Deck Review: Ghost Tarot

Davide Corsi, Ghost Tarot. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2014. ISBN: 9780738743530. (Published by Lo Scarabeo but distributed in the U.S. by Llewellyn, thus the Llewellyn link).

Genre: divination, card decks
Subgenre: Tarot, ghosts
Format: 78 cards deck with Little White Book in tuck box
Source: I own this one (can't recall how I bought it though)

The Hermit-IX card.

This is the deck I used during the Fall and Halloween season in 2019, so I finally get to review it. This is a ghost themed deck by Davide Corsi, who also created the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night deck (link to my review of that deck).

The Little White Book that comes with the deck is your usual Lo Scarabeo booklet. It is small, and the material is in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German. The actual text is about 13 small pages. The text includes:

• A short introduction discussing ghosts as a reflection in our lives and experiences. 
• The Major Arcana.
• The Minor Arcana.
• A 5-card spread you can try out. 

The Star- XVII

The meanings stay mostly within Rider Waite Smith (RWS) tradition with some ghostly and spiritual elements added in. The meanings do vary a bit, so I'd say to at least look at the booklet once. While not necessary if you read intuitively and/or you are familiar with RWS, meanings provided can add a layer to your reading, something to think about a bit more perhaps. Still, overall the booklet is not substantial; you could always do some supplementary reading on ghosts as an optional exercise.

The highlight is in the cards. The majority of the figures depicted as ghosts. There may be one or two of the living, usually interacting with the ghosts. The living may or not be aware of the ghosts. The deck overall has a nice ethereal quality. It is dark but not too dark. In addition, the ghosts depicted are expressive and show emotion well. While you can use this deck year round, I think it works best in the darker parts of the year, so fall and winter. It can be an emotional deck, so it could work for readings about relationships and other emotional issues. Images do invite the reader to look deeply. However, not a deck to use if you are overcome with heavy emotions like sadness or grief. I'd say the author's suggestion in the introduction is good advice:

"If you can, approach this Tarot with light-heartedness, but never overcome with emotions" (4). 

While ghostly and ethereal, the deck is still fairly light. Ghosts here can be mysterious, dark, expressive but never really violent. Ghosts are a bit more on the benevolent side. As mentioned, they do reflect human emotions and experiences, which makes this a good deck to use.

Five of Swords. This is one of the few cards featuring the living.

The art is good, on the dark side. If you like some dark art, with some spooky elements, and some feeling and emotion, this may be a deck for you.

Cards measure about 4 3/4 inches by 2 1/2 inches. Card names are all traditional; no name changes. Names are in the booklet. As in other Lo Scarabeo decks, cards are identified by numbers and symbols. Major Arcana card are identified by their Roman numeral. Minor Arcana cards are identified by number and suit symbol. Minor Arcana cards are fully illustrated. The card backs are reversible.

Overall, it is a deck I really like. I enjoyed using it in the fall season, and I may keep using it during that time of the year. If you do readings in Halloween, this is a good option.

4 out of 5 stars.

Note: Card photos are mine from my copy of the deck.