Tarot of the Cat People?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kitty	19 Aug 2002
Hello hello!! Since I love my dear cat Oscar and my name is Kitty (okay not my real name - but I love cats okay:)) Who has the Tarot of the Cat People deck? What do think of it? Anyone think there is one deck dedicated to cats that is the best? he he he he - my friends and family will laugh and laugh when I get my hands on a cat related tarot deck "Will this tarot/cat obession ever end?" I am offically a tarotholic and a crazy cat woman! MIAOW!!!!!!

truthsayer	19 Aug 2002
tarot for cats is my fav cat deck. it's a majors only deck that's OOP. the price is only like $10,000 and your first born child. ;) (perhaps a slight exaggeration). there are also some italian cat decks that are adorable but hard to find. i think they are by meninghatti--sp? i think titles are like the I Gatti and the II Gatti. they can tell you more at tarot garden. they have lots of cat related decks there. i like cat ppl but imho it's a difficult deck to read. karen kukayendall created a whole new tarot world for her cats. buying the deck w/ the deck would probably be best for really understanding this deck. it's not a warm fuzzy deck like tarot for cats.

truthsayer	19 Aug 2002
if you look in the post archives i feel certain there are other threads by forum cat lovers, tarot for cats, and tarot of the cat ppl. somehow been a cat lover seems to be correlated w/ being a tarot-holic. i don't know what but the 2 seem to go together. my purr baby is in her place in front of my monitor. she has to supervise me you know--she can't have me wandering around the internet and ignoring her HIGHNESS! ;)

Keslynn	19 Aug 2002
Although I respect the fact that the creator of Tarot of the Cat People created a whole new world and people for it, I still don't find myself drawn to this deck. I got it because I love cats and also science fiction. Her deck includes a little of both. She assigns each element and the majors to certain people groups who live in specific areas of her world. Such assignations didn't really make much sense to me and I doubt it would be better with the larger book. Maybe if she dressed the people differently according to where they lived? But she doesn't. They all seem the same to me, and I get the general feeling that the deck is actually just showing off her fantastical costume designs. Perhaps you'll like it, but I haven't been able to really do anything with this deck. I much prefer my "I Gatti" even though it's only majors. I intend to frame it. :) Kes

catlin	20 Aug 2002
I too think that the Cat ppl tarot is a nice collector's item but a not so easy to read deck. I have it in my collection and tried to break it in as a reading deck but I was not satisfied with the result. Maybe I will try it again a bit later.

Liliana	20 Aug 2002
I have Cat People too and its hard to read with, the only thing really to look at to get any meaning is the expression of the cats themselves and even this doesnt help too much. The book is a must I think, but even the book doesnt make it easy to read. :THP

raeanne	20 Aug 2002
I have Tarot of the Cat People and I get excellent readings from it. I don’t think it is difficult to read at all. I love the art work!

divinerguy	20 Aug 2002
Cats are nice, but they make me sneeze. I wonder if cat decks would do the same?

Jewel	20 Aug 2002
I am with Truthsayer on this one. The best cat deck out there is Tarot for Cats. It is definetly worth searching for. It does not only accurately portray the Major Arcana archetypes, it is also very funny. But as mentioned earlier it is a Majors only deck. As for Tarot of the Cat People, I really like this deck, but I agree that it is probably not the easiest deck in the world to read with. Definetly get it as a deck/book set if you get it. The worlds created for the Major Arcana and the 4 suits are pretty cool. I have the deck more as a collectors item than anything (yes I am a cat lover and taro-holic too), but mainly because I have so many decks that there is no way I could ever really work with them all.

Keslynn	20 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy Cats are nice, but they make me sneeze. I wonder if cat decks would do the same? lol, Divinerguy! Perhaps they'll make a hairless cat deck just for you? Or maybe one featuring only those new genetically engineered allergy-free cats? ;) Kes

Starfish	20 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Keslynn lol, Divinerguy! Perhaps they'll make a hairless cat deck just for you? Or maybe one featuring only those new genetically engineered allergy-free cats? Kes, maybe there's a Mr. Wigglesworth (hairless cat from Austin Powers) cat tarot out there for DG. :TFOOL Starfish

WolfSpirit	20 Aug 2002
Tarot for Cats is just so lovely and funny. Every now and then one pops up at ebay...it's really worth searching for. I also have tarot of the cat people. It looks better in reality than the scans I saw on the screen. Love the expressions on the cats faces. I don't use it for reading. I heard one of the big attractions of the Halloween deck is a blacj cat featuring on all cards. I want this deck anyway and I'll keep my eyes open for the black cat :)

Starfish	20 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by WolfSpirit I heard one of the big attractions of the Halloween deck is a blacj cat featuring on all cards. I want this deck anyway and I'll keep my eyes open for the black cat :) I love how the black cat travels through the major and minor arcanas - just as we do. It's one of the things that really drew me to this deck (not to mention I adore Samhain/Halloween). :TFOOL Starfish

Kitty	20 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer if you look in the post archives i feel certain there are other threads by forum cat lovers, tarot for cats, and tarot of the cat ppl. somehow been a cat lover seems to be correlated w/ being a tarot-holic. i don't know what but the 2 seem to go together. my purr baby is in her place in front of my monitor. she has to supervise me you know--she can't have me wandering around the internet and ignoring her HIGHNESS! ;) Truthsayer- i agree, in fact it has been a theory of mine for a while that there is a connection between tarot and cats- I posted a thread a few months ago about it - search under my name if you would like to have a look :l he he he - yes they always think they know best - oscar is always 'supervising' while I am doing tarot readings for people :) Thanks for your reply - will have a look in tarot garden, I think I have seen the Gatti cards before and tarot for cats. Will let everyone know when I decide what I would like. Only problem with living in australia is that if i order over the internet the exchange rate makes the prices really high. AH the price (pardon the pun) you pay for being a tarotholic. take care and a hug to your purr baby

Kitty	20 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel [b. as for tarot of the cat people, i really like this deck, but i agree that it is probably not the easiest deck in the world to read with. definetly get it as a deck/book set if you get it. the worlds created for the major arcana and the 4 suits are pretty cool. i have the deck more as a collectors item than anything (yes i am a cat lover and taro-holic too), but mainly because i have so many decks that there is no way i could ever really work with them all. [/b] What are the worlds that she has created? I am intrigued

Kitty	20 Aug 2002
I am going to post an offer for an exchange- I have two decks that I don't use- maybe someone out there has tarot for cats and don't want it - unlikely but will give it a try! :)

MysticRose	23 Aug 2002
I just received this in a trade and LOVE it. The pics are so vibrant. I can see why some wouldn't connect with it though... it is a bit.... different. You will either like it or you won't. Just a few minutes ago I did the, "What will our relationship be?" reading with it and got the King of Pentacles. He looks so luxurious in this deck. I'm taking it to mean it is a deck I'll like to work with for in-person readings and can show off too! The King of Pentacles in this deck is VERY showy. I usually don't show any of my cards off. So.. this will be the deck to do that with. Now I just have to find a showy pouch to put it in!

Kitty	25 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by SkyDancer1111 I just received this in a trade and LOVE it. Ah I am jealous!!!! :D

truthsayer	11 Sep 2002
i've had the strangest experience w/ tarot of the cat ppl. i'd had it about 3 years and wasn't feeling drawn to it so i traded it for another deck. well, a few monthes later i started missing my deck so i ordered the deck/book set. i got it today. the way i feel about this deck is completely different. i looked at the cards w/ delight. i even felt like i could now read w/ them. i wonder if the mood i was in or the store i bought them from had something to do w/ the negative vibes i got from the deck. oh, yeah! i accidentally ordered an extra copy of the cat ppl traveler's guide. pristine shape. still in the plastic. i plan to put this in the trade section if anyone is interested in it.

Jewel	11 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer oh, yeah! i accidentally ordered an extra copy of the cat ppl traveler's guide. pristine shape. still in the plastic. i plan to put this in the trade section if anyone is interested in it. Is that the name of the book or something extra? I have my Cat People deck/book set in a box at the moment so I can't check. If it is something else ... then I want it!!!!! *LOL* I love the worlds that were created in this deck, not to mention the cats and costumes. Although I do not use this deck (now anyway) I know I would never part with it.

Lee	11 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel Is that the name of the book or something extra? Nope, the "Traveler's Guide" is the name of the book that comes in the set. There's just the one book. -- Lee

ChrisTheObscure	11 Sep 2002
I laughed when I saw the Tarot of the Cat People...it's....interesting, that's for sure. I looove cats, but I know I'd never be able to work with it.

Jewel	11 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Lee Nope, the "Traveler's Guide" is the name of the book that comes in the set. There's just the one book. Excellent! one less thing I need to acquire :P

DarkElectric	11 Sep 2002
I got 'Tarot of the Cat People" a long time ago. It's a pretty, nicely drawn deck. However, I find it very dificult to read with as well. I really like the artwork, though, and am keeping it as a collection deck. BECAUSE I"M A CAT PERSON! (My cat's name is Oscar too! Silver tiger with peach overtones, and Emerald green eyes.)

Kitty	14 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by DarkElectric . BECAUSE I"M A CAT PERSON! (My cat's name is Oscar too! Silver tiger with peach overtones, and Emerald green eyes.) Hello to your Oscar - he sounds beautiful - my oscar is white shorthair with green eyes and lots of cattitude- took him for his yearly checkup yesterday - vet gave his fur an A+ I know this is nothing to do with the thread but I was excited to see another cat person with cat named oscar :D

Demonesse	12 Oct 2002
Uhh...I think the concept of the different "areas" the cat people are supposed to live in is ambitious, but frankly falls flat on its face. The cats here seem purely decorative, unlike in the Tarot for Cats, which has a far more simplistic look but is more meaningful. Oh well. I'm more an iguana person anyway.

Zhritza	12 Oct 2002
The Cat People was created by Karen Kuykendall, and from the few facts I know about her she sounds like the epitome of the new-age, spends-thousands-on-seminars, ditzy Sedona/Santa Fe artist. So by all rights I should dislike her work. But I thought the science-fiction approach was charming. I knew it was silly as I read the book, but I could not help finding it fun. And, aside from the elemental symbolism being confusing (the Wands cards are green, Cups are light brown, Pentacles are blue and Swords are sort of hot pink) the imagery seems pretty clear and descriptive. This is one of those decks where the artist assigns Fire to Swords and Air to Wands, but fortunately, the cards' meanings do not change. The Nigel Jackson is the same way.

Macavity	12 Oct 2002
TOTCP was an early purchase, simply because it was the first Tarot pack I ever saw... as illustrated in a book called "The Secret Law of the Cat" by Fred Gettings. My initial contact with the Tarot. :) AFAICS, the "people" come in for criticism - but usually not the cats? Perhaps because cat lovers (like me) buy the deck? Certainly, they (the people) are indeed stylistically a bit odd and seem to live in this (almost) perpetual darkness (LOL) but I'm getting to *LIKE* them now. For this novice the R/W symbolism seems reasonable - Sufficiently so to merit (my) time to learn. The cats are (imo) also reasonably relevant and expressive - It may help to have a cat though? ;) The LWB (by K.K.) is fairly comprehensive. I intend to buy her book - Out of curiosity as much as anything. It is SAID to help "reading" by some web reviewers. As more general reading matter, I'm resigned - Outside of Star Trek, I never could get into Science Fiction... Despite being rigourously "trained" on Anne McCaffrey by an ever optimistic (and very, very persistant!) dear friend... Mac (SF philistine) P.S. IF anyone locates a picture of the now late(?) K.K. - I'm intrigued as to what she looked like dressed in her "Cat People" gear at SF conventions })

truthsayer	12 Oct 2002
i didn't know that karen kuykendall was deceased. :( i love sci-fi and fantasy. never could make it thru one of anne macaffrey's books tho... i didn't like tarot of cat ppl much the first time i had it. i love cats, too but being one doesn't make you the other, too. so i traded it. absence tends to make the heart grow fonder, you know? ;) i have it again with the book now and i do like it more. i agree that tarot for cats is a better deck but it's not nearly as imaginative as the cat ppl. i expect that cats would be exactly like tarot for cats has them portrayed but the art itself is rather one dimensional and not as complex in skill as the art in the cat ppl deck. it's fun to think of cats and their ppl in exotic lands with different customs and ideas. if KK's written world was a tad one dimensional, she was an artist afterall--not a writer. ppl tend to be writers or artists--both skills are seldom seen together w/o one being stronger than the other. if you are a visual person it's going to be difficult to verbalize the world of your imagination. she painted the lands she created. she didn't write stories (as far as i know) about the tarot of the cat ppl except to write about where she was coming from so ppl could hope to understand the cards she did. i think karen kuykendall's inner world was probably very rich and full of imagination. she tried to communicate it to us but things in our inner worlds don't always translate them the way we wish into the real external world.

Zhritza	13 Oct 2002
just to be devil's advocate -- macavity, you do realize, don't you, that there are ever so many more sci fi and fantasy worlds than the Anne McCaffrey one, and that whatever your interests and little quirks, there is undoubtedly some SF/fantasy out there that is tailor made just for you? I find your lack of faith disturbing; you underestimate the power of the Dork Side!

Macavity	13 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Qolus I find your lack of faith disturbing; you underestimate the power of the Dork Side! Don't be disturbed! I am as dorky as the next? }) Perhaps this doesn't express itself well via (written) fictional works. It does e.g. via music, images etc. Background, environment, educational (lack of?) choice, conditioning? etc. I have SOME, though (to me) acceptable regrets at not being much of a "non-factual" reader. I concede it leaves a big gap though! Fwiw, I do have one luxury now - TIME, so inroads can yet be made. I suspect a lack of exposure to "fantasy" (imagination?) can limit (my) potential as a Tarot reader - A great inherent capacity (bragging) to remember images, keywords etc. but, for the MOMENT, very limited ability to connect these into a coherent story! :) On a positive note, maybe I like "Cat People" (specifically?) *without* a(ny) book - or explanation? The artwork clearly stands much on it's own. One K.K. critic said that the UNIFORM backgrounds didn't tally with the diverse landscapes suggested by the book. Perhaps indeed that critic had much more imagination than *I* but (to me) requiring the backgrounds to be so, might suggest more rather than less constraint? Fwiw, I can build a (my kind of) story on some of THESE images. The cats do help! My tame "fantasy advisor" would be absolutely horrified by any "Tolkein" Tarot that depicted Hobbits WITHOUT hairy feet and I'm sure that would render such a deck absolutely useless to her! ;) But I find I am gravitating more towards decks that (many?) seem to find cold, uninviting or difficult to interpret (no human interest?) e.g. "Egyptian" tarots, Cat decks... significantly REMOVED from the more photo-real(?) decks? But, just in case my Egyptians don't "say" much, I am (predicatably?) learning to read the darn hieroglyphs! :D Mac(rambling) P.S. Not many reach... uhm "middle age" before buying a first ever computer game... Ah freedom! OK - Clive Barker's "Undying", if you really *must* know! Should've finished it by about 2010 as well... ;))

Sulis	13 Oct 2002
I bought this deck for a boyfriend about 15 years ago and when we split up he left it with me. I`ve enjoyed looking at the cards over the years as I find some of the images extremely beautiful but I`ve never tried to read with it, mainly because it doesn`t feel like mine. I`m sure that many sci-fi fans would find this deck very workable with. Definately not for me though. Crystalmynx xx

The Tarot of the Cat People? thread was originally posted on 19 Aug 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.