The Halloween Tarot Deck Review

Deck Title – The Halloween Tarot
Creator/Artist – Kipling West
Guidebook written by -  Karin Lee
Publisher - U.S. Games Ltd
Date purchased - 2019

Introduction

There can be no better deck to review in the run up to Halloween than The Halloween Tarot! It's full of ghosts, bats, pumpkins and imps and few recognisable characters from the movies. It's fun and entertaining but at the same time, as it  closely follows the RWS system, it's easy to read. The very nature of the deck means that you might only use it at this time of the year but it can of course be used year after year when the veil between the two worlds is at its thinnest! So what else can you expect from The Halloween Tarot?

What's Good?

• The images are clear and easy to see and although some cards are quite busy, the RWS influence makes them easy to read right out of the box 
• The colour saturation is great and the orange and black theme is carried throughout the deck including the reversible backs
  
• The suit names are changed but fit very well with the theme. Ghosts replace Cups, Imps instead of Wands, Bats for Swords and Pumpkins are in the place of Pentacles
• The card stock is good, satin gloss, non-sticky and easy to shuffle
• The little white book has a few key words and phrases per card but its well written, the content is original and the illustrations are cute

What's Bad?

• This is a kitchy deck with cartoon images so if you want a serious deck, this is not the one for you 
• The packaging is a standard tuck box and as its tightly packed, it can be difficult to re-pack without risking damage to the cards
• The cards have white borders and although they're not obtrusive they would be far more in keeping with the colour scheme if they were black

Standout/Favourite Cards

Everything you'd expect to see at Halloween is in this deck. There's the haunted house in the Tower, the witches cauldron in Temperance, the skeleton in the Death card and Count Dracula himself trying to tempt Mina away from her love letters to Jonathan Harker in the Lovers. 

I don't know what it is about the little ghost in the pool in the Eight of Ghosts but it's just so cute and wistful. The little black cat is on every card throughout the deck either just watching or reacting to the situation. 

The backgrounds in the images add extra layers, with the Loch Ness Monster popping up in the Two of Pumpkins as well as in the King of Ghosts above. The falling snow missing from the Five of Pumpkins is replaced by the child's loss of sweets. The character in the Four of Pumpkins represents a good harvest giving material wealth but the barbed fencing reminds us of the restrictive message of this card. ​

There are some images that differ from the traditional RWS with less conflict in the Seven of Imps but more in the Two. The Page of Bats has a satchel of spy gear instead a sword. The Ten of Bats reminds me of the Victorian Romantic version of this card, having given up rather than going down fighting. 

Summary

This is the best deck for…well, Halloween, obviously!
There are three versions of this deck, the full size as shown here, a smaller deck in a tin and a full size with a larger guide book. So it's up to you which you choose. As it is something I would only use at this time of the year, I decided to go for the basic deck. I found it brings a smile to my face and is very entertaining but didn't let me down with its effectiveness so if you want a deck to bring along to parties or fairs or to just get you in the mood come October the 31st, then definitely pick up a copy of the Halloween Tarot. 

Where to Buy?

Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=halloween+tarot&crid=2Q1O1Z7GT65RX&sprefix=halloween+tarot%2Caps%2C173&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15