DruidCraft 2 of Wands

[Horace]

I was reading in the RWS forum about the 2 of Wands. and these were the meanings I was familiar with because my decks were always RWS-type clones. Now that I've branched out, It's hard to get a grasp on other decks' differences. Especially with the DruidCraft, which won't leave me alone. I had to google the Longman of Wilmington. I thought it was the outline of someone going up the mountain with two walking sticks. Now that I know about the Longman, it is easier to understand the choice part of the meaning.

The book states that the two staves create a doorway of possibilities that is opened when you use the tension of relationship creatively. It also states it could involve holding two ideas side by side and letting the relationship unfold to new possibilties. Nothing really about making a decision or a choice, but just allowing to unfold? Being stuck with RWS in my head, I can't get my thoughts on this card. Or maybe it IS just the oddity of the stick figure.

It says your hands are full, and you've created a doorway with the two staves, now do you step through or not? What about the TWO doorways, the first created by the two trees, the second by the sticks? How could that be significant?

I do think the grass looks greener as he advances up the hill...


(Has anyone ever visited the Longman? It must be incredible. ahhh, but here in the states we do have the world's largest ball of string!) Hh

 

[BodhiSeed]

For those who don't know about the Longman:

The origins of this huge figure cut into the chalk of the north face of the South Downs are unclear but it has probably served as a marker since Neolithic times. The plain between the North and South Downs was originally forest and a hazardous place inhabited by wolves. The steep scarp face of the Downs would have been a clear border between the dangers of the forest and the exposed grassy uplands where passage and trade was easy and safe.

The LongMan is the second largest representation of a human figure in the world and obviously would have been clearly visible for many miles. As well as being a marker it probably had religious significance and would have been a gathering point for people from a wide area. The natural amphitheatre of the site amplifies sounds and would have made a spectacular backdrop for a speaker standing on The LongMan.

The poles that The LongMan carries have been variously interpreted as measuring sticks, farming implements (they have been altered over time) and also as the doors to the underworld.

The whole area seems to have been interpreted as the border between the real and spirit worlds and has acquired a number of myths over the centuries. There are numerous burial barrows and other earthworks on the summit of Windover Hill and a number of ley lines pass through the site. Wilmington Priory which was founded by Benedictine monks from Normandy lies at the foot of the hill and has a hidden undercroft used as a place of worship by the Knights Templar. It was not seized during the wars against the French so perhaps held some secret? Modern Pagans still perform ceremonies here and apparently dog walkers are occasionally surprised by naked celebrants braving the elements on this very exposed site.

Taken from: http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp306/html/BruceHemming.html

Horace, my mom just received some pictures from a woman she met while traveling who lives in Sussex. Imagine my surprise when I found the LongMan in her group of photos!
I love the idea of a doorway between the real and spirit worlds. It's almost like he has the opportunity for a spiritual quest (which may be hard, but rewarding), or he can just stay where he is in the material world.

Bodhran

 

[Disa]

Hmm synchronicity. I've just had my DruidCraft deck a week or so and haven't really gotten very far into the accompanying book. I was looking at the 2 of wands this morning and couldn't find a thread already started for it. I thought I'd ask about it once I go home from work this afternoon, and alas, here's a thread on it. Thank you for starting it, Horace.

Thank you for the link to the origins and the picture of the Longman, bodhran. It's quite interesting and really brings the card to life.

I did get the feeling upon first seeing the card that the outline had something to do with the spiritual realm, but I wasn't quite sure what it could be. I thought of a person making a choice between this world and the next. Do we have to choose or can we learn to balance everyone else's reality with the reality of the spirit world? Or is it just a case of choosing between being earthly(materialistic) and spiritual? Again, I think balance is the key.

What a remarkable card. What a remarkable deck. I can't wait to explore it further.

Disa

 

[BodhiSeed]

Do we have to choose or can we learn to balance everyone else's reality with the reality of the spirit world? Or is it just a case of choosing between being earthly(materialistic) and spiritual? Again, I think balance is the key. Disa

Maybe by the time the Fool arrives at the World, he's figured out that he's both physical and spiritual, that both worlds are important, and he's learned how to balance them in his life.

bodhran

 

[Horace]

thank you

I like the thought of the Longman being the doorway between two worlds. It's comforting in a way. after all, he might be a relative, one of my ancestors.

But it's still hard to understand this card using the traditional meanings. In the DruidCraft, it seems to be more about creating something new by being brave enough to TRY something new? and does the choice involve taking a risk?

I would like to know the artists' thoughts as to why he chose the Longman for the 2 of Wands. I would have thought it for the Moon with it's 2 pillars or the HP with her doorway to secrets not yet known. I think a 2 is so new along the learning path that you can't figure out what the passion created by the wands will be. I guess this card means that intent, creates? hmm

Bodhran...did the woman know what she had seen? It must really be an awe-inspiring sight. Not something you could easily forget. Like our Mount Rushmore. Thanks for sharing that tidbit..

This deck has given me so many different perspectives. Hh

 

[BodhiSeed]

For me, the LongMan's poles symbolize duality: light and dark, male and female, the spiritual and the material, etc. It is creativity that, at this point, is unfulfilled. Both opposites are needed to create, just as one needs the light and the dark to develop a photo. What will the LongMan choose to do? Will he take the risk to create, and move beyond the doorway created by the two wands? This is the choice the Two of Wands represents for me.

Horace, I do believe the woman who sent the photo understood there was a great mystery behind the symbol of the LongMan, but whether she understood what the mystery was about, I don't know.

Take care,
Bodhran

 

[fadestoblackk]

I personally feel a little aversion to this card. It sticks out. And it is so difficult to interpret. I would say something about coming to a new place. Seeing the signs that you are starting something new. Like "oh good, there is the Longman, I am finally out of this forest. Nice things are just ahead!"

 

[WalesWoman]

My personal key words for this card is... "and on the other hand" It seems to me like a portal, similar to 2 Swords and indecision, only in this case you have both choices in hand and are doing some comparison shopping, weighing the mertis each and deciding what you want most, what will help you get where you want to go and do what you want to do.

So in most cases... you try to keep both and are torn between one and the other. It's like being a parent of twins, both pulling you in two directions, trying to make you say who is your favorite.

Or on a more generous note (wands are warm and generous)... he has two wands, one more than neccessary... which means he can offer one to someone else. So this could show the creative enterprizing nature of this card as well.

The ego of wands... a sign... Killroy was here... he went -} that way ... no he went {- that way.

 

[Horace]

The book mentions the 2 wands the Longman is holding are to create a doorway of possibilities, not just 2 choices. I didn't feel that he is trying to decide which way to go. More like what can I do with the energy created between the two sticks? you can feel the tension between the polarities of two magnets so you know there's energy there. With so many creative possibilties.

At first I thought the tree on the left was the same as the tree in the 3 of Wands, but one is an oak and the other a willow, I think. Hh

 

[GoddessArtemis]

To be quite honest, this is my least favorite card in this deck. Not only does it look like it's half-finished and not well thought out, but it gives no "kicks" of intuition to me when it comes up in a reading. I get so very little from it.

On a closer inspection, I guess I see the doorway, with the man in the middle..and the best I can come up with is that he's "manning" the doorway, controlling the entry/exit so to speak, or standing there and wondering what to do next. This, of course, comes from looking at the other 2 of Wands in other decks.

I often wish this particular card was painted differently...

GA