Well Worn Path by Llewellyn at House of Tarot

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Submitted By: Mark on 02/02/2006
The Well Worn Path
By Raven Grimassi and Stephanie Taylor, artwork by Mickie Mueller

The Well Worn Path, published by Llewellyn Publications, is an Oracle Deck, not a Tarot Deck. Its 40 cards depict the major symbols of modern Paganism, Witchcraft and Wicca. With cards such as The Broom, The Hearth, The Crescent-Crowned Goddess and Greenman, this deck is a comprehensive collection of the major concepts that permeate Earth Based spirituality with roots in the European traditions.

The accompanying book, “A Traveler’s Guide to The Well Worn Path” is concise and to the point. It presents four uses for this deck: divination, teaching about Paganism, spiritual alignment, and performing solitary rituals. This book and deck form a complete introduction to the world of Wicca.

The description for each card is divided into three sections: Meaning, Teaching and Alignment. The Meaning section is used for divination. The Teaching section gives background into the symbols in the card. The Alignment section gives a guided meditation for the card. Taken in order, the Alignment sections tell the story of a traveler wandering through the world of Wicca. The book suggests reading the Teaching section for each card first, then the Meaning section, then Alignment. This gives the reader a thorough grounding in the cards.

Divination with this deck could not be simpler for the beginner. Three spreads are introduced: The Cauldron spread (10 cards) for major readings, The Pentagram spread (6 cards) for specific questions, and The Crossroads spread (9 cards) for decision making. If the meaning of a card position forms the first part of a sentence, and the card meaning forms the last part, each spread tells a story. For example, if the fifth card in a Pentagram spread about “Job hunting in the next month” is The Stag-Horned God, then the composite sentence in the reading would be: “What holds it all together is the divine expression of masculine energy.” In other words, the reader should be aggressively pursuing opportunities in a logical and organized way. Readings don’t get much clearer than this.

The section on Solitary Ritual describes how to use the cards for doing your own magic. They describe several rituals using specific cards in the deck as props, and indicate how to develop your own rituals. This is a good primer for someone wishing to begin practicing Paganism, but doesn’t have access to a working group.

The cards are beautiful and tasteful. They clearly indicate the important symbols that the authors wish to portray. There are not a lot of hidden meanings or ambiguous figures. This is a very user-friendly, straight-forward deck for anyone wishing to enter the world of Modern Witchcraft.

5 of 5 Stars!

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