The Bohemian Animal Tarot
The Bohemian Animal Tarot is an 80 card tarot deck, similar in concept to The Tarot of Curious Creatures, as it is illustrated with figures that are part animal, part human. This deck, however, has a totally different feel. In part that is because the artwork is bright and colourful and wouldn’t be out of place illustrating a children’s book, but it is more than that. Scott Alexander King has written several books on animal symbolism and he combines his extensive knowledge in this area with mythology and archetypal energies. This is a fascinating deck to work with.
The Bohemian Animal Tarot Cards
Depending upon your personal approach to tarot, The Bohemian Animal Tarot can be quite a demanding deck to work with. If you’re not familiar with the Major Arcana numbering it is necessary to learn the many new nominations. Some are relatively simple to recognise but others can be a tad more challenging. Pictured above are the cards for XI Justice and IX The Hermit respectively. I like the name change for the Justice card and The Solitary aligns well with the bear. In fact, I’ve added this version to my favourite Hermit cards list.
You can read The Bohemian Animal Tarot in the same way as you would any other tarot deck. On their own they offer wonderful insights and new ways of viewing each card. For example the fly getting a reading from the spider on the Consequences card lends itself to all number of connotations. However, if you spend time reading the book, you will be drawn into a world of mythological associations and animal symbolism that can greatly enhance your understanding of the images.
There are, however, so many name changes it is probably easiest to present them in a table.
| Typical Nomination | The Bohemian Animal Tarot Nomination |
| 0 The Fool | 0 The Innocent |
| I The Magician | 1 The High Priest |
| II The High Priestess | 2 The High Priestess |
| III The Empress | 3 The Goddess |
| IV The Emperor | 4 The God |
| v The Hierophant | 5 The Shaman |
| VI The Lovers | 6 The Lovers |
| VII The Chariot | 7 The Carousel |
| VIII Strength | 8 The Warrior |
| IX The Hermit | 9 The Solitary |
| X The Wheel of Fortune | 10 The Wheel of Fate |
| XI Justice | 11 Consequence |
| XII The Hanged Man | 12 The Suspended Man |
| XIII Death | 13 Death |
| XIV Temperance | 14 Moderation |
| XV The Devil | 15 The Lower World |
| XVI The Tower | 16 The Rook |
| XVII The Star | 17 The Star |
| XVIII The Moon | 18 The Moon |
| XIX The Sun | 19 The Sun |
| XX Judgement | 20 Judgement |
| XXI The World | 21 The Earth Mother |
| 22 The Universe | |
| 23 The Afterlife |
Because there are so many changes in the Major Arcana I’m going to spend a bit of time discussing them. I’ll start with the cards pictured above – The Carousel and The Lower World. I think The Carousel card is brilliant. For me it offers one of the most powerful messages in the deck. That is saying something since I get a lot from so many of the cards. It’s the originality in the presentation that stands out to me and thus makes the message so impactful. It is time to actually head in a direction.
More importantly it is time to start heading in a direction of your choosing rather than going around and around, and stopping and starting based on the decisions of others. I see this and I think, ‘free yourself from the expectations of others and choose your own direction.’ The monkeys bring a sense of joyousness to the message.
Then there’s The Lower World card. Understanding the mythology and symbolism associated with the toad adds so much to the already symbolically rich card. Initially when I saw the card I was transported to the scene in Star Wars where Princess Leia is chained to Jabba the Hut. The book, A Dictionary of Symbols aligns with this impression. Here the toad is portrayed in a negative light.
However, in the Forest of Enchantment Tarot a toad features on the Ace of Pentacles card. In that card the toad reminds us of our gifts. In The Bohemian Animal Tarot the toad is here for the same reason. It is here to remind us to dig deep and find our hidden potential. We need to realise that situations can be different to how they appear. After all, the strings controlling these people are very thin.
The contradictory associations for the toad is typical. We always decode any encoded message through our own experience, knowledge, and belief system. All of us can come up with numerous examples of how something can mean one thing to one person and something completely different to someone else. I can’t come up with one example of something that is seen the same by all people. To be honest I believe that’s because it is not possible for such a thing to exist. But, back to The Bohemian Animal Tarot.
Now, these are pretty, pretty cards and looking at many of them makes me feel happy. The Sun pictured below definitely falls into that category. I love everything about it. The meditating lemur makes me smile while the dancing lion cubs, the colouring, the setting, and the outfits all create a sense of joyousness and abundance. However, to see The Bohemian Animal Tarot purely in this light would be to miss so much. For example the colour of the lion cubs. One is white, the other is gold. That is intentional and steeped in meaning. Nothing is included just to make the cards look prettier.
Take The Wheel of Fate pictured above as another example. At first glance it may just look like a cutesy scene with the wheel as the only thing symbolising the card meaning. But, this is a symbolically rich card. The black sow holding the piglet on the porch of the van, aptly named Fortuna, is there to represent the Goddess in the crone phase. In Celtic Mythology the sow represents, amongst other things, the cycle of nature. In the foreground the mother pig is reading her daughter’s palm. Worth noting here is that the mother pig is wearing the scarf The Innocent, (also pictured above), used to bundle up his belongings.
In the background, a medicine wheel hangs from the tree and the children are playing a game of hoop trundling. Just like the hoop, life rolls on. Then there’s the swallows flying overhead. Symbolically, bluebirds farewell spring and welcome summer and symbolise the need to live in the moment and let go of the past. The various interpretations of the card are all there. It is a really clever depiction.
The Star card pictured above provides another example. Even though I like unicorn art I looked at this card and my initial reaction was “meh”. But I was too quick to dismiss it. The unicorn symbolises light and healing and the oryx in the background represents being in alignment with your life’s purpose. Therefore there is a suggestion that when you align with your purpose the Universe will help you to achieve your goal. The ibis, usually present on The Star card is there still, as is the water and the connection to both accessing, and adding to, Universal consciousness.
The Ulysses Butterfly is “symbolic of the guiding power of the stars evident in the story of Ulysses.” Ulysses relied on the stars and his faith in the Gods to guide him. Further, the Yuletide faerie is dipping her toe in the pool to seek guidance from the ancestors. I haven’t considered this nuance before. I’ve connected with the idea of the association of The Star and collective consciousness but not the idea of tapping more directly into my own ancestry. Finally the iris flowers are linked to renewal, rebirth, and renewed delight. So much again contained within one card and, through the book, so many opportunities to learn about the symbolism present in many decks.
Mother Earth and The God, (both pictured above), have a different feel to me than the more typical XXI The World and IV The Emperor. Therefore I found it strange that the keywords were synonymous with what I’d generally see. Putting that aside though, these cards have so much within them to unpack and, for that reason, I love them both.
Mother Earth brought to mind Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I loved the book The Wee Free Men when I had to read it at university and I love this card. The presence of The Innocent on the cliff face, the salmon with the pearl, and the ouroboros, are all such great inclusions. Each serve to capture the meaning of the card so well.
The God card speaks to me of the need to consider, and work with, both masculine and feminine energies in decision making and leadership. It also serves as a reminder that our choices don’t just impact our personal reality. They can have far reaching consequences – consequences that we may never have considered. A sense of abundance is wonderful but it is not an excuse for ill-considered behaviour. Look at the bee’s position on the heart. It says a lot. I truly feel that working with this card, and indeed all of these cards, will open up so many opportunities for growth.
In the introduction I mentioned that this is an 80 card deck. The Major Arcana has two additional cards, 22 The Universe and 23 The Afterlife. Are they necessary? I don’t think so. Do they add something? Yes, no, maybe.
Once I got over thinking The Universe was a renaming of The World card as it is in other decks I own, I was able to connect with it more. The book gives, “embracing the unknown” and “exploring the mysteries of life” as the first two divinatory meanings. It could be argued these ideas are present in other cards. Yet, what I connected with is the mention of automatic writing because that is a practice I have used extensively. For me, this is now my call to “tune in through writing” card.
To be honest, I’m not really sure of the purpose of The Afterlife card and how I would interpret it if it appeared in a spread. The keywords given are “The Afterlife, karma, lessons, continuation, rebirth and attainment” all of which, bar the afterlife, are already suggested in the Major Arcana. When you move on to read the initial Divinatory Meanings, “Believing in life after death, proof of the Afterlife, yearning to know of the next world” I have mixed feelings. The final meanings, “Knowing without a doubt you are here for an important reason, having faith in your spiritual gifts, trusting your spiritual gifts without question,” are affirming but, to me, don’t relate to the title.
I think I understand the intention, but until I do readings where this card appears and I see it in context, I’m not sure how I feel about it. Like with any additional card though, if it comes to it, it can be removed. I do like the imagery though so I’m hoping I connect with it through a reading.
But back to the positive. In The Warrior above I like the link back to the RWS VIII Strength card. It grounds the meaning well. Most times when I see a badger in a tarot deck I relate it back to the Badger in The Wind in the Willows and I feel a strong connection. Normally I get Hermit vibes because of that association. However, badgers are quite fierce. Their use here reflects the idea of needing to temper some of that ferocity rather than using “temper” to dominate. For me the “original” card in the background suggests that is what he is learning to do. He’s trying to learn the art of balancing his inner and outer natures.
The Eight of Earth speaks so clearly to me. A uni friend used to call me beaves – short for eager beaver – because I would always dive straight into my work and want to keep perfecting, understanding, and pushing myself. So when I saw the rendering of this Eight of Earth, I readily saw both the positive and negative aspects of the card. I know I’ve mentioned it before but I love the reciprocal nature of tarot.
Our experiences allow for greater understanding of the tarot and the tarot allows for greater understanding of our experiences.
It is such a wonderful dynamic and one that I doubt I will ever tire of. Besides, if that were to happen, there is always another way to engage with the cards.
On to the Minor Arcana. The suits are Air, Fire, Water and Earth. For some reason, the Air suit is called The Air, as in Six of the Air pictured above. It is unusual to see Independence as the main keyword for the Six of the Air and Contentment for the Eight of Water. With the Six of the Air, I recognise that changing a particular circumstance, thought, or action takes an element of independence. Nevertheless it isn’t what generally comes to mind when I see this card. Albeit, the presence of the cat will remind me of that interpretation in the future.
In the Eight of Water I can recognise that the Bluebird is heading off in search of the contentment generally associated with the 9 of Cups. Somewhat surprisingly the Nine of Water, (pictured further down), has Stamina as the first listed keyword, with contentment listed second. The Elk is linked to endurance. It suggests contentment is achieved through sustained effort and a willingness to put in the work. Each keyword adds another dimension to the cards.
The cards themselves have gold gilding, non-reversible backs, and are slightly larger than standard tarot size. As long as the physical size, 9 x 13cm, isn’t too much for you to get your hands around they are easy to shuffle in any manner. Initially I was worried that the gilding had bound some of the cards together but that was not the case. I did not need to separate any individual cards.
The Book
The Bohemian Animal Tarot comes with a comprehensive 240-paged, black and white book that is interesting, overwhelming, contradictory and yet clearly a labour of love and one that I look forward to spending the necessary time with. I really liked a few of the ways the author, Scott Alexander King, referred to the tarot. The idea that tarot is both non-denominational and multidenominational stood out to me. It makes sense since the tarot represents the Universal core essentials that we all experience. Above all though I like that he wrote:
The tarot’s purpose is to empower you and to offer you the courage and strength to believe in yourself more.
Yes, yes and yes. He adds:
It is, in fact, designed to help you become more self-reliant, … and more interdependent, … in your relationships. … In short, … the tarot’s main purpose is to teach you how to take responsibility for you own life, your actions and reactions, instead of placing blame outside of yourself by expecting others to be accountable for your decisions and the maintenance of your values and beliefs.
Scott Alexander King
Hear, hear. I 100% adhere to this belief as well.
The book opens with a minimal contents page followed by an interesting Preface, detailed Acknowledgements pages and an Introduction. The Introduction offers a version of tarot history, information about animal symbolism, and a definition of bohemia.
The next chapter is The Major Arcana. As a quick reference guide, here you’ll find the Major Arcana listed by title and number along with the animal used to represent each one. Here I think it would have been beneficial if the more typical names had been included in some way to make it easier for those newer to tarot.
Under the section for the Minor Arcana some of the elemental information is a bit confusing. It says, “Ruled by the element of air, wands are …” which is in keeping with some decks but when you look at the air cards in The Bohemian Animal Tarot, they are represented by swords not wands.
What I do like in this section is that under the heading “The Four Directions and their Corresponding Elemental Energies,” both Northern and Southern Hemisphere associations are given. Nevertheless this can cause a bit of confusion when the associations provided for the Court cards are taken in to account. As with any tarot book, my advice is the same: take what resonates, leave what doesn’t. For me this doesn’t but it did make me pause to think about elemental associations and the contradictions that exist within the different belief systems.
This applies to the numerology as well. I like how this book expresses the numerological connections. I started out working with crystals and numerology so tarot books telling me that fives are all about conflict is counter to the standard numerological association of fives being linked to curiosity, freedom, adventure, variety, change and clashes. In this book he writes, “Five – Important change of focus and knowledge through experience” which I think marries all meanings well.
Another thing I like is that the book summarises the Minor Arcana as well. The summary, presented in numbered list form, gives the title, a keyword, and the animal represented. I like that the keyword is listed here and not on the card. I do find that some of the keywords don’t align with the card as I know it but do align with the animal. For example Two of the Air – Wolverine – Hostility.
Twenty-six pages in you get to the comprehensive card meanings, starting with the Major Arcana. Here you’ll find a smallish black and white card image and two or three pages of information for each card. The first section provides information about the main animal on the card under the heading, ‘The Animal Archetype’. This section includes information about the associated symbolism and links it with mythologies from around the world.
Next is a section that provides a description of the card. Here all the inclusions in the artwork are explained. This really helps bring the card to life and highlights many elements that could easily be overlooked. It definitely deepens your understanding of the card and for me it really increased my appreciation for the work and the thought that went in to creating this deck.
Next is ‘The Innocent’s Quest’ which follows the story of the Innocent’s journey through the Major Arcana and shows how the cards relate to our lived experience. Finally, there are four or five keywords followed by a ‘Divinatory Meaning’ section expressed through approximately fifty plus keyword and keyword phrases. Yes, there’s a lot.
The Minor Arcana are given the same treatment with only one change. ‘The Innocent’s Quest’ is replaced with a section titled ‘The Numbered Cards’. In this paragraph there is an explanation of the number numerologically and the Major Arcana card that it is associated with. For example the eights are linked to 8 The Warrior. The same information is replicated for all the eight cards. The Eight of Fire card pictured above has a combination of forty-eight keyword and key phrases, opening with “Being quick to take action,” and wrapping up with “Celebrating the past by preparing for and planning the future.”
Spreads
There are two spreads in the book:
- Three Card Spread
- The Celtic Cross (10 cards)
I love that he has included a sample reading for the Three Card Spread and that for the Celtic Cross he suggests how to interpret the card positions. Nevertheless I feel there should also be a direct outline of the spread positions ie 1. Heart of the matter, 2. Blocks etc. The information is there but it is not available at a glance. It is contained within the information about reading the spread. That being said, the way the breakdown of the Celtic Cross has been presented makes the spread more accessible for beginners.
One part of me thinks this is a great deck for beginners. Another part of me disagrees. A wealth of information is wonderful but it can also be intimidating. Even though The Bohemian Animal Tarot aligns with the RWS system, all the name changes can also make it more challenging. However, if you’re looking for an animal deck that will give you a solid grounding in animal symbolism then this is a beautiful and well researched deck. Plus, it can be read purely from an RWS perspective.
Put simply, I would say this deck is more than people may initially see. It can, and does, fulfil many roles. Not all are obvious, but each are powerful in their own right. For those really wanting to learn The Bohemian Animal Tarot there is a steeper learning curve than with many other cards but the rewards are wonderful and the knowledge gained along the way can be applied to other tarot decks. I’m surprised it has taken me this long to add this animal deck to my collection.
Publishing Details
Created by:
Scott Alexander King (Author) and Sharon McLeod (Illustrator)
Pictured Version:
Published by Rockpool Publishing in 2014
Websites:
