Wildwood Tarot

[Nina*]

Originally Posted by GryffinSong

Any further comments on the animal-headed folks?

Well.. I don't have the deck yet, but I do have the Greenwood - animal headed people don't really annoy me in a deck like this one since I merely see them as spirit guides.

[gregory]

Originally Posted by GryffinSong

I hope they drop the comparison too. I've never particularly cared for the Greenwood and I keep mixing up the two. Wildwood looks more up my alley, but I'm not sure about all those animal-headed people. I'd like to see more scans of those. I love Worthington's animals, plants and people. But animal-headed people just seem silly to me and they distract me from whatever the card is trying to say. I wonder if this deck would change my mind about that, because I really like the artist's style.

Any further comments on the animal-headed folks?

They don't bother me at all. But I think they might well, were I a serious Shaman student.

[GryffinSong]

Originally Posted by gregory

They don't bother me at all. But I think they might well, were I a serious Shaman student.

I'm not a shaman, but I have worked with my own guides for many years. They always show themselves as natural animals, which I think is why the half-animal thing is a little freaky. Though I have to say that the more I see of the stag-headed man from the Wildwood, the less it bothers me. It looks more natural than most I've seen. I'd love to see scans of some of the others in this deck.

[Carla]

I'm getting used to the animal-headed people, too.

I have question. If you have the deck, look at The Green Woman. On her cauldron is a sheela na gig, got it. But then she's holding a figure in each hand. In her left hand, that looks like the antlered figure from the Gundestrup Cauldron. (I wonder why he's not holding his torc and serpent). Is that who he is? And what's that figure in her right hand?

[Shade]

Originally Posted by Carla

In her left hand, that looks like the antlered figure from the Gundestrup Cauldron. (I wonder why he's not holding his torc and serpent). Is that who he is? And what's that figure in her right hand?

The seated figure from the Gunderstrup cauldron is named Cernunnos but interestingly that is the only artifact found bearing that name. There a a number of seated figures that have been grouped as Cernunnos figures and the most common attribute among them is their posture and indications of wealth. Some don't have the horns or the serpent with a ram's head. He belongs to a classification of gods kind of in the same way any chubby female statuette from the neolithic period is call a "Venus of _____."

I like the level of personality that the figures have, the Druidcraft stands out as the deck I own that has the most expressive features on the court cads... of course here the court cards all all fuzzy creatures... I can work with hat :-) I think clients might react better to being compared to a mother bear than most depictions of the Queen of Swords.

[Carla]

The figure on the Gundestrup cauldron may or may not be Cernunnos, depending on who you're reading, but my real question is, what's she holding in her right hand? It looks like a little lizardy critter with a bird face.

[gregory]

Originally Posted by GryffinSong

I'm not a shaman, but I have worked with my own guides for many years. They always show themselves as natural animals, which I think is why the half-animal thing is a little freaky. Though I have to say that the more I see of the stag-headed man from the Wildwood, the less it bothers me. It looks more natural than most I've seen. I'd love to see scans of some of the others in this deck.

*sigh*

Which ones ?

[NikkiB]

much prefer it trimmed!! not sure i've got the patience tho!!!

[OctoberGwen]

Originally Posted by gregory

*sigh*

Which ones ?

LOL! Come on gregory, take one for the team...

Or, just tell us all to wait until our own copies arrive!

[gregory]

I will scan some more, but not the whole deck, is all.