Grimalkin's Curious Cats Tarot

Grimalkin’s Curious Cats Tarot is the latest creation by MJ Cullinane and one of the more recent additions to my collection. I am starting to think I have a bit of a cat obsession since I already had Soul Cats Tarot, Mystical Cats Tarot, and the Black Cats Tarot when I bought it. But, oh well. I would not part with any of them.

When I was reading the opening to the accompanying book I found it strange to have a cat deck created by a self-declared dog person but I appreciate the honesty. As a writer, I also recognise a powerful hook when I read one. It made me curious. What possessed a dog-lover who has already created a dog deck (Wise Dog Tarot) to spend the time creating a cat deck. Spoiler alert, it turns out a cat compelled her to do so and I’m glad he or she did because this is a great deck.

Grimalkin’s Curious Cats Tarot Cards

For me, Grimalkin’s Curious Cats Tarot is a straight to the point kind of deck. Consider the Ace and King of Swords pictured above. The cat pictured on the Ace is not hiding from who he is and what he desires. The poppies suggest she (Olive) remembers exactly who and what she is and what she wants. She tells us to, ‘Stay focused on “our truth.”‘ Also, worth noting, is that the peacock is not strutting around showing off his glorious tail feathers. Truth is not for show; it is for living.

Grimalkin’s Curious Cats Tarot has called me out several times in my readings. I will share part of one such reading. When the Page of Cups appeared I saw that the cat was looking straight over the fish that had magically presented itself. This suggested to me that what I seek is right in front of me and I just need to stop complicating things. It asked me, ‘Why are you not noticing? How can you not notice?’ and told me, ‘Things do not always need to be hard.’ Is that what I would normally see with the Page of Cups? No. But I read intuitively so I go with the messages that present themselves to me.

The Queen of Wands showed up in my hopes and fears position. Straight away the message that I fear I am focusing on the wrong thing – recognition rather than authenticity – came to mind. But as per the position, it shows that my fear is also my hope. I want to have the confidence to always present myself as who I am rather than a version of myself I think others may find more acceptable.

What do you see when you see the two cards looking at each other?

The outcome was the Strength card pictured below. Is the cat calming the dog? antagonising the dog? or is the usual dynamic transforming? Dog people point out that dogs are loving, friendly pack animals, whereas cats are too independent and therefore antisocial. However, the two are not mutually exclusive. These personality traits can exist together. Independence does not have to mean antisocial. Being independent does is not necessarily a bad thing. Yet, the cat versus dog debate often suggests otherwise.

I see the message in this card is, ‘Do not fight. Do not get angry. There is no need to threaten or feel threatened. Just let yourself be. Calm any reactionary behaviour and take the time to accept both sides of yourself. Embody both the cat and dog personality attributes.’

In other words, do not be so independent as to appear stand offish nor too eager to please in order to feel accepted and get a pat on the back. I have been guilty of both. In the card it is the cat who looks calm. He (Red, a young Bengal cat), does not have his claws out. Instead he appears to be calling for the aggression to stop. Don’t react, act. Come from a place of compassion and the desire to understand rather than from an attitude of attack and defend. Seek to see past the bluster, both our own and that of others. A line from Avatar comes to mind, ‘I see you.’ From a three hour movie that line has always stuck with me and this card embodies it for me.

We should never hide our true nature though, because contrary to what we believe, it does not keep us safe. Instead it makes us vulnerable to situations that can lead us down a dark path. XV The Devil, pictured below, points this out in a clever way. In trying to protect ourselves we can fall prey to worse situations. Being game to walk away from thoughts, people and actions that do not align with us rather than trying to fit in where we know, deep down, we do not belong may be hard. However, not doing so can be harder to deal with in the long run. The red flags, or should I say traps in this case, were so clear, and yet the mouse dismissed them all. This is such a powerful Devil card.

The King of Cups shows that at any time we can choose to take control of our emotions. That is not to say we should bury them. We can look at what they are showing us instead. The King of Cups has a chrysalis hanging above his head. I doubt that is by accident. A caterpillar goes through a lot in order to transform into a butterfly and a lotus can only blossom after it has pushed its way up through the mud. When taken together it shows that if we calm the flow of emotions long enough to seek the wisdom they contain we can stop ourselves from rushing from one bad situation to another.

Just like the cat on the Eight of Swords pictured above, we can become trapped by the things we do not want to face.

Moving on to more about the cards themselves, I like that horses still appear on the Knights cards, (see the Knight of Cups and the Knight of Pentacles pictured below). Horses for me represent movement and personal power so I think they carry the energy of the Knights well. I like that the cats are not riding the horses though. That would not feel in keeping with how the deck has portrayed them throughout.

At 9 x 12.5cm, these are big, oracle-sized cards. The size really suits the imagery though. I cannot imagine them compressed into a narrower card. However, the robust cardstock makes this a thick deck that may be hard for those with smaller hands to work with. It also makes it hard to riffle and bridge straight out of the box. Yes it is possible, but I do not believe my hands should have to work that hard. I know some people are particular about card stock, and I can be too. But, as long as I can find a way to shuffle my cards, I am not too fussy. That being said, I admit that I do love a deck that is easy and enjoyable to shuffle.

The Grimalkin’s Curious Cats Tarot includes two additional Major Arcana cards – XXII Unity and XXIII Grimalkin. I have noticed that this seems to be happening more and more. Okay The Bohemian Animal Tarot is an older deck, but the Secrets of Paradise Tarot and Quantum Tarot 2.0 that I have also just recently reviewed have done the same too. Is there a need for them? I am not entirely sure, but that might be because I am unfamiliar with them. Time will tell. XXII Unity is all about finding and connecting with a tribe you trust and XXIII Grimalkin represents trusting yourself. I think I need to examine this idea of additional Major Arcana in more detail at some stage.

The Guide Book

The 174 paged, card sized book is worth reading. It opens with an ‘Introduction’ that discusses the motivation behind why a dog person created a cat deck. How each card came to be dedicated to a particular cat is mentioned here too. Then, after a section on how to prepare your deck, there is a list of cards representing either ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘maybe’. If you have read my article about yes or no questions you would know I am not a fan of them and so you can probably guess that I am not a fan of this section in the book.

I admit this inclusion can be valuable for those that like to read with yes/no questions; however, I think a standardised list is confusing. For example, V The Hierophant signifies no. Yet, if I asked a question about studying I would generally have considered his appearance to be a positive sign. Eight of Pentacles and Knight of Swords as a ‘maybe’ would have to be very subjective choices also.

What about if your question was, ‘Should I stay with my partner?’ The Six of Swords signifies ‘yes’. That does not make sense to me at all. If the question was ‘Should I leave?’ then I see it as yes, but not for should I stay. Nevertheless it is there in the book so make of it what you will. It made me consider how I view certain cards so in that sense I feel I still benefitted from its inclusion

The book then moves on to ‘Questions from the Cats of the Major Arcana.’ If you have read many of my discussions on my decks you will know that I am pro questions. I love them and in this case it is no different. V The Hierophant asks, ‘Are your traditions and beliefs a source of strength and inspiration, or do they keep you from expanding your knowledge?’ 0 The Fool asks, ‘Are you letting the fears or opinions of others prevent you from taking a leap of faith?’ I would throw in a ‘how?’ or ‘why?’ with both of those questions though.

For XVIII The Moon, pictured above, the question reads, ‘Are you showing off your authenticity, or are you trying to portray your vision of your ideal self?’ Again, throw in a why or how and it is a really great question. My final example is from the XIII Death card, pictured above. ‘Can you find the beauty you hold within, that part of you that has been with you since birth?’ What a great and original question to link with the Death card. Yes I would make it an open rather than a closed question but I like the encouragement to go looking for the magic within as part of the transformation process.

Next are the card meanings sections. In the Introduction, MJ Cullinane explains that, ‘The first 78 Indiegogo backers for the original edition of this deck got to dedicate a card to their cats.’ Beneath each title is the particular cat’s name. In some cases, she interweaves a little bit about the cat’s personal story throughout the card meaning.

For example, XVII The Star is dedicated to Rory. The first paragraph opens with, ‘Rory, a young cat prone to skittishness, is often startled by the slightest noise or sudden movement. But this all changes when he is in the arms of his loving guardian. When Rory is held, he relaxes as comfort and security wash over his small body. A thunderstorm could roll overhead, but if Rory is being held, he barely flinches; he is completely at ease.’

It continues with more examples then the second paragraph begins, ‘When the Star is present, a feeling of protection will wash over, and a knowing that there is something greater than yourself keeping a watchful eye on your progress will shift your mindset into a positive place. The energy of the Star creates an atmosphere of hope and inspiration.’

I really enjoyed reading about the cats and in turn imagining their lives and the lives of their owners. This helps to embody the message of the card. It was also a clever way to connect people to the deck. Other times, there is just a description of the card itself. Both ways add clarity to the meaning. It would have been great if all the artistic inclusions had been discussed. For example what the different birds included on the Three of Wands and the Ten of Cups, both pictured below, are there to represent. I love reading about other people’s symbolic interpretations.

‘Energy Attributes’ for both the negative and positive aspects of the card are on the right hand page. She presents these attributes through keywords and short phrases. Card images are not included with the descriptions.

Spreads

Three suggestions for ways to read with the cards are included:

Single card pull (yes, no, maybe)
Single card pull (advice)
The M.E.O.W Spread (4 cards)

The M.E.O.W Spread is easy to use. MEOW is an acronym that stands for Motivation, External factors, Obstacle, and Wisdom. Presenting it in this way makes it easy to remember the card placements which I liked.

Overall this is a light yet expansive deck that helps you to understand what is going on without complicating the message. It gets to the true nature of things. During my deck interview the cards pointed out that their limitation is an imagined one. ‘I am clearer than people imagine. Don’t be distracted by my prettiness. See what is there and think about why it is there. I don’t have to show how clever I am. Those that know, know.’

Regardless of whether you are a beginner or an experienced reader, I would say there is enough on offer to ensure that Grimalkin’s Curious Cats Tarot has something for everyone.