Tarot of the Pagan Cats
Magdelina Messina
Lo Scarabeo, 2010
(images coming)
I got this deck through the latest "reverse auction" at
The Tarot Garden. I think I got it for $12. I set it on my shelf and waited for it to come round for the "Deck of the Week." And waited. Finally, the
random number generator spit out the magic number and I sat down for what I thought would be a fine week with another cat deck.
First, let me say that I like cat decks. I have several and find them to be fun and fascinating to read with (good grief, don't call the grammar police...). Unfortunately, my initial response to the deck was quite cold. It just didn't have that same magic that I get from my other cat decks. I couldn't put my finger on it right away, but after a week, I had it figured out. See, in the Kissa Tarot and The Tarot of the Cat People, the cats are there as companions, and they are quietly commenting on the situation in the card in a very cat like manner. In the Baroque Bohemian Cats, the cats are wearing human clothes and act as humans. Same with Medieval Cats. In the Pagan Cats, there are cats who are being cats, but are doing things that are outside cat abilities, such as holding wands and the like. I guess I like my cats to either be cats and act as cats, or to be cats and act as humans consistently. But not to be cats, act like cats, but to not act like cats when the RWS meaning of the card calls for it. That likely won't make sense to most people, but there it is.
The cards themselves were typical Lo Scarabeo - nice size, not too much lamination, supple (but not flimsy) and packaged nicely. And in 5 or 6 languages. I don't mind the polyglot cards, I enjoy it actually, especially when it is subtle. As a reading deck, it was a bit too RWS for me. I like my RWS-inspired decks to be inspired by RWS, not absolute clones. I like the different take on the same cards that RWS-inspired decks provide. This is why I don't care for the Robin Wood - it is almost exactly the same deck - but with less clothes as if that is what makes it "pagan." Because we all know that pagans run around nekkid with their nekkid bits hanging and flopping in the wind. And wouldn't cats be pagan anyway? Isn't the church clear that dogs (and presumably, cats) do not go to heaven?
Okay, enough of that. As a reading deck for OTHERS, however, the deck seemed to work fine. Perhaps it was because the sitters were more in tune with RWS than I - I tried REALLY hard to keep the Thoth out of my interpretations, though I think it snuck in here and there. The deck is familiar (and therefore not threatening), has kitties! and would be a good choice for readings for others. I can imagine that it would be selected by those who want a reading with something different, but not too different...
Rating: Keeper -
Originally, I used this deck for the week of August 25 - 31, 2012. I did not post that to the blog, but I did have the original notes in my spreadsheet.
