The Halloween Tarot

Sinisterly cute or cutely sinister, this odd little deck is based around the American version of Halloween, with Pumpkins, Ghosts, Bats and Imps instead of Pentacles, Cups, Swords and Wands. That may not sound very promising but actually it's a powerful deck, full of energy - though curiously enough, for a deck with such a theme, the Death card is rather weak.

The style is cartoony but vivid, individual and expressive, with many of the images being spooked-up spoofs of the Rider Waite deck. Although the theme is so eccentric, the cards actually illustrate their meanings very well and the interpretations are standard, making this an easy-to-learn deck suitable for beginners.

The artist, Kipling West, also illustrated the beautiful but sadly out-of-print Major Arcana deck Tarot for Cats and her feline fancies turn up here too. The same spike-furred, orange-eyed black cat stalks through every card - often making wary eye-contact with an assortment of owls, bats and rats.