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Deck Review by Hope, CTC The Halloween Tarot is a 78 card tarot deck by Kipling West and published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. (July 1997)
The deck has 78 cards consisting of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The Majors are numbered 0-21 with 0 being the Fool, 8 for Strength, and 11 for Justice. The Court cards consist of Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings and the scenes on the pip cards are RWS based. The cards themselves are 4.8 x 2.9 inches and are printed on thin flexible card stock with a matte finish and white borders. The language on the cards is English with Roman Numerals on the Major Arcana and written numbers on the suit cards. When stacked the sides of the cards feel rough to the hand which can be disconcerting if you are a compulsive overhand shuffler like I am. The back of the deck is reversible with an evil eye, skulls, spiders, fish bones, and black cats in colors of black and orange which gives you an immediate idea of the delights you will find when you flip the cards over. Kipling West describes herself as living in a damp rainy place which may account for the wicked humor found in this deck. For example there is a voodoo doll in the Justice card, and the man attached to the Wheel is holding a four leaf clover, not to mention the wonderfully ooky spooky oddities in the Temperance card kitchen! Slinking about is a curious black cat that seems to insert himself both conspicuously and inconspicuously in almost every card of the deck. From giving a mouse the stink eye in the Devil card to offering consolation in the Nine of Bats card this cat has character! Did I say Nine of Bats? The suits are titled: Bats for Swords (air), Pumpkins for Pentacles (earth), Ghosts for Chalices (water), and Imps for Wands (fire). The Major Arcana card that has capture my heart the most would have to be the Tower card which shows a haunted house complete with a wrought iron fence, a gargoyle, and ghosts both in the windows and falling from the lightning struck tower. My favorite Ace would have to be the Ace of Pentacles. This card depicts the usual hand reaching out from a cloud, however this hand holds a plastic jack-o-lantern trick or treat basket filled with goodies...and yes the black cat is oogling it. The Page cards all sufficiently depict the youthful energy of their suits. The Knights mounts are galloping, prancing, or plodding, you guess who is riding which horse. The Queen of Pumpkins is particularly engaging and indeed the black cat thinks so too because he is nestled right next to her. The Queen of Ghosts (Chalices) has a fish tail rather than legs; I don’t believe this means that she is a cold fish. Did you know that the Loch Ness Monster has been found!! It is hanging out with the Queen of Ghosts counterpart, the King of Ghosts who is the only King with a face mask which seems very appropriate given his suit. Obviously I like the deck, but would it pass the Bar test? I figured I would try it and see. Bar test? Yes, I read tarot cards in a sports bar, so much for ambiance. While using this deck for the first time at the bar, the deck received 4 curious stares, 2 questions, 2 dead stops at the table, and several complimentary comments. This was pretty good for Karaoke night, these cards have curb appeal. As for actual readings, they went really well; this fun deck can throw a powerful punch in a very non-threatening G rated manner!
Deck review by Hope, CTC The Circle of Life Tarot is a round 78 card Tarot Deck by Maria Distefano (Lo Scarabeo)
I’ve always wanted a round tarot deck so when I heard about Circle of Life Tarot I jumped to get it and I did not do my homework first. Oops.
When the deck arrived I was surprised by the large size of the cards (4.5 x 4.5) and how awkward they felt in my hands. When stacked the cards measure a little over an inch tall so not only is the deck round but also bulky. As an overhand shuffler the cards slipped easily from my fingers and rolled willy nilly across the room. Even after much practice I still have to shuffle very carefully to prevent “jumpers.”
The cards are printed on thin flexible card stock with a matte finish and have white borders. The languages written in the border on the cards are English, Italian, Spanish, French and German with Roman Numerals on the Major Arcana and written numbers on the suit cards. The card backs are a soft yellow color with a Celtic style knotted pattern throughout. You can purchase this deck with its Little White Book (LWB) or you can purchase the deluxe addition that includes a pretty velvet bag. Velvet picks up cat hair so I opted out of the deluxe addition.
The pip cards are fully illustrated although there is an odd lack of consistency throughout the deck. Some cards have very distinct bold scenes that fill the card (Knave of Wands) while others have simple pictures centered on the card (5 of Cups). While most cards are clear and distinct (6 of Wands), other cards such as the Tower are hazy and it took a while for my eye to distinguish the picture. Many cards are illustrated with rich hues of browns, reds, greens, and blues while other cards are very sparse and almost monochromatic. The images on the cards are thought provoking, for instance the Emperor is a woman; there is an infant in an egg with a baby bird, and several of the characters in the cards are either smoking from a hookah or blowing on very strange horns (3 of cups & Judgment)!
Although there are many elements of this deck that are Rider Waite style there are just as many that are not; this deck is not a Rider Waite clone. It would be good to have a working knowledge of elemental dignities since many of the cards will not reverse due to the circular nature of many of the pictures. An intuitive reader will be able to read with this deck however those who rely heavily on set meanings, or traditional Rider Waite meanings may well have difficulty.
For instance the 8 of Wands card as depicted at the top of this review shows a woman walking through the woods, she carries a dagger in her right hand and a man’s head cradled in her left! The Little White Book written in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German by Bepi Vigna and translated by Studio RGE offers little help as it states that the meaning of the 8 of Wands is – The best future is that one faced together with others. Thus I began to understand the dichotomy of this deck! The introduction in the Little White Book discusses that the “concave side of curves evokes feminine nature and reminds man of the nurturing protection of the mother’s womb.” Yet the LWB itself reads like Sun Tzu’s Art of War with meanings that more often than not have no connection with the images on the cards!
For instance in the LWB the card meaning for the 9 of Pentacles is –In any great undertaking, madness always plays a minor role. If madness plays a major role, the undertaking is bound to fail. And the meaning for the 9 of Swords is – Sometimes enemies appear to be more threatening and powerful, but in reality it is our fear that makes them so. Before you toss the LWB, you may want to check out the 24 card spread called the Divining Method. I didn’t like it, but I adapted it a little and I think with the adaptations it could prove useful; time will tell. I used this deck in several readings for family and friends and was again surprised at the difference the shape of the cards made in the look of the spread and how much room the cards took up on a table. This deck definitely has curb appeal, friends and family gave the deck a thumb up, and I was pleased with the way my readings turned out. If I knew then what I know now about this deck, I would still purchase it as it is very interesting and the round shape does force my mind to think differently about the cards but I wouldn’t waste my time reading the LWB! Circle of Life Tarot (ISBN-10: 0738712981 ISBN-13: 978-0738712987) is published by Llewellyn Publications (February 1, 2008)
A Deck Review by Hope, CTC Tarot Nova by Dennis Fairchild, Illustrated by Julie Paschkis is a 78 card miniature tarot deck published by Running Press Book Publishers. The card backs are lush with green vines, a centered sun, two crescent moons, and two small people juggling. The art work is clever and done in a way that makes them fully reversible. The cards are unusual in that they are black with colorfully illustrated majors, pips, and courts. The majors are numbered 0-21 with 0 being the Fool, 8 for Justice, and 11 for Strength. The Court cards consist of Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings. The writing on the cards is English and the numbers are written with roman numerals; all of which is in white which is easily legible even for my on the verge of bifocal eyesight! The only borders on the cards are the tips which denote the suits; yellow tips for swords, green tips for pentacles, blue tips for cups, red tips for wands, and purple tips for the majors. This
darling deck is suitable for all ages and I would recommend this deck for
children who wish to read the tarot. Sneaky mice, greedy pigs, people,
and lush
When I need a deck to throw in my purse, I grab this one! When I want a direct too the point answer to my question, I choose this deck. When my eyes are tired of the busy, cluttered images in my other decks, I choose this deck for respite! This great little deck continues to be one of my all time favorites.
A Deck Review by Hope, CTC
The Tarot of the Magical Forest by LoScarabeo was first published in China in 2005 and distributed in the United States by Lewellyn in July of 2008.
The product description asks “Who can resist the whimsical charm of the adorable creatures that reside within this visually-appealing tarot?” Well I for one can not resist. I found this deck when I was searching for a deck to do animal readings with and I fell in love with it immediately.
The deck itself is an animal themed Rider-Waite-Smith style
deck with 78 cards consisting of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The
Majors are numbered 0-21 with 0 being the Fool, 8 for Strength, and 11 for
Justice. The Court cards consist of Knaves, Knights, Queens and Kings and
the pip cards are fully
This fanciful Tarot Deck measures 4.9” x 2.8” x 1.1” which is rather narrow and easy to handle if you have small hands. The cards are printed on flexible card stock with a slick matte finish which makes for easy shuffling. Each card is bordered with white with the number of the minor cards located at the center top and the suit of the card written in different languages in each corner.
The back of the cards are double sided with a kaleidoscope style image of a very dark green forest with a pale blue sky. The backs of the cards are rather sad and dreary looking in comparison to the deck itself, which is a wonderful delight to the eye. The Minor Arcana suits are divided into the Kingdoms of Nature. These Kingdoms include The Family of the Bunnies (Chalices), The Family of Foxes (Pentacles), The Family of Frogs (Wands), and The Family of Cats (Swords). Initially these divisions seemed awkward, for instance it would seem more natural to use frogs for the watery suit of Chalices, and sly Foxes for Swords. After working briefly with these lovely cards though I was able to throw away these preconceived notions and go with the wonderful flow of imagination that this deck evokes. The colors of the cards are soft and inviting with hues of pink, purple, green, blue and gold but the most MAGICAL part of these cards are the creatures! These very round eyed characters draw you in and put a smile on your face! It is like looking at the world through the eyes of a child. Throughout the Fools Journey you will find Rabbits, Lions with Lambs, Bats, Cats, Pigs, Owls, and my personal favorite two wild eyed Water Buffalo pulling The Chariot driven by an equally wild eyed Porcupine! On the downside The High Priestess, The Emperor and the Hierophant are all similar in look and color and require a double check to make sure you know what card you are actually looking at. This is a wonderful deck for all ages and all skill levels and a must have for animal lovers!
Tarot of the Magical Forest ((ISBN-10: 0738714127, ISBN-13: 978-0738714127) Deck Review by Hope Ballard CTC
When I opened the door...errr the box I found 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Majors are numbered 0-21 with 0 being the Fool, 8 for Justice, and 11 for Strength. The Court cards consist of Knaves (all female), Knights, Queens and Kings. The pips are fully illustrated, some with Rider Waite imagery and others that do not. Also the pips may or may not have images of their suit upon them. For instance the 3 of swords has no swords in the image and the 9 of cups has only one cup in it. I like to do numerology with the positioning of these images so this was a draw back for me.
The suits of this deck are separate books as shown on the aces. The Book of Demons for Swords and our thoughts, the Book of Lights for Wands and our creativity, the Book of Shadows for Pentacles representing the body and its physical needs, and the Book of Dreams for Chalices our emotional centers.
The back of this deck is not reversible as it has a portrait of I believe, H. P. Lovecraft author of the Necronomicon on it. The color of the back and the front borders are a lovely India ink color, a dark blue black. The art work is muted with tans, rusts, gray, and some blue. The bottoms of the cards have a gold colored scroll on which the number of the card is printed as well as the name of the suit in several different languages. The cards are standard sized.
Cards that are usually full of joy fall short in this deck, the Lovers card shows another woman watching from a distance. The 3 of cups shows a gathering of people but they could all be going to a beheading for all I know. There are a few cards with rainbows in them...yet the somber overtone of the deck weighs very heavily upon the scenes. There is only one card that I would consider pretty and that card would be the Strength card which shows a young girl talking to a huge summoned creature who despite his size does not appear threatening. An interesting take on the 8 of Swords shows a woman imprisoned in a glass container held by a 3 eyed demon. There are odd images too; strangely tentacled creatures or their shadows are seen throughout the deck and feature heavily in the Tower card as it seems to be the cause of the destruction. Could these creatures come from the watery depths of our emotions?
Human existence is full of light and shadow and a balanced life will have both. This deck is not balanced and shows a joyless existence with little hope. Your Goth and Emo clients will LOVE IT!
The Dark Grimoire (ISBN-10: 0738713848, ISBN-13: 978-0738713847)
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The Halloween Tarot is a seasonal Halloween themed
This little
Rider-Waite-Smith based deck is charming and I give it a hearty thumb up,
as a matter of fact I can go so far as to say that I just love it. I have
always had a fondness for miniature sized decks as I have small hands and
they are easy for me to handle. The cards in this deck measure 3.1 x 2.9
x 1.9 inches; are printed on a heavy card stock and have a very glossy
laminate coating. 
The next great thing about this deck is the English only
companion book. Yes, a little 88 page bound book the size of the cards
with a hard cardboard cover. This tiny book has a short introduction of
tarot, an explanation of the major arcana, and the suits of the minor
arcana. It is illustrated with black and white pictures of each of the
cards and provides both upright and reversed interpretations that for the
most part make sense with the correlating picture. A paper mat is
provided with spread information, mine quickly got lost. 
The
art work of this lovely deck was done by Leo Tang and the Little White
Book was written by Giovanni Pelosini; I mention this because this is one
of the best LWBs I have ever read.
illustrated with RWS based images. 
The
deck itself is chock full of disconcerting images, the Hanged Man is truly
a man hanging from a chandelier. The 2 of Pentacles shows a battle of
life and death in a dimly lit ally. The Hierophant is someone I would run
screaming from! 