• Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone
• Phyllis Currott
• Mary K. Greer
• Christopher Penczak
• Janet Boyer
• Boudica

• Suzanna Clark

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As Divination cards they are unequalled. Simpler and easier to understand than Tarot as they are specific to the Wiccan path; anyone with the most basic knowledge of Wicca can use them as the symbolism is self-evident.  Of course, in retrospect, this also makes them an excellent tool for anyone who wishes to learn Wicca and the mysteries while at the same time learning a system of divination.          

Their potential use as a teaching tool means that they have no equivalent.  Each card represents a major area of learning within Wiccan training: The Elements, The God and Goddess, and most importantly, the Mysteries. It is in this final area that they really excel.   Whether they intended to or not Steph and Raven have created a magical access point for the Mysteries. These cards allow the walker on the path to access to the mysteries by simply meditating on the cards and using them for pathworking.  Likewise, they are excellent for the teacher who wishes to teach the Mysteries; we will certainly be using them in this fashion.

Finally, we realised there was another use. It is in fact possible to do ritual using these cards – they are of course a magical system in their own right! The uses for these cards in Wiccan ritual magic, particularly for those who have problems carrying the ritual paraphernalia around makes them excellent as a ‘magical tool kit’. All the magical tools are here that would be found in any circle – the Athame, the Chalice, and even cards for use at the elemental quarters (Air, Fire, Water and Earth) and to represent the God and Goddess.

These truly are an inspiring work – a wiccan 'Swiss Army Knife'.

• The Love Spell

• Book of Shadows

• Witch Crafting

The Well Worn Path is an ingenious means of creating ritual in circumstances where the use of traditional tools isn't possible.  It's also a wonderful source of insight into the symbolism of the Old Ways, and most importantly it is an exquisite portal into realms of spiritual grace and empowerment.

Mary K. Greer,
Author

• The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals

• co-author of Understanding the Tarot Court

It’s a divination tool, a textbook, a storybook and a complete set of ritual paraphernalia, as well as entries to other realms. The deck and book teach you to see through the physical forms of broom, tree, path, book, elements and tools to the Spiritual Forces that infuse them.  It encourages you to reach out with the spark of the Divine Within to touch the Divine Source.

The cards themselves can even assist you in designing a ritual. Draw cards for a tool to use; an element to emphasize; a God, Goddess or Guide to invoke; and to indicate the theme or purpose of the ritual.

I highly recommend  The Well Worn Path as a way to deepen your wiccan practice and to easily carry a whole ritual kit with you everywhere."

Christopher Penczak
Author

• The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft: Shadows

• Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development

"The Well Worn Path contains forty essential concepts that every modern witch should know. Though it appears to be a divination deck, in reality, its a magickal tool chest, acting as both a teaching text, through the images of the cards, and as a tool set for magick and divination. The art is an incredibly journey through the archetypes, magically evoking the powers of the witch through pictures and symbol. Through the deck a practitioner can walk the well worn path of our ancestors, and learn traditional wisdom and magical ideas through this innovative and modern creation. The Well Worn Path offers us the best of all worlds."

Janet Boyer
Author

• Amazon Top 500 Reviewer

• Intuitive

Illustrated by Mickie Mueller “The Well Worn Path deck is designed to present and reveal the symbolism, meaning, and teaching that are the far-reading roots of modern Paganism and the Craft. The images in this deck depict the spiritual and religious concepts that were the foundations of European Paganism as once known to our ancestors.” –the authors

Bestselling Wiccan author Raven Grimassi and High Priestess Stephanie Taylor have teamed up with award-winning Pagan artist Mickie Mueller to create a unique oracle called The Well Worn Path. More than just a divination kit, the 40 cards and 216-page guidebook serve as an introductory course on the Old Ways, and creates portals for mystical exploration, path working, magical alignment, and solitary rituals. The authors write in a sensible, gentle, and wise voice, like mentors on the Well Worn Path.

There are four different uses for each card in this kit:

Meaning: This section describes the basic meaning at fact value

Teaching: This section reveals the spiritual teaching or religious significance of the concept presented in each card.

Alignment: This section contains a guided imagery intended to promote a greater depth of awareness. Each card contains part of an ongoing story that will take you through a mystical journey presented on all 40 cards.

Ritual: This section demonstrates how you can use the cards to perform your own solitary ritual, which is ideal if you require privacy or have limited space.

I was immediately intrigued by the engaging art of artist Mickie Mueller, which is what initially drew me to the Well Worn Path. However, not being Wiccan, I had wondered if I would really be able to glean relevant Guidance from this deck. Having an affinity for earth-based spirituality and a familiarity with Tarot, however, proved to be the only background I really needed to use this deck effectively.

To read the full review click here.

• Pagan Reporter

• Wiccan Elder

Article reprinted with the permission of the author.  To request permission to print this article on your site please contact the author directly at SuzannaClark@gmail.com

AN INTERVIEW WITH RAVEN GRIMASSI & STEPHANIE TAYLOR
 by
 Suzanna Clark
 

There is currently a buzz on many tarot boards about a new oracle deck called The Well Worn Path.  I tracked down the creators, Raven Grimassi and Stephanie Taylor, and had the pleasure of interviewing them.

Raven Grimassi is the author of over 11 books on Witchcraft and Paganism.  Stephanie Taylor is a Witch elder and the proprietor of an online metaphysical store, Raven’s Loft.  Along with co-writing and co-creating this deck Stephanie and Raven are founders of a mystery school called The College of the Crossroads located in the states.

CLARK:  I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me about your new deck.  You two have created a divination deck for Pagans, Witches, and Wiccans.  Tell me what makes this deck unique?

R&S: We feel it’s the first of its kind to focus entirely on Pagan concepts and imagery as opposed to borrowed or modified symbolism.  Most decks are based upon the Tarot, which is essentially a mystical Hebrew system mixed with Western ceremonial magical concepts.

What we find is that from time to time someone will make a “witchy” Tarot deck or one with a Pagan flavor. But at the core it is still a Tarot system, which is not fully rooted in Paganism, Wicca or Witchcraft.  By contrast, what we have created is a system rooted in the beliefs and practices of both ancient and modern Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches.

Another unique aspect of the Well Worn Path is its ritual and magical use.  One of the features of the deck, outside of divination, is that it allows a person to perform rituals and spells while even just sitting on his or her bed. It requires nothing else other than the cards, some imagination & visualization, and receptivity.

One of the things we wanted to accomplish with the deck was to provide solitary practitioners with the means to work rituals and spells even if they live in a conservative home, or have conservative roommates. Anyone peeking in or passing by would only see a person sitting and looking at cards. We like the idea of this freedom.

The cards are also useful for people traveling who are reluctant to take their physical ritual tools. The deck can go on the plane with no hassle. We particularly like this aspect because we travel a lot for appearances, and with the deck we easily can do a full ritual in our hotel room if we want to (without any worries of being interrupted).  Someone even suggested that it was perfect for a hospital! 

CLARK: Wonderful!  This sounds like a truly unique deck, I did notice that instead of the traditional 78 cards in a tarot deck you have 40 cards.  Why made you decide to limit the deck to 40?

R&S:  That’s an interesting story.  The original concept for the deck was 80 cards.  Llewellyn had some concerns about the project because it is an unknown and untested venture.  This is because it’s not a Tarot deck, and it’s not even a cultural divination system like the Gypsy deck, or whatever.

Llewellyn asked if we would be willing to reduce the cards to 40, which would make the deck less expensive and more attractive to the chain stores (as well as the general consumer).  Llewellyn felt that this approach would contribute to the success of the deck.  So, we agreed, and reduced the count to 40 cards.

CLARK:  Which leads me to my next question. On the Well Worn Path website I noticed that the cards are referred to as forty foundational concepts. What does that mean and where do these concepts come from?

R&S:  The foundational concepts of Paganism, Wicca and Witchcraft are core and rooted aspects we find in the beliefs and practices of our pre-Christian European ancestors.  These are the “ways” our ancestors related and “communicated” with the world they lived in. They represent the basic concepts carried into modern times for a new generation. In essence the deck is about ancient ways in modern days. In order to preserve the rooted teachings, we present such ancient elements as the cauldron, the hearth, and the broom.

CLARK:  You mention the hearth, this is one of my favorite images.  The artwork is amazing.  How did you find your artist Mickie Mueller?

R&S:  Mickie had provided us with some of her work for Raven’s Call magazine.  So we knew of her awhile back.  Originally we had a different artist for the project, and the deck was going to be black pen & ink on parchment tone paper cards.  Prior to contracting the project with Llewellyn, this artist felt that the process was taking too long and she notified us that she could no longer make the project a priority for her time.  This notification came a few days before Llewellyn’s set date for a decision regarding whether to contract the project or not.

As the Fates would have it, a chance phone call from a mutual friend resulted in renewed contact with Mickie Mueller, and we approached her about being our artist.  Mickie was happy to get involved, and readily agreed to a personal contract.  We were then able to tell Llewellyn we had a committed artist.

CLARK:  It is amazing how these kinds of things work out.  It must have been a big help having an artist who also follows an earth-based spiritual path.  These images hold a lot of spiritual symbolism, how were the images for the deck created?  Was there a particular process?

R&S:  We would sit and talk about a specific card concept, and then discuss how to bring symbolism into the image that would convey a teaching.  When we had a good idea about how the card would look, we called Mickie and described what we wanted.  Sometimes we would send a sketch, but most of the time this was done through a phone conversation.

Mickie was amazing, and she brought to life each idea we had.  She would send us a sketch after each discussion, and we would make changes here and there.  However most of the time she perfectly captured what we described.  Mickie also added little bits in the background imagery as a personal touch.

Once the sketch was accepted, we talked with Mickie about colors.  The entire development was amazing because we were all on the same page throughout the whole process.  We made  it a ritual  every time we opened an attachment with the finished image.  It was very exciting!  We feel that the three of us have created something very special and unique here.  We also thought it would be fun to have cards in the deck that represented us, as you will see!

CLARK:  I’ve already taken a peek at the images and I had to smile when I came across the card of initiation and saw your two portrayed in the card.  Is there a story there?

R&S: Yes.  The three of us decided that each of us would be portrayed in a card of our choice.  Then we decided that our children would also be in the deck.  So, Mickie selected the “mother” card and she is under the tree with her young son.  Then it was our turn and we decided that the “initiation” card would suit us as we are the initiators of this experience with the deck.

CLARK:  Ok, I’m going to put you on the spot.  Raven, which card is your favorite and why?

RAVEN:  The Crossroads card really speaks to me.  But I’m not sure I’d say I have favorite, but several do seem to stand out.  I like the Ancestral card, Green Man, and the cards depicting the Book of Shadows a lot too.

CLARK:  Stephanie, which card is your favorite and why?

STEPHANIE:  I am not sure I really have a card that I could call my favorite. The images are all so unique and beautiful to single out one is really difficult.  I will give you a couple- The Greenman, I think is so awesome because you see him as a  the spirit of nature being, a part of the process himself.  The Pentagram with it’s flowing elements on the full moon is also very striking and evokes kind of a “as above so below” idea.  Oh- shucks… I love them all!

CLARK:  Raven, you’ve written over 11 books by yourself, and this is the first time you’ve worked with a co-writer.  What was that experience like for you?

RAVEN: It was challenging in the sense that I had to allow the process to “unfold” rather than try and “get it done” as usual.  I found that I had to resist making things move quickly by just doing it myself since I was so used to the writing process.  Overall the experience was a good learning experience for me, and was very rewarding.  I think that having a partner brought a nice balance, and the project turned out greater than the sum of its parts.

CLARK:  Okay, Stephanie, now it’s your turn.  What was it like working with Raven on this project?

STEPHANIE:  Well….it had it’s challenging moments. [laughs] But we shared the vision of this creation and never lost sight of the project.  The experience is very memorable and to see it come to life is just awesome!  Really the merging of the duality we brought to the concepts was really neat to see unfold.

CLARK:  The companion book shows that this deck can be used for more than just readings. Would you elaborate on how else the cards can be used?

R&S:  The deck is designed to help people obtain altered states of consciousness through meditation and alignment.  The cards can be used as keys to mystical realms.  As mentioned earlier, in the companion book we have presented a dedication ritual and a full moon ritual, along with a prosperity alignment through the Green Man.

In effect, the cards allow people to use ritual tools such as the pentacle, wand, athame, and chalice through imagery.  The Well Worn Path makes it easy to tap into the collective consciousness of the ancestral memory, which is where magic and ritual can be drawn into ones solitary practice.

CLARK:  Ok, this question is for both of you.  Now that the deck has been produced, is there anything you would like to change about it?

R&S:  No, not really. We’re very happy with the results, and we don’t feel like anything is missing or needs to added or corrected.

CLARK:  As I mentioned earlier I did some research by visiting your Well Worn Path website.  One of the pages lists many dates for a tour you two are doing this Fall of 2005.  What kind of things are you going to be doing at these lectures and workshops?

R&S: We’re going to be teaching people how to get the best use of the deck for divination, magic, and ritual.  We want to explore the deeper levels of symbolism within the cards and take people on a guided imagery journey, which will connect people with oracle power.            The ultimate goal of the workshops is to empower people with easily used tools and techniques to explore and enhance their religious and spiritual journey.  We will also be doing readings with the deck.

CLARK: I wish both Raven and Stephanie much success on their journey.  The Well Worn Path divination kit was originally scheduled  to be released in September, but while visiting Stephanie’s on-line shop I saw that they are shipping right now.  Mine is on the way!  If you want more information on the deck I recommend you visit their website at http://www.wellwornpath.com/

Boudica

• Reviews Editor of the Wiccan/Pagan Times

• owner of the ZodiacBistro.com

The idea is original. Rather than trying to find meaning in the Qabala associations of the tarot that could carry over to the practitioner of witchcraft or Wicca, the deck speaks directly to those practitioners.

But it does fill a niche here, and it does it well. As I read through the meanings and teachings, I found the deck to be very positive, well developed and intriguing enough to actually work with it. And I was pleased with the readings I had. I would also consider using this deck for some of my clients, especially those who are new to the Wiccan path. There is a learning curve here, but if you are a practicing Wiccan, the cards speak for themselves very clearly. A little practice will yield some good results.

Overall, this is a lovely deck, original in content and purpose, well designed and the accompanying book clearly lays out the uses and meanings so anyone can pick up this deck and use it. It is a nice addition to the fine art of divination that speaks to a particular spiritual path.