This time of year, during this most spooky of seasons, I let the growing darkness and cooler temperatures inspire my tarot practice. I usually lay out the cards following the Wheel of the Year — which means major spreads eight times a year for the two solstices, the two equinoxes, and the four cross-quarter holidays — with my favorite of these being the Halloween/Samhain spread.
My Samhain work is usually solemn, as befits a time of remembrance, for this is when we pay special reverence to our departed loved ones. This practice occurs all over the world, in varied cultures, and is a time to not only acknowledge what we have lost, but be grateful for that which remains.
To balance the emotional heaviness that memorializing often brings, we need some levity, some lightness. And that is where Halloween comes in. Though most often celebrated as a secular holiday that is mostly about costumes and candy, it has its roots in the older significance—the word “Halloween” itself comes from All Hallows Eve, a night important in several Christian traditions, including Catholicism, for its focus on honoring the dead.
This season, I’m pulling out my newest deck—The Nightmare Before Christmas tarot. If you’re looking for a deck that manages to be both spooky and sweet, this one certainly delivers. Bonus points if you’re a fan of the movie, because understanding its characters—Jack and Sally, of course, but also the other citizens of Halloween Town—as they quest and search and yearn for meaning and identify will provide further shades of meaning as you seek to interpret the cards.
Take The Lovers, for example. Of course it features Jack and Sally, our star-crossed couple who finally find love at the end. And such deep love is a central theme of the card, true enough, but The Lovers is also a card about making choices, specifically, making the right choice, the one that serves your highest good. Spoiler alert—Sally ALWAYS knew that choosing Jack was the right thing to do; Jack, however, had to do a little heroic journeying to reach that very same conclusion (which he did!).
And who could forget Zero, the adorable ghost pup with the glowing nose? He does more than provide adorableness—his devotion and dedication to Jack points our protagonist in the right direction on more than one occasion. Which is why seeing Zero as The Star makes so much sense, as the Star is about keeping the faith. It’s about keeping your eyes on what matters and keeping your feet on the path toward that ultimate goal.
And what of The World, the final card in the Major Arcana, the culmination of the previous twenty-one cards? In this deck it is represented by the forest at the beginning of the movie, the one Jack explores in his ennui, seeking meaning beyond what he has known his entire existence only to discover that the true meaning lies right where he began. The power to realize this was—like those famous red slippers in another movie about journeying forth and then returning home again—with him all along.
So if you’re looking to add another deck to your collection, give The Nightmare Before Christmas tarot a try. It’s got some tricks, but it’s mostly treats, and you’re guaranteed to find some sweet surprises inside.
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