The Black Cat

The Black Cat is an extra Major Arcana card I decided to include in the Frideborg Tarot. It wasn’t a conscious process as much as the image begging to be turned into a card and me realising I needed a Black Cat card in the deck for it to feel complete.

When I first included it, it was intended as a wild card, and I always had the thought that this card could mean whatever you, the owner of the Frideborg Tarot deck, feel it means. But since the,n I have had several people ask me to provide card meaning,s and I have also had a chance to work with this card for readings, both in-person and via email, so a fuller picture of what sort of guidance this card can provide has begun to form for me.

No Right or Wrong Way

That said, this is my take on the card. Please remember that there is no right or wrong when it comes to the Black Cat—ever tried training a cat? I think you catch my drift.

Essentially, I feel this represents our intuitive (feline) connection with the world around us. This is our spidey sense operating at its very best. Hence, when this card shows up in a reading, it often signifies that you have picked up on something appearing different to what it really is, and it is a strong sign that you should trust your gut over how things appear. Like a cat on the prowl, observe… wait… wait for it… and pounce!

Like with The Fool, this card carries an ‘expect the unexpected’ warning.

When it comes to action advice, the Black Cat is a sign that you need to be less like a dog that is constantly trying to please everybody else and more like a cat. Although, on the converse, if this card represents a lover, it could mean they are not entirely honest with you or invested in your happiness.

As for possible occupations, this card represents the professional occultist or charlatan (when ill-dignified), the undercover police officer, the spy, the sex worker, the entertainer, the pest controller and the lion tamer.

The Black Cat Poem

My catlike ways have you scrambling through a maze.
Will you emerge with clarity or come out in a daze?
Like Schroedinger’s cat, am I;
To know the truth, you need to see the lie.
I can be what I want to be in any dimension.

Your perception depends on your comprehension.
I aim to please no other living being, (*purr purr*)
Happy, as long as I stay true to my own self.
I take no credit, nor blame, for what you are seeing.
Questions or complaints? Here’s the number for my elf!

Correspondences

• Archangel: Gabriel
• Element: Ether (Astral Plane)
• Zodiac Correspondence: N/A (though you may cheekily use the asteroid Felix)
• Crystal: Cat’s eye

Keywords

riddles, self-sufficiency, mystery, pleasing oneself, feline mannerisms, self-mastery, Otherworld contacts, trickster energy

Prayer

Holy Mother-Father God, help me consider my own needs carefully in this situation and to my own self be true. So be it.

Affirmation

I trust my senses and please myself.

Take me to the Angelic Tarot Card Meanings Index