Halloween Tarot Set (Has99) [Paperback]

I think this is going to be a 'marmite' deck - you'll either love it or hate it. I love it. The deck and book set comes in beautiful packaging which would make an excellent addition to your collection or a lovely gift for someone else.

The images are loosely based on the Rider-Waites which helps guide you to the meaning of the cards behind all the crazy images. The suits are renamed to fit the Halloween tradition: Pumpkins, Ghosts, Bats, Imps but the Major Arcana have retained their original names.

The deck itself is made from very good card stock, nice and thick whilst not too stiff or difficult to shuffle and, unusually for decks issued by US Games, they are not laminated so you don't have that overwelming plastic smell that you usually get. The cards have a nice, smooth, pleasant feel and actually feel like card rather than plastic.

Each card features a Halloween character for example the Empress is Frankenstein's Bride; the Magician looks like Gomez Adams here but even though the characters are cartoon-like, they retain the symbolism present in the Rider-Waites for example - Gomez is still in the classic magician pose 'as above so below' even though he is pulling a rabbit out of a hat rather than brandishing the customary wand...

The deck is very bright - lots of white, orange, reds, greens, yellows with black borders. Although on a first glance it might seem that this is a collector's deck only and not for serious reading, look again and you will find lots to interpret here - the white lillies, red roses, pomegranates they all make their appearance. The position of the characteres and the others around them also link to the esoteric meanings of the cards.

So, it's fun, it's kooky but can you read with them? Yes. Get into it, have a really good look at the cards, and you will find that apart from the theme, most of the RW symbolism is still there. There have been many discussions about this deck on Tarot Forums and it is agreed that this deck could be used for 'serious' readings as well as lighthearted ones.

I liked the book that came with it, I thought that for the extra few quid, it would be worth having the set and I was not disappointed. The book contains quite a lot of useful information although you do have to know a bit about Tarot symbology in general.

Can you use these as a beginner? Why not? Get some books on the Tarot based on the Rider Waite and yes, you could do it easily. Is this a deck you could use all the time for readings? Yes definitely - the little cute black cat that appears on every card reminds you of the journey of self-discovery that you are on and you can use it to track your personal journey.

Overall, I think the creators of this deck have acheived two things - creation of a deck that is excellent for collections and for those who use their cards for reading. A really good investment.

This is not a tarot deck for the first time user! The suits are different (pumpkins = pentacles, ghosts = cups, bats = swords and Imps = Wands). The black cat travelling with you on each card is a nice touch but the cards designs are very 'cartoon like' and not at all in the Tim Burton style that I was led to believe they were (the Emporer is portrayed as Frankenstein with green square head and bolts in his neck for example). It seems they are designed around the love of an All American Halloween (which I think is celebrated differently to a British Halloween!) so for that reason I found it hard to relate to the cards. I prefer my Halloween to be a bit more dark and gothic! :o)

I found the book that comes with the cards quite basic, it contains 1 page of narrative for each card but 3/4 of the narrative is describing the 'fun halloween image' depicted on the card rather than explaining the definitive meanings. It gives a few key words for each card but I didn't find these particularly perceptive. For example, in the blurb for The Fool it says something like 'The silly fool has not noticed he is about to fall off the cliff!'..Hmmm I can't say this gives a true understanding of The Fools journey for me!

This tarot deck may be good for the odd light hearted reading with someone who is experienced enough at tarot to understand the fundamental meaning of each card already, but I have to say that was disappointed overall.

A must-own for anyone who enjoys the many influences echoed in this deck: Charles Addams, Little Nemo, Universal Horror series, Maurice Sendak, old black&white animated shorts (like that great one with Betty Boop & all the dancing skeletons),etc. Wonderful!