The Green Witch

Hi Guys Let me start off by saying sorry if the title sounds a little pompous lol, I don't mean it to. I'm new to this group post thingamiwhatsits 😄 and just want to try keep it organised best we can. Anyone and everyone is free to join in on the action and add their two penneth, all I ask is that can we keep it in the order of the cards please, whilst the study is unfolding. Starting with the majors then moving on the the minors such as .... Majors Wands Chalices Athames Pentacles Courts (in suit order) I have noticed that there are study groups out there with an index of threads for t…

So I've owned the Green Witch tarot now since February 2016 and boy am I glad I did. I have never had a deck that has spoken to me with such clarity as she does. I see things in the artwork that others seem to miss, this I realise now and only because I wrote a review of the deck for my website (now sadly closed) and for Aeclectic forums (also sadly closed). So I thought that I would kick off here with that very same review just so as that we can all see just how your views can change about something once you have been intimate with. 😉 The Green Witch Tarot Overview & First Thoughts So today I had the great pleasure of…

Major Arcana 0 The Greenman 1 The Witch 2 The High Priestess 3 The Earth Mother 4 The Horned God 5 The High Priest 6 The Lady & The Lord 7 The Battle Wagon 8 The Crone 9 The Holly King 10 The Wheel of the Year 11 The Standing Stone 12 The Oak King 13 The Lord of Shadows 14 The Sidhe 15 Nature 16 The Wild Hunt 17 The Star 18 The Moon 19 The Sun 20 Harvest 21 The World Tree

16 ~ The Wild Hunt:~ This is a classic Tower image but more-so in the respect of CHAOS! We see what looks like the four horsemen of the apocalypse riding into oblivion, lightening crashing all around, light emanating from roof and window. The tower itself looks like it’s about to explode into ten thousand pieces and break itself down into its individual component parts. Piece by piece though, it can be rebuilt into an even stronger framework, standing on its more than substantial foundations. The rooster flapping in sheer panic is there to remind us that with self-confidence, vigilant arrogance and pride we can tear down the diaphanous fabric of our lives and begin to bui…

0 ~ The Greenman:~ This is the fool Ann calls it the Greenman and it does indeed have a giant Greenman’s face stuck right in the middle of the card staring inanely right back at you. However upon closer inspection we do see Mr. Fool and his dog dancing down the way to two musicians playing a along in a jollity fashion that you would expect from the fool card. Not a care in the world, but he certainly has the world at his feet. He is at both the start and also the very end of his journey, but this, my friend is for you to decide.

6 ~ The Lady & The Lord:~ These two bring together the power of the divine Feminine and the divine Masculine and give rise to the ultimate energy. The two together have the power to create anything and everything so long as loyalty stands with them. They look like they are the Witch from the #1 card and the man in the Battle Wagon #7 card coming together for a secret liaison under their sacred tree which would bring the first seven cards of phase 1 to a nice close as they depart. Even though they are the Gemini twins, they do however have a choice for they do not need to be together they are not family born unto one another but they have surrendered themselves t…

20 ~ Harvest:~ The time is neigh to reap the full rewards and bring in the fruits of your labours, before its time to start all over. The message of death and rebirth reverberates and echoes loud and clear in this penultimate stop off on our journey of the fool. A man stands before us with a tankard of mead and a table positively overflowing with the fruits, vegetables and a demijohn of wine. There are two industrious little Elven folk in amongst the fruits and vegetables which would show that the hard work is done but also a reminder that there will be more work to come in time. His wife in the doorway with a tray full of more produce and there is also game hanging in th…

21 ~ The World Tree:~ So the end is in sight, and the cycle is almost complete as Ying into Yang, as the night falls in to a day as sure as winter turns back into spring, and so the cycle can begin again. The world tree here is both in bloom and also in full shed, the sky is both day and night and the season is in summer and winter. A crane flies to the tree, bringing with it a solid union of the underworld, middleworld and otherworld. The Crane is also known as the keeper of all arcane knowledge and stands for patience and diligence too. The Adder at the base of the tree seems to be entwined within its root system thus connecting the underworld with our world. Adder give…

19 ~ The Sun:~ It is high noon and the sun is at its zenith, there is an eagle soaring in the blue skies above a beautiful thatched cottage with a sunflower garden. The eagle bestows upon us great intelligence, courage and a chance for renewal. The sun is a most auspicious card and brings luck in all aspects of everything we could either wish or hope for. The Sunflowers too are allegorical to spiritual knowledge, good luck, nourishment and focus. The sun is the great life giver but it can also become the great destroyer of everything that we know, but it is all part of the great cycles of the cosmos, without life there is no death but without death there can be no life. T…

18 ~ The Moon:~ Here we have the last of all the Astrologically charged major arcana, Pisces, a water sign, which is evident in both the pool and the salmon leaping. So let us ponder for a moment on the pool which is representative of the inner consciousness, the illusion or even the delusions of a dream like state where all things, both good and evil have an inane ability to conjure up visions of self. In to this pool we can gaze and descry to see things that the cosmos should like for us to know. We see the wisdom in the salmon and the sheer fact that he is leaping gives energy and vibrance to this arcane yet mundane knowledge we hold, buried deep inside. The pool is su…

17 ~ The Star:~ A star burns ever so brightly above a crystal pure pool in the woodland on this frosty winters night. There is a beautiful Sidhe, wings glistening with the magick of the star, quite positively bathing in its starlight. In a truly enchanted fashion she pours water from her two chalices, one into her bowl the other back into the pool, giving meaning to that which we take we should replace, this one is for me and that one goes back to nature. Thus giving hope to future generations to come. The depiction of the Star just positively oozes a sense of alchemical magick coming into play here, for when we break down water into its base elements we get H2O, hydrogen…

In the third and final phase we will travel from 15 ~ Nature right on through to the finite 21 ~ The World Tree, on the concluding path to illumination. In our search for enlightenment our inner Fool has developed their personality, explored their sub-consciousness and is now moving onwards to their final goal of the individuated self. The finality here is represented by The World Tree. Nature being the first card in this third cycle is indeed a fitting card as we can see the pure and raw power that nature provides all around us in our daily lives, whether we live in the woods, the country or even in the city, nature in all his glory is all around us. Nature is power, nat…

7 ~ The battle Wagon:~ So here we can see The Lord heading off after his secret liaison with his Lady after she has met him under their sacred and very special oak tree, once alone without his lady his duality comes into perfect play for he in this persona is Cancer the Crab. It would seem that his Lady met him in order to hand him his battle weapons. Maybe he is now heading off into battle or maybe just back to mothers for his tea, but I get the distinct feeling he is heading off into the wild unknown. The two white stallions in this card I notice have no reigns he simply controls them with the power of the mutual respect that man and beast hold for one another. The hor…

14 ~ The Sidhe:~ The Sidhe have been considered for many moons to be quite a distinct and noble race of Fae folk, quite separate from the human race but who over the centuries have had much contact with the mortals of our world. The Sidhe are believed to have many powers but by far their greatest gifts are to shape-shift and temper all manner of alchemical elements. The Sidhe before us now is in full swing of spell making and the brewing of her potion is almost complete, there are Fae sprites dancing with glee around her shoulder and her broom in the background stands to attention in anticipation of the night ahead. There is fire abound all around her and in the backgroun…

13 ~ The Lord of Shadows:~ A shady character is hanging around under a Yew tree in full fruit, watching a father and his son wandering off into the distance after collecting fresh water from the well situated between them and the character loitering behind the Yew. Water is the driving force behind the message of Scorpio and transformation is the key to the initiation of changes. It would seem that the character in the cloak may well be the mother of the young boy and the late, departed wife of the man. For she has undergone the ultimate transformation that we have all come to know as DEATH! Alas for her as for countless others in the otherworld, death is not the end but …

12~ The Oak King:~ The King of the Oak is hanging in his spiritual place of peace and tranquillity, neither caught nor trapped he just hangs there of his own free will. What is the quandary that he is pondering? Is it a profound and baffling puzzle of the universe or is he simply wondering what to have for his lunch? It doesn’t really matter because the message he is giving is that everything needs to be viewed from a different perspective once in a while. He lavishes upon you the cosmic gift of empathy, the art of walking in someone else’s shoes or quite simply seeing the world through their eyes. He scratches into the dirt above his head a circle to represent nothingnes…

11 ~ The Standing Stone:~ And now we find ourselves standing trial in front of the Standing Stone of Justice. Stones have no feelings, no empathy, no sympathy they can only look upon any judgment with 100% discernment and they only see the cold hard truth that is set before them. They see through the lies, the deceit and they are swayed by neither charm nor charisma. When we are faced with a decision in life no matter how small and insignificant we may think it is we MUST at all times act with the power of the stone behind us, in order to pass sound and fair judgments, for every action creates a reaction, if not now then maybe a repercussion will occur in the future. Th…

10 ~ The Wheel of the Year:~ Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltain, Litha, Lughnasadh & Mabon are the 8 Sabbats of the Pagan, Wiccan and Celtic calendars. And in this image we can see the wheel in its second phase of the annual cycle. This would symbolise not only change is inevitable but also what goes around comes around. All things are connected to one another and forever changing in this revolving and evolving world of ours. There is a Hawk turning the wheel as it lands upon it thus symbolising attention to detail, empowerment, fearlessness & intelligent energies. At its base we can see a plethora of sweet smelling basil in plenitude giving meaning to the def…

9 ~ The Holly King:~ It is deep within the frozen depths of the psyche that we find the Holly King, shining his eternal light of enlightenment. For when we look deep inside we get the cold shiver that rises up our spinal cord and into the cerebral cortex tapping into the very fabric of our sub-consciousness. This gift is within all of us, in some he lies dormant and still in others he is alive and kicking. He guides the way through our inner sanctum and illuminates the way that is there just we cannot to see. The answer is there, look at the end of the path, the warm welcoming home, the crone at the window awaits your arrival. Behind the Holly King there stands a Stag, sy…

In this second phase we will journey from 8 ~ The Crone through to 14 ~ The Sidhe, and we will together inaugurate the powers of the sub-consciousness. We begin by incorporating within one’s self the strength gained by the first phase and this shall then firmly establish itself in the Crone and give rise to the ability to establish and affirm relationships based upon trust, by using our inner animal instincts. These instincts are gifts to us from the animal dominion whose inhabitants can act as guides when we delve deep into the inner mysterious realm of the sub-consciousness, or from a shamanic perspective of the Underworld. The first phase initiates us into the ‘Middle…

5 ~ The High Priest:~ As the High Priestess draws her power direct from the moon the High Priest being her polar opposite draws his from the sun. He stands in his stone circle which is the most traditional and ancient of all known establishments. From the dawn of time until now stone circles have been used both in ritual and for guidance whilst in search of the hidden truths we can only find within. Again there is no fire under his sacred bowl, it is quite simply charged by the rays of pure sun. Here is Taurus in all his earthly magnificence creating an aurora of groundedness. There is a swallow flying overhead in the background which would illustrate both community and s…

4 ~ The Horned God:~ So the first of the divine Masculine has arrived in all his splendour and glory, donning antlers, a bow and a full on entourage of beasts at his command. He wears the triple spiral tattoo on his right shoulder and bicep which gives rise to the power of three, the maiden, the mother and the crone, this would signify feminine power and especially power through transition and growth. So as masculine as the Horned God is he is still very much so, in tune with his feminine side. Here is Aries the first of the astrological signs, up until now the other four are either planetary or elementally aspected but here we see the birth of pure personality bursting o…

3 ~ The Earth Mother:~ The final card of the divine Feminine is where we find the power of motherly love and abundances of emotions. The Earth Mother is lovingly attending to and nurturing her flock of ducks who, are in themselves also female. They are gathering around her feet and greedily gobbling up all the fruit that she is dropping from her basket. She is out there standing in the middle of a field of wheat that is ripened and ready for the harvest and she carries a staff of twisted hawthorn with tufts of wheat tied to the end showing that she as we all are intrinsically tied to our mother earth. The ducks would symbolise emotional strength, abundance and fertility, …

2 ~ The High Priestess:~ The Priestess is too making a potion but there is no fire that burns under her cauldron, for she uses the power of moonlight, illusion and pure magick to infuse her wisdom into her elixir. We see her throwing in what looks like Acacia flowers, which when imbibed offer protection, psychic and spiritual enhancement and is often used in incense to promote meditative states according to www.themagickalcat.com. We can also see her familiar the traditional black cat who would also symbolise witchcraft, psychic intuition and perception.

1 ~ The witch:~ Here we see the first card of the first phase and this card bestows upon us the gifts of will power, impulse, determination and drive. We see a Witch at her cauldron, stirring up a brew most magickal just as the magician did before her. Unlike the magician though, she has no time for theatrics and poseurs, she is far too busy concocting her cocktail to be bothered with as above so below shenanigans. She has, as did the magician, all her tools at her table all except her wand which she is using as her stirring stick, giving it a job most important and more importantly imbuing it with her magick. She is watched over by her old familiar the Crow, Who in itse…