Alfred Hitchcock Tarot
Deck Name: The Alfred Hitchcock Tarot
Creator(s): Chris Leech
Publisher & Year: Self Published, 2019
When I was a pre-teen, my first ever introduction to Alfred Hitchcock was through his 1963 film The Birds. I was obsessed with this film and have watched it a million times, ok maybe not that many times but I watched it a lot! Then, my next introduction was the 1954 film Rear Window, another screenplay that really pulled me in. Hitchcock has a unique way of really grabbing the audience, his films were always so eerily calm... which often left you with a very unsettled feeling of dread. He was a true genius when it came to craft!
In comes the deck that I never even knew I needed until it landed in my lap to review, the Alfred Hitchcock Tarot by Chris Leech! It’s a heavy dose of collage through the lens of the actors portrayed in the films, movie settings and the screen characters. It’s a chilling delight!
The cards are larger than your standard size at roughly: 3.5” x 5.75””
FAVORITE CARDS
When flipping through the deck, I was met with so many memories. I clearly remember where I was at in my life as I glanced over each movie being portrayed on the cards. Some cards had me laughing because they were just too perfect of a match!
3 OF SWORDS // This was one card that I felt was so spot on, in general the Mothers in Hitchcock films don’t portray your usual sweet mom. The relationship between Norma Bates and his Mother was indeed a 3 of Swords type of love, most was very much mental anguish. While he loves her dearly, she drove him absolutely crazy. A pure reflection of a love-hate relationship indeed.
STRENGTH // My favorite Hitchcock film is The Birds and seeing Tippi Hedron’s character Melanie Daniels is priceless. She was indeed very confident and an independent character. Off screen, Hitchcock was obsessed with Tippi she insisted on finishing the film, any other actor would have quit.
THE HERMIT // Another favorite of mine is seeing the Hermit placement with Rear Window’s character L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies. He was stuck in his apartment from an injury and as he healed he was forced to take a step back from the living world around him and focus out the window.
CARD IMAGERY
This deck was created in the form of collage using film posters and scenes from Hitchcock’s films. I think it was brilliantly done, though I do realize not everyone is a fan of collage. This was a unique take on creating this deck and I feel it was executed well. While I wish there was more information given in the book as to why some cards were done the way they were, it does leave it open to interpretation!
The suits in this deck have been changed slightly to fit the theme, they are as follows: Clubs are Wands, Knives are Swords, Gems are Pentacles, and Cups have remained the same.
My only gripe with the cards in general are that some are not very clear as to what card they are. I find I have to really examine the card in order to find a “gem” to show me that it’s of the Pentacles suit or even with the Major’s, some are a bit hard to find the title. This is a very minor gripe and a personal one, I do however really love how the cards were created and the art used! It really flows together quite nicely!
The courts are also a bit different and I love how Chris tackled them in this deck, they are as follows: Character Actors are the Pages, Co-Star are the Knights, Leading Ladies are the Queens, and Leading Men are the Kings. It’s clever! The layout of these cards also standout very well against the rest of the deck and I love that the deck creator did this as well.
CARD STOCK + SHUFFLING
The cardstock of this deck is a 300 gsm, smooth finish. It shuffles very well despite the larger card size! They feel as though they will last long and handle a lot of use. Since they are on the longer size, I tend to shuffle it with a side riffle and it works perfectly!
GUIDEBOOK + PACKAGING
I could easily write a review on the guidebook alone, it’s big as far as tarot guidebooks are concerned! The book is 233-pages and is 6” x 9”, I wasn't kidding, it’s big and it’s packed with card info.
The book goes right into the cards with nothing else except for several spreads in the back. I like when a book just gets right to the point of things! Each card written contains the following: A snippet from the movie or character being portrayed, Plot (keywords), and Subplot (about the card and why the film was chosen for the card). If anything, it gives you a good read on the Hitchcock films with lots of extra info that I didn’t even know like off screen trouble and character development
The deck comes in a nice solid, two part box. Love the imagery on the box (pictured in the beginning of the review)
OVERALL
Whether you’re a tarot reader, deck collector or just a lover of Hitchcock films, I think this deck was quite interesting and I’m glad Chris Leech created it! It’s a work of art that even brought on a conversation between my non-tarot Mom and I! She loved the idea and requested that I bring it over next time I visit. It’s for sure a conversation starter indeed!
Where to buy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/WelkinTarot
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/Beatlestarot/