The cat in the Queen of Wands card

Hayyot

Hi everybody!!
I would like to ask about the meaning of the black cat in the Queen of Wands card, I found its facial expression peculiar...
Thank you
 

Abrac

I believe it symbolizes the reversed or ill-dignified aspects of her. Waite says:

"Signifies also—but in certain positions and in the neighbourhood of other cards tending in such directions—opposition, jealousy, even deceit and infidelity."

The Golden Dawn ill-dignified meanings are pretty menacing:

"If ill dignified, obstinate, revengeful, domineering, tyrannical, and apt to turn against another without a cause." :)
 

Richard

What Abrac wrote.

The Golden Dawn Tarot has a leopard instead of a black cat. Since a leopard is not domesticated, its behavior can be erratic and even dangerous if provoked. Waite substituted a domestic cat for the leopard (for reasons which are off topic for this thread), but it is not as forceful in its symbolism.
 

rwcarter

Welcome to Aeclectic, Hayyot!

The Forum Index (click) has a number of already indexed threads on both the Queen Wands (post 20) and cats (post 33). One of them might have the answer(s) you're looking for.
 

The Reader7

Coincidentally, our Mentor just run this by us a few weeks ago at Tarot Classes.

I believe it symbolizes this queen's pretentious nature. She may appear calm and docile on the outside, but she's not above resorting to deception and trickery to get what she wants. It may also mean a dark secret, a perverse thought, an evil temptation she's harbouring. Or just basically, skeletons rattling in her closet.

Interestingly enough, our Mentor pointed out that this Queen's association with a black cat could very well indicate that she's a witch (literally or otherwise, I'm not sure), but that further adds to her untrustworthy and deceptive nature.
 

Hayyot

Thank you all for your answers and welcome salutations :)
I see it now, is interesting indeed!! It seems like this queen is not 100% what she seems to be :)
 

Nephillim

I can't recall in which tarot book I saw this, but the serene and watchful cat in the RWS was described as "the black cat of intuition." That description has always been helpful to me since I have known more than one Queen of Wands in my time.
 

Richard

Thank you all for your answers and welcome salutations :)
I see it now, is interesting indeed!! It seems like this queen is not 100% what she seems to be :)
We all have a shadow aspect, which usually lurks in the unconscious and has certain dark inclinations which we usually prefer not to acknowledge. The cat represents this Queen's shadow. The Queen of Wands presides over the seasonal change from winter to spring. She is mostly sunny Aries, the beginning of spring, but she retains a remnant of Pisces, the tail end of winter, which still can cause trouble.
 

Sandalwood

I feel there is still a lot of negative associations around the cat, which may stem from patriarchal times. In symbolism cats stand for intuition, independence, freedom, femininity, being self sufficient and of course being the witch's alley because of their ability to see in the dark (as divination tools do). Since it's an animal it refers to the natural instincts & the queen has a great love of doing things her way, just like cats do.

On a side note: I have gotten this card a lot for actual cats (and my actual black cat).
I'm not sure about Waite's association.