Medieval Cat Tarot

I ADORE the art used in this deck! It's pleasant to look at and I like how much thought went into each card portraying or representing its traditional meaning (from the booklet, "based upon Golden Dawn symbolism as interpreted by A.E. Waite") without it seeming too cluttered. The art is cute, but the depictions in the cards aren't meant to be funny or silly--it's whimsical without being irreverent. There are some changes from what the cards are traditionally called; High Priestess and Hierophant are "Popess" and "Pope," and instead of the suit of Pentacles you have the suit of Coins. The minor arcana are just as beautifully drawn as the major and they all seem to tell a story. The cards are thick and smooth so they don't feel cheap or flimsy at all, and the backs are symmetrical so they could be read reversed (although in the booklet there are no reversed meanings listed). Over all it's a really really lovely deck and I'm happy to use it. A note about the dimensions: Amazon lists the dimensions as '2.8 x 5 inches.' This is true for the entire deck when it is in its box. Out of the box, each card is 2-1/2" x 4-3/4" (as listed on the deck maker's website) and the entire deck outside of its box is about an inch thick.

I like this deck because of the strong medieval theme and, while done a bit tongue-in-cheek with cats in period costumes, not overly cutesy. Very nice-looking deck and card stock, particularly for the money. This deck can be read by those who only read RWS decks, but it does have a bit of a TdM touch. Pips are illustrated, but not as much as an RWS deck. Do like the images though and I do like cat decks :-) Shuffles nicely too.

There are many differences between this deck and the Rider-Waite: yet the imagery is beautiful and the anthropomorphism of the cats adds to its mystique. The Major Arcana is not numbered, but that does not detract from their lovely design. These cards are easy on the eyes and their coloring and layout complements their overall design. It also comes with a booklet to help you decipher the card's meanings and help with interpretations. There are even examples of some layouts in it. I would recommend the Medieval Cat Tarot based on the pictures alone, of course; but I also think that it would make a nice addition to any collection (and yes, I am using the deck this month for daily readings, to familiarize myself with it).

The Medieval Cat Tarot deck by US Games Systems is probably one of the friendliest, non-violent decks I have come across. It may not be to everyone's taste, and has some odd things about it, first of all, I am confused as to why all the cat faces are identical, the same cream/butterscotch blonde cat face on every card. Was this in tribute to the artist's favorite kitty? I wonder. The figures on the cards are not actually cats, they are tall slender humanoids with human hands and feet, and no cat tails anywhere. I looked at every single card. The cat faces also curiously look like masks, and don't have lower jaws or chins. Like every person is wearing a cat play mask that has no discernible expression. Okay so I'm weird but I do notice these things! Each suit in the minor arcana has a spirit animal, Wands are salamanders for fire, Cups are fishes for water, Swords are birds for air, and Coins are rats for earth. All are prey for cats, I surmise. On the 7 of swords, the cat may have eaten the canary that was last seen in the now empty cage, but this is a guess only. At least the horses in the knight cards aren't wearing cat masks too, ha ha. That would be super weird. Print quality on this deck is fine in muted earthy tones, mine is printed in Italy and has that heavy varnish smell like other printed in Italy decks from US Games. This deck would be fine for any age group or for the more sensitive clients, the Death card is quite pretty with its cloud of butterflies, and the Devil card a costumed fox (again with no lower jaw) holding a cat masquerade mask in front of it's face, borrowing the meaning of the fox card from the Lenormand deck, that of the deceiver. Very clever idea.

These are a great deck of Tarot Cards. I bought them for a friend for her birthday (and she loves cats), and she enjoyed them very much. Each of the cards has a beautifully drawn picture and the cards feel great to the touch. Wonderful buy, I'm very happy that I bought them. :)

I bought this as a joke for a friend but when we opened the package we were both taken back by the absolutely stunning artwork on each of these cards!

Art is grade A. The booklet sets a tone of realism. You can tell the designers cared about being kind to both the good and the ugly. Great range of use for novice to WAY better than I am!

Quirky and beautiful - not my favorite, but if you like cats and/or a style that evokes medieval art, this is enjoyable.

Muy lindo diseño, Gran calidad en la impresión

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Cartas pequeñas pero de buena calidad. Manejables y prácticas. Ilustraciones preciosas. Los arcanos menores basados en el tartot de Marsella con una pequeña ilustración de referencia al Rider Wite. Encantada con esta pequeña maravilla.

J'ai reçu ce jeu il y a peu. Il est vraiment magnifique et les images sont très travaillées. Il s'inspire du Rider Waite Smith et du Tarot de Marseille, où l'auteur a mixés les deux types, ce qui offre une approche très intéressate pour passer des mineures illustrées à celles qui sont vierges. Très bon article, et très joli marque page en plus ! Merci à The Book Depository pour leur service client impeccable.

I can't believe that I am the first to be reviewing this deck! It is so gorgeous, I can't believe every tarot reader doesn't own one. I received my deck today after waiting quite some time for it to arrive from France - it seems to be quite tricky to get hold of in the UK, and I absolutely love it already. Essentially it is a complete Tarot deck - all 78 cards but with a Medieval Cat theme. This means the deck itself contains quite a lot of deep golds and lush browns, sounds ghastly but I really can't tell you how beautiful it is. The Majors all follow the traditional names, Death, Devil, Justice etc and for the most part follow the bare bones of the Rider-Waite but with some innovative takes on some. The Death card shows a skeletal figure in a cowl standing next to his scythe but only part of his feline skull is visible as is his little skeletal paw. The devil is a well dressed, pleasant looking fox holding a cat's mask which I thought got to the essence of the meaning of the card for me, personally. The minors are a combination of illustration and pip deck - there is a tiny (but very clear) picture in the centre of the card surrounded by the number of pentacles, coins, wands, swords that they refer to. The genius of the cards really comes across in the court cards - usually the most difficult of the cards to interpret, the illustrators of the Medieval Cats have taken additional care to design these so taht they speak directly to your intuition and you can get right to the heart of the meaning relatively easily. The cards are reversible (i.e. you can't tell if they are reversed until you turn them over). I can imagine that one thing that may put potential readers off is that all the cards have relatively large and ornate borders which crops the size of the actual pictures and some may not like the predominance of the browns and golds, but if you like cats, and all things medieval, then this will be a gorgeous deck for your collection. Does it read well? Yes. The artwork is just gorgeous (but not sickly chocolate box kittens) and they feel lovely and full of life. They are of medium card stock I would say and lightly laminated to prolong life. I have had them one day and I would wrestle you to the ground if you were to try to take them off me.