Customer Reviews

The Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot Deck

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Themed tarot decks must show a delicate balance between creativity and integrity to one of the foundational decks of tarot. The Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot achieves this lofty goal in a superb and charming way. The familiar traditions of the Rider Waite Smith tarot are enhanced rather than obscured by Karen Mahoney and Alex Ukolov's creativity.

I always 'ask' a tarot deck about what it will tell me, how I should approach it, and how well we will get on, using a simple three card spread. This deck promised me tales (tails?) of intrigue and Baroque fantasy, a dream world where true vision is reflected in the round green eyes of a cat.

One bit of advice--buy the boxed set. The book that accompanies the deck adds so much pleasure to owning the deck. Read the cats' biographies, and enjoy the cats' perspective on tarot.

"There seems to be some definite, if indefinable, link between cats and tarot...Could it be that people who are attracted to animals as enigmatic, untamable and yet at the same time as warmly emotional as cats also find some of these same qualities in the tarot?" - From the companion book

Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov, the creative geniuses who run baba studio and Magic Realist Press in Prague, meld lavish costumes, posed cats, stunning Bohemian scenery, and quirky art and architecture in the Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot. While many "cat decks" are mostly art decks, this gorgeous Tarot is a bona fide reading deck based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition.

Sumptuous fabrics and lovely detailing grace the costumes created by Finnish artist Anna Hakkarainen, while many of the "models" used in the Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot were from the Prague Cats Rescue Home. Russian Blues, Tabbies, Persians, Siamese, Orientals, British Shorthairs, mixed breeds--all manner of hue and personality infuse these cards.

From the singing Abyssinian on the 3 of Pentacles to the wide-eyed kitten on the Sun card (which was coaxed to stand up on a horse with a teaspoon of cream!), the almost-human expressions surprise and delight. The fierceness of the Siberian on the Knight of Swords crackles with energy, and the sweet innocence of the 6 of Cups elicits an "awww!" for both its cuteness and the way it captures the essence of this card. The 9 of Cups is a hilarious card, with a British shorthair licking his lips in snarky Puss in Boots fashion. Ms. Mahony writes of this card:

"A somewhat portly and obviously very satisfied cat sits on a barrel in the public room of an inn, licking his lips. Behind him, carved in wood, can be a seen a scene of grand merrymaking."

Because some readers prefer Strength and Justice as either Trump 8 or 11, the deck designers have chosen to keep the Majors unnumbered. In addition to the standard RWS attributions and format, Ms. Mahony and Mr. Ukolov have also added a "good luck" card to the Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot: Hermes--which shows a golden statue of the god in a sunny courtyard while a lovely cat clothed in a sage green gown with white ruffles looks on. At first glance, it appears the card backings are fully reversible, but upon closer inspection, you can see the names Ukolov and Mahony on opposing sides. Because the script is so small, however, the backings still work wonderfully for reversals.

The Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot is an excellent reading deck, and especially good as a deck for children or cat lovers. Because this deck follows RWS, it can be used in conjunction with many Tarot books, making it a great beginner's deck, as well. I've had quite a few insights with these cards, which I've jotted down in my Tarot journal. While an artistically exquisite Tarot that belongs in every art deck collection, it's an excellent deck for both reading and meditation. (Note: I highly recommend getting the entire Kit, because Ms. Mahony's prose is exquisite, offering additional insights into both this deck and the Tarot in general).

(To see 10 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

These cards are totally cool, a must for cat lovers. Gorgeous, highly-detailed cards with a great variety of cats: tortoiseshells, Persians, Russsian Blues, tabbies, gingers, Maine Coons, Siamese, etc. You can just sit and gaze at them for hours. All this plus a nice little explanatory booklet.

I totally love the pictures on this deck. They are fun and beautifully executed. I haven't had much time to work with this deck, and the size is a little hard to work with, but all in all I really love it.

The artwork is worth the price of admission. The cards have a cheap feel to them, but at least, they can be shuffled. When looking down at your layout the colors and the expressions on the faces of the cats give an extra dimension to the read. While this will not often be my deck of choice for reading, I am glad to have it in my collection and certainly believe the money was well spent.

I really was excited to get this deck, and I wanted to like it, but when I received the item, I was disappointed.
If you are a collector of tarot decks, and you collect decks for artwork purposes, this deck was disappointing to me. The cats looked photoshopped into the cards. Some cards it was executed nicely because you didnt notice that things were photoshopped and it worked smoothly, it made for a very enchanting card. However, on many of the cards, it was very noticable, even distracting. So objects looked dropped in with no consideration to shadow or placement of light. I wish the quaility of the artwork flowed through out the whole deck instead being inconsistent on each card.
For a reading deck, I couldnt recomended this deck for a beginner. The problem is, there is not enough symbolism that matches or cues the reader into the meanings of the cards. Some of the cards in the minor arcana are hard to distinguish which number and which suit it is in.
I hope perhaps the artist will revisit some of those pieces and modify them to be more consistent. This deck deserves to be given the very best it can be. It's just not there yet.