Wildwood Tarot

A truly beautiful card, this one, with very different lovers to the traditional Adam & Eve, and all the baggage involved in everything that those two got up to! In a sense, I feel the meaning is simpler than in traditional decks... but it is also open to variations in meaning, which have been taken up my many commentators. The figures are based on Robin and Marian, and unlike in most decks, the emphasis is on long-term commitment: they are in the process of a handfasting ceremony. Between them is a birch tree in new leaf, and the season is Beltane: a beautiful day in the warmth of midsummer. The tree is dressed with a green ribbon, and wild arum covers the forest …

Hi everyone X/ I decided to purchase the Wildwood deck as a second deck to my RWS. I really liked the images and was drawn to the ancient folklore behind them. As a trial I Decided to try and get to know my deck and ask some questions. The first question I asked was What Are My 3 Greatest Strengths. I got Queen of Vessels, 3 of Stones, and 10 of Bows. I took that to mean that 1. I am a kind and caring person that helps others 2. I have an emotional and spiritual connection to the universal conscience and am able to channel that energy and 3. That I am hardworking and fulfill my duties Then I asked What Are My 3 Greatest Weaknesses. Here is where I hit a snag and…

So, the Green Man. Equivalent to the Emperor in RW decks. I confess that I struggle with this card rather a lot, both in terms of the image, and the role that it plays in the deck. I've only recently realised what I was finding offputting about it, but it's that it doesn't actually match my impressions of what the Green Man is, or represents. I very rarely see this card in readings, and perhaps my confusion over it is part of the reason; therefore, I thought I'd try to analyse it in the hope that it would become more approachable. The image is of the Green Man bending over a cauldron, holding a horn (the 'horn of plenty' - I don't think this symbol appears elsewhere i…

If the Green Man is enigmatic, then the Green Woman is so well hidden from public consciousness that she is hard to find at all. I had to go searching for her, and luckily others have done the same, and hunted her through the churches of Europe. There are some very interesting blogs, such as this: http://wiccanrede.org/2013/07/the-green-man-the-green-woman-part-i/ These researches allow us to glimpse the ideas behind the rare carvings, and at least try to put some sort of legend to the name... But that's leaping ahead slightly... let's start with the card. The Green Woman stands behind a cauldron, like her male counterpart, but this time filled with milk. She too is …

I know, there are a lot of people who can't see this card without thinking of 'Strength' in the Greenwood - which is a much-beloved, and very different card. Don't compare it. If you prefer the Greenwood deck, simply use that. This is one of the biggest differences, and needs to be treated on its own merits. I actually think that there's a lot of interest in this card, and it would be a great shame if it can't be appreciated for itself... Who is the Woodward? He doesn't really appear in mythology, as far as I know, and yet 'Woodward' is a common British surname. The etymology comes from Anglo-Saxon roots, referring to a forester and gamekeeper: someone who cared for th…

I've started this thread to contain some discussions that have been emerging from the discussion of The Wanderer, as they seemed to deserve their own place: https://www.thetarotforum.com/wildwood/0-the-wanderer/ The Wildwood deck is based on the mythology of the old, deep forest... of which we have very little now surviving in northern Europe. Without access to the environment, it's hard for us to immerse ourselves in the mythos, or really understand what the cards refer to. This thread, therefore, is for wide-ranging thoughts and descriptions of the real-world examples of the ancient woods: both on a mundane physical level, and impressions based on intuition or any o…

Most tarot decks come out of nearly nothing, but this one has a bit of a contorted history that might to relevant to anyone interested in the mythos and the meanings behind it. I'm still learning the background (mainly thanks to other threads in this forum), but there is some acrimonious 'history' attached to it. This is my (incomplete) understanding of the situation. Feel free to add or correct factual information, but please don't get into noisy arguments here. ;) First, there was the Greenwood Tarot in 1996. This is a rare, highly sought-after and iconic deck that commands extremely high prices. It was created by Mark Ryan (words) and Chesca Potter (artwork). It wa…

Rather than trying to deal with cards in a particular order, I'd like us to cover them as they come up and force us to interpret them. It's too easy to fall into the 'intended' meanings, following the order through the deck, or the wheel of the year, and I worry that this will colour our interpretations if we're too aware of the sequence in the background. So, please start threads on cards that have turned up in readings and proven particularly interesting or unclear, and let's tease apart the different facets that they hold on their own. Relating them to the greater cycles is welcome too, of course (especially in such a wheel-oriented deck as this), but I don't want that…