Tarot of the Tree Whisperer

Ace Of Wands

Hello Tree Spirit Companions,

We have now met the tree spirits from the Tree Whisper Oracles and we move forward together as we now meet the tree spirits of Tarot of the Tree Whisperer. Tarot of the Tree Whisperers is a new and exciting project that I am working on seasonally. Tarot of the Tree Whisperer has a strong seasonal influence as well as following the Celtic Tree Calendar enhanced by my own creation of The Council of Trees, the hidden trees of the Celtic Tree Calendar.

Each tarot image will be an illustration of the tree spirit essence that I will try to capture and interpret through my own unique art style. Each image that I create and upload will also be accompanied by the tarot card art work's associated meanings and a little information on the story of the image. This very special tarot deck will also have a companion book. The book will explain in detail all my symbolic choices.

Welcome to the realms of Tarot of the Tree Whisperer

The Ace of Wands - Symbolism Key

Ogham & Celtic Tree: Beith Birch

Season: Summer

Element: Fire

Time of Day: Midday Sun

Time of Life: Youth 25-50

Direction: Tribes of the South

Council of Trees: Oak & Holly

Plants: Red Campion & Cocks Foot Grass

Tarot Card Imagery - Ace of Wands

In this image we meet a young birch tree spirit, they all full of the exuberant energy of the Ace of Wands. This young tree is in a state of becoming. They are becoming the full expression of the wand itself. The young birch tree becoming the wand represents that we can fully embody the spirit of the wand and express all of this energy through our very being. The symbol of Beith Birch ogham symbol is situated on the lower part of the tree spirits base. You will also notice the Red Campion flowers and beautiful cocks foot grasses gently swaying in the breeze. Young birch trees are a dark brown in colour with very fine silvery cracks that resemble an dry sea bed, these silvery cracks eventually become the silvery bark we know to be of silver birch trees. They also have tiny little pit markings that eventually grow and expand into those beautiful eyes familiar of birch trees. You can see where I have interpreted there pits and cracks in a more impressionistic way. I have also included the seasonal representation of The Council of Trees, the Oak and Holly leaves on either side of the bottom corner of the art work. I have also included the midday sun high in the sky.

---

Art Style

I illustrate my drawing in graphite first. I then ink my drawing in Faber-Castell fine liners and erase the graphite with a Faber-Castell kneadable art eraser. I enjoy using stippling and doodle scribbles to illustrate shading, energy and the atmosphere of this place. Doodling is my main intuitive way of expressing my art work. but I also love fine details so I try to find a balance in my illustration. My ink lines are an important part of my process of capturing the essence of the tree spirits domain. I use Derwent Lightfast paper and Derwent Lightfast colour pencils. I also use Zest-It blending fluid to create a watercolour paint like effect. This also enables me to lean into my other joy in creating art work, working with paints. I enjoy overlay ink and pencil to create layers of depth in my values and pick out details. I don't so much try to illustrate accurate lighting and highlights. I try to work intuitively and feel into where I want light and dark to be represented. The realm of Tarot of the Tree Whisperers is for me a slightly out of touch other realm where the spirits of nature reside in potent expressions. And so this surreal, romantic interpretation of this world, this place is illustrated through my choice of colours. My colours palette of my artwork will vary greatly however I am inspired by moody twilight scenes, regardless of season and so my colours will always be in a moody vintage in style.

---

Inspiration

The inspiration for the colours and plants came to me from nature. The background colours and Cocks Grass came for an area of wild grasses where I live, they are like brightly coloured jewels, rich in burnt colours of garnets, amethyst and amber that glisten under the summer sun. I have also been deeply in tune with the spirits of grasses this summer and felt they wanted to be in the art work. I also felt the chime of Red Campions while on my walks. They outline the embankments of the paths I walk and I felt deeply that they also wanted to be included in the art work. The tree spirit came to me through my intuition, I could see them come through clearly in how they wanted to be represented in my art work. I tried many times to capture them just as they wanted to be seen, the Ace of Wands was redrawn 9 times in an effort to get them right. I feel settled now on this art work. And I am looking forward to the next tarot card image I create.

Thank you so much for following my journey in creating my own tarot deck.

Yours in the heart of the woodlands.

Mags.