Tarot Talks Volume XV: An interview with Nicole Piar, creator of the Spirit Cat Cards

Hi my beautiful souls, before you blink your eyes it will be Summer here on the East Coast! I hope that you are all enjoying your Spring, & are taking advantage of those warm days! This is a great time to truly connect with your inner truth. That can be used to manifest your wildest dreams, making them a true reality. Oracle decks are a great way to communicate messages to yourself that help to nourish the soul. Nicole Piar has used cats to create a language that truly speaks to spirit. These animals, gentle, fierce tamed & not create a platform to express that which resides deep in the soul. I hope that you enjoy reading about this deck, as much as I do working with it!

-HERU JEROME

Interview
Nicole Piar creator of the Spirit Cat Cards

Nicole Piar has created a deck that is a breath of fresh air. These cats will become friends that comfort & deliver messages that are much needed.

Worthy Tarot: Tell me about yourself, where are you from & where are you currently? How have these locations influenced what you do creatively?

NP: I grew up in a very small town in New Hampshire. From my windows, you could only see trees. I wandered through that forest when everything was winter white & when it was soft, verdant summer green & when it was crisp, autumn gold & dried-blood red.

I spent so much time alone among the trees. I loved to daydream & feel the palpable enchantment of nature. This childhood brought out the seeker within me.

My parents grew up in New York City & were from immigrant families (my dad from Puerto Rico & my mom from Italy). They caught the wave of free-thinking, psychedelics, & the spirituality of nature in the 70’s.

My parents were in stark contrast to the more conservative, puritan descended, materialist New Englanders all around me. I felt like a fish out of water. Though I love solitude, I felt a deep loneliness there.

Now, I live in Los Angeles where all the weirdos & misfits wash up to shore from all over the world. It is easy to blend in by not blending. It is here that I found a sense of community for the first time, meeting artists, rebels, & mystics of all sorts.

Creativity & the spiritual quest matter to people here. It is a rich environment for learning from my fellows. Yet, nature is still right there from me too in the rugged canyons, spotted with hawks, lions, coyotes & deer.

Here I can walk right down to the edge of the human world & watch the endless rhythms of salty tides & waves & touch something bigger than me.

Nicole Piar, creator of the Spirit Cats Cards

Worthy Tarot: What drew you to Tarot & Oracle, what aspects of your energy have found their way into your deck? How does this make your deck unique?

NP: My mother gave me a variation on the Tarot Deck called Psycards when I was 15 & I immediately started doing readings for myself & my best friend. I was fascinated by these magical archetypes & started including them in my artwork.

I have always been drawn to things connected to magic & intuition. I had a rich experience with night dreams from early childhood & that only became more intense & lucid as I learned more & had more practice.

With my Sun, Venus & Mercury all in Pisces, I have a natural inclination towards the rich inner world & have spent much energy & time cultivating my skill in travelling deep within & bringing back insights & visions.

My Spirit Cats carry the energy of playfulness, radical independence & healing love. They are mischievous, sensuous, & cuddly savoring solitude & connectedness.

They embrace the darkness & the light & they love to linger on the threshold.

Worthy Tarot: What inspires you and how was that inspiration incorporated into your deck?

NP: Dance is a fountain of inspiration for me. I love to dance as it is ephemeral creativity in action. Dance, especially for long hours under the Full Moon with other people, brings me visions, ecstatic comprehension, & an indescribable, visceral feeling of being a fully embodied spirit.

I incorporated that sensuous alchemy of imagination & being alive, humming & soft, into my deck. My deck has a bit of wildness to it. Perhaps, that is why cats came through to carry the messages, Cats are only partly tame & inhabit our society on their own terms.

Worthy Tarot: If you could use a film, artists, novels to make your dream Oracle Deck what would that be?

NP: If I could make a witch’s brew with the essence of the following inspirations & concoct an Oracle Deck, I would be delighted. James Jean, Amy Sol, Haruki Marukami, Virginia Woolf, Dark Crystal, Spirited Away, Amelie, & Totoro – all under the spell & divine orchestration of the nature spirits.

Worthy Tarot: Would you ever create another deck, maybe a Tarot Deck? Think about this one I know 78 cards are a huge undertaking!

NP: I would definitely love to create another deck (oracle or tarot) but it is not something I will plan. I like to be open to receiving my projects from my soul & her friends beyond the viel – a rag-tag posse of nature spirits & guides. Once the project starts to emerge organically & from this intuitive place, then I am willing to make the commitment & sacrifices to bring it into reality.

As a creative, I have more ideas that I would ever be able to usher into this world. I have to let some of my dreams wither on the branch. This hurts but I trust that the ones that really need to come through me will as long as I am willing to do the work & be dedicated to that dream.

Worthy Tarot: If someone is interested in your deck how would they get a hold of you?

NP: You can learn more about my Spirit Cats Deck & pick up a copy for yourself & a cat-loving friend here: www.spiritcatsdeck.com

I also have a Free Tarot/Oracle E-course called Vision Seeker. It is a 13-day quest with guided mediations, card spreads & creative exercises. You can join here: www.nicolepiar.com/courses

Pop over to my Instagram to say hello & see what I am currently working on: http://Instagram.com/ghostkittenart