Wildwood Tarot: The Sun

GryffinSong

I really want to like this card, but the man on it just wrecks it for me. Ignoring him for the moment, let me talk to the rest of the symbolism.

The White Horse of Huffington is in the background, which I totally love. The lower part of the card is framed with two stones, curly-cues carved into them. Flowers rise above and around the stones, and of course there's a huge sun up in the sky. I get a good "Sun card" feeling from these images. Bright, light, shining light into the crevasses of one's mind. It's all there. And then that darned man in the center. Bleh. A light shines from his heart area, which is a lovely thought I suppose. His eyes are closed and his hands down away from his side as if he's basking in the light. But why, oh why, couldn't Will have either left him out or redrawn him a few times? To my eye he simply doesn't work.
 

Lady Iron Side

I really like this card as well, I also have to look past the man as well, when I do look at the man, I am sorta getting from this, with the light of the sun shining within you, comming out of the heart chakra, filling you will the light of the sun.

everything about the card - except the man. is beautiful, this reminds me of spring with all the wild flowers blooming the pasture is green and the horses are galloping acrossing the fields, life at it's most beauty. bringing all the elements together, This card reminds me of what my Nana told me when I was little, A plant needs soil to grow and blosom, in order for the plant to grow it also needs water, it then needs the sun ( Fire), to bring to it full potential. sorry there was one more I just don't remember it. she also said that if you take just one of those away the plant will die.

Edit: I remembered it is Air, she said that plant need carbon manoxide (spel) to breath oxygen.
 

Lifeisabutterfly

Help!

I just got this deck last week with such high hopes since I never could obtain a Greenwood deck and I do love all things ancient, foresty and celtic...Unfortunately I hated it instantly and had to put it away without even looking at all the cards...
I am so put off by the way most cards have been redefined in meaning! They do not follow any known tarot system and that in itself is incredibly annoying. I really don't see the reason for it. As for the artwork, it was a huge disappointment for me as well. It seemed like many of the cards were in their first stages of drafting and were just left as is.....also the cardstock is so flimsy I wonder if it would hold up to a good shuffle.
A while ago I took them out again to give them another go, but it was no go indeed. I shall have to try to resell them at my flea market booth this weekend, although it saddens me no end. Thankfully I have a lovely pocket version of the Steele Wizard, Hallowquest, Legend and the Llewellyn decks to keep me company but it would have been nice if this deck, which held so much promise, would have been done differently.
Or perhaps it's just me?
I would really really appreciate it if you Greenwood fans out there could assist me in reconciling my RW mentality with this deck.... Please? (sniff sniff)
 

GryffinSong

Well, I can't help you. I've never cared for the Greenwood, sorry. I try to look at each deck as a unique entity, and the Wildwood is no exception. I don't love it as much as my Harmonious or BBC or Victoria Regina, but I like it enough to give it a chance.
 

Lifeisabutterfly

Well, I can't help you. I've never cared for the Greenwood, sorry. I try to look at each deck as a unique entity, and the Wildwood is no exception. I don't love it as much as my Harmonious or BBC or Victoria Regina, but I like it enough to give it a chance.

Just wondering--how do you deal with the drastic changes in card meanings? And, which deck is BBC?
 

Lady Iron Side

I just got this deck last week with such high hopes since I never could obtain a Greenwood deck and I do love all things ancient, foresty and celtic...Unfortunately I hated it instantly and had to put it away without even looking at all the cards...
I am so put off by the way most cards have been redefined in meaning! They do not follow any known tarot system and that in itself is incredibly annoying. I really don't see the reason for it. As for the artwork, it was a huge disappointment for me as well. It seemed like many of the cards were in their first stages of drafting and were just left as is.....also the cardstock is so flimsy I wonder if it would hold up to a good shuffle.
A while ago I took them out again to give them another go, but it was no go indeed. I shall have to try to resell them at my flea market booth this weekend, although it saddens me no end. Thankfully I have a lovely pocket version of the Steele Wizard, Hallowquest, Legend and the Llewellyn decks to keep me company but it would have been nice if this deck, which held so much promise, would have been done differently.
Or perhaps it's just me?
I would really really appreciate it if you Greenwood fans out there could assist me in reconciling my RW mentality with this deck.... Please? (sniff sniff)

Just wondering--how do you deal with the drastic changes in card meanings? And, which deck is BBC?



Well to clarify something for I am not a Greenwood fan either, so to help you reconcile with this deck is to look at this way. first read my posts Time of Arrows, Time of Bows, Time of Stones, Time of Vessels.

Then split the deck into 4 groups, Majors, pips 2 - 10, Aces then Courts
Take your RW and Thoth split thoses decks the same

Start with the pips 2 - 10 and compare the cards IE: for starters the 7 of vessels ( mourning ) you will notice that the thoth 7 of cups ("Debauch" The lotus blossomes have turned themselves into tiger lilies and pollute the sea with their poisonous nectar "Crowley" speaks of a malarious morass, weakness because the balance is lacking causing a corruption flowing from within to the external = Like a death/Loss of self due to ..... In stead of water, greem slim issues from the tigerlilies and overflows, it is a wholesome reminder of the fatal ease with which a sacrament may be profaned and prostituted.) is more closely related, and the RW also speaks of loss therefore this deck does give you the flipside or in others words does enhance what the thoth and RW tell you. This deck is a wanderful mix of Both Thoth and RW combined in each card ( some cards are more Thoth and some RW, with an added touch of which time of year the cards fall under, this is where the Sabbats/Exquinoxs come into play that give the change/enhance meaning of the cards original meaning. (IE: 5 of vessel - love this card ) Estasy = when things are crappy in your life emotionally and feel like dirt, this card tells you to fill yourself with whatever makes you feel better dancing, music, sex lol whatever rocks your boat to get back to feeling emotionally balanced. Edited: the 5's I see as sitting on the fence you have 2 choices, so with the 5 of vessels you could just stand there an moop, dwel, cry over spilt milk, or achnowledging whatever the situtation is and start doing something about it to make your self or other feel better, so start dancing.

Then compare the Majors, for the only difference is Prudence (Reflection/Mirror) has been added, which is nice, for most every deck is missing this card, so inorder to have this card add and keep it a 22 majors she had to combine the Tower and hangedman.

Then get out what ever tarot book you have that has the horoscope spread read the meaning of each houses then look at the cards again. Get a more indepth book on astrology or internet read on just the houses only.

This is Where your court cards come into play and then your aces

The courts follow the times of year so all the courts in the suit of stones are from Nov 1 - Jan 31 so these card represent the horoscope signs of that time of year Scorpio to Aquarius

So take only your Courts and make a circle on the floor or large table following the thread I've list above you will then see that the courts are the houses, pretty niffty. you'll also notice that each of the four courts of each suit does the overlapping of the first 10 degree of decans ( 1, 2, 3 ) also the king and pages share their previous element and the nest element (cusps ) elements

IE: My daughter was born Jan 24 = Aquarius, she is the page of Stone which is half capricorn / earth and Aquarius / Air = Which so is amazingly her love this combo. The kings are the same the king of Stones is Scorpio, November 1 - November 21 = WATER and Sagittarius November 22 - November 23 ( cusp ) EARTH



IE: 5 of vessel - ( love this card ) Estasy = 5th house

The Aces represent the 4 seasons Winter, spring, summer, fall and of course the elements earth, air, fire, water

Then you can go around the circle adding in the pips to the houses under the courts.

Then read up on the Season of the year Sabbats/equinoxes. then go back on read my threads as listed above. then it will all click.

This is what I did to figure it out. and now I am very pleased to be the owner of this lovely deck. Take for its own, following the greenwood method didn't work for me, so I revamped it a tiny bit...lol

hope this helps
 

Lifeisabutterfly

Dear Lady Iron Side
your help is greatly appreciated! You took the time to put all that together it means alot! I guess I have a problem with new systems and sometimes see them as being silly and then discard them without giving them a proper look or a fair chance. I won't sell my pack yet then. I shall certainly take the time to go over the cards with a fresh perspective.
You might have iron sides but you are quite refreshing all the same lol!
 

GryffinSong

Just wondering--how do you deal with the drastic changes in card meanings? And, which deck is BBC?

Hi,

Sorry for the delay, just got back from a trip ...

BBC = Baroque Bohemian Cats. I'm no longer quite as embarrassed as I used to be to admit that I LOVE these cats in clothing. *blush*

I mostly read intuitively, based on the artwork in front of me. So it really doesn't matter to me what system is used, or whether its changed from what I'm used to. I relax, get into a meditative space, and let my intuition/imagination run wild with impressions. I said "mostly" because sometimes I enjoy the comfort of the RWS system, which I'm most familiar with. But usually, especially when reading for myself, the system is somewhat irrelevant to me.
 

Lifeisabutterfly

Hi,

Sorry for the delay, just got back from a trip ...

BBC = Baroque Bohemian Cats. I'm no longer quite as embarrassed as I used to be to admit that I LOVE these cats in clothing. *blush*

I mostly read intuitively, based on the artwork in front of me. So it really doesn't matter to me what system is used, or whether its changed from what I'm used to. I relax, get into a meditative space, and let my intuition/imagination run wild with impressions. I said "mostly" because sometimes I enjoy the comfort of the RWS system, which I'm most familiar with. But usually, especially when reading for myself, the system is somewhat irrelevant to me.

Well that seems quite wise, GryffinSong. Your readings and meditations profit greatly from this attitude. The times when I applied this method I have been quite impressed with the depth of insight.

Just wanted to add a few remarks 1) thanks to Lady Iron Side's input I am now totally hooked on the Wildwood tarot and am enthralled with this healing and inspiring adventure!
2) I sense that the man in the Sun card, although indeed not very esthetically pleasing to the eye (to say the least lol--wouldn't want to take him home to Mother!) is meant to portray prehistoric man, a bit like the prehistoric horse also found in this deck....
3) Also upon further study I am discovering that the meanings in the WW deck are perhaps not so far fetched after all--and are actually excellent brain gymnastics for stretching out our concepts of meanings which might have stiffened and gelled over time!
5) I have that BBC deck on order somewhere in Czech republic--it's adorable :) maybe the cat's blush too when they admit how much they love you...
 

bumble bee

The Sun of Life

I bought this deck because I like the more pagan and foresty (nature based) cards. I believe that there lis a tarot deck for every one and that tarot can evolve as human beings change and are not the same as 100 years ago when the RW was created. I have a Thoth & RW and can use them but for me personally I prefer something less Christian oriented (RW) and that reflects my beliefs, which is connection to the Earth and more pagan.
I haven't had this deck for long so for now it is my personal deck for me to use for insight into my personal experience and it is working well for me as I learn it. There are decks which do take a bit of study and effort which can be worth the effort if it is meaningful to you. Try as I might and as much as I love the symbolism of the Voyager, it is not a deck that works for me so I don't use it.
The Sun of Life card says to me as above so below. The sun nurtures and gives life to the planet it also gives life and energy to the man here whose feet are connected to earth energy and bringing it up into his body as well as the light of the sun who's power is so great that nothing on the planet can survive without it. By the position of his body, it appears that the sun is giving him a jolt, a moment of illumination,cleansing and enlightenment & that energy enables him to cocreate on the planet with the sun.
Many years ago, I went to AA to work on my drinking problem and I couldn't relate to traditional Christianity and the Sun was my higher power. Many years later, I was outside on a beautiful day and I perceived a Ray of light coming down from the sun into my heart chakra just like the picture. It felt loving, illuminating and cleansing and was very profound. When you see pictures of rays coming thru a forest thru the trees, it is commonly called godlight. Enough of my rambling here, I like the card