John Matthews | The Wildwood Rides Again!

Wildwood Rides Again - the Second Edition.

When you're creating or working on a tarot, many things beyond your control can effect the end result. In the case of The Wildwood Tarot not only were we re-crafting an earlier version ( The Greenwood Tarot) but we faced limitations of extent in the text. Also we simply were often so excited, so carried away with the sheer blaze  of creation, that we actually forgot about the card back ! We had discussed this with our artist Will Worthington and decided that a tree motif would be a part of it... but somehow, when It came to handing  in the  finished deck, we forgot.  So, when it came around to the second edition - thanks to all those who took the new version of an old favourite to their hearts - we turned our thoughts to completing two omissions.

John Matthews | Creating a Tarot

John Matthews

A lot of people have asked me what goes into the creation of a tarot. Having done four decks now and worked on three oracles – I thought it was maybe time to give you all a creator’s eye view. 

First of all the situation differs a lot depending on what skills you have and who you are working with. If for example you are an artist then the only person you have to work with is yourself – and then the process is somewhat different. But if, as in my case, any drawing you do looks like a drunken doodle, then you need an artist. I've been very lucky to work with some of the best tarot artists in the world – namely Wil Kinghan, Will Worthington, Miranda Gray and Giovanni Casselli.