Black Cat Tarot

Our latest interview is with Thea, the creator of the Black Cat Tarot - a deck that highlights the special and quirky things about our favourite noir felines.

Thea is a small local artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She created this deck for all Black Cat Lovers!.This deck is not bad lick. In fact, this deck is super lucky! Black cats have long endured cruelty and horrible misconceptions due to myths and superstitions and Thea has set about to dispel this and show us the beauty to be found in black cats.

Kickstarter - Black Cat Tarot

Where in the world do you call home?

Albuquerque, New Mexico! Home of Green Chili and traffic cones. Albuquerque is beautiful; it's right next to the Sandia mountains which make all of our sunsets magical and pink! We are truly the land of mañana. We definitely have a lazy cat vibe in our culture. Think the opposite of New York City. We are kind of a loyal group of weird people who love our IPA beers and the United Soccer Team.

What was your first experience with tarot?

When I was a kid I found one of my mom's tarot decks and laid out all the cards. She got really upset. I was messing with her stuff but I thought the cards were so beautiful, I wanted to look at them more but she wouldn’t let me touch them. So, whenI first bought my own Tarot deck when I was 20 I was so happy, I set out all the cards every day and just loved them. Now I personally own almost 100 decks. I love them. I love to do readings. I love to sit with the cards. Tarot means so much to me personally. I love that each deck can speak to you in a different way. I set out to create my own tarot deck but put that project down at least 7 times as something “too difficult”.

Well, I finally created Painted Tarot which was my first Tarot Deck and funded on kickstarter. It was so freeing but I felt like I learned so much from the experience I wanted to create another deck. I created Cats in Space Tarot and was narrowly funded on kickstarter. I was told by so many people that the project was a good idea and I think it was too niche. But then doing some self-healing I got really creative and made an oracle deck, Love Thy Self, which was also funded on kickstarter. I wanted to come back to tarot and I wanted to create a tarot deck that was really for me. So I made this Deck, Black Cat Tarot. This is my 4th Deck that I have created and I am so proud of it. I have learned so much about myself, about tarot with each deck. This is definitely my best one yet.

What would you say is unique about your deck?

I own every Cat deck that exists! Seriously! I love Cats and I love Tarot. I know of 10 Cat Tarot Decks, if there are more let me know! I made sure my art and style was different from what is out there. I wanted this deck to be unique but not gimickee. This deck is simple yet funky with its art. The cats aren't overly detailed but each card has REAL symbolism from the RWS style. It’s cutesy yet accurate, Stylized yet mystical. It’s a much different deck then any of the cat decks out there. including my Cats in Space Deck. I think its bright color and heavy imagery will provide for insightful readings. This is a clever deck and I hope it helps offer guidance and find hidden answers.

How long has it taken you to create this deck?

My First tarot deck took 4 years. My second deck took roughly nine months. My Oracle Deck took two years to create and this deck has taken about 2 1/2 years total. Most of the art was completed in the last 2 months! Mostly November was when I created this deck. I sat and thought about this project for so long. But once I started it the art flowed out of me. It was so much fun to create this project. I hear sometimes people say during deck creation that it takes so long, and I didn’t experience that with this deck. It was a joy to make each card. Each one was fun. It felt so authentic and releasing. I feel like these cards are filled with wisdom that we are all capable of so much more than we can imagine. I completely loved creating this deck. It was one of my fastest projects. I seriously felt a shift inside myself that allowed me to create this. I really had to believe in myself to overcome the self doubt of others. Everything people say to you is a reflection of themselves. Usually if someone says you can't do something it is because they believe they couldn't do that thing. Once I figured that out = a solid 50 hours of working straight and I almost had each card perfect!

What card are you most proud of and why?

I really like The Hierophant Card. I struggle connecting with this card because it can have that religious sort of connotation. I hated this card in my Painted Tarot Deck. I painted her as a woman pope with shadows before her and I made her ominous and lifeless and creepy, like a negative yielding authority. I think she's ugly. It's not about being just for her, it's about following rules. So I sat with this card for a while and decided to draw a funky kitty floating through space time. When you view this card like a teacher or a mentor and view it as life lessons for yourself you can start to see this as an omen of yes, do your research and remember you stand on the shoulders of giants. There is nothing you can’t learn. So this is my favorite card because it made me connect deeper with this card for all of my tarot practice!

What impact would you like your deck to have on it’s readers?

I hope that someone does a reading with my deck and they find some clarity and insight into themselves. I believe tarot is a very important tool. I really believe in tapping into your own knowledge and power. Cats are so wise, you hear of cats sitting on hospital beds before people die. Cats are mysterious and wise creatures and we can learn so much from them. I connect with black cats so personally that thinking about them in tarot has deepened my practice. I connect with these kitties and I hope others do too. There's a special deck for every person. and there's a deck that is an occasional use Deck. I think this deck can be both. For some people I hope its their go to, for others I hope they at least find entertainment in the cards. Maybe they will really connect with a card and my imagery can connect them more deeply with that card's meaning. It is a deep deck in the sense that symbolism is important for each card, but also its just pretty adorable and fun. Things can be multidimensional and purpose can be determined by the user. I hope my deck makes people happy. Like a fat purring kitty on your lap :)

What have been your challenges in creating this deck?

Honestly it's letting other people make me doubt myself. It can be hard to turn the criticism off from others, but you must learn to do this as a creator. I put off this deck for almost a year because I was scared. When I first pitched the idea to people in my life, they told me not to do another kickstarter, not to do another cat deck and to wait until life calms down and I can find another non-tarot project. I do have a lot going on. I am just starting back to school, moving, dealing with family drama etc. So yes, adding a kickstarter is alot. But my “too much” is a limiting belief others are putting on me. I am not too much. I am as much as I need to be. I LOVE Tarot. It’s something I connect with, I am not going to stop creating tarot decks. I love them. I don’t care if other people agree with me, and I'm not offended if you don't like every project. What really matters is that my heart is in it. I hope other artists make tons more decks and I hope to make more decks too, I want a future with lots of Tarot and lots of options! I set my kickstarter amount to the bare minimum because I wasn't interested in making money, I was interested in bringing this project to life. I tapped into my own magic and believed in a thing and did the thing. The second I started believing in myself the project was almost finished. We all have this magic and I hope people can buy this deck and tap into that magic within themselves too! The hard things make us grow. How we weather the storm tells us who we are. I believe in Tarot and I need to make sure I am believing in myself too.

Why did you choose black cats specifically rather than cats in general?

Oh great question! Ok so I started an LLC 3 years ago. I was talking to my mentor at the time and he told me I needed a name for my business that was loose, because I was offering: event planning, design and pilates, etc and I needed an umbrella term that I could mold to fit where my career path took me. He told me not to think inside of a box. I was going to call my business “Thea’s Event Planning”. He told me to go home and think about it, so I went home and I sat in my room and my black cat Boo came up to me and sat in my lap, as she does whenever she can. I wrote out hundreds of names, starting with “Boo Works” (My cat's name is Boo) And I decided to name my business Black Cat Consulting LLC, just generic enough that I can still teach pilates and sell tarot decks under one business name :) Boo is my ever loving companion. I accidentally adopted her from NM Animal Humane. I went to look at the new facility they built here in Albuquerque and made the mistake of going into the Cat room. I had just been dumped and I was super sad. But I sat in that room and Boo marched right towards me and immediately showed me her belly and let me pick her up and it was love at first cuddle and I had to take her home. They were not sure if she was 4 or 5 and that was roughly 6 years ago. I am guessing she is 10. I adopted her on October 30th so I celebrate her birthday every year. She loves fish so I usually give her a little tuna. She is my best friend. She has been with me through major life changes, seven moves, several changes in careers, multiple breakups. She is always purring at my side. even right now she's sitting on my feet as cute as can be. I think it’s only fitting that my tarot deck is black cat tarot. PLUS I have already made a deck called cats in space tarot (which is way different, it has real cat pictures and pictures from NASA). Also There are some great cat decks out there. Weird cat Tarot is tons of fun. I wanted my deck to be different then those in terms of focus and art. I think there's plenty of room for even more cat decks :)

How will you celebrate when the deck is finally published?

For Boo’s Birthday I made her a tuna cake, maybe we will do that again when the campaign ends! And video it for everyone! Or maybe Her and I can do a photoshoot, something really cheesy with a ball gown?! I am seriously so happy about this whole experience, to a project I was discouraged from creating, to getting funded in 5 days; has been a roller coaster of emotions. I feel like the universe has thanked me for being my authentic self! I am truly honored that so many people have loved my idea and I can't wait to share more ideas with the world and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. It almost feels unreal. I am definitely going to celebrate with lots of love and light and send out so many positive vibes. I might even get some balloons! Boo loves Balloons!

What is on offer for people who pledge?

I have options for Stickers, enamel pins and even super fun tops! Including a hoodie with paw prints inside the hood! There are fun add ons on thie campaign. I am SO excited!

You can get the Black Cat Tarot Deck for $35 + shipping! Each Deck comes with a 62 detailed guide book and a sticker!

I also have a Black Cat Tarot Bundle that includes:

• The Deck

• the guidebook

• tshirt or tank top.

• A sticker Pack

• 8x12’’ print

• Black Cat Key Chain

• Black Cat Bagnet

• Black Cat Enamel Pin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackcattarotbythea

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/blackcattarotthea/

Website: www.theaburque.com

For the purrrfect deck to add to your tarot collection, pledge here:

Kickstarter - Black Cat Tarot

The W.I.T.C.H Oracle

Our latest interview is with Angi Sullins, the creator of The W.I.T.C.H Oracle - a deck that is inclusive and diversity friendly. It empowers women to be mistresses of their own power.

Angi Sullins is a professional Wonder Hunter. Author of multiple oracle and tarot decks, she has also written five books including Doorways and Dreamfields: A True Fairy Tale, Flaming Muse, and Thriveology. In her poetry, workshops, immersive events and on her Muse Juice Tours that travel to the world's most magical places, she takes seekers on a journey of self discovery to rekindle their muchness. She is here to help you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be.

Kickstarter - The W.I.T.C.H Oracle Deck

Where in the world do you call home?

I literally live in Enchantment. No kidding. It’s right there on the licenses plates: New Mexico Land of Enchantment. Taos, my town, is as close as one can get to a bohemian artist village here in the United States, and I’m happy to call it home.

What was your first experience with tarot?

I played hooky from the church I was raised in to go to the local pagan store. The card boxes beckoned me, begging to have their spines stroked, their folds opened, their gilded cards adored. The archetypes dazzled me and whispered hints of ancient stories and intertwined destinies. I was smitten.

What would you say is unique about your deck?

For one thing, the deck includes untamed poetry and wild, feral heart-songs. I find when I’m using a deck that I love to connect to the unconscious and cherish the “between space” of non-ordinary reality. Music, lighting, incense…anything that helps me get into that between space is alluring to me. So I wrote poetry for the deck, to enhance that luminous experience.

But let’s hear it for the art. Silas Toball is one-of-a-kind himself and pours his mythic soul into every image. I can get lost inside each painting, and end up wandering around my soul for hours.

How long has it taken you to create this deck?

We’ve been working on this deck for the better part of a year. But packed inside is half a lifetime of study, experience, and wisdom. In my 20’s, I was paralysed from the neck down on an operating table while undergoing a routine surgery. I had no family or friends around me, no inner circle or guide or wise-woman. I needed support, wisdom, insight. I needed comfort.

When I recuperated, I knew my life mission was to create the kind of wise-woman support for others in need. So in essence, I’ve been developing this deck, and its encouragement of each woman’s sovereignty, since then.

What card are you most proud of and why?

So many. All of them! But if I had to choose I’ll vote for two: The Phoenix and The Selkie. Silas. I made The Phoenix to honor the moment in a woman’s life when she decides to become the mistress of her own power, letting the fires of her life experience transform her into her next highest self, rather than allow the fires to burn or destroy her inner sanctity.

And The Selkie. Well, let’s just say I am a selkie, so I am partial. But every woman needs to be able to both dance on the sand under the moonlight (honoring her topside life) and swim in the deep channels of her soul space (honoring her deep internal life). Encouraging women to remember their worth, and to honor the natural habitat of their own creative life is of utmost importance to me.

What impact would you like your deck to have on its readers?

I want to encourage women to dare to rewild their lives, and trust themselves and their own personal experiences. I want women to have the tools to not only claim their sovereignty but to dwell in it.

What have been your challenges in creating this deck?

Mostly our challenge is time. This has been a passion project, so both Silas and I have had to work on it in our spare time while taking on other freelance work.

But I’ll also say that diving into the realm of the W.I.T.C.H., and trying to do justice to the messages I hear with my soul-ears, is always a challenge. I struggle to get out of the way and let Her come through.

How would you describe a “Woman In Total Control of Herself”?

A W.I.T.C.H. knows her place, and that place is E V E R Y W H E R E.

She has shifted her allegiance from pleasing to pleasure, from subservient to subversive, through the very act of claiming her inner knowing as her highest authority. She’s willing to abandon everyone else’s expectations and approval before she’ll abandon herself. She’s stopped fearing her path and started blazing it, loyal to the visions in her head and the longing of her heart. She trusts her intuition to guide her to the next right thing for her, even when she can’t see the entire path or explain it to a mind of logic.

A W.I.T.C.H. knows her worth, and that worth is E V E R Y T H I N G.

She treasures her authenticity, so she’s let go of manipulating how others perceive her and accepted a radical unbecoming. She values her time and well-being, so she no longer betrays herself by agreeing to things that sap her energy. Boundaried and self-respecting, she understands that “no” is a complete sentence. Her “yes” then becomes a whole-hearted sacred thing, requiring no permission or explanation. Instead of adjusting to the demands or desires of her ever-shifting world, she roots inside her deepest truth, and her highest values, and lets the world adjust.

A W.I.T.C.H. knows her power, and that power is S O V E R E I G N.

She doesn’t depend on circumstances, success, or approval to experience it. Her power grows from self-knowledge, self-care, and self-trust, which requires daily amounts of self-forgiveness and grace. Her strength derives from her ability to fall down and get back up again, knowing she is lovable through every stumble, weakness, or failing. Her belonging is not earned, it is a birthright. Having granted herself the freedom to belong foremost to her self, her very presence passes on permission for others to do the same.

How will you celebrate when the deck is finally published?

Chocolate and pomegranates. And likely champagne, ‘cuz bubbles make everything better. Especially when sipped while wearing a unicorn onesie, so that’s gotta happen.

What is on offer for people who pledge?

Oh, the goodness! We have the deck, Silas’s art prints, a stunning witchery soundtrack that includes some of the most intoxicating music you’ve ever heard, along with an original visualization and meditation MP3.

We have original art, a stunning altar cloth that looks like it came straight from The Night Circus and so many other yummies that let you indulge the truth that YOU have the potential to become 100% that W.I.T.C.H.

Instagram - @angisullins

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AngiTV/

Newsletter - https://angisullins.com/?page_id=3795

If you'd like to back this deck and find your own feminine power:

Kickstarter - The W.I.T.C.H Oracle Deck

The Octopus Tarot

Our latest interview is with Luna Charlotte, the creator of The Octopus Tarot - an intuitively drawn tarot deck based on the magick and mysteries of octopuses.

Luna is an artist who has been practicing art professionally for about 5 years, traveling and exposing my artwork at hundreds of events in 13 countries.

Each drawing in the deck started off as a totally intuitive drawing - which reflected entirely in their process. For example, if a card signified a time of rest and pause for Luna, that card would take her exceptionally longer than any of the others to complete as she would feel called to taking many breaks during its creation.

Kickstarter - The Octopus Tarot

Where in the world do you call home?

I’m based in Canada. I was born and raised here to parents who immigrated from France. As for calling it “home”, my travels have shown me many homes all over the globe to which I am equally if not more connected to than Canada.

What was your first experience with tarot and when did you fall in love with it?

My first experience with tarot was around 2011, I was living in a small town called Canmore, my best friend introduced me to tarot and I was gifted my first deck not long after that. To be totally honest, it took me a while to understand it, I just like drawing cards and looking at the pretty pictures.

You didn’t realise at first that the art you were creating was in fact a tarot deck. How surprised were you?

It was an interesting experience! Definitely made it feel like I was guided by something much bigger than me into this project. I have learned over the years that if you listen to the signs the Universe sends you, you always end up exactly where you should. Creating a tarot deck was a project of such grand scale I don’t think I would have embarked on this kind of journey had it not been by accident. Anyways, I’m glad that I did because this has been, and continues to be an extremely powerful experience with so much room to grow.

What would you say is unique about your deck?

When I started looking into it, I was actually shocked no one else had made an octopus-themed tarot… it just seemed like such an obvious match for some reason. Needless to say, the octopuses are therefore what makes it unique. In the same way these animals are totally unique in the animal kingdom, this deck is its own unique vibe.

How long has it taken you to create this deck?

Three years almost to the day!

We are living in such crazy times. How has the pandemic affected your creativity?

As someone that used to travel a lot, the pandemic has actually grounded me a lot. It gave me an opportunity to sit still and focus and finally complete this project. It also allowed me to create a much better foundation for my business as an artist to stand upon. It may not have been the most creative time of my life, but it’s definitely helped me get my ducks in a row.

What have been your challenges in creating this deck?

Despite the creation of the art accounting for the larger part of the time spent on this project and the hardest to get through, the logistics afterward are definitely what I would consider the most challenging bit. I remember finishing the last drawing and having this burst of excitement quickly followed by the weight of the realization that I had to now; write a book, digitize the files, find a manufacturer, and create a Kickstarter campaign. The last few months have been intensive, to say the least. And this being my first Kickstarter, I hadn’t anticipated the amount of work that would be required post-launch! I have been non-stop answering messages and editing files and organizing interviews since its launch. Not to mention the countless business opportunities that came out of it that I’m managing behind the scenes!

Tell us more about your theory that the octopus has the ability to grant wishes.

I actually laughed out loud at this question. It all began a bit over 3 years ago. I had been staying with a friend who happened to have a matching octopus stuffed animal. So we started painting an octopus painting together while listening to podcasts about these strange critters. Pretty much, the more we knew, the weirder they got and we somehow concluded that the only explanation was that they must be genies. And what do genies do? Well… they grant wishes! So we started making a wish every time we saw an octopus and started telling people about how they grant wishes. No one knew we made it up, but no one seemed to question it - it just made sense. I mean, every wish that I have wished upon an octopus seems to have come true so there must be an element of truth to it. I remember the day I realized the myth had caught on when I was painting an octopus at a festival in Australia and someone came up to me and said “did you know they grant wishes?!”

How will you celebrate when the deck is finally published?

I’ve been so caught up in the moment that I haven’t even thought about this actually. I already have so many plans for other projects afterward that this just feels like a big item to tick off the endless checklist of massive projects. I should go diving. That’s what I should do. Go back and visit the creatures that started it all.

What is on offer for people who pledge?

Well first off, my endless appreciation for their contribution to bringing this dream to life. Otherwise, there is the Octopus Tarot deck, there’s a playing card version of the deck, original drawings are available as well as prints, and currently, we have unlocked a few stretch goals including 2 stickers and an octopus fact pdf. There were pins but I think they’re sold out already. I have many more stretch goals planned to make the deal as sweet as possible for all the incredible backers that are willing to invest in this passion project of mine.

www.lunacharlotteart.com

IG: @lunacharlotteart

TikTok: @lunacharlotteart

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lunacharlotteart

If you'd like to back this deck and maybe make a wish on an octopus, click here:

Kickstarter - The Octopus Tarot