In Tata’s Tarot, Death is a white cat with round eyes and a scythe. The Moon is a black cat peering out of violet darkness. Spend a few minutes with Jiaxuan He’s cards and you begin to recognise the expressions. A cat can look startled and unimpressed at the same time, which turns out to be a useful quality in a tarot deck.
Tata’s Tarot follows the Rider-Waite-Smith structure across 78 cards. The illustrations make room for cat logic, where a grand plan may have to wait because something moved under the furniture.
The Chariot has places to be
The Chariot is a good place to see how the humour works. The scene is all movement, with the cats riding across a bright green field of colour. You might read it as determination. You might also recognise that feeling of being halfway across the room before you have decided why you got up.
That gives you a useful question for a daily draw. What have you decided to do, and what are you doing because you already have momentum?
Give the darker cards a moment
Death and The Moon show a quieter side of the deck. Look at the white cat’s eyes on Death and the black cat’s eyes on The Moon. One is set against a pale figure with a scythe, the other nearly disappears into the surrounding violet. The expressions are funny, but the scenes still give you something to sit with.
For a short journal exercise, pick one of the two. With Death, name a routine you can stop carrying into next week. With The Moon, write down a question you have been answering by guesswork. Then jot down one thing you could actually check.
How the finish catches the light
The cards measure 70 × 120 mm and use 330 gsm black-core paper. The faces have a glossy, air-cushioned finish and holographic lamination. White ink masking lets selected areas catch the light while keeping parts of the illustration clear. The backs have an embossed linen texture, and the edges are champagne-gold gilded. The deck comes in a two-piece rigid box.
Art by Jiaxuan He. Retailed by Stars Tarot.
