Busy little devils

Halloween Tarot tin

This week I will be drawing from the Halloween Tarot by Kipling West. I have the mini version in the purple tin. You know, I often say that all decks should come in a tin. It's eminently sensible.

The Halloween Tarot is a novelty take on the traditional Rider Waite deck. Most cards look very much like Pamela Coleman-Smith's images. The suits have been changed from Wands, Swords, Cups and Pentacles to  Imps, Bats, Ghosts and Pumpkins. This sort of thing typically annoys me, and I have to admit it annoys me in this deck as well. (At least I'm consistent.) I bought this deck because my Hubby is so totally into Halloween. We trim up for Halloween and have a movie fest, usually take a small trip somewhere (like the supposedly haunted Tamworth Castle) every year. In fact, our Halloween observances are more elaborate than our Christmas. So, I got the deck for his amusement. To be honest, I don't actually like these gimmicky 'themed' RWS clones, but I said to myself, 'Hey! It's Halloween after all. Lighten up, already!' So I'll be using this deck daily Sunday-Saturday. 

Kipling West, US Games 2008

Today's card is Four of Imps, ie, 4 of Wands. We see four red devils celebrating under a starlit night sky. The moon smiles down on them indulgently. Their party takes place beneath a garland of jack-o-lanterns strung from four tall posts. The little black cat that appears in each card makes its way across the dance floor as well.

They're at a party all right, but let's look again. Are they celebrating or are they plotting mischief? Well, they are imps, after all. The one on the left has his eye elsewhere. The imp holding that one's hands seems to know exactly what he's thinking. And the pair on the right seem to have already come up with a plan and have linked arms to go marching off and carry it out.

So...are these imps at a party with other innocent bystanders just out of frame, about to brew seeds of trouble? And is that cat looking right at us as if to say, 'Hey you! Watch out for these guys!' Even the Jack-o-lanterns start to look as if the joke is on us.

What could the imps be up to today? Four of Wands to me, is not so much about celebration as it is about firm foundations. You may have very firm foundations indeed, but have they lulled you into feeling 'too' secure? I see this card as yet another warning to me against complacency -- though a very lighthearted one.  For example, yesterday I laid a very firm foundation to fitness by working out for an hour and a half. Then I proceeded to eat a cookie the size of a small plate. This is the kind of mischief that complacency can breed. On the other hand, those imps look relatively harmless. The darkest mischief they're likely to incite at this party might be a bit of punch spilled down your shirt. Or one of your high heels losing that little plastic bit from the bottom. (Don't you hate that?) In the main, though, this is a positive card. And I've certainly not seen it as a warning against complacency in other decks, so as Chloe mentions, though the Halloween Tarot looks RWS, it often adds a surprise twist.

Today will be a nice, stable and fun day. But I'll be on the lookout for those little imps!