Tarot Fellow
Black Cats Tarot Deck — Maria Kurara Lo Scarabeo 78 Card RWS Cat
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$23.95 - Regular price
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$23.95
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Black Cats Tarot by Maria Kurara (Lo Scarabeo) — a charming 78-card RWS-based tarot deck where black cats take the starring role in every card, their sleek forms navigating enchanted moonlit landscapes and mystical adventures. Light-hearted yet surprisingly readable, this deck is beloved by cat lovers, witches who work with feline familiars, and anyone who appreciates playful, aesthetic-forward tarot.
Description:Quick Specs
- Artist: Maria Kurara
- Publisher: Lo Scarabeo, 2011
- Cards: 78 (RWS-structure, fully illustrated)
- Best for: Cat lovers, whimsical tarot, intuitive readers who enjoy animal symbolism
Black Cats Tarot: Feline Intelligence Meets Classic Tarot Structure
The Black Cats Tarot by Maria Kurara, published by Lo Scarabeo in 2011, takes a straightforward creative premise and executes it with genuine skill: every figure in the traditional tarot structure is replaced by a black cat. The result is a 78-card Rider-Waite-Smith based deck in which black cats leap, contemplate, duel, celebrate, and mourn their way through the full arc of human experience mapped by the tarot. Kurara's illustration style has an energy that suits the subject matter well, the cats are not static portraits but active participants in recognizable tarot scenes, which keeps the deck navigable for readers who already know the RWS system.
The black cat has carried symbolic weight across many cultures, appearing as a witch's familiar in Western European folk tradition, as a sign of good fortune in Japanese maneki-neko culture, and as a figure associated with liminal spaces and the thinning of boundaries between worlds. Concentrating that symbolism into a full tarot deck creates a reading tool that is playful in aesthetic but structurally sound as a divination system. The Minor Arcana suit symbols, chalices for cups, coins for pentacles, swords, and wands, appear at the card edges along with suit indicators at the bottom of each minor card, making suit identification easy even as the central imagery stays fully cat-centric. Browse my full tarot deck collection to see other animal-themed and character-driven decks.
Reading with the Black Cats Tarot: Tone and Practical Use
The deck's whimsical surface does not prevent serious reading. Cat behavior is rich with the qualities tarot already maps: independence, patience, sudden decisive action, comfort-seeking, fierce protectiveness, and the ability to sit with the dark without being consumed by it. Readers who find human figures in traditional decks emotionally activating or distracting sometimes find that an animal-figure deck creates useful psychological distance, allowing them to engage with difficult cards more openly. The Strength card in particular, where a black cat sits calmly with what would be a lion in standard decks, translates the traditional message of quiet power over raw force with a distinctly feline clarity.
This deck works well as a gift for cat-loving friends who are also tarot practitioners, as a secondary deck for readers who want a lighter visual register than their primary deck, and as a solid working deck for practitioners who connect naturally with animal symbolism. The Lo Scarabeo production quality is reliable: card stock holds up to regular shuffling, and the card edges maintain their integrity with use.
How to Use the Black Cats Tarot
How to approach readings with Maria Kurara's Black Cats Tarot for both intuitive and structured reading styles.
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Map Cat Behavior onto Card Meanings
As you read with this deck, observe what each cat is doing in the illustration. Cat postures, arched backs, slow blinking, crouching, or leaping, are visually expressive and often add nuance to the standard RWS meaning when considered together.
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Use RWS-Based References Directly
Because the Black Cats Tarot follows the Rider-Waite-Smith structure in all 78 cards, any standard tarot reference book written for RWS applies directly here. No translation or cross-referencing is needed between the two very different card systems.
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Use as a Secondary or Travel Deck
The playful aesthetic makes this deck a natural secondary reading tool for practitioners who use a more serious primary deck. It also travels well as a compact working deck for readings done away from the main altar or reading space.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I carry this deck because it delivers something specific well: a fully functional RWS-structure tarot with an aesthetic that will genuinely delight cat-loving practitioners. The Lo Scarabeo production is solid, Kurara's illustrations are energetic and readable, and the deck doesn't sacrifice structural integrity for the sake of its theme. It's not trying to be the most esoteric or the most challenging deck on the market; it's trying to be a good reading deck for people who love cats. That's a legitimate goal and this deck accomplishes it. If you want a companion oracle that shares that playful energy, check out my oracle deck collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Black Cats Tarot was illustrated by Maria Kurara and published by Lo Scarabeo in 2011. Kurara's illustration style gives each cat figure a sense of motion and personality that makes the 78-card deck visually engaging and practically readable.
Yes. The Black Cats Tarot follows the Rider-Waite-Smith structure throughout all 78 cards. Standard RWS references, books, and learning materials apply directly to this deck without cross-referencing or translation between the two card systems.
Yes. While the aesthetic is whimsical, the underlying tarot structure is fully intact. Many readers find animal-figure decks create useful distance that lets them engage more openly with difficult card combinations than with human-figure imagery.
It is one of the best options for cat-loving tarot practitioners. The art is well-executed rather than generic, the card stock holds up to regular use, and the RWS foundation means it is immediately usable by anyone familiar with standard tarot.
