Halloween Tarot by Kipling West

Kipling West's artwork. Vintage Halloween charm across all 78 cards.

Costumed suits. Imps for wands, ghosts for cups, bats for swords, pumpkins for pentacles.

The black cat game. One hides on every card, the deck's beloved signature.

• Cards: 78, full tarot structure
• Artist: Kipling West; booklet by Karin Lee
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems
• SKU: DHALTAR

Beneath the costume the deck is orthodox: the full 78-card structure of the tarot tradition, majors and minors complete, with the suit correspondences intact under their Halloween masks, imps carrying the wands' fire, ghosts the cups' feeling, bats the swords' keen air, and pumpkins the pentacles' good earth, so readings translate directly to and from any standard deck. West's vintage-postcard Halloween register does real interpretive work besides: the holiday's imagery of masks, thresholds, and friendly spookiness softens the tarot's shadowed cards, making this a famously approachable deck for newer readers and a seasonal treasure for October tables.

Its posts are exactly those: the autumn reading season it was born for, the year-round deck of the Halloween-hearted, the gateway tarot for readers who learn better smiling, and the black-cat hunt that has charmed collectors since the nineties.

1. Cleanse the deck by your custom and page Lee's booklet once through.
2. Learn the suit masks: imps, ghosts, bats, pumpkins map to wands, cups, swords, pentacles.
3. Read your usual spreads; the structure beneath is standard.
4. Find the black cat on each card drawn; it is tradition.
5. Give it the October table of honor it was made for.

It reads all year, but its high holy month is obvious.

• Gjallarhorn Norse Oracle by Matt Hughes: the deck shelf's other seasonal treasure.
• Fantastical Creatures Tarot by D.J. Conway and Lisa Hunt: the whimsy wing alongside.
• Gato Negro Black Cat Oil, 4 Dram: the deck's signature animal, bottled.
• Black Chime Candles, 20 Pack: the October reading table's flame.
• Green Cotton Bag, 3" x 4": a keeping pouch between seasons.

Is it a real tarot or a novelty?

Fully real: the complete 78-card structure with suit correspondences intact beneath the Halloween masks, reading interchangeably with any standard deck.

Who made it?

Artist Kipling West, with Karin Lee's guiding booklet, published by U.S. Games Systems and beloved since the nineties.

What are the suits?

The costume party: imps for wands, ghosts for cups, bats for swords, and pumpkins for pentacles.

Is there really a black cat on every card?

Every single one: finding it is the deck's traditional first pleasure.

Is it good for beginners?

Famously: the friendly imagery softens the learning curve, and the booklet carries the meanings.