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Halloween Tarot

missbat by missbat

Shuffle the deck!

Tarot is a tradtional form of divination, that roughly dates back to the late 16th ceuntry. For those that love both Tarot cards and Halloween, there is now a deck devoted to Halloween imagery. Created by Kipling West, it's called The Halloween Tarot!

What is Tarot?

A brief overview.

Following the invention of playing cards, with their four suites, around the 14th century came the first known usage of cards for fortune telling. Created in Northern Italy, fragmented cards known as "triumph cards" were used for divination. These were the first models for what modern Tarot decks were based on.

Tarot readings became extremely popular in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. With the printing of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck in 1910, Tarot was more readily available to the masses. A resurgence in popularity brought Tarot back into vogue during the later half of the 20th century. Today hundreds of different decks exist.

Tarot cards have 22 Major Arcana cards without suits and 56 Minor Arcana cards made up of four suits: coins, wands cups, and swords.

The Halloween Tarot

Created by Kipling West

Based on the imagery of the Rider-Waite deck, Kipling West recreated the Major and Minor Arcana with a Halloween flare. Filled with traditional Halloween images of pumpkins, bats, witches, and monster, every card includes a single black cat who is your guide through-out the deck.

Coins, representative of earth, have been replaced by Pumpkins. Cups, the element representing water, is replaced by Ghosts. Fiery wands are replaced by Imps. Bats replace the swords, element of air.

The imagery has a child-like cartoon-ish quality, almost like Halloween items of the late 19th/early 20th century. The cards are packed with symbolism, bright colours, and truly celebrate Halloween!

Personal Review

The Halloween Tarot deck is my first personal deck. Relatively new to the use of Tarot cards but not to the concept, I've found this to be the first deck to actually 'speak' to me. This might be because of its imagery and association with my favorite holiday Halloween.

To date I have done single, three-card, and Celtic Cross readings with this deck and had excellent results. The deck seems to have denoted my personal card to be the Page of Bats, which is all-too amusing.

The imagery isn't scary, more fanciful and most detailed. All the classic Halloween monsters are included; vampires, Frankenstein, werewolves. As well as traditional images of Fall and Halloween, pumpkins, bats, ghosts, imps, spooky castles. And the Black Cat guide that follows you through all 78 cards is adorable!

Buy the Tarot

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One Card Reading

Shuffling a deck, cutting, and drawing a single card is a popular way to gain insight or give the reader something to think on.

Some draw a card at the end of the day to gain reflection, others draw in the morning to gain insight about the coming day. This reading can be used by anyone.

Three Card Spread

Three card spreads can give insight to a problem or delima. They are just as the name implies: three cards drawn from a deck that has been shuffled while thinking of a question.

Possible variants of this spread include:

Problem, Choice 1, Choice 2
Hope, Fear, Opposition
Beginning, Middle, End
Idea, Manifestation, Process

The possibilities are pretty much endless and up to the reader!

Celtic Cross Spread

One of the most popular 10-card spreads is known as the Celtic Cross. While variations are up to the reader, the general layout remains unchanged.

This reading is good for questions requiring deeper insight. With conscious and unconscious influences, outside influence, and past & present situations revealed, one can get a wider picture about your query.

More About Tarot

Tarotpedia
A wikipedia devoted strictly to Tarot.
Wikipedia: Tarot
Wikipedia's entry about Tarot.
Wikipedia: Tarot Reading
Wikipedia's entry about Tarot reading.
JK's Tarot FAQ
One of the oldest web-based Tarot FAQs.
How Tarot Cards Work
Tarot cards aren't meant to tell the future. Learn where tarot cards come from, what they mean, why tarot cards can work and why it matters where the cards fall.

Draw a card!

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Love Tarot? Love the Halloween Tarot deck? Just like this lens? Leave a comment and let us know!

  • Gypsyraven Oct 20, 2011 @ 4:18 pm | delete
    cute. Like it
  • aquarian_insight Oct 13, 2011 @ 8:15 am | delete
    I have to admit that this is one deck I wasn't too familiar with and I think it will make a great Halloween gift for my sister. I always love learning about new decks as they make great gifts. Still trying to find a new deck for myself, but I just haven't found anything new that "speaks to me". I am currently working on my own card meanings and observations in conjunction with an exercise about how to learn to read the cards, so maybe someone can apply it to this deck.
  • KavitaKriti Oct 28, 2010 @ 4:03 pm | delete
    Perfect! Will be drawing up one of these cards for my halloween party saturday!!!
  • Intuitive Oct 9, 2010 @ 9:43 am | delete
    I didn't know about the Halloween deck, either. I have other sets of tarot cards. This looks like fun. :)
  • 0ctavias0fferings Jul 26, 2009 @ 4:30 am | delete
    Returning the lensroll, interesting to read your view on these cards. 5*
  • Clairwil Jul 19, 2009 @ 5:14 pm | delete
    I didn't know the Halloween deck existed. I'm a Rider-Waite chick myself. Whatever the deck I love tarot cards -they're such fun.
  • aj2008 Jul 19, 2009 @ 3:54 am | delete
    My fav Tarot Deck is the Greek Mythology one. You might also be interested to read Sepulchre by Kate Mosse, as a tarot deck features heavily in the plot.
  • Heinani Oct 21, 2008 @ 8:02 pm | delete
    Aloha, Every New Years I pull out my divination decks and spend the day with a vision toward the future. Now it looks like I'll have to start a similar tradition on Halloween.
  • rms May 1, 2008 @ 7:17 am | delete
    Very cool lens. Thank you for adding it to the Gothic Temptations group.
  • Spiritcaat Jan 15, 2008 @ 1:02 pm | delete
    I'm glad you found a deck that speaks to you so personally. Mine change periodically. Decks that I used to really love just sit on my shelf now and wind up being replaced by others. My personal "speaks to me" deck at the moment is the "Druidcraft Tarot." -- http://spiritcaat.com/tarot-rider-derivatives.php

    Halloween Tarot looks great. I'll have to look up some more images.
  • GypsyPirate Oct 25, 2007 @ 10:24 pm | delete
    Great lens! Thanks for joining us in The SquidBOO Home!
  • flowski Oct 20, 2007 @ 7:04 pm | delete
    Halloween Tarot Cards look really cool and more on the fun side!
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About the Lensmaster

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This Halloween Magazine page written by

missbat

I'm a Giant 100 Squid, as well as a retired SquidAngel. I'm most known for my Halloween costume lenses. I also like to poke people with sporks.

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