Zombie Tarot: A 10 out of 10 oracle - of the Undead
Welcome to Halloween season! It’s the most wonderful tiiiiiime of the year. 🎶
There are a ton of spooky-season related tarot and oracle decks out there (linked to a few more at the bottom of this article). Here’s my favourite (so far).
What Makes a ‘Good’ Deck?
First off, just a brief recap of what actually makes a good tarot deck:
Card Stock
So important! It’s such a bummer to ogle over a deck for a while and then decide to buy it (oh the art! oh the writing!) and finally get it and they have cheaped out on the card stock. If really cheaped out on - in my opinion it’s not even worth having the deck. I have given decks away because of this!
Card stock should be nice and thick - but not too thick. Ultimately, a tarot deck is a tool so, we need to be able to shuffle the cards comfortably and we need the cards to hold up to potentially years of shuffling. My first deck (yes a Rider Waite) that I still use regularly, was given to me by my mama when I was 30 and she bought it when she was 20 - that’s in the 70s! Decks need to hold up.
Card finish - mat vs. gloss
This is subjective. But again, tarot is a tool first. You need to be able to shuffle comfortably. I find that with a lot of the new and popular shiny finishes, the cards don’t slip over each other well enough to shuffle really well. This can be distracting! And we don’t want to be distracted when reading.
Also I prefer the look and feel of a matt finish definitely. Shiny just distracts the eye and further pulls our focus away.
The art of course
Enough said. There are a million decks out there. Good art stands out.
The book
I have bought decks that I was really excited about but had the guide book leave the experience flat. Mostly I find because not enough time and energy was put into the book: it was written in a fluffy kind of language with not enough substance, or with not enough research into the deck’s symbolism to intrigue or inspire.
Whether or not it reads
This is probably subjective as well. Some decks read well for some and not for others so, it’s hard to quantify. However, how a deck reads for you is ultimately its most important quality. I do think it’s part intuitive connection but also definitely part overall design and development.
The Zombie Tarot checks all of these boxes. That’s why it gets our 10 out of 10 review.
From the minute I opened this deck I was impressed by the quality - mat finish card stock, perfect standard size, and with a really nice durable card box and sweet little guide book.
There’s not a ton of write up for each card but though this can disappointing, the captions are so clever and concise that it totally works for a beginner or for veterans who want a fun spin on their readings (if you like zombies of course). Each card is given 3 keywords for easy access to themes. Note: there’s no reversals with this deck.
Love the zombie theme too - hilarious!
5 Cups
All seems lost. The mood is black, things aren’t going as you’d hoped, and you’re faced with utter disappointment and cursing your mouthwatering limbs for tempting the zombie horde. Obsessing over the past can only cause pain. Turn that frown upside down and look to a future free of disgusting walking corpses. If you grieve too long, your sorrow may swallow you up.
The art is really well done with this collage-style,1950s horror flick theme. Like tiny vignettes or chapters to this particular zombie apocalypse, you can’t help but be drawn in because there’s so much going on. Each card is a work of art and none disappoint. They kind of remind me of that video game Fallout, with the creepy 1940s pro-America ra-ra-ra music playing in the background.
Just a note here: these cards are not for kids as they do get bit gory with the rotting limbs, cannibalism and dead babies. My 10 year old was grossed right out.
Check It Out
A Sample of the Book
What do you think of this deck? Do you own it? Would you give it 10 out of 10?
What’s your favourite spooky deck?
Love to hear in the comments.
Happy Haunting!
