Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot - tarot decks

Price: US $15.52

ProductID: alt1226

• The Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot is a whimsical, non-traditional deck, the tarot imagery has been recreated as a mix of
• fairy tales and the natural world. The card art is animated and vital and the deck as a whole approachable and friendly.
• While the Llewellyn edition is no longer in print, decks are available from oppy Palin.

This deck came to my attention when one of my Tarot e-lists started talking about it. Actually - it was used for the reading of the day - and the scans were out of this world! I had to check out the artist, her site, her work - everything! It was time well spend - pure energy of Grandfather Sun into my day! Poppy Palin is an author and illustrator who has written on her personal experiences as a psychic. She is also a professional tattooist, teacher and lecturer. And, IMHO, a lady with a great deal of insight into life in general and the Tarot in particular.

I do not usually connect with high energy decks - they tend to put me off. But this one is so whimsical, so carefree - it makes me laugh, it makes me want to pick it up and work with it some more - it is magickal! The deck, "Waking The Wild Spirit", and the accompanying book, "Stories Of The Wild Spirit", provide a wonderful walk through the Tarot.

"Waking the Wild Spirit" takes the format of connecting with the wild - in the form of nature, the elements and our own wild, instinctual sides. Ms Palin sees the cards as a way of connecting with the animal, plant and spirit beings around us, and of living in the "now", of being aware of our acts and their consequences. The Major Arcana represents archetypal human experiences, while the minor arcana represents things of a day to day, physical nature.

The book "Stories of the Wild Spirit" is exactly that - a series of stories about the wild spirit within each of us. Each Major Arcana card is presented with a black and white scan and a story, from the cards point of view, taken from myth, childhood fantasy, faery tale and legend. There are no keywords, no reversed meanings - just a wonderful story that makes one think.

Each Minor Arcana card presents its voice in a shorter version, and in a manner that supports the Major Arcana. They speak in what Ms Palin terms a "briefing".

From the book:

The Peace Keeper (Spirit of Air) (King of Swords):

I have the authority to build bridges between nations and forge links between people. I have a grasp on vapor, for peace cannot be quantified, only felt. It cannot be held, only discussed. I am the Keeper of a concept, the one who spreads an idea of how it could be if we listened ... really listened, as if we were one another, as if we felt the empathy that makes us walk, albeit briefly, in another's shoes. I am he who seeks a solution, he who needs to complete a mission to bring peace to all.

I let my understanding of peace spread out around me wherever I go. I am the representative of no one man, only the messenger and the intermediary of a Way of Being. I advocate accord, reconciliation and compromise, in the name of unity, for the purpose of strengthening our connections to all things and one another. I share my words of kindness, I divulge my methods of constructive discussion, and I pass on the information, which I know has forged solutions that have worked for others.

I never give up on my peace talking, and I will not abandon the need for someone to stand at the center of arguments and disputes, for I am a solid, stable form, and invite others to bounce their ideas an opinions off of me. I am friendly and open, hiding nothing, walking with Spirit and talking honestly , from the heart. People feel my inner peace, and they know that I am not out for my own ends. All I desire si to see the concepts of harmonious cooperation discussed calmly, with a mixture of compassion and logic. My ideas are always tempered by consideration for others. My aim is to bring together the rational and the imagination, to blend them into a seamless way of interacting with others.

Let us all contribute to the peace process with our honest communication, and may we never give up the will to achieve peace on earth.

I only have two quibbles with the book: one is that while each of the suits has a chart for which card is which (all cards and suits in this deck have been renamed), the Major Arcana has no such chart. The other is that the traditional names are not given on the same page as the "retitled" card.

The deck itself is quite nice at 3 1/4" by 4 1/4", on glossy, quality card stock. The backs are busy, but done in pastel colors with two sets of figures facing each other in the center, each with arms outstretched. One would not be able to discern a reversed card until they turned it over.

The face of the card has a 1/4 inch white border, with a color coded border containing black triangles with symbols in the four corners. Spirit of Air (Swords) is coded yellow, Spirit of Water (Cups) blue, Spirit of Earth (Pentacles) green and Spirit of Fire (Wands) red.Each Minor Arcana card carries the suit name and number of the card on the top, and the retitled name on the bottom of the card. The Major Arcana contain the number and retitled name on top, and the spirit on the bottom.

The scenes are done in pastels, and have an "other-worldly" quality to them. The Seven of Earth (sub-titled Journey) shows a figure in a jacket, wearing heavy boots and carrying a walking stick moving through a forest. The Wandering Minstrel (The Fool), subtitled Free Spirit, shows a Joker-like figure jumping through space, his dog beside him, pack on his stick over his shoulder, reaching for the sun. The Healer (The Hermit), subtitled Wise Counsellor, shows a figure seated at a table, working with a light coming from behind him, holding his hands over some type of bowl, with a cat at his feet and a white bird over his head.

There are two extra cards to this deck, each presenting different a manner of reading the traditional three card spread. I find this a very nice addition to the book/deck presentation.

The cards are evocative, and follow the intent, if not symbology, of traditional Tarot cards. I find this a lovely deck, easy to use, but perhaps not for beginners. I recommend this as a working deck, as well as a deck for meditation and study.