Onaorkal
What looks like a flame point Siamese cat (also known as red point Siamese or flame/red point Colorpoint Shorthair) is sitting on a wooden surface, his left paw keeping a book open while his other paw is in the air. The right paw is surrounded by floating objects arranged in a circle and the resulting ball is full of some blue matter (electricity?). The objects each represent one of the 4 elements : a fireball to represent Fire, a fish for Water, a catnip flower for Earth and a feather for Air. The cat looks quite concentrated on his task.
The other objects on the surface are : a lit candle, a goblet, a pentacle disk, a crystal ball and a magic wand. Also in the book there is a green leaf, probably used as a bookmark.
Many objects are hanging from the ceiling : glass bottles, crystals and plants. There are many books aligned on a shelf. We can see many drawings of alchemical symbols on the wall and a few cat paw prints. Finally there is a poster with a drawing representing a cat version of Agrippa's pentagram.
Colors : A lot of earthy tones.
The book defines cat magic as being "easy to grasp, but challenging to practice". Like its equivalent in traditional tarot, the Magician, this card is about innate powers and tells us to "focus intention toward a goal". It looks like a very good deck for personal coaching, with advice like "focus on positive" and "believe in yourself"! I wouldn't have come up with such good thoughts with the image alone.
Now the symbolism present in the card. I had a hard time with this one, given all the alchemical symbols drawn everywhere with no explanation in the book. I searched about those for hours and found them all except for one. But let's start with the most obvious.
Siamese cat : This breed is fairly well known for being very dog-like. They are extremely curious, quite loud, very intelligent and active. I think it's a good representation for a magician full of willpower and intent. The fact that it's a "flame" point (even though it's not the official appellation) reminds me of the expression "having a fire burning inside", which means being strong and passionate enough about something that you are able to achieve your goal despite the obstacles.
Most objects found on the table are typical ceremonial magic tools representing the elements.
Candle : Air and fire. It's the only source of light in the room (from what we can see). Candles represent our inner light and force, so powerful and magical yet so fragile.
I'm not familiar with the potential symbolism of the other tools, except that they represent a different element.
Goblet : Water.
Pentacle : Earth.
Wand : Air.
Crystal ball : I think it's there to represent divination tools in general. Divination is part of magic and it includes many powerful tools that can be used for personal growth or to help others.
Books on the shelf : Representation of knowledge
Now onto the alchemical drawings. I will name them from left to right, higher to lower on the wall. I spent hours only doing this and since I'm not knowledgeable at all concerning alchemy, I don't really have anything to say about the choice of symbols.
-Top left : symbol meaning 'purify'
-Top middle : 'roasting of silver'
-Top right : 'roasting of gold'
-Lower left : tetrahedron, base of the sacred geometry, represents fire.
-Lower middle : shield knot, used for protection and good luck
-Right under the shelf : I couldn't find the meaning of this symbol!
-Lower right : the 4 seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.
-Lowest one behind the cat : hexagram, represents the 4 elements and used a lot in alchemy
In the open book we can see 2 symbols. On the left page (from the cat's viewpoint) it seems to be a Wheel of the year symbol. On the right page there is a triangle with an infinity symbol inside. In alchemy the triangle represents the fire element. I couldn't find a symbolism related to the use of both together. Maybe infinite power?
Finally, the poster on the wall shows a cat equivalent to Agrippa's pentagram. You can see clearly enough the planetary symbols drawn in the outer circle. It represents the relation between the microcosm (humanity) and the macrocosm (the Universe).
Overall I found there was a lot of symbols representing fire in this card. "Flame" point Siamese, the tetrahedron, the triangle in the book, the candle, the burning of silver and gold...Maybe it's not on purpose, but I found it interesting, since the Magician is associated with the Air element. Still, I believe it's fitting, since Fire is associated with creativity, energy and passion (all aspects encouraged by the Cat magician).
Phew! I'm sure there is a lot that can be said about all that symbolism, but I'll leave that to someone else! This card is really packed with a lot of stuff!
The other objects on the surface are : a lit candle, a goblet, a pentacle disk, a crystal ball and a magic wand. Also in the book there is a green leaf, probably used as a bookmark.
Many objects are hanging from the ceiling : glass bottles, crystals and plants. There are many books aligned on a shelf. We can see many drawings of alchemical symbols on the wall and a few cat paw prints. Finally there is a poster with a drawing representing a cat version of Agrippa's pentagram.
Colors : A lot of earthy tones.
The book defines cat magic as being "easy to grasp, but challenging to practice". Like its equivalent in traditional tarot, the Magician, this card is about innate powers and tells us to "focus intention toward a goal". It looks like a very good deck for personal coaching, with advice like "focus on positive" and "believe in yourself"! I wouldn't have come up with such good thoughts with the image alone.
Now the symbolism present in the card. I had a hard time with this one, given all the alchemical symbols drawn everywhere with no explanation in the book. I searched about those for hours and found them all except for one. But let's start with the most obvious.
Siamese cat : This breed is fairly well known for being very dog-like. They are extremely curious, quite loud, very intelligent and active. I think it's a good representation for a magician full of willpower and intent. The fact that it's a "flame" point (even though it's not the official appellation) reminds me of the expression "having a fire burning inside", which means being strong and passionate enough about something that you are able to achieve your goal despite the obstacles.
Most objects found on the table are typical ceremonial magic tools representing the elements.
Candle : Air and fire. It's the only source of light in the room (from what we can see). Candles represent our inner light and force, so powerful and magical yet so fragile.
I'm not familiar with the potential symbolism of the other tools, except that they represent a different element.
Goblet : Water.
Pentacle : Earth.
Wand : Air.
Crystal ball : I think it's there to represent divination tools in general. Divination is part of magic and it includes many powerful tools that can be used for personal growth or to help others.
Books on the shelf : Representation of knowledge
Now onto the alchemical drawings. I will name them from left to right, higher to lower on the wall. I spent hours only doing this and since I'm not knowledgeable at all concerning alchemy, I don't really have anything to say about the choice of symbols.
-Top left : symbol meaning 'purify'
-Top middle : 'roasting of silver'
-Top right : 'roasting of gold'
-Lower left : tetrahedron, base of the sacred geometry, represents fire.
-Lower middle : shield knot, used for protection and good luck
-Right under the shelf : I couldn't find the meaning of this symbol!
-Lower right : the 4 seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.
-Lowest one behind the cat : hexagram, represents the 4 elements and used a lot in alchemy
In the open book we can see 2 symbols. On the left page (from the cat's viewpoint) it seems to be a Wheel of the year symbol. On the right page there is a triangle with an infinity symbol inside. In alchemy the triangle represents the fire element. I couldn't find a symbolism related to the use of both together. Maybe infinite power?
Finally, the poster on the wall shows a cat equivalent to Agrippa's pentagram. You can see clearly enough the planetary symbols drawn in the outer circle. It represents the relation between the microcosm (humanity) and the macrocosm (the Universe).
Overall I found there was a lot of symbols representing fire in this card. "Flame" point Siamese, the tetrahedron, the triangle in the book, the candle, the burning of silver and gold...Maybe it's not on purpose, but I found it interesting, since the Magician is associated with the Air element. Still, I believe it's fitting, since Fire is associated with creativity, energy and passion (all aspects encouraged by the Cat magician).
Phew! I'm sure there is a lot that can be said about all that symbolism, but I'll leave that to someone else! This card is really packed with a lot of stuff!