
The artwork in this deck is very soft and gentle and comfortable to look at; primitive in style, it has a universal appeal to it that just about everyone should get something from.  One of the things I like about changing the title from Shining Woman to Shining Tribe is it gives that universal feeling back to the deck, whereas the previous title might have made one feel that it was geared only towards women.  Symbolism is used that comes from a wide variety of cultural sources, including Australian aboriginal, Native American, Celtic and shamanistic cultures in general.  Spiritual symbolism is used from the Kabbalah and other traditional tarot sources.
 
Comparing the cards from the first edition to this new edition, the new cards feature a slightly brighter color scheme.  This is not to say that the cards use bright colors; instead, earth tones are blended in harmoniously with a wide variety of natural hues.  The borders are rendered in a gradient golden color starting with an almost ecru color at the bottom, deepening to a sunset gold at the top of the card.  The titles appear in black in the bottom border underneath the image.  The previous edition was simply bordered in white.  Arabic numerals are used throughout the deck instead of the traditional way of using Roman numerals.
 
The titles in the Major Arcana vary distinctly from the traditional tarot.  Many of them remain the same, such as the Fool, Magician, and the like; however, enough are different to warrant mention.  The Hierophant is replaced by Tradition, which is indeed more significant in terms of the card's meaning.  Instead of the Wheel of Fortune, there is a Spiral of Fortune, lending itself to pre-patriarchal Goddess culture.  The Hanged Woman replaces the Hanged Man, and instead of Judgment there is an Awakening.  This is much more in keeping with the energy of the deck.  The World at the end is the Shining Woman herself, which is within all of us when we attain this balance.  There is no difference in the titles between the first edition and this new edition of the deck.  In terms of ordering, the traditional Rider-Waite order is used, with Strength being 8 and Justice 11.
 
A lot has been changed when you reach the Minor Arcana.  All four suits have been renamed.  Trees replace Wands, remaining a fire element suit; Cups become Rivers, with their water element; Birds symbolize the air element suit instead of Swords; and Stones, the element of earth, completes the four in place of Pentacles or Disks.  The focus is on the energy and the element and there is a certain flow that runs through each suit from Ace through Ten.  All of the numbered cards are completely illustrated; no pips in this deck!
 
Court cards are done away with entirely in this deck; instead, each suit features four *Vision* cards, which are titled Place, Knower, Gift, and Speaker, as opposed to Page, Knight, Queen and King.  They are not numbered, and their focus is even more intent upon the energy and the element rather than rank and value.  The flow from the Place (which gives a point of entry to the energy) through the Knower (giving a sense of understanding the energy) to the Gift (which gives a reward or boost of energy) and finally to the Speaker (a mastery that enables us to pass the energy along) really is a significant change in the way "court" cards are handled, and I think for many people this will give a lot of assistance in learning to deal with this difficult part of the Tarot in general.
 
The cards themselves are slightly smaller than standard size, but are still a good amount bigger than the first edition, which had quite small cards in it.  These are printed on excellent cardstock with a lovely smooth finish and a thin protective coating.  The edges are polished smooth and the corners nicely rounded.  The deck is very comfortable to shuffle and handle.  There is a totally new back design for this edition; where the old deck had a pale colored background with the four suit icons on it, this new back design features the Shining Woman glyph which actually appears in various places throughout the deck.  I had fun looking through the entire deck trying to find all the different cards which had a little Shining Woman hidden within them.  It's a little "Where's Waldo" kind of fun!  There is no little white booklet since this set comes with a substantial book.
 
Speaking of the book, this is one of the most comprehensive texts I have ever seen in a tarot deck/book set.  Full trade paperback size and 330 pages jammed full of information, every single bit of it useable, this book is more or less totally new since the earlier edition was only a small 5 inches by 7 inches and 155 pages.  Even the descriptive meanings of the cards have been re-written and fleshed out considerably; about the only thing which has been left alone is the small but elegant poetry Pollack has composed to accompany each card.  This new book is practically a course in itself on how to use the Tarot.  Anyone who has been having difficulty learning the Tarot may find that this set opens doors which had been previously blocked.
 
I feel as though I cannot possibly recommend this deck highly enough.  I am that impressed with it, which is no mean feat.  Anyone can benefit from using this deck.  Pollack has written the book so that a beginner can learn to read with the Shining Tribe Tarot, without any previous experience whatsoever; yet I feel that the full impact of this deck will be most appreciated by those who have been trying for a while and just feel like they want to go further than they have been able to previously.  The set's subtitle is "Awakening the Universal Spirit" and I believe it is 100% capable of doing just that.  Brava!
 
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Review Copyright 2001 by Gina M. Pace

Shining Tribe Tarot by Rachel Pollack, 2001
published by Llewellyn Worldwide, St. Paul, MN
ISBN 1-56718-532-0