Got the Animal Wise Tarot
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| Violet Gargoyle |
10 Oct 2002 |
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By Ted Andrews.
I rather like it, though I seem to have a soft spot toward decks that use photography (with or without collage). Its an interesting comparision with the Medicine cards that I have had for years.
....Oh yeah, I love the Griffon backs.
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| WolfSpirit |
10 Oct 2002 |
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I have this deck. I find it not my most beautiful deck (don't like the borders around the pictures) but I'm always interested in decks concentrating on animals.
I haven't used it yet though, I think it will take a bit of studying first. Please let us know how you get along with this deck !
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| Kyrielle |
10 Oct 2002 |
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I'm looking at this deck, but haven't been utterly compelled to buy it yet (although usually the presence of griffins in any deck makes that deck an immediate must-have!).
The suit titles seem awkward. Do they correspond to the wands, cups, etc. at all? And does anyone have any thoughts on how well the animals chosen actually embody the qualities of each card?
-- Kyrielle
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| WolfSpirit |
10 Oct 2002 |
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The griffins are only on the back of the cards !
The suits are:
Ancients (reptiles/amphibia): wands/fire
Four-leggeds (mammals): pentacles/earth
Shapeshifters (insects): cups/water
Winged Ones (birds): swords/air
The traditional name of the suit + a keyword are on every card.
I haven't read the whole book yet, but so far I find it very good, it explains the choice of the animals for the cards.
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| truthsayer |
10 Oct 2002 |
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the first time i saw this deck was a couple years ago. i was totally turned off. however, i am getting more into shamanism and animal totems or guides. it's hit me recently that i really need this deck. i got animal wise by andrews last weekend. i already have animal speak. now i have the animal wise tarot. i don't know if my other animal wise is the same as the one that comes with the deck.
my animal wise deck arrived today. i feel very connected to it and may be able to read from it pretty quickly. i just have to get better about my frog and toad phobia in case i draw them during a reading.
i like the backs and i like the design of the cards face. i generally am not crazy about photographic decks but i like the simplicity of the photos. i prefer photo cards to cover most of the card but the words at top and the sides help in reading the cards quickly. i think the animal choices for each card reflect a lot of thought.
i'm looking forward to using it. :)
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| truthsayer |
10 Oct 2002 |
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the animal wise tarot book and the animal wise book are different.
i've looked thru the deck again and am amazed at the photography. i am an amateur photographer and i enjoy getting nature shots. however, this doesn't mean getting good animals shots are easy. it takes time, patience and luck to find certain animals and many bad shots to get that ONE perfect shot. 99% perspiration 1% inspiration and a dash of skill. i don't know if ted andrews took the shots himself or someone else took them but they are amazing in my eyes b/c i know how difficult it is to get shots like the ones in this deck. i'd love to know how long it took to put this deck together and find 78 good shots to fit each category. the more i think about it the more amazing this deck becomes to me.
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| Zhritza |
11 Oct 2002 |
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The more I look at pictures of this, the more I like the choices of animals for the cards... 3 of Pentacles = otter, perfect! Yet I am not too pleased with the key phrases or with the borders. Another one to debate internally.
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| Jewel |
11 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by truthsayer
the first time i saw this deck was a couple years ago. i was totally turned off. however, i am getting more into shamanism and animal totems or guides. it's hit me recently that i really need this deck. i got animal wise by andrews last weekend. i already have animal speak. now i have the animal wise tarot. i don't know if my other animal wise is the same as the one that comes with the deck.
I have had Animal Speak for years and love that book. It has come in handy when certain animals keep appearing in my path ... the message is always right on. I have also been real curious about this deck lately ... if you decide you want to trade it Truthsayer just pm me ~giggles~ (like that is going to happen any time soon!:D)
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| Violet Gargoyle |
11 Oct 2002 |
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I had been reading with the medicine cards for years and so I picked up the Andrews deck because I felt that I am better at "reading animals" than symbolism when it comes to judging feelings involved around someone's life.
My other (non animal) tarot decks I have are better at gaging events instead of general inner characteristics. This is why I always try to read with 2 "balancing" decks. One to gage who is coming and going, the animal based ones to better discern how they are feeling.
The animal deck for the "inner" (feelings, motivations) and a complementary deck for the "outer"(places/time/events). Does that make sense?
Problem is that the medicine cards have not been jibing as well in my mind with some of my newer acquisitions. Picture doing a comparision of Edgar Allen Poe and Dr Suess, and the mental switch you would have to do to do this, and you might get the idea.
So I thought that another animal deck (and hey, I'm in the market for more....) might help serve as a better bridge in these cases.
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| Zhritza |
12 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by Violet Gargoyle
So I thought that another animal deck (and hey, I'm in the market for more....) might help serve as a better bridge in these cases.
Do you have the Shapeshifter? I don't, but it looks pretty droolworthy...
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| WolfSpirit |
12 Oct 2002 |
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I use the Shapeshifter very much in that way at the moment.
First I spread the cards with another deck, then I add the corresponding cards from the Shapeshifter. I reread the book for cards that are in a position involved with advice, spiritual path etc.
although I already pretty much know the meaning it gives me a boost for the direction I have to go in.
I'm sure it also has possibilities for readings for others, if you have a feeling for nature spirits.
Violet Gargoyle - I think you meant you do two different spreads, one with each deck ? I use the same spread for both decks.
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| Violet Gargoyle |
12 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by WolfSpirit
Violet Gargoyle - I think you meant you do two different spreads, one with each deck ? I use the same spread for both decks.
Sort of kind of....I usually do a double celtic cross. A card from each deck in first position, a card from each deck for the second and so on, so that the reading is actually the combination of the two cards. (I do try new spread once in a while for varience)
For instance, the Queen of Swords reversed and the Snake crossed with the Hermit and the Wolf (positions 1 and 2) can mean a bitter older woman is somehow trying to make herself look more believable by tearing down the opinion of your accepted "teacher" who, since he usually keeps to himself, may not know that his character is being called into question, or may not matter.
I know its a strange way of doing it, but it sort of the the first way I learned it and it always worked best for me.
BTW- Qolus- Love the avatar- I will check out the shapeshifter tarot.
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| Kyrielle |
14 Oct 2002 |
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It turns out that the creature on the back of this deck is not a griffin at all, but a Dragonhawk -- as in the name of the publishing house.
Still looks like a griffin anyway.
-- Kyrielle
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| Zhritza |
15 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by Violet Gargoyle
Qolus- Love the avatar
thanks... uh, on the off chance that anyone cares, it's from an Alphonse Mucha drawing and thus is over 100 years old, so I figured it was OK and not copyright-problematic
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| rostie |
15 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by Qolus
thanks... uh, on the off chance that anyone cares, it's from an Alphonse Mucha drawing
love your avatar too, and just adores mucha!!! did you ever went to his museum in prague? it's really beautifull...if you ever can you definatly have to see it...
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| Zhritza |
16 Oct 2002 |
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I hope with all my heart to someday be able to go to Prague, although if I can afford travel in the near future, I have a few priorities that will come before it... Do they keep Mucha's Slav Epic in that museum?
Okay, anyone else want to weigh in about animal decks? When I was still a teenager I borrowed someone's Medicine Cards and did a self-discovery sort of spread outlined in its book. My animal was apparently Rabbit, the Fear-Caller. After reading the description I was rather dismayed, but over the years I have really come to agree with that summary of my inner self in many ways, especially as it pertained to my childhood and adolescence. Does anyone do divination or read for others with these or other animal-portraying cards, or are they purely a tool for personal exploration?
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| rostie |
16 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by Qolus
I hope with all my heart to someday be able to go to Prague, although if I can afford travel in the near future, I have a few priorities that will come before it... Do they keep Mucha's Slav Epic in that museum?
yes a few paintings of his slav epic are there...and in prague you also find the church where he designed one of the glazed windows...very beautifull, such a wonderfull colors he used for this...
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| Demonesse |
17 Oct 2002 |
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:eek:
Doesn't the pinkness of the deck get to you after awhile? I think they could have tried to strike a balance between the card's meaning and the animal itself.. like in Temperance. Overall, the deck is rather pretty (I think the Pet Tarot is cuter though) but why does a toad symbolize inner strength and resources?
(Is it because they eat anything...even each other? heh.)
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| WolfSpirit |
17 Oct 2002 |
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hehe, never call a toad just a toad, it has inner strength and resources because they know how to protect themselves and their movements: they are gifted at burrowing, playing dead, inflating their bodies to look more threatening...(etc) thus the book.
The "challenging" (so to speak) cards for me are the creepy crawlies of the shapeshifter suit.
And yes, though I think most cards have lovely photographs I could do without the pink border... I would have preferred bigger pictures and less border, but some people seem to like it as it is.
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| Demonesse |
17 Oct 2002 |
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You're right, the photographs should be bigger. I wish I could see more of the shapeshifter suit and the backs...I saw the firefly, but I think it should be shown lighting up at night to better reflect the card's meaning; it'd be much prettier too, and the butterfly photograph is kinda-- ordinary.
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| Kyrielle |
17 Oct 2002 |
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I wanted more picture, too! And maybe they could have at least changed the color of the borders with each suit. But I do like this deck. I like the mixture of zoology and science with folklore and mysticism. The animals really are appropriate to their cards.
-- Kyrielle
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| truthsayer |
17 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by Demonesse
I saw the firefly, but I think it should be shown lighting up at night to better reflect the card's meaning; it'd be much prettier too, and the butterfly photograph is kinda-- ordinary.
not to sound like i'm defending ted andrews not using a lit firefly but doing such would require special photographic skill, the right camera equipment and luck.animals just don't behave the way we want them to behave. i know when i try to take pix of my cats, i'll be focused and ready to shoot and she'll move making the pic out of focus. it may be that having an unlit one was the best he could do. i wish it was lit tho b/c the meaning of the card would stand out more. i think many of the animal shots used are amazing. he just couldn't do as good on some creatures b/c of their unpredictability. i'd love to know how long it took to put that deck together.
does ted andrews have a website? maybe he could answer some of our questions.
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| Demonesse |
17 Oct 2002 |
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I like the mixture of zoology and science with folklore and mysticism. The animals really are appropriate to their cards.
---Kyrielle
Yes, I do agree most of them are very well suited to their cards, just that perhaps their environment/positioning/inherent qualities could have been better brought out to reflect the qualities of each animal in relation to each card?
not to sound like i'm defending ted andrews not using a lit firefly but doing such would require special photographic skill, the right camera equipment and luck.animals just don't behave the way we want them to behave.
---Truthsayer
That's true...nature photography does require a lot of luck. However, I don't think his skill should be a problem since it's reflected in his photos, but he didn't really make use of, for example, interesting angles or techniques to make the subjects really come alive to represent the card. I believe the finished product should be as close to perfection as one can get it, so perhaps he could have brushed it up a little. To give him credit for the firefly thing, maybe he couldn't find any lit fireflies at night - we have one place here where they light up the night sky like stars, it's truly a sight - or maybe he didn't consider that approach. But I think any photographer needs patience and immense dedication, especially so when creating a tarot deck! :)
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| WolfSpirit |
19 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by truthsayer
does ted andrews have a website? maybe he could answer some of our questions.
The book does not mention a website, only a contact address through his publisher. Also the search engine on my pc did not come with a website :( just sites selling his books.
He seems to have written a lot; can anybody recommend a certain book of his ?
About the firefly: fireflies are shy animals, if there is too much noise or you get too close they sense danger and "dim their lights" so it's probably very difficult to make a picture with their "lights on".
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| truthsayer |
19 Oct 2002 |
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i have 2 of his books--animal wise and animal speak. animal wise is about finding your totems and has interesting trivia about animals. animal speak is more about spirituality and magick using animals. i like the animal wise book best. (it's different than the deck book). he's also written several other books on various subjects. i think you could just key his name into the search engine at amazon and find them.
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| RedWood |
19 Oct 2002 |
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I have Medicince Cards..I havenot used fully in a spread..Although I love the blank cards...I added tiger for me(tiger is my totem animal)..and Dragon..I am keeping the others blank until it moves me..I will also be using the blanks in spreads...there are so many animals..I feel atleast keeping a few blanks in is good..that way you dont get stuck on just those animals..I also have shapeshifter..it is a beautiful set..Once again havenot used it..Same with my Druid Animal Oracle..beautiful cards..I have just been so busy reading about shamanism...I have seen the Animal Wise tarot..has not moved me..i am sure I will get it someday...or if I ever get good stuff to trade again LOL
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| Violet Gargoyle |
19 Oct 2002 |
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Originally posted by truthsayer
i have 2 of his books--animal wise and animal speak. animal wise is about finding your totems and has interesting trivia about animals. animal speak is more about spirituality and magick using animals. i like the animal wise book best. (it's different than the deck book). he's also written several other books on various subjects. i think you could just key his name into the search engine at amazon and find them.
I have a Faerie book of his, although I would stop short of recommending it. It just wasnt the kind of info that I was looking for.
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The Got the Animal Wise Tarot thread was originally posted on 10 Oct 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.
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