Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot - 2 of Pentacles

This gray tabby with the yellow eyes is out in the noon-day sun, spending time in his garden. NOBODY else is around, for some reason. The wind is calm, the gold ship floating in the fountain is just dead in the water, a nice display but not moving much.

He holds up one 'coin' with a lion's head on, the other is held in his paw at waist level. He LOOKS like he's going to toss horseshoes at a stake somewhere out of sight on the left. Or he could be reading the back of the coin/medallion. Whatever happens, it's not going to be physical labor, not dressed as he is with the frills and finery. With that big bow at his throat he's almost someone's Dandy, you'd think. Are those British colors? Is that the sign of someone in business with a shipping conglomerate? Is he making the decisions in his backyard, alone, the ruler of his domain overlooked only by God? (The church steeple in the background gives that impression).

Hmm, somebody splashed some water out of the back fountain, the big one, you can see the discolored stone in two places under the area of his right arm. However, the smaller 'pond' he's standing in front of is untouched except for the ship being added. Would that mean his little business is doing fine, but the big picture has had a bit more splashing in?

He seems to be in the process of making a choice. He is deep in his thoughts. he seems to weight the good and the bad of each solution. He want to do the best choice.

What do you think of the little gold ship in the pond behind him? It's gold, but if it's real gold it would be so heavy that it would sink, yet it doesn't. Is it there for show, does it represent something, is it just a high value toy being played with?

I'm not sure if it represents 'gold' in business (prosperity), that the cat is doing well in that aspect. That it's a symbol of his monetary wealth where he's got a midas touch on anything he tries.

Or it's just one more prop showing that the cat is well off, like the manicured gardens, the nice fountains, good clothing and huge house he lives in.

Or a reminder in a different direction that all that glitters is not gold, no matter how much it looks like it is.

?

Whoops. I thought I had posted here about a week ago, but I think my link crashed as it never appeared.

So - the little gold boat is of course partly a reference (reverence I almost typed - how apt!) to the RWS card. I do LIKE the little boat being tossed about on the sea in the RWS card, and wanted something to give the same sort of meaning - that in a way we are all juggling priorities and actions as we're being tossed around by fate and circumstance.

The cat looks very "dressed" because we wanted some feeling of him being a performer - as in the RWS card, he should not be entirely conventional we felt. I am actually very fond of this particular card, but then, I love the Wallenstein garden, which is where it is set.

I do get that from the boat--and also that prosperity is not always a fixed thing, just like that boat is not guaranteed to stay afloat.

This card always makes me think of a decision between two options, as well as the standard meanings. I have to remind myself of the intuitive and juggling aspects--he looks more measured and reasoned to me.

The gardens ARE beautiful.