Greenwood Tarot Page of Arrows

From Chesca Potter's on line booklet:
Time of year: Beltane Element: Air
Green woodpeckers have always been considered particularly sacred, their plumage being of the four magical colours; red, white, black and green. They also spiral up trees (i.e. the tree of life) and disappear into trees to nest. Therefore they were thought to hold the secrets of the Greenwood Tree of knowledge. In Britain these gentle and beautiful birds are called yaffles because of their extraordinary call like a laugh.
Divination: Their drumming (pecking) on trees which echoes through the woodland heralds your entry to a place of the heart. In the tarot the pair of woodpeckers look at each other, a third flying down the arrow shaped path, guiding you to love.

Page of Arrows: Green Woodpecker

I did not even know, that there exists a Green Woodpecker!
I will have to travel to England to see one....
What surprises me in the card is, that the artwork shows 3 Woodpeckers. Woodpeckers mate for life and are VERY territorial! They will tirelessly chase any intruder out of their territory, including their own yearling offspring. They are stubborn about that - and about most of their other habits: Just where - which branch or Tree trunk they use to peck open nuts or any food morsels, where they cache food and, close to the nesting site of a pair many trees will have “scabs” on their bark from Woodpeckers. These Birds also have their speciffic hollow logs, on which they drum to advertise their presences.
- Whoe you, ifff their favorite place is your metal chimney or the eves of your roof and the ruckus starts at 4.30 in the morning.
While in North America Native tribal lore is filled with references to Woodpeckers and they are considered Powerful Medicine, I could not find much on European lore about the Birds - and even less about Green Woodpeckers.
The Greek God Silvanos is cited as having a regular black and red capped Woodpecker as a familiar. Silvanus ruled over the forest and
protected cattle that was driven into the forest to graze and feed.
Silvanus’s Woodpecker in turn was in charge of “Tree Magic” and regenerative vegetative power.
The coloration of the plumage reminds me of the 4 colours often associated with the 4 elements - or the cardinal directions found in the medicine Wheels of many Native tribes......

In a reading - I can not help to associate this Bird with persistence and also stubbornness, but also reliability as a partner, industriousness and a good sense of family values. These attributes are coming directly from my daily encounters with the 4 mated pairs of Woodpeckers that live around our house and of which we know the individuals by specific “quirks” and behavioral traits, as well as differences in their calls.
Did You know, that Mr. W. pecks several nesting holes and then Ms. W. has the choice, which one she likes and where she will move in to lay eggs!
They will use a nest cavity just one season; but next season someone else will move in!
There you have the carpenter of the forest!

Out of interest - any chance you might share the Native American woodpecker lore? I have heard references to the Thunderbird - and weather....

Here is a little bit in an old thread:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?p=1059466&highlight=Woodpecker#post1059466
But there is lots more in other legends.....


This link is more about European lore:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/b/2010/10/11/myth-monday-the-woodpecker-harbinger-of-rain.htm