That one card you can't make sense of....

Hiya peeps, have been going through my new mini tarot of pagan cats and all the cards make perfect sense to me but one - the nine of swords: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/aa/52/75/aa527587ae4ae0914a93534c7d3a284b.jpg

Now granted Mr tabby doesn't look massively thrilled with life but I'm just not getting that nine of swords symbolism here. There's a checkerboard with the elemental and suit symbols, and the requisite number of swords surrounding him but feel like I must be missing something as it seems like quite a random image and yet its quite a departure from the rest of the cards to me. Are cats pathologically afraid of chess?

So, this got me to thinking, firstly am I just being incredibly dense?

And secondly, what's the one card that's stumped you on a new deck

Well this isn't quite one card but the suit of coins in the Del Fuego deck is currently causing me to scratch my head but I am hopeful

There's a number of decks that don't have the "standard" symbolism. If I like the artwork enough, sometimes I can connect with it just based on that and use my knowledge of the cards themselves to "read" them. The Sun from The Rabbit Tarot, for instance. There's a sun in it, and a rabbit, but no other symbolism.

I would imagine this is harder to do in a reader – client scenario though as a lot of times the symbolism helps the client to better understand the card too.

The Happy Squirrel said:

Well this isn't quite one card but the suit of coins in the Del Fuego deck is currently causing me to scratch my head but I am hopeful

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The Del Fuego looks fascinating, I hadn't come across that one before. Calls the sakki-sakki to mind -one I'm still on the fence about. The four of swords seems to be my stumper

I think that cat card you have, perhaps the chess board is just decoration?

The Happy Squirrel said:

I think that cat card you have, perhaps the chess board is just decoration?

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It does seem like it, which is a shame because the rest of the deck is really well thought out. So many better ways they could have represented that card. Oh well, will just have to get creative and come up with my own narrative to make sense of it.

I have the regular-size version of this deck, and think a lot of the meaning in this card comes from the body language of this kitty. The one cocked ear while looking in a different direction, the hair standing up along his spine, curl of the tail as if it is about to twitch the other way in annoyance, and the rear foot held up like he just can't stand what his feet are touching as he walks.

The background is reminiscent of the blanket of RWS decks, and ties in with other cards in this deck as some of the symbols appear here and there in other cards. To me, this card makes pretty good sense with the background (all aspects of life) and body language of the kitty (everything around me is eating away at me!) together.

Scarlet Woodland said:

Hiya peeps, have been going through my new mini tarot of pagan cats and all the cards make perfect sense to me but one - the nine of swords: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/aa/52/75/aa527587ae4ae0914a93534c7d3a284b.jpg

Now granted Mr tabby doesn't look massively thrilled with life but I'm just not getting that nine of swords symbolism here. There's a checkerboard with the elemental and suit symbols, and the requisite number of swords surrounding him but feel like I must be missing something as it seems like quite a random image and yet its quite a departure from the rest of the cards to me. Are cats pathologically afraid of chess?

So, this got me to thinking, firstly am I just being incredibly dense?

Click to expand...

As soon as I saw the picture of it you posted (and thanks for that, it helps!) I immediately thought the chessboard type pattern behind him, with all the elements, meant that this is a cat who is overwhelmed by everything in excess (too much emotion, too much thinking, etc.) and who feels trapped - symbolized by the chess board - no matter which strategic move he makes, he is screwed by some fear of his (Sword) and so he remains frozen, trapped inside his excess and fear.

That's my take on it, anyways! Hope it helps I liked Birdiefu's take too.

Scarlet Woodland said:

And secondly, what's the one card that's stumped you on a new deck

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I have issues with the Temperence card, regardless of the deck used or the art. It feels quite meaningless and bland to me, though of course I do know the traditional meanings for it. It just doesn't seem to strike any chords with me.

OK, I just saw the 9 Swords picture you're talking about. If you remember the usual picture, it's of a woman sitting up in bed hiding her face against the horror of all the swords over her head. That checkerboard pattern with all its symbols is just like her bedspread. So whatever you could read into the picture of the woman, you could also for the cat.

IMHO; YMMV.

Great insights all, thanks for the tips; it makes much more sense to me now

Will try and embed the larger image in my head as its so teeny tiny on my deck I'm mostly remembering the details. Love the idea of the elemental symbols representing being hit from all sides as it were. Had the cat on a hot tin roof image in my head but couldn't quite connect it up before.

Great catch on the bedspread echo! Not having a trad RW deck yet I would never have spotted that... just one more reason to be impatient for the PCS in a tin to come out here.

Funny which cards we do and don't connect to isn't it. Temperance is one card I can instantly feel, whatever the deck, and yet the chariot took me years to get anything from at all... 'OK the horse is pretty... and?' Wonder if the ones we don't get are the aspects of ourselves we need to work on most... or perhaps the things that come so naturally to us that we don't understand the dilemma. Or possibly just random stupidity in my case

Thanks a million guys.