The companion book is 256 pages, which is two to four times a typical deck-and-book set. Most kit guidebooks give you a paragraph per card and a Celtic Cross diagram; this one walks through a full method for putting a question to the cards, covers the standard spreads in real detail, and includes an original self-evaluation spread the creator calls Vincit Omnia Veritas, truth conquers all. The box is elongated to hold it, nearly a foot long, hinged and heavy-duty.
What you get
- 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, 56 Minor Arcana, fully illustrated
- 256-page softcover companion book
- Original spread for self-evaluation included alongside the traditional layouts
- Hinged rigid box, 11.75 x 6
- Weight 2.11 lb
- ISBN 9780764345517
- Sealed in publisher shrinkwrap
About the deck
The artwork is CGI: figures, architecture, and landscapes modeled and rendered in 3D software rather than drawn or painted. That's the deciding factor for most buyers. The rendering style dates the deck to the early 2010s, and readers who want painterly art should look elsewhere. Readers who grew up on horror film aesthetics and gothic atmosphere will find it lands exactly where they want it. The scenes run to ghosts, skeletons, haunted houses, moonlight, and fog, and the palette stays in night blues, blacks, and firelight.
The card images sit inside fairly heavy borders, which shrinks the visible artwork relative to the card face. Some figures appear in sheer or minimal clothing, in keeping with the gothic-romance register.
Structurally it's a standard 78-card tarot with the familiar suits and fully illustrated minors, so an RWS reader needs no adjustment period. What the book adds on top is psychological framing. The creator works from a psychology background, and the writing treats the cards as instruments for self-examination rather than for prediction.
Provenance & tradition
Richard ShadowFox is a deck creator with a background spanning psychology, art, and tarot practice. He is associated with the ShadowFox Tarot and the Tarot Deck of Heroes, and this was his third deck. Published by Schiffer Publishing of Atglen, Pennsylvania, first released at the end of 2013 with wide distribution in 2014.
Who this is for
Gothic and horror readers who want atmosphere that matches their practice. Shadow work and self-examination, given how the companion book is built. Beginners who want a genuinely thorough book rather than a pamphlet. Samhain and October seasonal reading. Collectors of Schiffer decks and of CGI-era tarot. Anyone who reads for clients around Halloween and wants a deck that sets a tone at the table.
