7. The Archer

[Wanderer]

 

I rather like this card. The traditional Chariot always has a worrying feel to me, because of being always on the cusp of losing control, but here that aspect is entirely lost. The card is also integrated more firmly into the rest of the deck, because of the Swords suit becoming Arrows, whereas I've always found the Chariot to be something of an outsider. Here, the card fits perfectly with the Wildwood mythos...

 

Our archer is fully equipped for the role, all her clothes tied down, protection on her arm, with her hair braided and tucked away under a cap. She has a quiver full of arrows, one nocked to the bow, and aims at a target (a live one, we presume) somewhere in the thickets ahead. Her stance is dynamic; she is chasing the quarry actively rather than hiding in ambush, and this implies great agility, self-confidence, and skill. Behind her are two wolfhounds or otterhounds, watching and waiting. They too know their role, staying back until the moment is right.

 

Overall, this is a figure of action, decisiveness, and the skill and confidence that suffers no doubt. It is a card about knowing what you want to do, and doing it. Perhaps instinct takes over, leaving all doubts and concerns behind. She is utterly focused, her will as single-minded as an arrow; she is almost a tool of destiny herself, beyond the point of making decisions and into the sphere of inevitability. More specifically, though, the arrows in this deck represent the world of thoughts, of Air, and the incisiveness associated with swords in traditional Tarot. These thoughts are aimed, released and set on their way. They are thoughts that have real impacts; the target is shaken when they land, and knows itself outmatched. This is no novice archer, this adversary... here is a figure that will not be denied.

 

She has rarely come up for me in readings, so far. Related cards such as Decision (2 of Bows) are far more frequent, but the Archer is elusive, hiding in the Wildwood until her supreme skills are needed. This may be because there is more to it than the traditional idea, exhorting us to action. She demands a level beyond action, and into fearless commitment. Her way is to <i>become</i> the arrow, to immerse herself until what is left is only the target, and the action. This is the ability to make a decision, and let that decision shape and define us until its path is completed.

 

Only rarely is such commitment demanded of us. Remember, the Archer is major, just as much as the Green Man or the Ancestor, or the Dark Lady of Knowledge. She's not just any archer; she is the archetype of Robin Hood (not merely a legendary archer himself, but defined by the power of his purpose), and countless legends going back into prehistory. When she calls, don't take her lightly. 

[StormCup]

Fantastic interpretation I think you nailed it! 💯