FW~The Tree of Life 00

From what I can tell the tree of life must be some kind of begining or pre-begining, indicated by the double zeros. But I also see it as kind of like an entrance to another world, this comming from the book talking so much about a journey. So maybe it's like the rabbit hole in Alice in wonderland, or better the looking glass. And what's with the other objects, the sprite/faery, the swan, the red ribbons in the tree, the bag of coins and the cross type symbol engraved on the door?

I thought that maybe being a wicca deck the tree may symbolize the phrase: as above, so below. (or something close to that) Since it seems to dissapear just before reaching the very top and bottem.

I'll continue what I started writing in a different thread about the tree of life.

I started saying that the card 00 is like an inbetween. Like the ashes after the pheonix dies and before it is born. Or when we return to mother earth for our rest before returning to the surface to relive and learn. It's neither an active nor passive card but more like the link connecting the world card back to the fool. Because, as a wiccan or pagan we believe that there isn't just one life but many lives with witch we learn and grow, it's a neverending cycle. So instead of going from the fool to the world and learning all the lessons in one life as whomever made the first cards believed, the creators of the Faery Wicca deck added another to suit the belief that there is no end....

What do you think?

I am new on learning about the Tree of Life, and don't have any books on the subject. So I did a search on it and found a good site.Although it doesn't really go into depth about it. http://www.crystalinks.com/kabala.html
The Tree contains ten centers called sephiroth, individually sephira, which are connected by 22 paths. My take on it : 22 paths = the major arcana or the fools journey? Not sure how the 10 center sephiroth come in, but it tells about the 10 on the site. Blessings Dakini

OH wow!! That site just gives so much more insite to the card. I don't know if it's helped anyone else but I'm definately inspired!
Thank you Dakini!!!

That got me really confused! Kabbalah and its tree of Life didn't seem to go with this Celtic deck to me, so I went to that site, and found it to be...Kabbalah.

My dim understanding of K is that crowley used it as part of his foundation for the Thoth deck, that it stil being used in Hermatic decks, that it involves --or created?--tarot numerology, and the concept of the majors as gates to wisdom on the path of the tree of life.My version of any of that could be wrong.

It's a vastly complecated area of knowledge, to me. I run into it in a lot of decks, and decided a long time ago that if I ever wanted to learn it, really, I would go to Rachel Polluck's Books, or to Kay Steventon of the Spiral Tarot.

So I wondered what this had to do with the Faery Wicca tarot, and what Ms Stepanich was doing, naming a card the tree of Life, etc. So I did a Google search, here's the link, hopefully it will work properly:
LINK:http://www.google.com/search?q=Faery+Wicca&btnG=Google+Search

which should take you to the sites I found.
I had hoped to find some reason given for the connection with Kabbalah, and this card in particular, but found nothing. Thre was a notice on one of the sites that the Artist would be starting some sort of tutorial or Lessons for the cards, in the future.

Frankly, I will take every oppertunity to sail right by any Kabbalah that pops up in my study of this deck. there is so much else in it to keep me busy, and, frankly, I don't need the Tsuris* that the BIG K gives me.
I get mental indigestion. :I
(*Tsuris is a Yiddish word meaning, troubles, grief,misery)

So I won't be responding much if at all to that are of this study, if others get into it. And I hope no one will take that in any way personally, or as some sort of judgement of them or the Big K. For some reason the combination of Celtic Faeries and the Big K just ties my brain in knots.
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That said, I have done some thinking on this card, and find my approach (surprise ) Pan-Celtic Pagan.

Trees have been sacred for a long time in the Celtic Lands. In Ireland especially the tradion of healing wells and the trees together is still very strong. Now the are named after St. this and that, but people still come there to pray and ask for wishes to be granted. Traditionally, wells are an entryway into the Otherworlds. The ribbons on the tree (in the card) are there as eiter a thank you, or a offering, if I recall correctly.

The Swan in the background reminds me of all the swan Maidens and general shaoeshifting and transformitive stories in the celtic myths. Here, I would see it as a reminder that transformation is close at hand, if one seeks it.

I think this card appearing in a spread may be notice that this issue is no small thing in our life. Look deeper, it says, there is more here than you think. There is the oppurtunity to get to the core of one of your life-lessons. This Matters.This is a Lesson; Pay Attention.
The door in the tree is cracked open, and light shows round the edges. Enter here, and perhaps there is a "shortcut" to the core of this issue. Deal with this now, and perhaps this will not have to become one of the 'repeating' themes of your life.

I think the leprachun indicates that this is an entry into Faeryland, with the dangers involved...it's not a trip for everyone...and the gold is to remind us that if your are succesfull, the rewards are great.

The Tree itself is the world Tree, straight out of Celtic and Norse mythology, root is one world, branches in the other, the central piller that keeps them all connected. It's the tree Odin hung on for 9 days to get the Runes, and their wisdom. It's the tree celtic shamans journey on.
It is the place within from which we can travel without time and space being a barrier.

On reading this over, I realise that I maybe coming across as though I think I'm some great expert on this deck, or Celtic beliefs. I'm not. I have been reading a lot of Celtic mythology and anything I can get my hands on, really, for the last few years.
But that dosn't mean I know anything about this deck, for anyone else but myself. I just recognise some of the symbolism. And I have the habit of writing what I think in a definate way.

No, thank you this has helped tremendously.

I appreciate the incorporation of the celtic myths, I've been trying to study their history but as we all know just about anyone can post a website up, right or wrong. So defining what is what, is hard. I'm not sure if you did it purposly or if it came out accedently, the part where you speak of attacking the problem at the core before it becomes 'repeated' or a habit.

I believe we are very close to it's meaning, if nothing else we've "opened the door" for others to define their own meanings, rather than take it directly from the book.

As the origins of the Quaballa Tree of Life have their roots in ancient humanity, so does the Celtic Tree of Life. They are one in the same concept shared by much of the ancient world. To Connect the Quabbalistic Tree with the Tree of the Norse and other ancient forms of diviniation with the Tarot Standards and you will get a cross-reference of cultural history that reaches beyond any initial set goal or objective. Incorperation of cultural histories is important in regards to unravveling the convolusions of ancient and modern mysteris

The Twisted Tree in the two of uice(cups) i believe to also be the Tree of life.