Parting the Mists

Today’s card is one of action, so if you’ve been indecisive or procrastinating about something NOW is the time to get going. Have a great Wednesday!

THE ARCHER

READING POINTS: The dawn of a new adventure, folded in the web of universal potential, waits for you to string the bow of your imagination and loose the arrows of creativity. This is the time to be bold and commit to the hunting of new life and a better relationship with the world, as well as the fulfilment of wholesome ambition. Take a moment to gather your tools and steady your state of mind. Take careful stock of what you want to achieve, why, and how you will go about it. Then harness your potential by filling your quiver with all the talents, knowledge, and cunning you possess and string the bow of burning gold” with the “arrows of desire.” Take a deep breath and be calm. I tis time to let your soul take flight.

MEANING: The bow’s importance for most of early mankind, both as a tool for survival and for defense, cannot be underestimated. It is for this reason, perhaps, that it has also become a spiritual symbol, and the drawing and releasing of an arrow is sometimes seen as a ritualistic practice in its own right. For many, the bow is a powerful link to our past, and the patience required to mast it connects the Archer with ancient life-or-death experience.

The Celts placed written spells on their arrows and Sioux Indian “medicine” arrows were painted with geometric designs and held special ritual significance, so that from early times the use of the bow took on a role in the harnessing and transmission of the will. Stringing the bow gives the wood a potential for the release of energy, drawing the bow controls and harnesses that energy, and releasing the arrow with intent finally sends the archer’s will through the air to its target.

Just as spells and curses were loosed through the air by hunters and shamans, so we must ourselves tune in to this ancient process and become archers with quivers full of ideas and desires, capable of forming and focusing our aim in the steady drawing of our will and then loosing our creative and intellectual drive in a controlled and effective way.

The key to a smooth and accurate release of the arrow is a steady and relaxed state, both physically and mentally. As hunters in the forest, we need patience and cunning, as well as an intimate knowledge of the Wildwood, to move with stealth toward the quarry. Then, with a cool and deliberate aim, the arrow must be released, itself containing something of our will and of our spirit on its flight toward its goal.

DESCRIPTION: The Archer holds the broad longbow poised in the act of release. The bow is of the Meare Hearth design, the fletchings are of good feather, taken from the right wing, and the arrowhead is flint. The Archer’s gaze is focused and steady as she looks beyond the arrow into the sky, holding the tension between the bow and the sinew bowstring with controlled and relaxed intent. She wears a simple amulet and appears serene and confident yet full of purpose. By her side wait two great hunting dogs, messengers of the power she holds within herself.

The Wildwood Tarot by authors Mark Ryan and John Matthews and artist Will Worthington