Review: Horror Tarot sends chills down the spine
A new tarot deck from Insight Editions promises to thrill and chill you.
In the opening of John Carpenter’s Halloween, a children’s rhyme sets the mood for the film. “Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts, covens of witches with all of their hosts. You may think they scare me; you’re probably right / Blood, guts, and goblins / On Halloween night / Trick or treat!” the children chant. It’s an introduction that chillingly captures the spookiness and magic of All Hallow’s Eve. A brand new Horror Tarot, released via Insight Editions, evokes the same wonderfully eerie feeling. The 78-card deck delivers great insight through gorgeous and creepy artwork, created by illustrator Abigail Larson. A collaboration with Minerva Siegel and Aria Gmitter, Horror Tarot reworks iconic horror imagery in both literature and film to unlock understanding of self and being on a higher scale.
Where cars like Four of Pentacles, Aces of Cups, and Six of Wands feature generally spooky graphics, there are countless others that draw from specific horror material. Knight of Cups riffs off The Headless Horseman, and The Sun uses It’s clown-y visage, for example. There’s also Phantom of the Opera (King of Wands), Night of the Living Dead (Judgement), Phantom Carriage (The Chariot), Noseferatu (Five of Cups), and Jack the Ripper, among several others. With such beautiful illustrations, there is plenty of room for interpretation. The accompanying guidebook offers simple upright and reversed prompts to engage the tarot card reader and allow them to find their own meanings within the cards.
As an amateur, Horror Tarot delivers morsels of insight to guide my everyday life. And it couldn’t be even more apt to have its horrifying imagery as part of the wild journey. With each status update I initiate (focused on mind, body, and spirit window-gazing), I find myself really delving further into the worlds Larson has created in her work. Her vignettes are awe-inspiring and mesmerizing, and you can’t help but admire the details. It’s always in the details where you can uncover even deeper meanings in the cards; paired with Gmitter and Siegel’s attentive descriptions, it’s a set you just have to add to your arsenal.
Horror Tarot is on sale now. Check out a sample card and the deliciously macabre spread below.
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