Exercise #1 Exploring the Wild Unknown

[TheLoracular]

 

Prompted by my daily journaling, I decided to make an exercise for us.  You can either shuffle randomly or select the cards specifically.  Either way, lay out four cards in a row and then use them to help answer the questions below.  Post your responses as you please.  I'm including mine.  🙂

 

• What kind of theme and mood does this deck have?
• How does it link to the elements of fire, water, air, earth?
• What do you appreciate most about this deck?
• What do you most appreciate about these specific four cards? 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

Words that come to my mind for the Wild Unknown Tarot for themes and moods include: mysterious, primal, deep, self-discovery, the beasts within, 

It links in traditional way with the elements through suit names and symbols like the way the 5 of Cups (Water) has those white goblets above and the 2 of pentacles (Earth)  has the pentacles within the rainbow colored lemniscate (8-shaped curve).  But now that I look at the 5 of Cups (and thankfully still see a horse lol) I get the sense that maying the background could be rain.  Likewise on the two of pentacles the sharp lines in the back give me a sense of wood grain which evokes earth for me just like imagining it raining in the 5 of Cups evokes Water.

What I appreciate most about this deck is that it is iconic in its own right and yet pays tribute to traditional decks in so many of its nuances.  For example, The Magician still has the four elemental tools, matching those of the suites and the there is a lemniscate in both The Magician and Strength and (in the RWS style) the II of Pentacles.

Regarding these four cards in specific?  I shuffled and drew them at random but all four are cards that either came up in conversation already in the study group (V of Cups) or in the draws I've done and written about in my 365 Challenge Journal this week.  So I appreciate the synchronicity in that.  I feel very attached to the iconography of Strength and the II of Pentacles in particular.   I also love the way the rays from The Magician which tilted a little seem to be shooting outward like a catalyst right into Strength next door and how the black underside of Strength and V of cupst almost seamlessly blend together.   These details add a kind of aesthetic to this specific spread.  As do all those lemniscate. 

 

[stephanelli]

I'm not intending on joining in all the studies and exercises, but I use this deck a lot so this one caught my interest 😆

• What kind of theme and mood does this deck have?

This deck is very dark and mysterious (the 10 of Swords and Daughter of Wands) but it has some cards of lightness (The Fool) and some that are more balanced (Judgement).  It has a very serious and slightly disturbing element to it (10 of Swords) (and I find it can give a more depressing edge to my readings because of this).

• How does it link to the elements of fire, water, air, earth

From this selection it is harder to say, but my in experience it links fairly traditionally.

You can see all the elements in these cards though - fire can be seen in the colours of The Fool and the Daughter of Wands, Water can be seen in the rain of the 10 of Swords, Air can be seen in the birds of Judgement and The Fool, Earth is harder to see with these cards, but I can feel in the 10 of Swords (the Ox is presumably laying on the ground) and the branch in the The Fool gives me earthy vibes too and plants like soil to grow in

• What do you appreciate most about this deck?

I appreciate the dark cards with the pops of colours as they can give some interesting readings and suit my mood at certain times.

I also appreciate the artwork and the clever ways she's put symbolism into the deck, for example the figure of 8 shape of the Daughter of Wands and the budding flowers in The Fool, and grim as it is, the sword through the Ox's eyes.

• What do you most appreciate about these specific four cards?

In Judgement, I appreciate the transition of light to dark, in the Fool it's that gorgeous background, in the 10 of Swords it's the fact it doesn't shy away from difficult images and in the Daughter of Wands is that pop of colour against the dark background.