Review: Guessing the Future as a Disney Villain

Available in castellano

Even if time passes, I have the impression that yesterday I opened my Christmas presents. It was a nice, relatively quiet day and a special family dinner. My inner child, however, has received a gift that I have wanted to give her for a long time. As soon as I saw there was a Disney Villains tarot deck, I knew I needed it, and it quickly became one of my favorites.

Anyone who knows me knows that I always have a deck of cards with me, that I’m always ready for a consultation, and that I really enjoy making them. I have dark decks, which can even seem violent, but these are precisely the decks with which I relate best. However, my inner child squealed with delight when I saw this one, from author Minerva Siegel and illustrations by Ellie Goldwine.

Disney Villains Tarot Pictures [Insight Editions]

Published by Insight Editions, the Disney Villains Tarot Deck & Guide is an officially licensed deck that combines traditional tarot imagery with characters from Disney’s classic animated canon. The game includes the Minor and Major Arcana in Disney style. In addition to the game itself, there is a 128-page full-color guide.

The bright colors make it very eye-catching, and while it’s colorful, as you’d expect from a children’s bridge, it has a dark aesthetic that definitely matches the theme. Night scenes, shadows, chiaroscuro games, extravagant tones and drawings that respect the original appearance of each character make the game a delight for the eyes.

The size is very comfortable for the hands and the texture of the cards is quite soft. One detail that caught my eye is that the edge of the cards is slightly curved backwards, which gives them a more interesting look. The color contrast turns each card into a small work of art, especially the Major Arcana.

Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with frameworks when it comes to decks, but in this case, it’s more love than anything because of how minimalistic and detailed it is. The blend is also quite comfortable, and I think the edge detailing has something to do with it, although for delicate hands it might be a little tricky; I’m grateful for my big hands.

The instruction book, complete with meanings and readings, is straightforward enough, full of humor and references to connect both the traditional message of each card to the scenes that appear in each. For example, comparing the judgment card to the volatility of Alice in Wonderland‘s Queen of Hearts, the vanity and banality of the queen of wands for White as snowThe queen’s obsession with beauty and obvious references such as the placement of Hades as the death card.

Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty” as High Priestess in Disney’s Villain Tarot [Insight Editions]

In a complaint about the game’s aesthetics, I really needed to see the villains of Pinocchio present, but they are missing. Although it’s been somewhat overlooked for not having any princes or princesses, it’s still an iconic House of Mouse movie. It pains me not to see Honest John, Gideon, Stromboli, the Coachman or Monstro, or even a reference to them. I could say that apart from White as snow, it’s one of my favorite stories, both for its plot and its teachings. I think it even influenced me to be a scholar from an early age because that Pleasure Island transformation sequence terrifies everyone.

I would also say that the readings are overly simple and very similar. I know it’s meant to be a simple game, maybe even suitable for kids, but I still think the readings could have been improved, maybe including some longer or for different purposes.

Here I want to digress to tell you something that happened to me: when I tried the readings of this game for the first time, I got the character that titles each reading when I draw the cards. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and I want to take it as a sign that I’m on the right track with this deck.

This is a deck I fell in love with almost immediately. The readings are very enjoyable, the mood lightens, and it’s easy to have a good time every time I have to ask a question. I’ve heard on the internet that it’s a special deck for working on the inner child, an opinion that I entirely agree with, even if it seems to me to be a fairly versatile tarot and that it would be rather ideal for beginner readers.

The only things I haven’t tried with this deck yet are meditating with it and using the cards in spells or rituals, but I’m sure there won’t be any issues using it at this end.

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The views and opinions expressed by our diverse panel of columnists and guest writers represent the many differing perspectives within the global Pagan, Heathen, and polytheistic communities, but do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wild Hunt Inc. or of his direction.