Tarot Of The Cat People

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 04 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

VerseJunkie	04 Apr 2003
This is my first deck. It was bought for me by my friend Julia, who has been using Tarot Cards for several years and I like it all right--it's a beautiful deck, but somehow--at least for me--too fantastical and richly-colored. I suppose I would feel more connected with a more traditional deck as opposed to one that, though aesthetically pleasing, is imbued with a sense of comic art and science fiction. I'm not giving this deck enough credit. I actually find it breathtaking, aesthetically, and there are one or two cards--such as the 10 of cups and the Hanged Man--that I do find myself connected to. For the most part, though, I do not really see any aspects of my own personal symbolism in the cards and so they are more difficult to read. I've been going through the decks listed and have seen that I am fond of, but I am at this point not sure where to draw the line between what I find beautiful--I'm minoring in art history; pretty colors and well-drawn lines tend to distract me--and what I am actually connected to. Someday I hope to own decks for aesthetic purposes, just to have and look through and not necessarily use for throwing, but right now my main goal is to find a deck with which I am comfortable throwing. Does anyone know of any decks with some of the same aesthetic qualities of Tarot Of The Cat People but slightly more traditional? Anyway, does anyone else have this deck? How do they feel about it?

truthsayer	04 Apr 2003
there are a few other threads about this deck if you use the search function to check out the archives. i love cat ppl, too but have never been able to read with it. i would have to get into karen kukendall's mind to read the deck and i'm just not ready to step that far off the deep end yet. ;) have you read any of the book (not LWB) that comes with the deck? as far as a sci/fi fantasy deck that has more classifical features that reminds me of the CP, i have to say the rohrig but it doesn't use animals. it's surreal but very readable imho. if you particularly want a cat deck, tarot for cats is good-cute and readable but it's majors only. you'll find a good variety of cat decks at tarot garden.

Astraea	04 Apr 2003
This is a beautiful tarot and was one of my earliest decks. I don't read with it, because I don't connect with it as much as some others. There are so many decks nowadays, for every mood and belief system, that the best thing you can do (IMO) is explore Aeclectic and other tarot sites, checking out the many decks that are pictured and reviewed, and then use the search function on this forum to explore what others have said about those decks. Enjoy! :)

VerseJunkie	04 Apr 2003
thanks for the advice... I will definitely look into finding another deck involving cats, as they are important personal symbols for me. I think my attachment to cats is what prompted my friend to buy this deck for me. I hope to one day, once I am familiar enough with tarot, design a deck based on cats.

Astraea	04 Apr 2003
VerseJunkie, you might want to follow this link http://www.tarotgarden.com/ and type the word "cats" in the search window -- am I a tarotholism enabler, or what? ;)

wolfen045	04 Apr 2003
I really love the Cat People deck. It was my second or third deck ( going back about 14 years!) I was able to read with it very well from the start. I just focused more on the expressions and actions of the characters, rather than costumes and backgrounds of the pictures. I have the book as well although it has been several years since I've read it. It does read more like sci fi, than a traditional tarot book. She talks about the five Outer Kingdoms and their cultures ect. Fun, but not helpful for getting good readings with the cards. There is a thread going called "cute tarots" with some links to decks that are not shown on Aecletic that might help you. I think it is in the same main catagory listing as this thread. I hope I have been of some help to you, wolfen

Trogon	04 Apr 2003
Hi VerseJunkie... Darn... Truthsayer beat me to suggesting the Röhrig Tarot (but at least I know how to get the "ö" character... :D ). I also highly recommend this deck... it is very readable for me as well. In fact, for several years I kind of struggled with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, but once I got the Röhrig, it really opened things up for me and I'm able to do better readings with my RWS too. As for other decks I might recommend... since you commented that the bright colors of the Tarot of the Cat People seems to distract, you might try something a little more muted. The Goddess Tarot comes to mind. The colors are a little more muted while the art-work is still of very high quality (in my opinion). Another one, which I'm thinking of for my next Tarot purchase, which has more muted colors is the [urlhttp://www.aeclectic.net/haindl/index.html]Haindl Tarot[/url]. I've found the Spiral Tarot to be a very readable deck as well, but it is more colorful than the others. And, of course, there's always the old Rider-Waite-Smith which has moderately bright colors, but only uses a few, so it may not be as distracting for you. Finally, if all the colors are a bother, you might consider a deck such as the Victoria Regina Tarot, which doesn't use color at all. Please do let us know which deck you end up deciding on...

VerseJunkie	04 Apr 2003
I did look up cats at tarotgarden.com--there was some deck that I liked a great deal, also very cutesy, but of course it was out of print. re: goddess deck. another friend of mine has that deck and I am indeed fond of it aesthetically, but again I did not really feel connected with it. actually, I am seriously contemplating purchasing a thoth deck. I am drawn to it on both an instinctive level and an aesthetic level, whereas the better-known starter decks (such as Universal Waite) don't appeal to me aesthetically, and as much as I hate to admit it that's an important part for me. I also do like the spiral deck a great deal, but I also think I'm going to see if I become any closer to the cat people deck by journalling... ...what is the origin of the cat people? were they invented by Karen Kuykendall or do they have some mythological basis? whoops. I should move this over to the deck forum at some point...

VerseJunkie	04 Apr 2003
actually, I just looked at the victoria regina deck... ...and adore it. I think I know what I may get next but, like I said, I'm going to do a journal with the cat people first and see if I get any closer to the deck.

Lee	04 Apr 2003
I believe the Cat People deck is completely the creation of Karen Kuykendall, she invented the whole thing. -- Lee :)

The Tarot Of The Cat People thread was originally posted on 04 Apr 2003 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.