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Posted

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First impressions:

Scary… especially the woods and the ghost face under the tree. At first this card scares me.

 

What jumps out & its meaning to me:

The two different colored snakes. As if it’s Yin & Yang.

 

What does it remind me of?

It reminded me of the dragons from the animated series Avatar: The Last Air Bender, when Aang & Zuko go to master the fire element. Those dragons looked scary but were wise teachers.

 

Story behind the scene:

Whilst meditating over this I realized I could be very wrong with my first impression… this card probably is not scary… perhaps the snakes are holding/guarding the tree… like protecting the source of energy of the forest. The ghost looks sad… it could be the soul of the tree. The trees in the background seem to be falling away, is if pointing towards deforestation? These snakes are daring you come cut this tree, protecting it, not squeezing it.

 

How does it make me feel?

At first this card scared me, but now I feel sad for the tree as well as hopeful. If these snakes remind me of the fire dragons, and if they are anything like those dragons, then these snakes will do everything in their power to protect this tree. That makes me hopeful.

Posted

After thought

the snakes could also be holding the tree in place to keep the trees spirit trapped... will come back to this point.

Posted

Hi @ShadowMoon and thanks for contributing! I somehow missed these completely at the time... apologies for the delay.

 

I confess that I see this card very differently, in some ways. My impression is almost the opposite: rather than there being a prisoner and aggressors, the whole scene speaks of the power inherent in equality of forces. The two wyrms are not fighting; they're facing each other, opposing but not in conflict, and it is that symmetry of power that generates the symmetry of the scene as a whole. The symbol that they generate is the Caduceus: the eternal symbol of healing and medicine, and that too fits perfectly. Medicine was long thought of in terms of the balance of humours, and even now, proportionality is critical. Substances heal in some concentrations, and kill at others. To be in harmony, and as it should be, there must be the correct balance of opposing forces.

    The carved stone is more mysterious. I take it simply as a reference to constancy, relating balance to the long passage of years. The face is also half shadowed, and half-pale, duplicating the sense of opposites. But that shadow is not fixed... the sun moves round, and over each day, different parts will be picked out by the Sun's rays, and briefly given life before it fades again into the gloom. There's a cyclicity here, as well as permanence... and that, too, is only right when thinking of balance.

    What is interesting is the choice of birch trees: fast-growing, short-lived, and the colonisers of bare ground. Admittedly, it's a dark, tangled thicket of them, and they're old trees (for birch), but again this gives me the sense of a longer cycle. The trees are not yews, or even oaks, but rather are themselves transient. The cycle of their lives and replacement by the next generation keeps the Wildwood the same, even though the details change.

    In one sense, the wood is just the backdrop, here... but in another, it's also the objective, the thing that must be kept balanced. Growth and decay, light and shadow, are all essentials that define the Wildwood as it should be, and must be. The wyrms are the expression of that balance, and the reminder that to have balance, there must be opposition. Balance is not the same as stagnation.

ShadowMoon
Posted

Hi @Wanderer, your version definitely makes a LOT more sense than mine 🙂 

Thank you for sharing your interpretation. 

 

Although, I must admit, I gave up on this deck and am now addicted to using The Greenwitch Tarot... I just find GW very connecting and talkative. 

Posted
9 minutes ago, ShadowMoon said:

Hi @Wanderer, your version definitely makes a LOT more sense than mine 🙂 

Thank you for sharing your interpretation. 

 

Although, I must admit, I gave up on this deck and am now addicted to using The Greenwitch Tarot... I just find GW very connecting and talkative. 

Fair enough, @ShadowMoon - I can see that deck would appeal, and it's great that you've found one that speaks to you so clearly! :thumbsup:  If you ever pick up the Wildwood again, feel free to drop back in. In the end, you'll probably find different decks are perfect for different situations, and you'll want to dip into them as needed. Most people seem to end up that way, anyhow!

ShadowMoon
Posted
5 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

you'll probably find different decks are perfect for different situations

Oh definitely yes! I have interviewed all my decks and categorized them based on what they like to talk about... So now when I'm asked a question, I know which deck would rather answer the question. 

I'm currently on my personal journey with GW... it's a wise deck and mesmerizing... I doubt GW will ever do a romance reading, but it's so reliable for guidance, wisdom and soul searching. 

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