Following one’s intuition is something that is largely misunderstood in our technocratic post-modern Western culture. For me, it has always been important and this belief has been reinforced over the past three or so years after succumbing to an overly rationalistic bout of anxiety.

This week serendipity has guided me closer to my goal of playing a primal fantasy roleplaying game. A friend from the RPR community asked me if I had come across the “Wildwood Tarot” deck and, despite owning a fair few decks, I had not. Looking at the art, I found myself immediately transported and affected.

Today, as my copy of the deck arrived, I sat down to peruse the cards and explore the book. I was reminded of the Imagine Roleplaying Game and found myself reaching to locate the Player’s Guide and other books. Memories of the tone and style of that game system feel as though they sit well with the artwork of the cards.

Imagine is the source of the extended character creation tools which I have mentioned several times in the past couple of years, those tools which allow you to build a character through their childhood engagement with moments of moral choice. We had a lot of fun with those tables the last time I played with the system in the “Northern Isles“.

Sitting with the Wildwood, I feel drawn to walking the pathway through the forest as the Wanderer. My intuition is calling me to risk using Imagine to explore that place – despite my logical reservations about using such a detailed system. The invocation of archetypes cloaked with our imagined pre-Christian Celtic heritage, however fantastic, appeals to me deeply.

Who knows where the pathway leads but the Wildwood Tarot’s authors were inspired by the tales of Sherwood Forest, the classic 1980’s Robin of Sherwood, and their own desire to connect with the mysteries of the woodland realm. For me, this evokes an otherworld that I want to explore through play.

Game on!