Everyday Tarot

Artist: Debra M. Gavin

Temperance - Cat’s Eye Tarot
Artist: Debra M. Gavin

I’m not usually a fan of “interpretive” Tarot decks - the kind that pick a milieu and fit their impression of the Tarot cards into that milieu. You know the type I mean -things like Disney Princesses Tarot or Star Wars Tarot, though I have no idea if either of those exist. It wasn’t always this way - for a while, I was enchanted with the Tarot of the Cat People. It’s a lush, richly colored and beautiful deck, but in the long run, it just didn’t connect for me. I do adore unusual and novelty interpretations of the Tarot like  The Housewive’s Tarot - mostly as collectors’ items.

This deck by Debra M. Gavin, though, is different. While the cards bear absolutely no resemblance to any traditional deck that I’ve seen, each and every one - and Gavin illustrates the entire deck, both Major and Minor Arcana - manages to capture the essence of the card. The dreamy watercolors draw you into a fantasy world where the only visible inhabitants are cats - but unlike so many other decks that feature animals, the cats are not anthropomorphic at all. They are quintessentially catlike, and that’s part of the charm of the deck.

Gavin’s Cat’s Eye Temperance doesn’t so much illustrate the concept of the card as embody it. The black and white cats in the foreground form the yin-yang symbol - the blending of male/female, masculine/feminine, black/white to create something intrinsically beautiful and unique. In the background, the reflection of sun on water is another hint of Temperance essence - fire and water meeting to create the luminescent, peaceful glow. Likewise, the railing on which the cats sleep contrasts the neat, clean, organized lines of the manmade construct with the rougher outlines of the gray, rocky cliffs - but there is no tension or opposition in it. Instead, water and earth, natural and manmade all combine to create a serene, peaceful scene.

It’s a lovely and striking image that is surprisingly evocative. You can see the rest of Gavin’s Tarot deck at her website and even get a 3-card javascript reading for the fun of it. While you’re there, take a bit of time to read some of her work on cat purrsonality and play with the Temperament sorter to find out your feline companion’s personality type.

This post is part of Tarot Tuesday, a fledgling blog meme for those who love art, writing and Tarot. Each week, a new Tarot card is posted at the home site at http://tarot-tuesday.blogspot.com on Friday to be used as inspiration if you need it. On Tuesday, post about the Tarot or the Tarot card pictured, then link to Tarot Tuesday using the handy Mr. Linky widget so we can all blog-hop and enjoy each other’s insights and interpretations.