Review of The Medieval Cat Tarot
Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to attend an Advanced Psychic Awareness Course in Didsbury, run by the very talented Leigh Knowles of The Soul Architect. This post isn’t about that course, although if you are interested in that, I blogged about it here on SaucySailoress. This post is about a deck that one of the ladies brought along. It was her first deck, which she’d had for over ten years, and she loved it dearly. But she did allow me to use it in my lunch break to do a reading for another lady there, who wasn’t familiar with Tarot. I fell in love with the deck. And here’s why…
One of the first decks I ever purchased was the Visconti Sforza reproduction, the Golden Tarot (which deck itself is superior in every way, and worthy of its own review, which I’ll write soon). I purchased it for the historical value, and it was VERY worthy of its keep. But this review is about the Medieval Cat Tarot. Which I felt was like holding an old friend (even though I’d just met it), a miniature version of my beloved Golden Tarot, in my hands. But with CATS as the characters. Well, not cats really, rather, people with cat heads. Reminded me rather of an old fashioned Dick Whittington, and I rather fancied I could see these guys striding around a theatrical stage!
In Visconti-Sforza style the dimensions are tall and narrow, but the width is about that of playing cards, so much smaller than regular Visconti-Sforza decks, and a handy pack to throw in one’s bag. The quality of the card stock is good, these felt firm to handle, and looked almost new even after 15 years. The artwork is much more colourful and elaborate than the original, but remains in traditional 15th Century Italian style.
The deck comes in a standard box with a standard Little White Book made of paper which slips into the box. Although I’m now at an age where I need to keep a pair of reading glasses handy, I could actually read this without those pesky aids. The introduction is thorough, and the card explanations are very user friendly. Also included are various spreads. I would say this LWB is one of the best, and great for beginners.
Now, the cards themselves. I LOVE them. As I mentioned, smaller than usual and made of good stock, they are very easy to handle and shuffle. The images themselves are a captivating hybrid of RWS and traditional tarocchi. The Major Arcana are elaborate takes on the Visconti-Sforza style, whereas the Court Cards have been adapted to somewhat convey a Ryder Waite message in an effort to make them easier for the novice to interpret. The Minor Arcana are a fascinating combination of pips and illustrations. They are, in fact, pip cards, but with a small motif in the middle with an image, mostly based on RWS interpretation. These make them very easy cards to use, and again, ideal for the beginner.
The reading they gave was a gentle and supportive one. It was encouraging and kind… but also honest. But honest in what I call the PADI way. As a dive instructor, we are taught to find a positive in every teaching scenario. For example, we might say “You did a good job of deflating your Buoyancy Control Device and descending to the bottom of the pool…” thereby helping the student to feel good about what they have achieved so far. But then we would note any problems, and suggest solutions. Like this: “but next time it might be a good idea to keep breathing as you descend”. Get the idea? It’s a nurturing deck.
Of course, cats being very sophisticated creatures, there is no nudity, and no dripping blood anywhere. No negativity to be seen. If I had kids, this is the deck I’d choose to teach them tarot. The combination of traditional and modern RWS style, together with the light hearted feel of the deck makes it just perfect. I adore this deck. If I had any money to spare I would order this deck just to admire. It makes me happy just looking at it, just thinking about it. It’s the sort of deck I would love to be able to draw a card from and send to cat loving friends for their birthdays… so if you have an old deck with missing cards PLEASE get in touch and make me your best offer.
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Author: Gina Pace
Artist: Lawrence Teng
Published by: US Games
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