Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings! Today is Tarot Tuesday on White Rose of Avalon, so I have decided to kick off the Season of the Witch with a post analyzing the Hocus Pocus Tarot by Minerva Siegel & Tori Schafer and illustrated by Dread. This deck was released last year as a Tarot companion to the iconic Disney Halloween Classic! My copy was gifted to me by my awesome friend Daisy for Yule.
While it is a novelty deck, it does read beautifully, with illustrations that exemplify the energy of the film. I love the use of Pumpkins, Lightning, Potions, and Candles as the suits in place of traditional names. However, I believe there is a typo in the guidebook, as it states that Potions correspond to Fire and Candles correspond to Water. Yet, the descriptions of the Potions cards are obviously the descriptions of the traditional Cups suit cards, likewise, the descriptions of the Candles cards are obviously the descriptions of the traditional Wands suit cards. This is why when I read this deck I read Pumpkins as Pentacles, Lightning as Swords, Potions as Cups, and Candles as Wands, and it reads perfectly intuitively this way!
Now that I have reviewed the deck briefly, the rest of the post is specifically going to go through each of the Major Arcana cards and analyze how they utilized aspects of the traditional Fool’s Journey to tell the tale of the film in Tarot format. Let’s get started looking at this card by card!
Major Arcana Card Zero: THE FOOL: Depicted as Max Dennison Lighting the Black Flame Candle
~The Virgin lit the Black Flame Candle and brought the Sanderson’s back to life, just as was foretold. This is truly what sets the plot of the film into action, and what begins what is called the Fool’s Journey. Just like Max, Dani, and Allison, the Fool must go on a journey of self-discovery through the course of the Major Arcana cards!
Major Arcana Card One: THE MAGICIAN: Depicted as Winifred Sanderson Casting from her Spellbook
~Winifred is truly the Magician of the Tarot, as she is the one who casts the spells and is a Master of Manifestation. Also true to the Magician, the eldest Sanderson, and Coven Leader is very active in the way she practiced her magick! A confrontation between Max and the Sanderson sisters takes place right after they return, fitting nicely into the Fool’s Journey.
Major Arcana Card Two: THE HIGH PRIESTESS: Depicted as Sarah Sanderson Singing ‘Come Little Children’
~Sarah’s main job in her Coven is to lure the children in, so that they may drain the life force of the children to extend their own lives, or in the plot of the film come back to life for good! That luring in is becoming a beacon for the children, which does embody the High Priestess’s energy of being a channel of the Divine and beacon for spiritual seekers! Many children are confronted with being lured in by Sarah in the film, and she embodies this more passive form of magickal energy than Winnie’s active Magician energy.
Major Arcana Card Three: THE EMPRESS: Depicted as Mrs. Dennison
~Max and Dani’s mother is a good choice for the Empress, as she is very much the maternal energy we see within the film. She embodies both the motherly and even sexual energy of the Empress, in that we see her both parenting her children and dressing as Madonna at a raucous party in the film!
Major Arcana Card Four: THE EMPEROR: Depicted as Mr. Dennison
~Max and Dani’s father is a good choice for the Emperor, as he balances the Empress energy of his wife. He also showcases the protective energy of the Emperor when he instantly goes into alertness when Max says that he had a problem at the party, wanting to protect his children (even if he could not understand what they were telling him).
Major Arcana Card Five: THE HIEROPHANT: Depicted as Winifred’s Spellbook
~Book is in many ways a character in his own right. He is the one who helps the Sandersons track him down, as well as the one who shows them which spells would work best. In that way, he is the ideal figure to embody the teacher energy of the Hierophant! Max, Dani, and Allison getting Book in their possession is an important plot point to move the film forward, as is opening Book and reading from him, both of these plot points fit into the Fool’s Journey for this deck.
Major Arcana Card Six: THE LOVERS: Depicted as Max & Allison’s Hands
~The depiction of the Lovers card as being Max and Allison’s hands as they exchange the note with his phone number is an adorable way to highlight this sweet young love relationship in the film! Plus the two characters truly do make a good team that balances one another out, which is part of the meaning of the Lovers card in general. That combination of equals and opposites is such an important aspect of the card! Throughout the film, we see the two bond and trust each other as they confront many obstacles, which exemplifies this point of the Fool’s Journey.
Major Arcana Card Seven: THE CHARIOT: Depicted as Mary Sanderson Flying on a Vacuum
~The Chariot is all about moving forward often with momentum carrying you onward quickly! Mary Sanderson flying on a vacuum is the ideal image from the film to depict this energy, plus it is a funny little image, bringing some levity to the deck. The Sanderson’s are picking up speed in their attempts to win the night, adding urgency to the Fool’s Journey!
Major Arcana Card Eight: STRENGTH: Depicted as Dani Dennison
~I adore that little Dani is the Strength card, for as she is but little she is fierce, to paraphrase Shakespeare! Dani is the youngest, but the most brave of the children in the film, not fearing standing up directly to Winifred, or even imitating a witch to try and escape. She also exemplified the two aspects of the Strength card, the brute strength of fighting back and the emotional strength of protecting loved ones, and bonding with Binx! She is the one who pushed Max to do what had to be done, she is his rock, truly his Strength, as he moves through his Fool’s Journey.
Major Arcana Card Nine: THE HERMIT: Depicted as Billy Butcherson Rising from his Grave
~Billy Butcherson is an ideal Hermit card choice, as he was the lover of both Winifred and Sarah, who lost his life due to Winifred’s ire. Therefore, he has a great amount of information on and knowledge of the sisters. He has been through the introspection and facing of shadows that exemplified the Hermit energy!
Major Arcana Card Ten: THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Depicted as Dani & Binx in a Circle of Salt in the Graveyard
~Dani and Binx in a circle of salt and in the graveyard show us both sides of the Wheel of Fortune. The lesson of the card is that which goes up must come down, and that which goes down must come up! Most of the time the card means an upturn of the cycle, but it also symbolizes that which is karmically sound, we reap what we sow. Dani and Binx both get endings in the film that they deserve, even if they are not together!
Major Arcana Card Eleven: JUSTICE: Depicted as The Sanderson Sisters Being Captured
~There is no other point in the film that better shows justice than the capture and trial of the Sandersons. They are getting Justice for the terrors they committed. This is the card of Divine and Martial Justice, and we see that in the scene chosen! Just as in the film, the Justice Card is not the end of the Fool’s Journey, as there is more work to be done.
Major Arcana Card Twelve: SUSPENSION: Normally titled THE HANGED MAN: Depicted as Jay & ‘Ice’ Hanging in Cages
~I love the choice of renaming this to fit the film and of showing Jay and Ice hanging in their cages. They are learning lessons through restraint, just as the Hanged Man does, in this case, they are learning to not bully others, for if they had not stolen from Max, they would not have ended up captured by the Sandersons!
Major Arcana Card Thirteen: TRANSFORMATION: Normally titled DEATH: Depicted as Thackery Binx Transforming into a Cat
~I am delighted at the Death card being called Transformation here, for that is what this card is. More often than not it does not mean actual death, but instead is the card of ultimate change in the Tarot! It is a card I do not dread because Transformation is necessary for growth. Binx being transformed into a cat is an obvious image to use on the card! His transformation allowed him to protect and guide Max, Dani, and Allison, causing even more changes for the positive, as the Fool’s Journey continued.
Major Arcana Card Fourteen: TEMPERANCE: Depicted as Allison
~Allison is definitely a figure who brings about balance within the tale. She is the one who knows the history of Salem and who shows them around but uses her knowledge to help bring stability. Temperance is the card of balance and harmony, which I think Allison often embodied in the film!
Major Arcana Card Fifteen: THE MASTER: Normally titled THE DEVIL: Depicted as Devil (Husband) as Played by Garry Marshall
~There is no other moment in the film that would work for what is traditionally called the Devil card! They call him The Master because of the old belief that witches worshipped Satan, which is untrue but folkloric accounts from the time of the Sandersons believed this to be true. This is a card of being restrained by addictive behavior or bound by your poor choices, however, there is a positive side to the card in that it also shows us the freedom of wildness. The warning is to not give too fully into the wild nature of yourself that you become addicted or do harm to yourself! Confronting temptations is a good way of looking at this point on the Fool’s Journey.
Major Arcana Card Sixteen: THE TOWER: Depicted as The Sanderson Sister’s Cottage
~The Cottage of the Sandersons is the best choice for the Tower card, as it is where the bulk of the horrors take place. The Tower card is one of shocking change and cleansing destruction! In the end, we can learn from the changes that occur and are better off for them. In the film, the Children both begin the Fool’s Journey there and then go back when Dani is captured, showcasing this point in the Fool’s Journey as well!
Major Arcana Card Seventeen: THE STAR: Depicted as Emily Binx
~Emily was an innocent young girl in the film, who was lured into being drained by the Sanderson sisters. She is the ideal figure to depict the hope and innocence of the Star card! She truly was the light in the darkness of that cottage. In the end, she is the one who comes forth to take Thackery Binx into his well-earned afterlife, proving her aspect as a hopeful figure once again!
Major Arcana Card Eighteen: THE MOON: Depicted as Mary Sanderson Smelling Children
~Mary’s abilities are sensory in smelling the children. The Moon is a card of intuition, associated with both dreams and delusions in equal measure. This is certainly mirrored in the way that Winifred treats her sister Mary’s gifts! She respects that Mary can smell children but also derides her in equal measure.
Major Arcana Card Nineteen: THE SUN: Depicted as Winifred Sanderson being Transformed to Stone
~The Sun is a card of warmth, childlike wonder, and the empowerment of the sun, necessary for all things on earth to thrive! Winifred being turned to stone shows the triumph of the children over the dark forces and the Sun helped them win the night! This point in the film echoes this point in the Fool’s Journey quite well chronologically.
Major Arcana Card Twenty: JUDGEMENT: Depicted as the Old Burial Hill Cemetery
~The cemetery is the setting of the final battle, making it a place of renewal, rest, and resurrection, truly embodying the energy of the Judgement card! Getting to the cemetery for the final battle is the last step. This is the last thing that must occur in the Fool’s Journey before the end can be reached.
Major Arcana Card Twenty-One: THE WORLD: Depicted as Thackery & Emily Binx Walking into the Light of the Afterlife Together After 300 Years Apart
~As they come to the end of the Fool’s Journey, where they have learned their lessons, it is time for all to be right in the World! The World card features Thackery and Emily Binx walking off into the sunset of the Afterlife. They finally can be together, as siblings, after 300 years apart, a perfect choice for this card of endings and new beginnings! All that Max, Dani, and Allison did that night allowed for Thackery Binx to finally find peace, thus ending the Fool’s Journey.
~I hope that you have enjoyed this Tarot Tuesday analysis of the Hocus Pocus Tarot. Have you used this deck? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the cover of the Tarot box. I found the image on https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shop/hocus-pocus-the-official-tarot-deck-and-guidebook-by-minerva-siegel-and-tori-schafer?quantity=1.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Special Announcement: Are you interested in getting a reading using this deck? For the months of September and October 2023 only, I will be offering readings using this deck to my clients here on White Rose of Avalon! That means that in addition to my regular options of deck choice for my readings, you can also purchase a reading with this deck. Plus I am specifically offering my Season of the Witch Special: that means, if you order the $25 Celtic Cross Spread with the Hocus Pocus Tarot you will get an additional single Oracle Card Pull from The Herbal Astrology Oracle by Adriana Ayales to further tie the reading together, at no additional charge!