Jul 18, 2011

Deck Review- Tarot of the Cat Peple

Tarot of the Cat People by Karen Kuykendall and published by US Games is a truly unique and visually pleasing deck that is filled to the brim with cats of every sort...one of my favorite animals. Kuykendall, affectionately called "the cat lady" by those who know her, uses influences of architecture, anthropology, art history, costumes in history and her many travels, in creation of this wonderful deck.

This 78 card deck measures 2 5/8" x 4 5/8"  and is just the right size for shuffling. It has a glossy lamination and intriguing imagery that makes reading with these cards a real pleasure. I absolutely adore the cat mirror image on the back and that was what first drew my attention to this deck...well, I love cats too and with this deck I can combine my love of cats with my love of Tarot.

The Major Arcana is the beginning of five kingdoms, and is called the Diamond Kingdom, home to the Sky People. The imagery follows the Rider Waite tradition and meanings are easily recognized. I love the Fool, pictured with a small striped cat clinging to his leg as if to stop him from a dangerous fall and the Star card which pictures a finely dressed woman holding aloft a cat surrounded by glittering stars against a dark background. Card twenty is also impressive, named Rejuvenation, which is the Rider Waite equivalent of Judgement. 

The Minor Arcana starts with the suit of Swords and the Ruby Kingdom, home to the Fire People and their gorgeous felines. Next is the suit of Wands, the Emerald Kingdom home to the Sand People. The suit of Cups is the Topaz Kingdom where the Salt people live and last but not least is the suit of Pentacles, the Sapphire Kingdom, home of the Rock People. Each kingdom is described in the LWB (little white book) and descriptions are given of the landscape, inhabitants personality and even products that each make.

I simply adore this deck and it's unique artwork and people living alongside their faithful feline companions. This is a terrific deck that combines fiction and fantasy to produce a truly wonderful deck. This would make a great deck for both new and experienced readers and it's story makes for hours of great readings.




Publisher: US Games Systems
Artist: Karen Kuykendall
ISBN: 0-88079-078-4

images used with permission from US Games


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is the deck that I use. It is absolutely beautiful and inspires me each time I hold it. And of course my readings are always accurate with it.
Good day.