In the Tarot of the Cat People...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

StargazerLily	07 Nov 2002
What do you suppose the cats represent? Are they a separate entity, sort of giving the cards the cards 2 meanings? Do they represent a person other than the querent? Or are they just a part of the whole meaning of the card? Examples: 2 of Pentacles The book states that the cat is weary of the woman's indecision and that he doesn't have a care in the world. 5 of Wands The book notes that the cat is caught up in the weak structure of wands. The purpose of the cat seems, to me, to be different in these 2 examples. Maybe the cats don't really have a significant purpose at all?

Jeannette	08 Nov 2002
The "Tarot of the Cat People" seems to be one of those odd, hard-to-classify decks, because the vision of the designer seems to have been (at least at the time) a radical departure from how tarots were usually conceptualized. But the ideas that Ms. Kuykendall was trying to relate weren't initially given "full form," as it were, so a lot of folks purchased the deck thinking strictly in terms of using it as a reading tool (or because they liked the artwork, or because they liked cats, I suppose). Thus, with the Cat People deck, there seems to be somewhat of a dichotomy between the intentions of the artist, and its actual application by many a tarotist. The deck was initially published in 1985, but it wasn't until 1991 that Ms. Kuykendall's Book, Tarot of the Cat People: A Traveler's Report, was published. The book elaborates extensively on concepts that were only minimally touched upon in the original LWB accompanying the deck. In fact, the whole deck is more of a story -- or at least, the background material for a story -- than it is an esoterist's or reader's tool. Kuykendall developed an entire geography, culture, customs, archetecture, and more for the "Outer Regions" -- the fictional geographic region of a faraway world in which human and cat have developed an intricate and inseperable synergistic society. In brief, the cats have a significant purpose, beyond just making the deck a series of cuddly, eye-candy illustrations. But that purpose may lie more in being an intricate part of an original and fascinating narrative, rather than in serving as symbolically significant esoterist's tool. -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

truthsayer	08 Nov 2002
my perception is that the artist who created the deck loved scifi-fantasy and cats. she created the deck as an extension of her own interests and imaginings. when i first got the deck, i got frustrated w/ it b/c i couldn't assign any tarot meanings that i understood and/or intuit. now i see the deck as being called tarot but being a creation unto itself. there are some correlations to reg tarot but you have to factor in karen kuykendall's personal cat fantasies into it. if you read the book and study the deck i think reading the deck is possible. just don't expect it to be a deck that follows the rules according to marseilles, thoth or rws. it creates it own rules and its own universe. does that make sense? imho, tarot for cats (even tho it's a majors only deck) is easier to read and fun. it follows known deck patterns but is from a cat's pov. i think that what kykendall was trying to do but she had a complex inner life that not everyone can relate to. tarot for cats is one of my fav decks but it is currently OOP. if you can find a copy for less than $50, grab it!

Liliana	08 Nov 2002
According to the book, the cats are companions, everyone in the world the deck is set has a cat companion. The cats are kind of the key to reading this deck (I still cant read it anyway) as they show the mood of the card better than most of the emotionless humanoid figures. Its almost as if the cats are the humanoids inner self :THP

StargazerLily	08 Nov 2002
I'm not sure about the cats being the key to reading the deck, because sometimes they have a different feeling than the card is supposed to have. Like I mentioned, in the 2 of Pentacles the woman is having difficulty making a decision between the two pentacles she holds and she's agonizing over it whereas the cat is tired of her being so indecisive and he's carefree and smiling. The emotionless people do make the deck difficult to read. When I got the 2 of Pentacles as a daily card to interpret in my journal, I wrote that she looked peaceful and balanced and that the cat was happy too. I was way off *lol*. I have noticed, too, that this deck strays from the traditional sometines. I usually write Thirteen's basics in my journal, but a couple of times I've had to write that they don't apply to that card in this deck. I know that the cats are companions and that everyone in the "Outer World" has one, but I still don't know where they fit into the meaning of a card or what they would mean in a reading. I'm starting to think they possibly have a different meaning in each card...although I think the inner self interpretation might work too. I hadn't thought of that!

truthsayer	11 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by StargazerLily I'm not sure about the cats being the key to reading the deck, because sometimes they have a different feeling than the card is supposed to have. Like I mentioned, in the 2 of Pentacles the woman is having difficulty making a decision between the two pentacles she holds and she's agonizing over it whereas the cat is tired of her being so indecisive and he's carefree and smiling. The emotionless people do make the deck difficult to read. When I got the 2 of Pentacles as a daily card to interpret in my journal, I wrote that she looked peaceful and balanced and that the cat was happy too. I was way off *lol*. I have noticed, too, that this deck strays from the traditional sometines. I usually write Thirteen's basics in my journal, but a couple of times I've had to write that they don't apply to that card in this deck. I know that the cats are companions and that everyone in the "Outer World" has one, but I still don't know where they fit into the meaning of a card or what they would mean in a reading. I'm starting to think they possibly have a different meaning in each card...although I think the inner self interpretation might work too. I hadn't thought of that! i don't think this is a deck that one could apply thirteen's meanings or other traditional meanings that fit rws clones. i would trust whatever your perceptions of the cards are. just b/c what you saw doesn't match the stated meaning doesn't mean you are wrong. it just means the other person has a different opinion. i never thought of the possibility the cats could represented the inner world. that would follow that the humans rep the outer world. the humans seem to be caught in a more mundune world while the cats are aware of a deeper wisdom that could share w/ humans if asked. i will try to read this deck again with this theory and see if it helps me.

HudsonGray	11 Nov 2002
Actually, this is a notoriously difficult deck to work with, I never could get mine to give accurate readings. Same with two friends who have the deck also. I think there was a post thread a few months back where someone was asking how many people could actually get the deck to work for them & a lot of people had trouble. If you're getting results with it, keep up what you're doing. There is a book written for it, but I've never run across one, only heard about it occasionally. Getting the artist's reasoning will help a lot. But remember that you can do the readings by what you see in the cards, not what each is supposed to mean.

Jewel	12 Nov 2002
HudsonGray what is wonderful about the book is that you really get to see the worlds she has created. I have had the deck and book for years, and although I have not been compelled to read with this deck I really did enjoy the book. I agree that this deck does not seem very reader-friendly (probably why I have never tried *LOL*). All this talk about this deck makes me want to read the book again :P

HudsonGray	12 Nov 2002
I remember hearing that the artist is on the west coast & was also planning a novel about the cards, using the culture she created in them to be the world that the novel would take place in. I don't know if she ever got anywhere with it, but it would be interesting to see. Maybe help flesh out the tarot book, huh? She was active in science fiction fandom, but never got to the midwest here, far as I know. I got her deck 'way back when'. The companion tarot book was just a dream at that point.

Lee	12 Nov 2002
I believe Karen Kuykendall, the author/artist, has passed away. :( -- Lee

The In the Tarot of the Cat People... thread was originally posted on 07 Nov 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.