Wildwood Tarot - 7 The Archer

Hemera

I really like this Archer because she is so strong and focused and there is so much intent and presence in this card. (She seems much stronger and more focused to me than the Archer in Greenwood). This is the Chariot is disguise and Chariot is a card of victory, willpower and control. Everything is present also in this Archer.

What worries me a bit is the possibility that she is perhaps aiming at a wolf? Her two big Irish Wolf Hounds were used for wolf hunting and the Archer wears an amulet that looks like a wolf tooth. The Irish Wolf Hound has been known as a breed from ancient times, some sources even mention 700 BC. They were formerly used only by nobles and the numbers permitted depended on the position. They are easygoing and calm anmals, very loyal and patient. Wikipedia says that their original purpose was wolf hunting and they were helping people to exterminate the wolf from the British Isles.

The companion book says the Archer "looks beyond the arrow into the sky". I don´t see her looking into the sky, however, so this is probably just copied from the Greenwood book? (in GW the Archer is aiming upwards but not in WW).
 

Carla

I think it's okay for a huntress to be hunting something. Why else would she need a bow and arrow? I don't think they live on wholegrains and fruit smoothies in the Wildwood, and there's probably no pest control. ;)
 

Thirteen

Wolfhounds or Deerhounds?

This about such hounds: "they hunted with their masters, fought beside them in battle, guarded their castles, played with their children, and lay quietly by the fire as family friends. They were fierce hunters of wolves and the oversized Irish elk"

So she could be hunting elk or they could be with her in battle/guarding her home--including from hungry wolves. We think of wolves being hunted unfairly into extinction these days (and they are), but back when things were more equal (i.e. no guns), wolf packs could be deadly to a village, going after the old, weak or solitary; which is to say, maybe she doesn't hunt down wolves until and unless they're threatening an innocent and helpless person. Keep in mind, also, that there is a mythical quality to this deck. So perhaps the fierce animals she's hunting are not ordinary. That tooth may have some from an extraordinary monster she shot down rather than a regular carnivore.
 

Yoshiyahu

I really like this Archer because she is so strong and focused and there is so much intent and presence in this card. (She seems much stronger and more focused to me than the Archer in Greenwood). This is the Chariot is disguise and Chariot is a card of victory, willpower and control. Everything is present also in this Archer...QUOTE] Just wanted to say how much I appreciate your description here, years later. I see the card much better having read this thread. Thank you!