Tarot Tip #23 – Our Furry Friends, and How They Show Up in Our Readings

     Note:  I am basing my insights here on the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck; if you are using a different deck these identifiers may be different for you.  I suggest getting out a magnifying glass and examining each card in your deck to find the hidden ‘pets’ in them!

    In general – if your client relates to their pet as their child, the pet could readily appear in their reading as one of the Pages in the deck.  Just like with human children, the pet would reflect the characteristics (and possibly even the birthday) of the suit that appears to represent them.  For example, a dog or cat may appear in your clients’ reading as a Page of Wands – which of course would mean that the dog was very active, playful, not necessarily well behaved, and may even have been born under the sign of Leo, Aries, or Sagittarius.  In identifying the sex of the pet, if the pet is male the Page representing them would likely be Wands or Swords, if it’s female it would probably be Cups or Pentacles.  I suggest you revisit my Tarot Tips #9, 10, and 11 for more information on reading pets, as Pages, if they are treated as the clients’ actual child.  In my own readings, more and more people seem to be relating to their pets as their children, so it is to the Pages that I look first to answer any questions about them.  But what about all those other pets that people have?  How do you find them in the reading?

     Here’s a comprehensive list of cards that represent all kinds of pets and animals, in the Rider-Waite deck:

     Dogs – The Moon, The Fool, or the 10 of Pentacles may represent 2 or more dogs.
     Wolfs or Wolf-Dogs – The Moon.
     Cats – The Queen of Wands, The High Priestess, Strength.
     Fish – King of Cups, Page of Cups, Knight of Cups.
     Crustaceans and Turtles - The Moon.
     Birds – The World, Queen of Swords, 9 of Pentacles, The Star, Ace of Cups, the Wheel of Fortune, or the King of Swords may represent 2 or more birds.
     Rabbits – The Queen of Pentacles or the High Priestess.
    Reptiles including Frogs – Page of Wands, King of Wands, or the Wheel of Fortune for a Tasmanian Devil.
     Snakes – The Lovers, the 7 of Cups, or the Wheel of Fortune.
     Horse, Mules, Donkey’s – The 6 of Wands, or any of the Knights. (See Tarot Tips #9-11 for interpretations), also, The Sun.
Death of a Horse could be represented by the Death card.
      Lions, Big Cats, or Lion-Dogs – Queen of Wands, King of Wands, Strength.
     Bulls, Cows, Oxen, other Horned Animals except Goats – The World, The Wheel of Fortune, or the King or Queen of Pentacles.
     Goats – The Devil, or the Queen of Pentacles.
     Elephants – 7 of Pentacles.
     Multiple Animals of Different Types – can be shown by the Wheel of Fortune or The World.
     A Newborn animal may show up as the 3 of Pentacles.

     I hope this overview of pets in your clients’ reading has been helpful.  In my next Tip I’m going to explore a simple layout that will quickly show you your client’s pet!