Reading with Tarot of the Cat People

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

StargazerLily	16 Nov 2002
Does anyone read with the Tarot of the Cat People? If so, do you go with the meanings the author intended, or do you stick to traditional meanings (several of the cards differ from tradition)? Also, sometimes I interpret a card much differently than what the author meant in her art. Although I interpret it differently when I look at the card before consulting the book, after I read the intended meaning, I can see it in the card. Should I go with my initial interpretation or go by the book? This morning I noticed that almost all of the cups cards are brown in color, which speaks "earth" to me. Cups are supposed to be water, yes? Does that only apply to traditional cards?

Teal	16 Nov 2002
I have Tarot of the Cat People and I find it pretty hard to read with. I'm not as experienced with tarot as many on this forum, but I've learned a lot. I'm finding that, as I learn more and more about the traditional meanings, if I think back to the deck I've learned the most with for any particular cards, I can summon up what the traditional meaning for any particular card would be, but with most of the Cat People cards, the art work itself doesn't spark much connection. I think it's a beautiful deck, though, with high quality stock it's printed on. I have the book for it, but never quite got through it all. I'll probably trade the set away sometime but for now, it just stays in the basket with my other decks and I don't use it much.

HudsonGray	16 Nov 2002
It is a difficult one to read with, i admit. I never could get mine to flow smoothly and the cards don't give me much in the way of clues. There are several other threads where this deck is discussed, some in detail. The search button on top can find them for you, just type in 'cat people' or 'tarot of the cat people' and you'll get the threads.

Keslynn	16 Nov 2002
I like the art on Tarot of the Cat People, but found it absolutely impossible to read with. Basically, when I tried, I would have to wrack my brain trying to think of the traditional meaning of each particular card. While I do know them... it's tedious to have to do that. The card should spark something. This deck never did for me. That being said, you should really go with your intuition over what the book says, even if they're significantly different. Books are great to help you on your journey, but they shouldn't be the journey. Learn the meanings the author intended and then go with your own ideas. Also, if this is the only deck you're currently working with, you might want to consider picking up a more traditional deck to help you in the learning process. Good luck. :) Kes

StargazerLily	19 Nov 2002
I did a search and came up with all kinds of stuff since "tarot", "of", "the", and "people" are pretty popular words. What I did read was disappointing (NO ONE reads with it), but I'm determined to stick with it. I've done one reading so far, which I posted in "Your Readings" and it wasn't difficult for me to read. I think the best way is to intuit meanings for myself, although usually I can remember what the card means because I think, 'Oh yeah, this has THAT meaning that isn't even expressed on the card!' But, do the cards know that I plan to use my own meanings? What if they turn up a reading according to their own meaning, not knowing that I think something totally different? This is the only deck I am working with right now. I don't want to work with more than one yet because I am still learning this and want to focus. I DO want to get a more traditional one soon, though. Is the Tarot Art Nouveau by Antonella Castelli a decent universal deck? Maybe I should ask that in a separate thread?

The Reading with Tarot of the Cat People thread was originally posted on 16 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.