- Deck name: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Tarot – The Headless Horseman Edition
- Author and Artist: Nick Lawyer
- Publisher: REDfeather Publishing 2024
- Guide Price $29 USD
- ISBN: 978-0-7643-68639
- Review by: Paula McNally
This deck is based on the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” a short story about the Headless Horsemen of Sleepy Hollow written in 1820 by the American Author, Washington Irving.
The new Headless Horseman edition of this tarot deck includes the same cards as the first edition, but it now has a redesigned box which features the artwork of the Death Card on the front of the box. The box stands upright, and I appreciate that the top is snug enough that it doesn’t slip off if I lift the box from the top.
The cards are slightly larger than a standard plaid back RWS tarot deck. The card stock is a good thickness, and the cards are sturdy, but not too thick, flexible and easy to shuffle. They have a matte finish, which suits the theme of the deck well and the illustration style reflects the artwork of the time period of the story.
The deck follows closely the Rider Waite symbolism while incorporating imagery and settings that depict scenes from the story. This makes this deck an interestingly-themed deck which still follows familiar symbolism. Even the font used for the card titles is similar to the font on the RWS deck and Nick paid another homage to Pixie by signing his name on each card in a manner very reminiscent of her signature. All of this makes it a good deck for beginners who are familiar with the Rider Waite System.
Nick Lawyer softens the tale of horror with bits of cheeky humor in his imagery, such as including Ichabod Crane as the Fool, a scarecrow as the Hanged Man, and a wolf in the Strength card. The Wheel of Fortune is a spinning wheel, and Death is of course the Headless Horseman. Other interesting cards are the 4 of Cups which shows a man leaving a tavern not wanting any more to drink, the King of Cups is the bartender at the tavern, and the 8 of Swords is a British spy awaiting execution and is surrounded by swords.
The guidebook includes a full page full color image of each Major Arcana Card, and also includes a bit of the story that goes along the imagery on the card. The Guidebook also includes thumbnails for the Minor Arcana which have a sentence or two about the image. Both the Major and Minor cards have the upright and reversed meanings. Four different spreads are included as well.
This is a thoughtfully themed deck which skilfully integrates the theme, time period, and the tarot symbolism. This deck is a good choice for anyone who is interested in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow or anyone who enjoys a little ghastliness in their Tarot deck around Halloween time.
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