Origin and background to the deck

[Wanderer]

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 was based on pre-Christian mythology and the wheel of the year, and soon gained widespread acclaim... which it still has.

(Note that there is also a 1995 Celtic Shaman's Oracle deck, created by Chesca Potter and John Matthews, which has been reprinted.)

 

Only a small print run was made, and no reprints, although Chesca has allowed the artwork only (not the titles) to be downloaded and printed for free. She has also withdrawn from the public eye.

 

The Wildwood was created in 2011 by Mark Ryan and John Matthews (content) and Will Worthington (artwork). It was marketed largely as a successor or update to the Greenwood, and therein lie the problems. It isn't; not really. It's a new deck, with a lot of overlap, and based on many of the same principles. The totally different artwork style (much more naturalistic rather than abstract/symbolic) creates a very different feel, and in many cases the cards are changed utterly. This isn't a reboot; rather, it's a new deck based around the same principles. The marketing was perhaps a little about selling it on the Greenwood name.

    The associated book is also rather a disappointment, and I hear is based extremely closely on the Greenwood volume, with sloppy editing and a limited number of changes. I don't have a copy, so can't compare them directly myself, but hints of laziness here don't help matters.

 

More recently, there's been an attempt by Mark Ryan to re-release the Greenwood, without Chesca's permission. This is where it starts to get a bit nasty; read here for more detail:

https://www.thetarotforum.com/tarot-decks/possible-greenwood-reprint/

 

All this, it's fair to say, has led to a bit of a sour taste over the Wildwood, especially among those who love the Greenwood deck. All I can do is urge people not to be put off by the history, but to treat the deck independently of the people involved, however you may feel about them. My feeling is that they have tapped into something deep and marvelous in this deck, and that's what I want to be working with.