I got this deck not long after it came out, but I was not a part of the pre-orders that seemed to have been a part of a massive manufacturing SNAFU. That being said, I think my title is pretty accurate. I'm a pretty big fan of NBC, so when I saw this in my suggestions, I did not hesitate to add it to my wishlist. I am also the most casual of laymen with an interest in Tarot--I can muddle through a reading with a dear friend with my nose in a guidebook. That being said, I was both content and disappointed in this deck from both sides of interests; overall this deck is primarily designed as a cash grab for Disney to appeal to NBC fans.
The artwork is mostly, rather...nice and is clearly geared for the generic NBC fan, but not for someone well-versed in Tarot, as you will not find any extra, elaborate designs in the background that can serve as symbolism that can be found in a lot of decks, nor will you find any little extra Easter eggs from the film. My tepid assessment leads right into my next point.
The major arcana are done rather well, artistically, (the symbolism is fairly lacking if you choose to examine some of the more 'controversial' cards) and will appease most people on either side of the spectrum where this deck is concerned. As either a fan of NBC or an avid Tarot user, you will be disappointed with more than a handful of the cards, mostly to be found in the minor arcana. My own glaring offenders include: for potions- VI, IV, II, for needles- VII, IV, for presents- IX, VII, and for candles- X, XI, VII, VI. This list is rather pared down, because I'm not happy with the hands holding the items either, but that took some more effort on the artist's part than the ones I listed ( IX of potions even have the jars sitting on shelves- I did say the artist took some effort, not a lot more). Those with the deck would likely agree with me, but these cards, in particular (I may have missed some) are boring, uninspired, and seem just unfinished (or an over-priced knock-off of RWT). The potions are just jars featured--not even a specter floating from the tops, the presents are just presents sitting there, the needles look like a small pile of needles atop of each other, and then the candles are just candles looming in the scene or candles in a rather boring candelabra--at least a couple of them has a hand holding them out.
I mean, if someone asked you why you liked Tarot or why you liked NBC and you had to answer it with one of these cards, it most certainly would not be the IV of Needles because then you would seriously be asking yourself that question.
To be fair, some of the cards in a standard Ryder-Waite deck are...bang on similar, but this is a deck using imagery from the Nightmare Before Christmas--the movie was rich with scenes and characters, many of which aren't in the deck; I believe every card when removed from the deck, should convey NBC without a shadow of a doubt. As a fan of NBC, I can't help but wonder why not screenshot a scene from the movie and hide the objects in it or add something other than a pile of needles? Some are stabbed into pincushions--not the greatest, but it was the least amount of effort to put forth instead of drawing the items and calling it good. It was a missed opportunity...in at least 10+ cards. As someone who has a small, modest collection of Tarot, these cards leave nothing to the imagination--someone who doesn't know the meaning of the VII of candles could not intuit it based on the picture, it would need to be looked up in the guidebook, which is...okay. It definitely leaves more room for the reader to interpret subjectively.
As a novice in Tarot, these are not the best cards to use--the card stock is unimpressive and will bend if you shuffle them--I myself got a paper cut. I've quite literally had this deck for years now and I haven't used it since that one time and now, only to rifle through them to confirm the cards I singled out above.
So overall, this deck is for the fan of Nightmare who might have a passing interest in Tarot, not a dabbler or someone who is more versed in Tarot. As a fan of NBC, it's just nice to have and to own as a part of my collection of memorabilia and I just treat it as a stack of prints.
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| The Nightmare Before Christmas: Pop-Up Book and Advent Calendar | The Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot Deck and Guidebook | Nightmare Before Christmas Entertaining Guide Gift Set | The Nightmare Before Christmas Entertaining Guide | The Nightmare Before Christmas: Official Advent Calendar: Ghoulish Delights | |
| Theme | Pop-Up Book and Advent Calendar | Tarot Deck and Guidebook | Cookbook and Apron | Cookbook | Advent Calendar |
| Description | Open the frighteningly delightful pop-up advent calendar to find a beautiful foot tall pop-up tree, ornaments, and booklet with fascinating facts about Halloween Town. | This 78-card deck tarot set features Jack Skellington, Mr. Oogie Boogie, and Sandy Claws in gorgeous original illustrations based on classic tarot iconography. Includes a guidebook. | This gift set has everything you need to plan a frighteningly fun party: a cookbook with recipes and party planning instructions, and an apron. | Throw the spookiest soiree of the season inspired by Tim Burton’s iconic holiday film The Nightmare Before Christmas. | Tired of the same old thing? Surprise loved ones with this advent calendar filled with ghoulish delights from watch party cards and charades to trivia. |
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the Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot
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Customer Review: Nightmare before Christmas Tarot
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Customer Review: Something different; n this is it
Brittany
I love this deck! When I got one for Christmas I just knew I had to get my friend one too and it's perfect! Great quality and thickness :)
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 24, 2022
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 17, 2023
I love this deck! When I got one for Christmas I just knew I had to get my friend one too and it's perfect! Great quality and thickness :)
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 9, 2020
Like most everyone else, I was excited when I found out this deck was coming out. This full review is going off first impressions of having the deck as I have yet to use it up to this point. I've also included several images with some comparing them to their counterparts in the Rider Waite deck.
Pros:
-Beautiful Art
-Guide book is a decent size, easy to read
-Wonderful character choices for the major arcana
-playful counterpart suits to other decks (presents=pentacles, etc)
Cons:
-cards sticking together (keep in mind it's a brand new deck, just opened)
-could have had a little more symbology on the pips (this isn't completely unexpected though)
First impressions on opening the package are that I love it. The energy feels as playful as the characters in the movie. The box is beautiful and definitely stands out on its own.
Going through it, I didn't lose my love of this deck, though I do have a few things to say about it. The artwork is beautiful, it follows the art of the movie very well and gives the cards the life they deserve. Comparing the cardstock to the main deck I use (Rider Waite), it's close to the same thickness or at least close enough I can't find the difference. Cards are more or less standard size.
Going through other reviews while I waited for these to arrive, I saw many complaints about some of the cards being pip style cards. To be honest, in getting a themed deck like this you kind of have to expect some of the cards might be pip style. I agree they could have done more symbolically, but the pips were expected on my end even before reading the reviews.
The choices for the Major Arcana are wonderful and I don't think there's one that I disagree with so far. Oogie Boogie makes his mark as The Devil just as Zero makes his as The Star. I love the suits for the minor arcana as well, they changed them to fit the theme as well as finding a good way to still represent their counterparts (Wands, Swords, Cups, Pentacles). The court cards follow what I know to be the Rider Waite style of Page, Knight, Queen, King.
I love the finish of the cards, I think it suits the deck's style. However, some of my cards are sticking together. I'm thinking this could be a mix of the finish and it literally being a brand new deck. If I remember right, most of my new decks have stuck together like that upon opening it up. Like most new decks, it's going to be a pain to shuffle for the first few times and to even just get them shuffled properly.
The guidebook is a decent size, easy to read, and full color. The Major Arcana have 2 pages dedicated to each card with 1 page being a full-page image and the other with both upright and reversed meanings. The Minor Arcana has 1 page dedicated to each with a smaller image taking up about 1/3 of the page and the rest being the meanings. However, unlike many other guidebooks I've seen, this one has the court cards starting for each of the suits and then goes Ace-10 after. Like most, it does offer some basic readings and tips which are located at the back of the book instead of the front.
Overall, it's a great deck even if you just want to buy it because it's Nightmare Before Christmas. It'd make a great addition to any collection of Tarot decks. I'm looking forward to getting this deck properly shuffled and doing a reading with it.
Pros:
-Beautiful Art
-Guide book is a decent size, easy to read
-Wonderful character choices for the major arcana
-playful counterpart suits to other decks (presents=pentacles, etc)
Cons:
-cards sticking together (keep in mind it's a brand new deck, just opened)
-could have had a little more symbology on the pips (this isn't completely unexpected though)
First impressions on opening the package are that I love it. The energy feels as playful as the characters in the movie. The box is beautiful and definitely stands out on its own.
Going through it, I didn't lose my love of this deck, though I do have a few things to say about it. The artwork is beautiful, it follows the art of the movie very well and gives the cards the life they deserve. Comparing the cardstock to the main deck I use (Rider Waite), it's close to the same thickness or at least close enough I can't find the difference. Cards are more or less standard size.
Going through other reviews while I waited for these to arrive, I saw many complaints about some of the cards being pip style cards. To be honest, in getting a themed deck like this you kind of have to expect some of the cards might be pip style. I agree they could have done more symbolically, but the pips were expected on my end even before reading the reviews.
The choices for the Major Arcana are wonderful and I don't think there's one that I disagree with so far. Oogie Boogie makes his mark as The Devil just as Zero makes his as The Star. I love the suits for the minor arcana as well, they changed them to fit the theme as well as finding a good way to still represent their counterparts (Wands, Swords, Cups, Pentacles). The court cards follow what I know to be the Rider Waite style of Page, Knight, Queen, King.
I love the finish of the cards, I think it suits the deck's style. However, some of my cards are sticking together. I'm thinking this could be a mix of the finish and it literally being a brand new deck. If I remember right, most of my new decks have stuck together like that upon opening it up. Like most new decks, it's going to be a pain to shuffle for the first few times and to even just get them shuffled properly.
The guidebook is a decent size, easy to read, and full color. The Major Arcana have 2 pages dedicated to each card with 1 page being a full-page image and the other with both upright and reversed meanings. The Minor Arcana has 1 page dedicated to each with a smaller image taking up about 1/3 of the page and the rest being the meanings. However, unlike many other guidebooks I've seen, this one has the court cards starting for each of the suits and then goes Ace-10 after. Like most, it does offer some basic readings and tips which are located at the back of the book instead of the front.
Overall, it's a great deck even if you just want to buy it because it's Nightmare Before Christmas. It'd make a great addition to any collection of Tarot decks. I'm looking forward to getting this deck properly shuffled and doing a reading with it.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
m
Gorgeous deck!
Reviewed in Singapore 🇸🇬 on January 14, 2023
m
Reviewed in Singapore 🇸🇬 on January 14, 2023
Images in this review
