Universal Monsters Tarot Deck and Guidebook

Great collection of BW photos from the horror movie days.

Bought this awesome new Universal Monsters Tarot for my husband as his first deck because he loves the classic movie monsters. They are wonderful quality and the design is super cool. It was so fun looking through at the art work on each card. I don’t recommend this as a deck for beginners to learn on for a few reasons. The images of each card don’t necessarily include the traditional symbolism of basic tarot cards and can be tricky to interpret for even intermediate readers. Also, while the suits of Claws, Crypts, Candles, and Castles are very fitting for the theme, they are a little tricky to relate to standard tarot suits and the guide doesn’t actually specify (at least anywhere I can find) which represents which. One could probably decode it and figure it out in time but I wish it was more clearly stated. Fun novelty or collector deck, great art and quality, but maybe not the perfect deck for traditional or beginner readers.

Universal Monsters Tarot Deck is done so well. It's made by the same company that did The Garbage Pail Kids (Insight Edition). I'm pleasantly surprised by it's usability. At first just like the GPK Deck, I thought it was a novelty deck. The art is stunning. The box is sturdy and the ink and cardstock are high quality. The cards are thick, the finish is matte. They are not slippery. The book is so well written and each card gets its own high quality color picture and a fitting description. The explanations of suits is perfect. I can see why it's not suggested for beginners to learn traditional Tarot from. However, a beginner could totally read with it intuitively. It's not a pip deck. The Miner cards don't follow the traditional RSW imagery. The suits are as follows, Wands = Candles, Cups = Crypts, Swords = Claws, Pentacles = Castles. If you like monsters, you'll love this deck! 10/10 highly recommend!

Great deck. I'm a professional reader and I bought these for a Universal Monsters-themed Halloween party coming up. They will definitely be a hit. The correspondences are spot-on for the meanings of the cards. I did have to look up some of the characters portrayed on the Court cards, and when I did I found that they were perfectly appropriate, and some gave me new perspective on the card! I also own the Garbage Pail Kids Tarot, which I was impressed with for the same reason. So far Insight Editions is in my good book for helping to evolve the Tarot while remaining true to its tradition. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with in the future!

I love all the of the artwork on the cards, but the packaging is even better! The fact that it’s like a little coffin inside that something clawed its way out of is perfect! The guidebook is in full color as well. Got to love all the extra attention to details with something for which. other products usually just do the bare minimum.

This beautifully detailed deck is everything your inner-monster kid needs! From the glow in the dark lettering on the box, to the “coffin” design inside, all 78 of the sturdy cards are illustrated like wood cuts in a novel. Featuring characters and scenes from the major Universal Monsters films, this deck is a treat for movie fans and horror-minded mystics alike!

So this is a beautiful deck and the packaging is cute there's just a few issues I have. The cards have this strange black stuff on the side of the deck, it's not ink cause I can scrap it off I found out but I don't know what it is. Also all the corners of the box on the inside are ripped which will probably get worse as I use it over time. I'm not fond of the back art but that's a personal issue really. Lastly they have a chemical smell that will hopefully go away.

Happy to add to my tarot collection and I love universal monsters