Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot

baba-prague

firemaiden said:
Just to pour more oil onto the pan..... I LOVE the flowery border. HAHAHA

Well, Firemaiden, all I can say is pour in a bit more oil and I'll make pancakes all round!

I love all the different opinion - and while we will not act on all of it we will of course act on some - maybe more than I'm letting on ;_) and it's really good to hear it.

We have one terribly serious and sensible cat (who we hope will give birth to kittens in a couple of weeks, though afraid to say much as yet as last time something went wrong early in her pregnancy) and I think she will simply roll her eyes to the heavens when she sees these cards. She will be our fiercest critic!
But I bet she will come round when she realises she is in there - in the most lovely gown :)
 

Moongold

Morgaine, who lives with me, is a veteran tarot reader.

She is a western suburbs tabby with quite definite psychic abilities.

This is is Morgaine with our lates acquisition.

Moongold
 

baba-prague

Moongold, she is beautiful - and obviously quite used to tarot. I like how she washes her paws first - I always wash my hands before reading. Is this the mature cat who has been unwell recently. How is she now? (moderators - sorry if this is a bit off thread, we can continue this in pms if more appropriate).
 

Moongold

Well, baba-prague, it is a Tarot about Cats after all, and these are such splendid cats. I could not resist.

It is Morgaine who was ill and is now getting better. Your tarot deck shows how important a place cats hold in our experience and view of the world.

I think the intepretations these cards will evoke, given that they are about Cats, will be quite unusual, with very specific insights.

Who is going to write the companion book? I can already think of some highly original perspectives.

Moongold
 

baba-prague

I'm glad she is getting better. It must be a relief for you.

Well, I am writing the book, but this time I have a different editor (the last one was a nice guy but he did miss some typos and I think generally could have done a bit more). I am actually finding it a bit of a struggle because although in theory it's mostly written, in fact I want to think more about what is really useful in a book like this. As ever, it has to work for absolute beginners - but also provide something for experts. This is always difficult (I've been following Lo Scarabeo's thread on this with interest). Of course I will give details of the cat breeds we are using, and about the other visual elements (though these are perhaps less important than in ToP).

Recently I have also been thinking about adding more pictures to the book. I think the little "extra" pictures in the Prague book were a bit of a late decision, but in fact added a lot. We have some wonderful old books, including some early drawings of cats, and I am thinking of using those - in fact today we went searching for more in some of the antiquarian bookshops here. Personally, I like tarot companion books to be decorative and visual.

I am also trying to put in a "cat's interpretation" for each card. It's difficult sometimes. This started off as just a jokey thing (a la Tarot for Cats, which I really quite like). I then got a bit of a shock when I realised that these little pieces were actually sometimes giving me a new way of looking at some cards (dear Diana, if you are reading this don't faint - it really does help to imagine yourself a whole other animal and see what a card would then mean to you) so I am taking this aspect more seriously now.

As ever, writing is a long haul. To be honest, I often post here on AT in between writing - it lets me draw back and think about things.

_________

Oh just thought, maybe I should consult Morgaine. It looks as though she might have a strong opinion on all this!
 

Moongold

Baba-prague ~

The book will be amazing. I haven't got the TOP companion book.

Have you read The Silent Miaow by Paul Gallico? This is a great book for people who wish to understand cats.

Thanks for all your work , and for sharing it with us in the way that you do.

Moongold
 

Le_Corsair

baba-prague said:
________

edited to add - Macavity if you knew how many close-ups of cat paws we have! I can so relate to this photo. One lovely silver tabby in the cat's home here kept following us round and gently (and obviously very helpfully) touching the lens with her paw JUST as we pressed the button...


If any of the "paws in lens" shots are particularly endearing, could you put a few up for us to look at, Karen? :)

Bob :THERM
 

baba-prague

Hi Bob,

Well sadly it's a digital camera and Alex deletes them (he always goes though all the images when he downloads them). I will try to find something interesting in the next couple of days though. At least I could show a few of our "models" - maybe I can find Lotte (our youngest) in her "corset" - or in the act of sweeping it off anyway! - she could remove it in about two seconds flat once she got fed up - you know how young cats don't have large attention spans.

Currently we are working on the Two of Swords and The Moon - it took a while to get a cat (I mean a cat for each card of course) with the kind of look I had in mind for these cards.

I bear in mind your request for a pirate cat!
 

EarthAngel2911

I absolutely cannot believe that I only just found this thread!! I'm going to have to start frequenting the Deck Creation Forum as well!! :D

Karen and Alex, this is going to be a beautiful and WONDERFUL deck!! Yes, I am a cat person, and I think that the images you've posted so far are absolutely charming! And, I personally love that they have that otherworldly look that the ToP has. When I look at your images and read about where you live, I feel like I'm transported to another time and place. And this is what your decks do for me!

I also I cannot believe the detailed work that goes into these cards! You've done an incredible job of piecing together the cats with their outfits. And I think you know that by the questions that you've been getting. :)

I tell you, I honestly have not been this excited about a new deck in a very long time. I will definitely be ordering this deck directly from you because, well, I just wouldn't be able to wait! (I'm not known for my patience, THAT'S for sure. ;) )

So, thank you so much for sharing your early cards!!! I'm already drooling!! :) And maybe you've already mentioned this somewhere, but when do you estimate your deck will be ready for purchase?

Blessings,
Karen
 

baba-prague

Hi Karen,

Many thanks - we love doing this deck, although I have to say that some friends here think it is very strange - but our friends who are into cats are very supportive.

Our Two of Swords is going to be good I think, but she isn't a cat we photographed ourselves. The cat society here has taken to sending us photos (you see what I mean, they couldn't be more helpful really) - and this one actually has a most wonderful expression. Anyway, hopefully I can get it up here soonish to show.

The deck will be out in April we think, but will take two months to cross the Atlantic so probably won't be in bookshops in the US until mid summer at best. However, we will of course sell it directly off the site. Good news is that it will be a little less expensive than Tarot of Prague we hope - not exactly sure yet, but we think we'll print more to keep the cost down. We may also do a collector's edition - with very large cards (and only a very few sets - we thought 100 or 150) but honestly this depends on if it's feasible and if people really want this. I do think some of these cards will be very frameable, but maybe we could simply do prints? Still looking into all this.

Thanks again to everyone for the enthusiasm!