First Impressions

This is one of those decks where you instantly know… “This isn’t going to read like Rider–Waite.”

And that’s either exciting… or a bit annoying, depending on what you’re used to.

When I first looked through it, it didn’t feel like a tarot deck in the normal sense. It felt more like stepping into a world, like you’ve walked into a forest and someone’s handed you a set of symbols you don’t fully understand yet.

Everything is rooted in nature. Not in a soft, Pinterest-y way, more in a raw, slightly uncomfortable, ancient way.

And it really helps you see that this deck isn’t try to be easy to read, it’s trying to be real and deep.

What Makes It Different (And Why That Matters)

This is where a lot of people either fall in love with it… or put it back in the box. The Wildwood Tarot completely reshapes traditional tarot:

• The Fool becomes The Wanderer
• The Magician becomes The Shaman
• Strength becomes The Woodward
• The Hermit becomes The Hooded Man

Even the suits change:

• Wands → Bows
• Cups → Vessels
• Swords → Arrows
• Pentacles → Stones

And the court cards?
They’re not people.

They’re animals.

So instead of reading “King of Swords,” you’re reading something like a bird, a fish, or a snake, and interpreting that energy through instinct, not structure.

And I’ll be honest with you…

At first, it feels like reading tarot through a dream at first. You know the lay of the land but everything feels a little bit different.

The Feel of Reading With It

I love reading with this deck because of how natural it feels. Usually when a deck changes names, suits, and structure like this, you end up second guessing yourself a bit. You’re translating more than you’re actually reading. I didn’t really get that here.

Because even though it is different, there’s still enough of that Rider–Waite Tarot backbone running through it that you don’t feel lost. You can still recognize what the card is getting at.

And then the artwork gives you just enough extra to build on that without overcomplicating it.

So instead of sitting there thinking,
“what does this mean again?”

it’s more like,
“okay, I can see what’s going on here.”

That’s a big difference. For me, it ends up feeling quite intuitive to read with.

You’ve got a clear starting point from the structure, and then the imagery helps you actually apply it to the situation in front of you. And because the scenes aren’t overcrowded, your attention naturally goes to what matters. You’re not getting distracted by loads of extra detail that doesn’t really add anything.

It just keeps things moving. I’ve found I don’t get stuck on cards with this deck. The message tends to come through pretty quickly, and it actually relates to real situations without needing loads of mental gymnastics.

Which, honestly, is what you want most of the time.

What Makes It Different

When I first went through this deck, I clocked the changes straight away. Different names, different suits, animals for court cards.

Normally that’s where I start thinking, “this is going to slow everything down.”

Because with a lot of decks like that, you end up pausing mid-reading trying to remember what everything lines up with. That’s what I expected here. But when I actually used it, it didn’t happen.

The structure is still close enough to something like the Rider–Waite Tarot that you’re not guessing what a card is meant to be doing. You can look at The Wanderer and still recognise it’s The Fool.

Same with the suits, once you’ve seen Bows a couple of times, you’re not thinking “what is this again?” you just read it like you would Wands.

The only thing I thought might trip me up was the court cards. Because I usually rely on facial expressions, body language, something human to latch onto. You don’t get that here.

But what I found instead was I stopped trying to make it about a specific person.

I’d pull one and think more along the lines of,
“this is someone acting like this”

instead of,
“this is literally this type of person.”

And that actually made it easier to apply to real situations. So yeah, it is different. But it doesn’t create extra steps. You’re not translating, you’re not second guessing. You just read it.

Why I Love The Artwork In This Deck

I really love the artwork in this deck. It hit straight away for me. It’s got that balance that’s quite hard to find, there’s enough detail in each card that you can actually read from it, but it never feels crowded or messy.

I’m not sat there trying to work out what I’m supposed to be focusing on. My eye just goes straight to what matters. And that makes a big difference when you’re actually doing a reading.

Because I’ve used decks before where they look great at first… loads going on, loads of colour… but when you try to use them, it’s harder work than it should be.

You end up picking bits out and almost forcing a meaning. I don’t get that with this. With this, I can pull a card and pretty much straight away see what it’s getting at.

There’s usually one clear moment or action in the image, and that’s enough to build from. It just flows. I also like that it’s not overly polished. It still feels a bit raw, a bit grounded, which fits the whole forest theme a lot better than if it was all super bright and perfect.

It feels like it belongs to the deck, not like it’s trying to impress you. And honestly, that’s probably why I liked it straight away. It’s easy to look at, easy to read, and it doesn’t get in your way.

What I Like

• Court cards work better than I expected
  I thought the animals would throw me off, but they didn’t. If anything, they made me focus more on behaviour and what’s actually happening, rather than trying to match it to a specific person.
• Easy to read straight away
  I didn’t have that usual adjustment period. I could pick it up and just get on with it without constantly checking meanings or second guessing what I was looking at.
• Artwork actually helps the reading
  This is a big one for me. It’s not just nice to look at, it makes the message clearer. My eye goes straight to what matters instead of bouncing around the card.
• Different, but still familiar
  It changes enough to feel fresh, but not so much that you feel lost. I never felt like I had to “relearn tarot” to use it.

What I Don’t Like

• Card names can slow you down at first
  Even though it reads easily, there are still moments early on where you clock a name and think, “wait, which one is that again?”
  It passes pretty quickly, but it’s there.
• Not ideal if you rely heavily on traditional meanings
  If you like everything to line up exactly with standard Rider–Waite Tarot interpretations, this can feel slightly off in places.
• Less direct for quick yes/no style reads
  I found this works better when you’ve got a bit of space to think about the answer. If you just want something quick and very direct, other decks do that better.

Is It Good for Beginners?

I actually think beginners can use this, it’s not going to teach the standard Rider Waite meanings, but the meanings in the book I absolutely love, and they truly put a sincere and positive look on everything.

When I was intuitively reading I definitely wasn’t getting Rider Waite meanings, but I could see in the imagery what the deck was trying to tell me, and my actual thoghts, turned out to be very similar to the decks overall meaning.

So from a reading point of view, it works. You can pull a card and make sense of it without needing loads of experience.

But…

If I’m being honest, I still wouldn’t recommend it as a first deck. And it comes down to one simple thing. You’re learning a version of tarot that doesn’t fully match what you’ll see everywhere else.

So if you ever:

• look up meanings
• watch videos
• read other decks

you’re constantly having to translate things back and forth. And that’s where it can slow you down. This is exactly why I made the Star & Strength Tarot Deck for Beginners the way I did.

Because with a standard Rider–Waite structure, everything lines up.

You can learn the cards once, and that knowledge carries across everything, other decks, books, meanings, all of it.

With Wildwood, you don’t quite get that same consistency. So yeah, you can start with it.

But if you’re looking for the easiest, most straightforward way to learn tarot properly, there are better starting points. This feels more like a deck you pick up once you’ve already got the basics down and want something a bit different.

The Guidebook (And Why It Actually Helps)

I just want to also bring up how much I love the guidebook, because I’m someone who doesn’t usually care that much about guidebooks. Most of the time, they’re either too basic… or they just repeat what you already know in slightly different wording. But this one’s actually useful.

It doesn’t just tell you what the card means, it tells you what to do with it. And the meanings are all positive, even if the card itself is negative, but not in a fake “everything’s fine” kind of way. It’s more like it gives you a direction to move in, which I think is what most people actually want when they pull cards. And I noticed something else straight away. Some of the really heavy cards have been softened a bit.

So instead of something like the Ten of Swords hitting you with that full-on “everything’s gone wrong” feeling, you’re getting a version of the message that still acknowledges the situation… but doesn’t leave you stuck in it. Even the more difficult cards that are still there handle it well. Like the Seven of Vessels (Mourning). It doesn’t just sit in the sadness. It actually reframes it in a way that makes sense in real life. Things like:

“Mourning begins the process of recovery”

and

“Learn the lesson of letting go by offering thanks for cherished memories and being at peace with the past”

That’s the kind of thing that actually helps when you’re reading for yourself or someone else. You’re not just pointing out what’s wrong. You’re giving the situation somewhere to go. And I think that fits this deck really well overall. It’s deep, it’s honest, but it’s not trying to drag you down for the sake of it.

Final Thoughts (And Would I Use It Over Rider–Waite?)

This is one of those decks that I actually enjoy using. Not just looking at, not just appreciating, I’ll genuinely reach for it.

Because it does what it’s meant to do. It reads easily, the artwork supports you instead of getting in the way, and even though it changes things, it never feels like it’s making your life harder.

That’s quite rare, especially with decks that try to do something a bit different. Most of them either stick too close to Rider–Waite and feel a bit pointless… or they change so much that reading becomes a chore. This sits in a good place in the middle.

Now, would I use it over something like the Rider–Waite Tarot?

No.

And that’s not a knock on this deck. It’s just that Rider–Waite is quicker for me. If I want a fast, clear answer, I know I can rely on it without thinking twice.

But this…

This is what I’d pick up when I want some familiar but fresh inspiration. So I don’t really see it as one or the other. And that’s why I’ve kept it. Because it’s not trying to replace anything. It just gives you another way of reading, without making it harder than it needs to be.