Review By Margo Aye
Bleu Cat Tarot by Beth Seilonen
Published by Schiffer Publishing, www.schifferbooks.com
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4553-1
Retail: $24.99 US
This is a review for the new Tarot deck called the Bleu Cat Tarot by Beth Seilonen. The deck retails for $24.99 and is published by Schiffer. The cards are 3 x 4.75 inches in diameter which can be read upright or upside down, and come in a cute matching box along with a definition booklet that introduces the artist’s inspiration for this deck. The book also describes the meanings for suits along with a definition for each card, then concludes with some card spreads and a short piece about the artist.
The deck is based on Seilonen’s own blue Siamese cat; Isis, and follows the structure of the Rider Waite deck, which consists of 78 cards broken into the Major and Minor Arcanas. The Major Arcana are not numbered and in most have shortened names. The Minor Arcana has four unique suits: the Feathers (swords) –action and control, the Balls (pentacles)- fun and playfulness, the Fishes (cups )- spiritual rejuvenation, and lastly the dreaded Plants (wands) – the plants are not cat friendly, and need to be gotten rid of! Upon first shuffle, I was amazed at the ease and smoothness of the cards interchanging. Several more shuffles and my wrists smiled with comfort and the cards maintained their stiffness.
Visually, the cards are always focused around an independent bleu cat with the exception of a few cards that consist of several cats (the Lovers card, Empress, and the Three of Fishes). Typical of most cats, this cat is of no exception as this Tarot world revolves around her. So the cards are to be interpreted from the cat’s perspective: love, greed, curiosity, fearlessness, shyness and mostly playfulness. I know there are more cat skills I’ve left out, but the reader is best to keep in mind that life is being interpreted from the cat’s point of view. One of my favorite cards in the deck is “Hanged” (Hanged Man), it came up in my spread, in which I asked about a new career idea that had been pondering. I had other cards in the spread, but it was this card that most stood out, and in the realm of my uncertainty, it was all that I needed to see. In (my interpretation) of the words of the Bleu Cat-“...there is no rush in getting rid of that old mouse... even a old mouse can be tossed around for a bit more fun, and when I’m ready, I can go hunt for a new one.“ So I will go career hunting after the New Year before I get serious!
The art in this deck is simple, with clean lines and the cat is beautifully colored with what looks to be blue water color or chalk, and each card has an appearance as if you’re looking at the original print, due to the faux textured background of the artist’s canvas. As a Tarot reader I wished for more color, just because (for me) the more descriptive the images are in the cards, the more my eye is drawn to details which help me fulfill the story in which I’m composing. But I believe Seilonen wanted these cards to be read from a cat perspective, within a cat’s world, and so you focus much more on the cat and her actions on the cards. Thus, the cards don’t have as much detail- especially the Minor Arcana.
So if you’ve studied cats and understand their entertaining behaviors and cat skills, then you will most relate to this deck and might just be able to use the cards to give your cat his or her own reading!