Waking the Wild Spirit..

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Dec 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

dolphinprincess	08 Dec 2003
.. I just received this deck .. and I am torn. The artwork is amazing! It is full of nature, and fairies, and animals... perfect!... but its not all that easy to read with... What are your experiences? Is this deck worth the effort? Thnx.

lark	08 Dec 2003
Hi dolphinprincess, You took the words right out of my mouth. I find the art amazing and love to look throught the cards but I find it difficult to read with. For me it is more like an oracle deck even though I know it was ment to be tarot. The cards deviate so much from tarot that it's almost like learning a whole new system. I keep it with my oracle decks, and use it as an oracle. Also I'm not one to like key words on my cards so that is a negative to me. My favorite cards are 2 Wisewoman, Page of Water and Seven of Fire. They are beautiful colorful cards though. Oh, I was not crazy about the style the author used to write the book. There were many times I actually felt irritated as I was reading it. It had for me a kind of bullying, pushy feeling, like believe this or else. Didn't care for it at all.

Mimers	08 Dec 2003
I feel the same as you. I put the deck away for now, but I know that there will be a time for it. Did you get the book as well? In this, her second deck, Poppy Palin designed it according to her beliefs, thus attributing her own meanings. Perhaps it is the kind of deck where the best approach is that of someone who has never seen a Tarot deck before. Just look at the cards and see what emotions each evoke. Let's see, Wisewoman is at the bottom of my deck. A beautiful elderly woman whose expression tells me she still has youth in her heart. She is not bitter or 'old'. She has an understanding of life that frees her from her physical age. The butterfly in the corner flying away as she looks means she understands that life never really ends. That each ending is a new begining. This is what frees her. She looks so loving too. There is a crow in the foreground and the only story I know about crows is how they had a love/hate relationship with the Native Americans. The Native Americans believed that the crow brought them the first cornal of corn for which they are forever grateful. They also try to steal the corn from them. Delemas! You can respect someone, even if you don't agree with some of the things they do. Knowing how to truely love without judgement. The shells come from the ocean, water, the deeply feminine. Then I would go to the book, if you have it and see what, if anything else, it offers for clarity. Perhaps it will say something of the sea shells and the bell. Ooohhh, it starts the chapter on the Wisewomen with this quote, "Shells and bells and cones and stones, I feel it in my blood and bones." I am paraphrasing from Poppy Palin's book here: Calling up the sacred within yourself; pools of imagination and deep wells of intuition. Remember all the beauty you have seen The woman does look like she is remembering something wonderful, doesn't she? healing magic; within us there is both horror and hope, great fear and great happiness. Dreaming. Expand, like creation into you intuitive self. Our inner guide. Dream weaver. Whew...now I know why I had to put it away. Just one card stirs up so much it is rather overwhelming. In a positive way of corse. Want to try doing a reading for each other with the deck and see what we both come up with? Mimi :)

Mimers	08 Dec 2003
Lark, We must have been posting at the same time. Is it coincidence that 2 Wisewoman was the card on the bottom of my deck? I have not explored the book yet, except for the blurbs I posted above. I do know from Lee's review that he felt the same way as you about the book. Mimi

lark	08 Dec 2003
Lee did a review? I will have to go check that out. Hey there are no coincidences around here, I sure have learned that! It would be fun to do a reading with this deck. Or at least explore a few cards.

Mimers	08 Dec 2003
Here is Lee's review http://www.tarotpassages.com/poppy-lb.htm BTW, I just read the story behind your screen name. How wonderful for you! I am glad you are so happy in your prairie!

lark	08 Dec 2003
Thank you Mimers. Lee if you're out there excellent review. You made me laugh more than once. I'm glad others saw the same flaws I did in this deck. I was trying to be as gentle as I could in my first post. Because this deck does have some beautiful art work and interesting card renditions. So we have to give it that. But the book leaves much to be desired.

dolphinprincess	09 Dec 2003
well, I guess its not just me! Its a really awful feeling when you look at a deck and love it, yet cannot use it nearly as well as you'd like... I have similar views on the book.. while the concept may have been good, there is just WAY too much written for each Major Card... !!! and half way through trying to read it, you wonder what the heck you just read.... I guess the jury is still out on this one.. wether its a keeper or not :o(

Kiama	09 Dec 2003
I remember when this deck first came out, and I ranted here on Aeclectic about a rewiew on TarotPassages that slated Poppy Palin's deck. Well, I stick to that rant. Every last word of it. I disagree with what Lee wrote in his review (it was very well-written by the way, even if I did disagree with it!) and feel he has misunderstood a few things a little. Mimers: the decks' creator is not Louisa Poole (Merrday Tarot) but Poppy Palin. :D I love the deck, and I think Poppy was right to try something new with the approach for the book. I personally get bored of reading the same 'this card means...' description every single time I pick up a deck's companion book. Kiama

dolphinprincess	09 Dec 2003
thanks kiama, for a different point of view... as i said earlier, i love this deck.. i am just confused by it. i know it will take some learning to really understand the cards... - so i wanted to get some other opinions before investing a lot of time. i do like the concept of the book - and i have had a few 'aha' moments while reading it - but i still think the stories for the majors are *too* long... and at times the narrations get a bit confusing. i just checked out Poppy's website.. and she shows all 78 cards with a shorter definition under each card... I found these shorter meanings really helpful when working in conjunction with the book. I just copy / pasted (yes, all 78 of them) into a word document so I could print it... I also was reading a section of Tarot Tells the Tale that discussed the number plus element system... this system correlates with Poppy's minors... (after reading her website I realized this...) SO - the cards are now beginning to make more sense to me...and since the artwork is amazing, i think the deck warrants some attention... and i hope to be able to read well with it in the future....

Mimers	09 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama Mimers: the decks' creator is not Louisa Poole (Merrday Tarot) but Poppy Palin. :D Oh my, thanks for correcting me. I must have had a short circuit this morning :laugh: Amy

lark	09 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by dolphinprincess i just checked out Poppy's website.. and she shows all 78 cards with a shorter definition under each card... I found these shorter meanings really helpful when working in conjunction with the book. I just copy / pasted (yes, all 78 of them) into a word document so I could print it... Thanks for this idea. I'm going to go over there later and check this out.

dolphinprincess	09 Dec 2003
Lark (or anyone else).. if you find the meaning's on Poppy's site helpful, I'd be happy to email you a copy of the word document that I copied them all into.... just PM me with an email address... :o)

WolfSpirit	09 Dec 2003
I have this deck, although I don't use it much I think I would never want to get rid of it, the artwork on some cards is just so beautiful. When I use it, I don't use it as tarot but as an oracle deck and I go completely by intuition. For the same reason some of you mentioned, you can't use the tarot meanings for this deck. Although I found this a drawback of the deck, now I don't mind really because I have many tarot decks and with most of these decks, I automatically go to the meanings stored in my memory, so it may be good to have a deck where I have to use my intuition more. I find the book impossibly boring and patronizing so I am not tempted to stop my own intuition by consulting the book :laugh: So I can turn the disadvantages to advantages, but to be honest, I don't use it often.

typo	28 Mar 2005
Hi! I've ordered this deck and I am waiting somewhat patiently for it. I asked Dolphinprincess about her file (since the original site isn't online anymore) but unfortunately, she doesn't have it anymore. Is there still anyone around that received it from her then? If so, could you perhaps email it to me? Thanks!

Deana	28 Mar 2005
I waited for this deck with much excitement. The day it came, I took one look at the keywords and trimmed the entire deck. Now none of the cards say anything (but they have helpfully color-coded borders). Looking through the artwork, I was in awe of the beauty of some of them and wondered why she included rough sketches in place of others...some of the pictures just didn't look like her finished products. I pulled one card and looked it up in the book and I was so turned off by the little lecture that I put the book aside. I love some of the pictures...dislike others...don't see what most of it has to do with Tarot...don't feel like being lectured by the book. I think I'm going to use it intuitively as an oracle. Or maybe I'll look up the number/element correspondences in Tarot Tells the Tale and go by those or something. So far I've done nothing with it. Some of her pictures are the best I've seen...the Fool, that Fortune Teller, those Lovers.

Cerridwen	29 Mar 2005
I recently got this deck, agreed the artwork is absolutely beautiful, I am still working my way through the book so haven't used it properly yet, so will still be using my Gilded Tarot for now.

Grizabella	29 Mar 2005
I've read a couple of articles written by Poppy Palin explaining why she wrote the book as she did. She has fibromyalgia, which causes memory problems. By making each card a story character with a personality, she felt it would be easier to remember the characteristics of the cards rather than trying to memorize a bunch of standard card meanings. The character for each card is speaking in each of the little stories. Personally, I did find it easier to remember things about each card by reading the stories and I didn't find them at all offensive. I love the deck and the art work as well as the book. The only problem I have with it is that, as some people have said, it seems like more an oracle than a tarot. I'd have found it much easier to use if she hadn't changed the "gist" of many of the cards.

Fudugazi	29 Mar 2005
I rather like the etching quality of some of the images - rougher, a more exact approximation of an imperfect perfect nature. A bit like untidy flowering weeds in a garden. I don't like too-neat gardens.

WolfSpirit	29 Mar 2005
Lyric wrote: I've read a couple of articles written by Poppy Palin explaining why she wrote the book as she did. She has fibromyalgia, which causes memory problems. By making each card a story character with a personality, she felt it would be easier to remember the characteristics of the cards rather than trying to memorize a bunch of standard card meanings. I really like the idea of having a companion book with story characters rather than a list of meanings (I already have books with meanings), it is just that the way she told them I did not like. I felt she was repeating herself too much, stating the obvious over and over...it would have been more surprising and adventurous if she had not told her own agenda for every card meaning. But - I know there are people who like the book. Good for them, but it really did not work for me at all.

WolfSpirit	29 Mar 2005
dolphinprincess wrote: i just checked out Poppy's website.. and she shows all 78 cards with a shorter definition under each card... I found these shorter meanings really helpful when working in conjunction with the book. I just copy / pasted (yes, all 78 of them) into a word document so I could print it... Does anyone know if this is still available on-line ? I found a website but the links to the tarot don't work anymore. Maybe she removed it ?

Kissa	18 May 2005
well, after the killing reviews she got on TarotPassages, no wonder poor Poppy wants to keep a low profile if she indeed removed the info you are talking about. My! I know of some tarot creator who got all mad for one thing i (humble virtually non-existing, geographically-challenged mom at home) said about their deck, well do you imagine how it feels to read the review Diane and Lee wrote on a very popular and respected website like TarotPassages?? Kiama, did you try and send Diane Wilkes the review you wrote for Aeclectic??? I just love creating chaos and provoking polemics, don't I? LOL Well, now I am sure I want the Waking the Wild Spirit set. Funny someone mentioned the trimming issue because as I watched scans tonight, it came to my mind quite fast... Kissa

Kiama	19 May 2005
Kissa: You're about the fifth person in a week to nudge me into writing reviews again! (And in the middle of exams... Well, I guess I've gotta find some way of avoiding Kant revision! }) ) I remember I started writing a review for Tarot Passages about the deck, but it never got finished. I just... ran out of steam. Maybe I'll try again though. I still love this deck. I think it's perfect for the eco-Pagan, or anybody who's spirituality is Earth-based and eco-conscious. I also love the artwork in the deck, and find it very evocative (my favourite card being the Fiddler as the Devil... It ties in with some of my favourite images of the devil, being a fiddler. Devil Goes to Georgia anybody?) I know many people get annoyed at the condescending tone of the book. I can see why. But I tend to get annoyed at lots of books, so I've learned to forget that and just appreciate what the real message and aim of the thing is. With the Wild Spirit Tarot, there is an inherent expression of freedom running through the deck, and a genuine care for the Earth, and a thorough concern for how humans interact with the world around us. I didn't buy the set for the book - I bought it for the cards, Poppy's wonderful artwork and her spiritual insight. She really is a very deep and caring woman, who isn't afraid to take action on her ideas and beliefs - and that shines through in the deck. (And the book!) And I do so love playing Devil's Advocate. Okay, you're on - a review will be written. Soon. Maybe in a few weeks. (Depending on how much Kant p*sses me off.) Blessings, Kiama

Kissa	19 May 2005
LOL Kiama. I give Kant half an hour, two hours top if you're extremely motivated. Read Kierkegaard. Much shorter career anyway ;) DH coming home soon and he should have picked me a copy of the Wild Spirit from THE big city (= Helsinki). Ah ah!!! Thank you Diane and Lee! hum...i meant thank you, Kiama! ;) kissa

sunflowr	28 Jun 2005
I'm thinking of optaining this deck.. so please, anyone, who has the list of keywords that used to be on the website? Sounds like it would be SO helpful! ps: thank goodness for the keywords on the cards, since the book sounds iffy. I would probably go mostly by art and the keywords on the cards. Beautiful art, from what I can see of it. Also, does anyone have a scan of the Lovers card?

lark	28 Jun 2005
sunflowr I have them send me you address through pm and I'll send them to you. Or I could try and email them to you too.

The Waking the Wild Spirit.. thread was originally posted on 08 Dec 2003 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.