Greenwood - "Gatekeeper" and "border" cards

Cat*

This post was inspired a while ago by some of my daily draws. Within only a few days (don't remember the order), I drew the Two of Stones, the Nine of Wands, and the Guardian. It struck me that all of them dealt with some sort of "gatekeeping."

The TWO OF WANDS may be the oddest choice here, so I'll explain a bit more why it ended up on this list. When I once drew that card one day as a daily card, a friend told me a story of Robin Hood and Little John (which I'll repeat here briefly to the best of my memory - my apologies for any misrepresentations!). "Robin Hood left his territory to go abroad. When he returned, wanting to claim his territory back, Little John was there, meeting him on a narrow bridge, challenging him to a fight. That way, he was asking Robin Hood if he would stick up for his choices and was willing to go through with them even if things got difficult."

As a daily card that day, this card meant being faced with an outward challenge to my (spiritual) commitments. Ever since then, it reminds me of this story and its implications.

(Interestingly, I found a picture on Wikipedia (link, see attachment for a low-res version) that shows Little John and Robin Hood fighting on a narrow bridge. I believe it's possible that Chesca Potter had just this situation in mind when she designed the card, more so since Mark Ryan, her co-author, was so much into all things Robin Hood.)

The next card is the NINE OF WANDS, which also shows a situation of gatekeeping. Here we are faced by a greenman who seems to protect the border of the forest. His pose is not as directly aggressive as the one of the two hares in the Two of Stones, but he still poses a challenge to us. To me, this card asks: Who are you? Why do you want to step into this territory? How will you behave once you're there?

To me, this card is more directed at our internal questioning than the Two of Wands. It's a card that asks me to question my motives and take a look at my current position and direction. Such questioning may or may not be inspired by an outside source, but it's not as much a challenge as the Two of Stones. It also seems to be more about being able to choose this way or another, turning round wouldn't necessarily be a defeat; whereas the Two of Stones only offers a choice between moving forwards or back, winning or losing. Even the colors and "lines of energy" suggest the Nine of Wands is a much more peaceful and calm card than the Two of Stones.

Finally, there is the GUARDIAN. A cave bear skeleton guards the entrance to a cave, which looks both warm and snuggly - and like a hungry mouth with sharp teeth. So what is this gate all about? To me this is mostly about facing our fears about going into new, unknown territory. It may well deal with taboos like death (or birth!) or other scary places/concepts. It also seems to be about disproportially big fear since the skeleton is pictured in a way that makes it appear huge (when in reality cave bears were big indeed but not that big; they were also mostly vegetarians...).

To compare again: In the Two of Stones we are very energetically challenged (which may feel aggressive to us) by an outward equal about our level of commitment and our strength of will about overcoming obstacles on our path. In the Nine of Wands we meet someone slightly bigger but generally peaceful who questions our motives in entering a certain territory. In the Guardian we are challenged to face our fears about something that appears huge and scary to us. The distinctions may be subtle (and eachof these cards may of course also mean other things in a reading) but I think they are important ones.

Before I started to write this, I looked through my deck again to see if there were any more cards that would fall into the category of "gatekeeper" cards for me. I found a couple that seem to be about borders at the very least: Seven of Cups, Ten of Stones, Wolf (Knight of Stones), Fool, Ancestor, Justice, Strength, and Judgment. Here are some brief words about each of those, in no particular order).

The SEVEN OF CUPS makes me think of the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead, especially on Samhain when the veil between the two is said to be exceptionally thin.

The TEN OF STONES seems to be about being invited in across a border. This is about coming home again from a time spent outside/abroad, where home is a goal to be reached by overcoming some challenges on our paths.

WOLF(KNIGHT OF STONES) is on the outside looking in. To me, he always feel like an outcast, very likely a misunderstood one (which makes sense when you look at how wolves have been demonized in many areas). He may also be about the border between night and day.

The FOOL is about stepping into the unknown, in an optimistic, trusting, maybe a little naive way. It's about first steps, new beginnings (rather than about just another step on a long path like some of the others).

The ANCESTOR is another card that invites us in. The Ancestor shows us the way, suggests possible first steps (we are able follow the footsteps of someone who went before us, at least for the first part of the journey), offers direction/orientation (> the North Star at the horizon!), and - as a drummer - may well be the one to set the pace and mood for our journey and to take care that we return safely (I'm thinking of people who drum for journeying shamans/shamanic practitioners here).

JUSTICE is similar to the Nine of Wands, but more "present." The Nine of Wands guy may accept a quiet retreat to mull things over again, but Justice demands that we take a stand now. It reminds us that every decision will have consequences which we may not be able to see fully before we decide (> the branches growing out of its back). The pose is strikingly similar to the Ancestor as well, but Justice seems more "present" and less otherworldly in this comparison, too. Justice holds a shield and axe (which still look like a drum and beater), reminding us to show our colors and make decisions about tools vs. weapons (creation vs. destruction), both of which are necessary at their times.

STRENGTH ended up in this list mostly due to the similarity of the poses of Justice and the Ancestor. She embodies the collection before battle. I can easily imagine her as facing Justice (how interesting that these are the two cards that are exchanged for one another is the RWS and related decks!), the Guardian, the Nine of Wands, maybe the Ancestor, Judgment, or the situation in the Two of Stones. She is not the one who challenges but the one who is challenged and needs to react.

JUDGMENT is another bear guarding a gate and therefore is related to the Guardian. This card, however, feels more friendly towards what is guarded/protected, and only indirectly threatening to anyone who would cross the boundaries of the site. I'm also reminded of the Ancestor because Judgment seems like the end to the Ancestor's beginnings. Or is it the other way round? At any rate, the doorway of the two trees appear in both cards. That doorway also connects Judgment with the Ten of Stones - it's another way of coming home that is depicted here...

Speaking of doorways, let me add the TWO OF WANDS to this list.
It's about being on the edge between two places/states of being. It shows the state of liminality itself. As such, it can be placed on every single border that has appeared in the previous cards.

ETA: The Six of Arrows is another "in transition" card, but I didn't include it here because the transition seems to be less a border(line) and more a period of moving from A to B.

(By the way, I find the idea of letting two cards face each other (rather than sitting next to each other) a very inspiring approach to thinking about their relations.)

I'm not sure where this post is going, but I find it fascinating how much the topic of borders and crossing them comes up in this deck (it would be interesting to see how often that theme comes up in, say, the RWS). On one hand, that seems like a total "duh!" observation (the issue of change and transformation seems like such a stock component of tarot), but on the other hand, it shows how there are many different kinds of borders we may encounter, what they have in common and what sets them apart, and that our experience of a transition from one place/state to another isn't the same every time.

Looking through the deck and at some selected cards under such a theme also helped me understand many of these cards much better. I also learned a lot about the subtle relations of the cards (I don't think I would otherwise have seen the connection between the Ten of Stones, Justice, and the Ancestor).

Does this make any sense to you? Do you see these cards similarly or differently? Have I missed other connections/distinctions? Have I missed other "border" cards? What do you think about this approach?
 

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Nickigirl

Hi Cat!
I love this approach to studying the deck! It makes such good sense to me! I'm interested in seeing what other "themes" you'll find running across multiple cards through the deck!
I've just got my greenwood so I'm very early in my studies but from what I read and saw so far, I like your interpretations. Keep up the good work!