Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is the Magic Mirrors of Kitty Kahane’s Tarot. It was created by Kitty Kahane, with the instruction manual written by Lilo Schwartz. My copy was published in 2006 by AGM.
5 Points About This Deck
- Artwork: The images in the Kitty Kahane Tarot are delightful … or at least I think so. Cartoon style line drawings in dark, rich pastels. The images are quirky for sure, and that’s exactly what I like about them.
- Tarot Structure: The Kitty Kahane Tarot basically follows the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) concepts, but of course, with a twist. The key elements of the RWS imagery are represented, but with something extra in most … like a bird man in the Empress card, or the additional people walking in the Tower, or the shouting heads on the 7 of Wands … all sorts of little extras that I just love.
- #8 / #11: Though it mostly follows the RWS structure, the Kitty Kahane Tarot associates #8 with Justice and #11 with Strength as per the Thoth and Marseille Tarots.
- Readability: Since it follows the RWS system, anyone familiar with those concepts is likely to feel comfortable with the Kitty Kahane Tarot … but even without knowing any Tarot system, between the images on the cards, and the instruction manual, it’s a fairly easy deck to read. The pictures tell a great story and there are plenty of symbols to work with.
- Instruction Manual: Lilo Schwartz’s instruction book is excellent, with not only evocative descriptions for each card, but also a key phrase, and a quote from each central character in each card. She’s also included some basic reading instructions and some fun spreads.
I like the Kitty Kahane deck a lot. Looking at it now reminds me that I should be using it more.