Thursday, November 7, 2013

My first impressions of the Wildwood tarot

It has been a  bumpy road but after a long wait I finally am the proud owner of  my Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan,John Matthews and Will Worthington!
The Wildwood Tarot with my most (four of stones)and least (nine of bows) favorite card
Since its publication in 2011, I have been tempted to buy this deck but I always could find a reason not to: the colors were not as vibrant as the Druidcraft Tarot, the people with animal heads has put me off, it didn't follow the R.W system and so forth. But the deck kept pulling me and then I noticed other people blogging about the cards of this deck.  Some of those cards really got to me and finally I gave in: I bought the deck  from Book Depository, hoping I would get the second edition with the world tree on the backs. How happy I was when I received my long awaited package (new edition). Due to prior experiences I examined all the cards; fronts and backs. It seemed okay but the second last card, the nine of vessels had a white paint stain on the back. I wouldn't be able to read with the deck because you would always be able to tell one from the other. I mailed to BD and they asked for a picture or the stained card. After I had send it, they immediately responded: “ I’m very sorry to hear about this. In this case we will be happy to offer a full refund or free replacement for the damaged item, whichever you would prefer? There is no need to return the damaged copy.”

The Forest Lovers - Wildwood Tarot
How cool is that. What a great service! Of course I wanted a replacement. Yesterday evening it was delivered to me by mail (again the second edition!) and after a thorough check I saw it was in perfect condition. Thank you Book Depository!
I only have flipped through the cards a couple of times, and picked my most and least favorite card. That was hard for I love all of them. And that it a first too. Never had a deck from which I favored all the cards. I am planning to play and bond with them before I am going to blog about them.
This deck is also very important to me because I want to use it for the journey I have set out for myself: to follow the turning of the wheel for one year  and to search for a personal meaning for each of the holidays. Since this is the theme of this deck we couldn’t be a better match.
Or course I cannot tell a lot about the cards or the deck as a whole yet but I just wanted to share my enthusiasm and my first impressions J

16 comments:

  1. Okay, inquiring minds want to know: What was your favorite and least favorite of the cards? :)
    I always know I've got a great deck when I want to take time to play and study it before actually using it for readings.

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    1. My favorite was the four of stones.and the least favorite was the nine of bows ( see the large picture)
      I know what you mean I can hardly put them away .:)

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  2. Yesss! I am so happy you finally have your pristine copy of the Wildwood :) I can see why the 9 of Bows might not be your favorite, haha.. The 4 of Stones is a lovely card. This has made me think about what my own favorites are in the Wildwood… hm… the Wanderer, 6 of Vessels, 9 of Arrows….yeah you are right, most of the deck. Perhaps my own less favorite would be 6 of Stones, though I appreciate the thought behind the drawing. I'm happy you have the deck, and I look forward to you blogging about it!! :)

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    1. Thanks I am just overjoyed. For now I first want to get acquainted with the cards and get a feel for them but I will definitely blog about them :),

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  3. Can I ask you what the name of the publisher is on the second edition? Is it Connection? I have the older version, but want to upgrade as this is one of my favourite decks : )

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    1. Hi Carol, the publisher is Sterling Ethos NewYork. this is the link form Book Depository:
      http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Wildwood-Tarot-Mark-Ryan/9781402781063
      Mind you, BD couldn't guaranty to send the second edition, because you can't tell the difference from the outside of the box. Hope this was helpful :)

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  4. Sycamore drew the 9 of bows in the greenwood today, have you read her post about it?

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    1. I thought she wrote about the ace of bows today and yes I read her blog daily. It is interesting to relate the Greenwood to the Wildwood tarot:)

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  5. Tis a lovely deck, Ellen, and I can't wait to see how you get on with it! :)

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  6. I'm happy for you! It seems to be a beautiful deck and it is so tender the Forest Lovers image!!. I imagine you are going to keep it in a special box, it deserves it! :). You have very pretty bags and boxes! Muchas Estrellas!!!!!

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    1. Yes, I have picked on of the book boxes until I can knit a bag for this deck

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  7. After reading this I now must get my Wildwood deck out and determine something lovely to do with it. It really is a beautiful deck and I find it has a clean, calm spirit about it.

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    1. Hi Zanna, it's indeed a very special deck. I am still in the phase of just watching and absorbing the beautiful pictures. Sometimes they touch me on such a deep level, they make me shiver.
      I hope you'll have a good time reconnecting with you deck. :)

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  8. Hi,

    Could you tell me why you have such a preference for the second edition?
    I am in the proces of purchasing one and I seem to find different editions everywhere:-)..
    Like to make the best choice... so this is why I am interested in your reason to go for this one..
    Love to hear! Thanks!

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    1. It seems there is some more info about the court cards in the book of the second edition and it has a world tree on the back. Further it is the same as the first edition.

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