Wildwood Tarot - Wherein Lies Wisdom

Overview

Continuing my search for more meaningful paths to spiritual fulfillment, the next deck I bought harkened back to the Pagan past of the British Isles, and our relationship with, and understanding of, Nature. The Wildwood Tarot is a beautiful deck depicting characters and scenes of Ancient Britain and its denizens, Gods, Goddesses, ceremonies and rites of passage and learning. Here we encounter Celtic/Druidic, and maybe pre-Celtic/Druidic, scenes of life and celebrations of things both understood or unknown yet respected.

This deck is, apparently, a "reconception" of the now rare Greenwood Tarot, which is based in "Pre-Celtic Shamanism of the Mythic Forest." This new imagining is fully titled, "The Wild Wood Tarot: Wherein Wisdom Resides." I have seen many of the cards from the Greenwood deck, and have to say I find the Wildwood scenes more colourful, with amplified symbology, which, in theory, should make them easier to use. Having said that, I find this deck more suitable for meditation and self-reflection than divinatory use, as the scenes draw you in and make you part of the activities being portrayed.

All in all, I love this deck, and love meditating with it. As it travels back to less technologically-challenged times, it brings an atmosphere of both tranquil solitude and peaceful achievement, even when the outside world is telling me otherwise. Well worth the investment if you're that way inclined.

The deck moves away from the standard Tarot traditions in the naming of the Major Arcana cards, too. These are given names (see the list below) that reflect the Druidic/Wiccan beliefs and activities. The book that comes with the deck also introduces these pagan traditions and beliefs in some detail, and describes how the activities on the pips cards relate to the Wheel of the Year. A ruly in depth discovery of the deck and what the creators are trying to achieve.

This is definitely one of the best pagan-based decks I have come across, and well worth buying as both a divinatory and meditative tool.

Details of the Deck:

Tradition: RWS - Pagan

Major Arcana: 22 cards

Minor Arcana: 56 cards

Court Cards: Page, Knight, Queen, King

Fire Suit: Bows

Air Suit: Arrows

Water Suit: Vessels

Earth Suit: Stones

Designer(s): Mark Ryan, John Matthews

Artist(s): Will Worthington

Publisher: Sterling, 2011

Home

Major Arcana:

0 - The Wanderer

1 - The Shaman

2 - The Seer

3 - The Green Woman

4 - The Green Man

5 - The Ancestor

6 - The Forest Lovers

7 - The Archer

8 - The Stag

9 - The Hooded Man

10 - The Wheel

Characters such as the Green Man (shown left) and the Green Woman (below) are particularly striking, depicting the Pagan deities in full leaf and brewing their potions for our future benefit. The scenes of activities and sojourns are equally as impressive, and either entertaining or enthralling in their respective rights. The skill of the artist, Will Worthington, makes the deck a pleasure to leaf through, and even more so to sit with and just meditate. The relationship to the RWS tradition is minor, as this deck relates to beliefs and activities that pre-date the Christian-Hebrew symbology that litters many decks from later eras. For me, this makes it easier to invoke the peace and tranquility of those pagan times, decrying, of course, the hardships of life in those pre-Dark Age days.

To help in the depictions and narratives of the tales herein, the suits of the Minor Arcana have been changed to reflect the more ancient tradition. Swords become Arrows, Wands become Bows, Cups are depicted as Vessels, where more than just a chalice is used to depict each pip, and Pentacles become Stones. The cycle of celebrations and activities follow those that occur in the Wheel of the Year tradition, facilitating the transition to or from other Pagan or Wiccan decks.