Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot

catdoc

death card

baba-prague said:
The Death card -

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more

;-)

I was away for a week, but I see the BBCT is still a hot topic.

The above quote sets the stage (so to speak) for your Death card. It certainly looks as though the black kitty might be making this speach as the white (siamese) kitty clutches at her breast and both look to the heavens. I think a theater is a good setting for the Death card. The 'world is but a stage and we are all just players' metaphore is apt. Each role we play ends, but the show goes on and on and on.

While this card's image does not paraphrase the Coleman-smith image of Death, there seem to be enough clues that will allow the reader get the message. (even in the small low resolution version).

Deb
 

Alta

baba, I have no doubt that the many AT cats have been secretly logging and asking for terrified mice. :)
The Death card is infinitely more impressive now that I have seen the two close ups. The cat in the dress now looks like she is swooning before the arrival of Death while the black cat reaches out in that detached way of cats to bat towards the suffering victim. To bat at it, one suspects (I yes, I *am* a cat lover... but also a cat observor).
 

baba-prague

The Tower

Somehow, we seem to be working on Death, The Tower and The Devil this weekend (not sure why).

Here is The Tower. NO MICE! :)

Marion - yes, these cards are hopeless at this size. Alex feels strongly that they need to be seen in print, not on screen - and at small size they go a bit blurry and messy. Still, for now this is all I have. But I'll keep doing the crops to at least show some detail I think.

Catdoc - thanks and good to see you back.
 

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baba-prague

Sorry - this is the right close up. Sorry about the above - whoops - I didn't realise we can't edit uploads.
 

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Melvis

A cat is such a wonderful animal for the Tower card -- they always land on their feet, don't they? It's nice to be able to take a positive message away from that often dreaded card! :)

Am still loving the deck, Karen and Alex! And I think you must have peeked at my Tarot Resolutions in the thread of the same name, since I resolved to only buy limited edition, self-published decks this year, much like the Collectors edition you've been pondering! I will gladly break out the PayPal for that one! :D

Thanks for letting us be involved in the process, too! It's fun to live through creating a deck vicariously! ;)

Meow,
(Peace, I meant)

Melvis
:TSTRE
 

HudsonGray

Oh geez, I looked at the close up of the tower & got this visual of an owner pissed at the ammonia odor off the litter box, and the two kitties expiring from the smell! There is something wrong with me....

Baba, I'd like to buy this deck also, can't wait till it's done!

Since the little images don't do it justice, as you say, is it possible to have a full size or even larger image put up on your site or over here, just to see all the detail on one card?
 

baba-prague

Another card - and more

Well, here is another teeny card.
Hudson, yes, we need to get these up somewhere that they can be seen better. Our friend who does the website (who is becoming a whole character in my AT life I think) has wandered off again so we are hoping to have it mainly taken over by another friend (more reliable!) We're aiming to get a basic site up this week.
Meantime I do put most things on my weblog -
www.livejournal.com/users/baba-studio

but it does ramble on a bit I have to admit :)

I'm glad people are enjoying this thread. Now that we are in the finishing straight as it were (we have been working on this one for so many months in relative isolation) it's just so motivating to get this feedback.

So here is the Ten of Wands - again, you can't see, but he is struggling towards a castle - which makes sense to me. The yellow tree on the left is one of the most amazing trees I have ever seen. In the autumn it is an almost glowing yellow. Wonderful.
 

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Major Tom

Hi Karen,

I deleted your mistake above. :)

This deck is amazing. You're certainly not going to have any difficulty selling them. ;)

Every cat owner will want one. I do too. :D

Thanks for sharing the whole process with us.
 

skytwig

Feedback

Thank you so much for including us in your creative process! It is really educational and inspirational!! (It is also an honor! :) )

Anyway, here's some feedback..... I loved the 10 wands. The Tower, however, bothered me.... maybe because I am such a cat person...... it just gave me the heeby jeebies.... I have trouble looking at it, in fact.

I know the Tower is an active card, but this was just a little too active for me.....

Thought you might want to know, because if one person gets that, others may too......

:) skytwig
 

HudsonGray

As you've said, the Tarot isn't all sweetness and light, there is a bite to it too.

The cats are ok, they're only falling in the picture, not real life.

Baba, in the main museum here there's research sections a person can go in & use so long as they don't take anything out of the rooms. Like bird skins for study, their non-display taxidermy mounts, bones, art, etc. A person has to get special permission to photograph, but all we have to do is ask. The behind the scenes stuff isn't generally known to most people.

Were you allowed to photograph some of your backgrounds & items from the museums in your area? I can't imagine having to go out and haunt antique shops looking for all the tiny details you're putting into your cards.