tarot of trees sample

Visit www.tarotoftrees.com for more information on the Tarot of Trees and to purchase the Tarot of Trees Tarot Deck and accessories... About the Tarot of Trees The Tarot of Trees is a Ta

The Tarot of Trees: Artwork and Meanings

By Dana Driscoll, 2009

Copyright 2009 Dana Driscoll, All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems, without permission from the author.

Published by Dana Driscoll on www.createspace.com.

Visit www.tarotoftrees.com for more information on the Tarot of Trees and to purchase the Tarot of Trees Tarot Deck and accessories.

ISBN: 144215246X

EAN-13: 9781442152465

Table of Contents

1

The Wheel of Fortune 27

Justice 28

The Inverted Tree 29

Death 30

Temperance 31

The Devil 32

The Tower 33

The Star 34

The Moon 35

The Sun 36

Judgment 37

The World 38

Minor Arcana: Cups 39

Ace of Cups 40

Two of Cups 41

Three of Cups 42

Four of Cups 43

Five of Cups 44

Six of Cups 45

Seven of Cups 46

Eight of Cups 47

Nine of Cups 48

Ten of Cups 49

Page of Cups 50

Introduction 2-5 About 6

Dedication 6

Awen 7

Why Trees? 7-8 Symbolsim 9-10 Reversals 11

Card Layout: Mind, Body, Spirit 12

Card Layout: Daily Tree Spread 13

Incense Recipe 14

Planting Trees 15

Major Arcana 16

The Fool 17

The Magician 18

The High Priestess 19

The Empress 20

The Emperor 21

The Hierophant 22

The Lovers 23

The Chariot 24

Strength 25

The Hermit 26

Knight of Cups 51

Queen of Cups 52

King of Cups 53

Minor Arcana: Wands 54

Ace of Wands 55

Two of Wands 56

Three of Wands 57

Four of Wands 58

Five of Wands 59

Six of Wands 60

Seven of Wands 61

Eight of Wands 62

Nine of Wands 63

Ten of Wands 64

Page of Wands 65

Knight of Wands 66

Queen of Wands 67

King of Wands 68

Minor Arcana: Swords 69

Ace of Swords 70

Two of Swords 71

Three of Swords 72

Four of Swords 73

Five of Swords 74

Six of Swords 75

Seven of Swords 76

Eight of Swords 77

Nine of Swords 78

Ten of Swords 79

Page of Swords 80

Knight of Swords 81

Queen of Swords 82

King of Swords 83

Minor Arcana: Wands 84

Ace of Wands 85

Two of Wands 86

Three of Wands 87

Four of Wands 88

Five of Wands 89

Six of Wands 90

Seven of Wands 91

Eight of Wands 92

Nine of Wands 93

Ten of Wands 94

Page of Wands 95

Knight of Wands 96

Queen of Wands 97

King of Wands 98

Introduction

She walks, the gentle wind rippling her hair and the sun peeking through the trees in patches of light on her skin As she makes her way down the forest path, she passes many of her dear friends mayflowers, birches, jack-in-the-pulpits, sassafras, and moss-covered stones The wood abruptly ends, and she steps out onto a hill overlooking a valley below

“You’ve asked me about my art and about the Tarot of Trees I’m not sure how to put it in words So I’ll speak to you about these lands and perhaps an answer will emerge.”

She raises a hand and gestures to the valley below The smoke from several large factories, traffic jams, strip malls, and power plants, blocks much of the view in a grayish haze Great billows of smoke and grit issue in large quantities from soiled smokestacks

“My kind define ‘progress’ and ‘development’ in only one sense the creation and sale of goods and services and the amassing of wealth These are the means through which

nature is tamed and exploited to produce oil, plastics, steel, and above all profits Humans judge how well we are progressing by measures like economic growth and the gross national product These seem

to me to be very empty measures, in light of everything else.”

She motions to the forest behind her

“Many of my kind would see this forest as ‘undeveloped’ and would seek it only to see how they might profit from it Ore from the ground, wood from the trees, grains from the field, meat from the animals all

of the earth’s gifts selfishly squandered away Or, worse, they would turn it into a strip mall selling the land, and all its inhabitants to the highest bidder Ever-sprawling suburbia Hundreds of thousands of acres of wild lands and habitats are re-appropriated each year for banks, Wal-Marts, houses with white picket fences, and fast food restaurants What nature is left in those areas is carefully controlled and harnessed, often through the use of destructive chemicals People love their bug sprays, perfectly fertilized lawns, and picturesque invasive plant species.”

Her gaze follows a river that meanders through the valley and into the city below Its sickly, opaque, bluish hue speaks for itself

“Ah, the river My people believe, foolishly, that they can use its waters to wash away that which they want to be rid of But it’s not so simple This river was once home to many plants, frogs, fish, insects all are now dead.”

“People these days are clueless Dam the rivers, poison the waters, crank up the air conditioning They refuse to recognize the warning signs climate change, thousands of miles of dead zones in the oceans, melting ice caps, endangered and

extinct species ignorant and refusing to care, people continue their exploitation and consumption.”

She leans on a nearby oak to steady herself Tears form in her eyes

“Its like a terrible wave It never seems to end, it only destroys and consumes, despite the best efforts of many who dare to stand in its path I fear for the future of our wild lands, for the billions of lives on this planet that aren’t human and that are unable to speak for themselves What will happen to those trees, animals, insects, plants, and birds as the suburbs expand, the forests continue to be cut, and the human popula-tion continues to skyrocket? Although I am young, I have already witnessed some of what is to come And although I fight, I often feel powerless to stop it.”

She sits down, the thought of so much destruction too much to bear

“And with that, you ask me why I paint trees? Why this deck contains not a single person, but only plants, trees, flowers, and animals? The answer should be obvious I paint trees as a statement If our fight for the real trees should fail, one way or another, I fill the world with them or, at least, their memory Trees represent nature, in all her glory, and in all her pain Why there are no humans in my work, you ask? There are already too many of them in the world.”

She stands up and slowly walks back into the forest, the gentle breeze blowing on the nearby wild grasses She reaches down and runs the blades of grass between her fingers

“And yet, as pessimistic as I may sound, I do hope for a better world And I know that if we work hard enough, we can achieve world where all species can live in peace and balance This is why I am drawn

to the world of fantasy, of whimsy, of that which is beautiful and vibrant

As she disappears back into the wood, she says,

“I hope you’ll understand my art, and through my art, my hopes and dreams My desire to protect and preserve our earth above all else I hope that these paintings will touch you, and you will walk by my side to fight for those billions of lives who have no voices to defend themselves Thank you for listening and sharing, and may you too experience the earth’s blessings.”

About the Tarot of Trees

The Tarot of Trees is a Tarot deck focused on interpreting all 78 cards through the theme of trees The major arcana are represented through unique paintings of each tree in a theme The minor arcana are

season-based and also have a consistent color scheme

appropriate for the season: the cups and spring; the wands and

summer; the swords and fall; and the pentacles and winter

I hope that you, like me, are able to hear the quiet voices of the trees The have so very much to say if only we listen

Come with me now as we explore some of the major themes in the tarot deck

Dedication

This tarot deck has been painted in honor of my dearest friend, Alfred Durth Struble III Although Alfred lived less than thirty years on this world, he was an inspiration and a source of strength for all that knew him Much like the tree, Alfred’s spirit continues to grow and touch the lives of those who remain Alfred, my trees are singing to you

Awen, or the Spark of Inspiration

A core concept in Druid spirituality is “Awen” (pronunciation: ah-o-en), a divine spark of creativity,

inspiration or illumination Inspirations for this deck began with my studies with the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) and the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) As part of my spiritual journey with the AODA, I began studying different divination systems and quickly discovered that I had

a love of the tarot and the ogham runes After trying out many different tarot decks, I became frustrated with some of the cards visuals and interpretations I decided that I needed to paint a deck for myself, and began the work, having no idea where my Tarot of Trees would lead! I painted the Tower first, and shared it with some friends who encouraged me to finish the major arcana and eventually the minor arcana This deck would not be complete without the support of so many of my virtual and real-life friends including the members of Aecletic Tarot Forums, Illustratedatcs.com, and Atcsforall.com

Why Trees?

I grew up in the wooded Appalachian mountains, spending nearly all of my free time as a child in the miles of woods behind my home I have always been strongly connected to trees, and for a long time have been studying them as an artist I observed and sketched them throughout the seasons, learned about their different qualities, and worked to identify all that grew in the areas where I’ve lived I chose

to study trees as an artist also as a political statement about the massive deforestation and lack of spect for the natural world and its inhabitants As my introduction describes, I said to myself, “There are

re-so many people in this world! I don’t want to paint more Instead, I’ll paint trees.” The theme of trees for

my Tarot deck seemed like a ‘natural’ choice

The theme of trees represented a unique challenge for a Tarot deck Because so much of the classical tarot imagery is person-based, interpreting it through the theme of trees required thinking outside of the box and re-envisioning the core meanings of the Tarot Because

of this, many of the cards blend layers of meaning combined with classic presentations of the major and minor arcana For example, the Emperor represents a mighty Oak tree, lording over the forest be-low, flanked by two majestic purple mountains Death, which for trees can be represented as a permanent change through being uprooted

or cut, was fitting fot this concept—although the tree will no longer grow, it will be transformed into something new: fire, a wooden table,

or a tome for the written word

The seasonal affiliations were another choice I made when

painting the deck Although there has been a lot of debate among tarot artists and enthusiasts about the placement of the seasons, I decided to associate the seasons with the suits based on both

practicality and elemental affiliation The Suit of Wands, for example, works perfectly with the firey heat of summer The bountiful rains of spring fits the Cups, the winds and dying of the leaves in the fall with the Swords, and the earthy qualities of winter with the Pentacles

Daily Diviniation Tree Spread

This is a simple daily spread that can be used for

seeking guidance about a number of situations The

cards are spread to form a tree trunk and branches,

drawing upon the positive energy of the tree

Card 1: The Past A card in this position signifies the

past situation, events, or persons who contributed to

the situation at hand Like the trunk of a tree, this card

provides the grounding and framework for the rest of the

reading

Card 2: The Current Situation A card in this position

represents the current situation or current influences on

the subject of your inquiry

Card 3: Suggested Action A card in this position

represents the suggested action you should take

Remember that a suggested action might refer to an

attitude, action, or even seeking out a person

Card 4: Expected Outcome If you take the action as

suggested in Card 3, this is the outcome you can expect Card 1

Card 2

Card 3

Card 4

Tarot of Trees Incense

I developed this incense recipe as the perfect compliment for the Tarot of Trees It smells wonderful and works very well to

enhance work with the Tarot This incense blend is a

non-combustible powdered incense blend that you will need to burn

on a charcoal block Charcoal blocks can be purchased at most metaphysical stores and also online You will need a mortar and pestle to grind your ingredients and tin or jar to keep the incense dry

2 parts frankincense

2 parts sandalwood (purchase in the powdered form)

1 part cinnamon (powdered)

¼ part Sweet Orange Essential Oil

1 part juniper berries (dried)

½ part lemongrass (dried)

½ part yarrow (dried)

In a mortar and pestle, powder your frankincense as finely as sible Combine the frankincense with the sandalwood and cinnamon until blended Set aside In the mortar and pestle, crush the juniper berries, lemongrass and yarrow separately Combine all ingredients, including sweet orange essential oil, in the mortar and pestle and blend thoroughly

Planting a New Tree

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago The second best time is now.”

Here are some simple instructions for planting a new tree:

Trees should be planted during the dormant season: early spring or late fall

helps hold in moisture and keeps the ground temperature cooler

Water your new tree frequently Water it at the time of planting, and then at least once a

•

week throughout the summer Water it more if there is little rain

For more information on tree planting, visit the Arbor Day Foundation:

http://www.arborday.org/

Cards and Meanings: The Major Arcana

The seedling tree, with vibrantly colored leaves, looks out upon the world He stands on the edge of a cliff, seeing where his path may take him His journey is just beginning Where will the path lead? Will the sun continue to shine or will the clouds roll in?

Meaning:

The Fool is about fresh starts; it is a new day and the Fool sets out upon his journey This card describes someone who is a free spirit This person may have a great sense of adventure and are not afraid to take risks or to take a big leap into the unknown It might also describe someone going through a rite of passage This card involves major transitions, radical departures, and leaps of faith Zero is

a perfect number for this card, which can be both anything and everything Despite the Fool’s optimism, the Fool can also symbolize nạveté, thoughtlessness, immaturity, lack of responsibility, rash behavior, and impulsiveness

O: The Fool

I: The Magician

The magician is a vibrant tree in his colorful fall hues He commands a powerful presence and can work his way with all of the four suits that hang from his branches White lilies grow up around him as a symbol of the magic that he possesses through the energy of the earth.

Meaning:

The Magician symbolizes someone who is the master of his

or her own destiny Something needs to be accomplished, and the magician has the tools to complete the job In fact, the magician is so effective it is as if he uses magic to accomplish his tasks This card could describe energetic, dedicated individuals or someone who is focused and practicing hard This practice might be in a craft or

profession, and often involves achieving personal goals, aspirations, and ambitions This card tells you to focus your energies, apply, and assert yourself Nothing is beyond your power and there are no boundaries or limitations that you cannot overcome Wish for it, strive for it, and it will be yours