Disney Villains Tarot Deck and Guidebook, Guidebook by Minerva Siegel, illustrated by Ellie Goldwine, c2021 Disney; published by Insight Editions (includes 78 cards, 128-page guidebook. Reviewed by Banshee ShadowWolf
If you are a Disney fan, love a little bit of whimsy with your Tarot, or just love the interplay of modern-day cultural iconic characters or images with Tarot, you are in for a treat. This deck features “the iconic villains from classic Disney animated films, along with their bumbling assistants, and sidekicks”.
I already knew some of what to expect when I got this deck as I thought it would follow the pattern of the Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot, and it did. Major Arcana and Court Cards clearly depicted more characterization than the Minor pip cards, some of which were more pip-py than others. I don’t mind working with a deck like that, but others may not like that aspect as much.
Classic villainous characters were matched up to cards best suited to their stories and personalities. The cards are vibrant, colorful, some cards are a little darker than others. I do love the artist Ellie Goldwine’s rendition of these animated characters. The cards are of the same stock as the Nightmare before Christmas Tarot (kind of a slick cardboard), but they do ruffle well.
Names of the Major Arcana and Court cards are standard. The Minor suits are Swords/Air, Wands/Fire, Cups/Water, and Coins/Earth. So no surprises here. The backs of the cards are conducive for those who read reversals. The book gives adequate, clever upright and reversed interpretations for each card, though some interpretations blend the image on the card to the interpretation better than others. The Major Arcana cards also includes a description of the villain on each card. There are 3 unique spreads at the end of the book (3, 4, and 5 card spreads).
What I would have liked to see was more of a description in the book as to where some of the Minor Arcana card images came from in the Disney universe (as I am not such a big fan of Disney that I know all of these characters and minor players by heart). Also some of the Minors could have been made a little less pip-like in my opinion, but that’s just my personal tastes.
Is this a must-have deck? No. But it will appeal to many including the young and young at heart. It’s well-constructed, worth the price, and would make a great gift to those enchanted with the world of Disney.
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