Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco

I empathize with the disappointed folks.

The repetition in the images is off-putting to me, and so is the reliance on photo elements. I love Jimmy Manton's artwork in his earlier decks (Gods and Titans, Goddesses and Sirens). On the whole those decks feel far more "painterly" to me.

I have noticed that in newer decks he seems to employ more obvious photography/CGI. I'm wondering if maybe he has more projects and deadlines now and needs to save time to get things finished. There's a definite "rushed" and almost a "cut corners" feel to this deck.

Has anyone else noticed this shift in Manton's art style? Or am I just imagining it and becoming more fussy about photo elements in decks? (That's entirely possible)

Serenia said:

The more I use this deck, the more I realize how relevant it actually is to my current situation in life. When I ordered the deck, I thought it would be a "nice deck", but not more than that. By now I have realized how healing it actually is and how deep the card meanings are!

I don't mind that the skulls and skeletons were used multiple times - the cards are different enough from each other to make them distinctive. And usually you won't get them all together in the same reading anyway.

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I've been on the fence for a while about this deck, and still don't know if I will purchase it or not. Thanks for sharing your view/experience. I think sometimes we can all get a little caught up in the aesthetics of a deck (or lack of), but when it comes down to it, it's all about the readings.

I'm still undecided too. If there was a bat card, well, I'd have bought it already. I love my bats. I don't want to buy it and be disappointed, and yet I have been really drawn to the images. I have the Halloween Tarot which I love, but I also want something "oracle" for Halloween.

I am on the fence. Love all of the cards, but with less cards than I am used to in an oracle deck, it does bother me that the skulls are repeated when there could have been bats instead. Also the lack of info in the book, and I admit I am picky about decks so it bothers me when the cards have keywords because I feel like I'm not allowed to interpret it in a way that doesn't relate to the keywords if I want to read for someone else.
The artwork is so tempting though

OaksWhispering said:

I am on the fence. Love all of the cards, but with less cards than I am used to in an oracle deck, it does bother me that the skulls are repeated when there could have been bats instead. Also the lack of info in the book, and I admit I am picky about decks so it bothers me when the cards have keywords because I feel like I'm not allowed to interpret it in a way that doesn't relate to the keywords if I want to read for someone else.
The artwork is so tempting though

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Bats would be good. The deck is a mix of all things that the Western culture relates to Halloween except bats, unless I missed them. I do think cultural appropriation and it's use should be considered more with artists and publishers. I just feel the name is misguided. The art is kind of hit and miss in my opinion. I shall be gifting mine I feel, I haven't attempted to use it yet though, I guess I have to give it a go, after all the truth is in the reading But there are so many good decks out there, I cant actually believe a major publisher picked this one up.

I would look at some of the Mickie Mueller decks or something like the Dragonfae if that's more your style.

Has anyone changed their mind about this deck after reading with it?

I'm also a little surprised that there weren't any bats. But if the artist is from the southern hemisphere, are there any bats down there? Though the European folklore otherwise drawn on should have given a clue. (I think the feeling is quite American, where so many different cultural threads come together, and more are coming in all the time. But that's very much where bats would be in evidence!)

I still like the deck, but it's not the be-all and end-all. There are times I really wish I had pursued art in my youth instead of quitting, even if just for myself; it's amazing how many divination decks I've started in my imagination this last couple years! (I know, I know, devise the darn thing and corral an artist to realize it...)

Plenty of bats in the Southern Hemisphere. Found in Australia, India, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, etc.

Having now seen a copy of the deck, I do like it. But, in my opinion, there are too many skull cards. The Skull of Darkness and Skull of Flowers each have a very different feel and so I'm happy with them. Equally, the skull on the Underworld card, that has an individual energy and identity. However, the Skull of Light and Skull of Stars are too similar. They both seemed to have the same energy to them. Maybe it's just me, but that was my impression of the cards, should it be of use to anyone

I like it!

Found this deck in a local store yesterday and got it. I was on my way to our Tarot Meetup, where the theme was Samhain/Harvest festivals. While I had a Tarot deck with me, I used the Halloween Oracle as a follow-up to our spread, and the results were magical!

I do not mind the different skulls, and I found I can use the keywords or not as I choose (with some cards drawn, the keywords were helpful; with others, not so much). I like the artwork very much and now I am interested in seeing some of the artist's other work. The book, while brief, provides a nice starting point for creating meaning with the cards.

This deck is a keeper, and I know I will eagerly await October of each year in order to use this deck.

great fun oracle

I bought 2 of these Oracle decks one for me and one for my daughter. She has really enjoyed reading with these cards the pictures are so entertaining and we both feel they read very well.
I was a little hesitant at first but have won me over don't miss them.

expected more!

I have this deck for almost a week now and its ok art wise but I expected a better book with way more info and history on the subject. Also the skulls are all the same skull only slightly altered and I miss lots of standard Halloween symbols, like bats, an Autumn or Fall card, A Witches broom for Protection, a moon with out skull face in it card,and a bowl of sweets for over indulgence to name but a few. The Cauldron does not feel like a witches Cauldron and although I love the skull with the flowers and candle the other ones are just fillers and I feel more could have been done. Also the joy card is the same woman as the ghost card and the leaf is the same as the winter one and she doesn't look like she has joy she looks pissed off!

All that being said... the one card pulls have been spot on, I can't fault it on that so I'm gonna use it as a deck for the rest of October. It reads really well as long as you use your intuition!!

All in all not a bad deck but expected more!