The Scariest Tarot Cards for a Halloween Reading

Posted : February 4th, 2019
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Article by Christine Hirlehey

Halloween may seem like an artificially spooky time of year, and not really a festival with which you would like to associate your spiritual practice. But Halloween is in fact a perfect time to conduct a Tarot reading for yourself.

What is Halloween

Modern Halloween is based on the Celtic festival of Samhain, which was a feast to mark the end of the harvest and the start of winter. This was an important transitional time of year for the Celts as in the summer and spring they would live spread across the land caring for their cattle, but in winter, which lasted from October until May, they would come together and live in close-knit communities for protection against the cold. It was during these winter months that elders shared their knowledge with the young, and the young would be able to court potential partners.

The ‘spooky’ side of Halloween also comes from the Celts. The Celts associated times and places of transition – the time between one day and the next, where land meets sea – as times and places where the veil that separates the physical and spiritual worlds comes down. That is why at Halloween entities from the spiritual plane, both benevolent and malign, could access the physical plane. This made Halloween not only a scary time of year, but also an excellent time to conduct rituals to access the spiritual plane and garner its knowledge.

While Halloween may have lost its transitional connotations, it still may be an excellent time to consider accessing the spiritual plane, through activities such as Tarot readings.

Fear

But is there anything that you should be afraid to see during a Halloween Tarot reading? My philosophy is that you should never be afraid of learning anything in a Tarot reading. The information that we learn during a Tarot reading is meant to help us better understand what is happening in our lives and the challenges that we are facing, so that we can make clear decisions and make positive changes in our lives. None of the information learned should be feared, but rather viewed as opportunities.

Nevertheless, there are a few cards in the Tarot deck that are considered more ominous than the rest.

Ten of Swords

The imagery of this card usually features a variation on a man lying face down with ten swords in his back – not a pleasant sight, and not one that brings positive connotation to mind.

The appearance of the Ten of Swords usually indicates that you are likely to suffer an unwelcome surprise, and that whatever it is will be painful and difficult. It can also mean that this terrible thing has already happened, you just haven’t seen the consequences of it hit you yet. It is often a symbol of being let down by another person, or ‘stabbed in the back’.

However, the appearance of this card often signals that a negative influence that has been in your life for some time, such as an untrustworthy friend, is dealing its final blow. This may be painful, but it also means that this energy can be expelled from your life, and that the pain will be followed by a period of recovery and renewal.

Five of Pentacles

The Five of Pentacles is usually a sign of financial strife and adversity, it is generally a sign of material misfortune. The card usually depicts people in some state of destitution and suffering. Ominously, the card often depicts an older person accompanied by a young person or child, suggesting that whatever misfortune befalls you will have implications for people other than yourself as well.

But the card does not signal disaster without hope. The card also suggests that you have people around you who are willing to help, and that you have the resources to recover from this disaster. The card may also suggest that a focus on material comfort may have been distracting from more important things in life, and their loss may give you an opportunity to reprioritise.

Three of Swords

The Three of Swords represents rejection, sadness, loneliness, betrayal and isolation. Its appearance in a reading is usually a sign that you will lose something that you value, and that the loss will have a profound emotional effect on you.

However, the Three of Swords is also a reminder that pain is one of the main ways that we grow as a person and learn what it important to us. It is also a reminder that while we cannot control everything that happens in our lives, we can control how we respond to things, and that it is through our response that we shape ourselves and the world around us, and build the life that we desire.

Death

While the Death card is ominous in both name and imagery, it is rarely a symbol of physical death. The Death card is rather a symbol of transition, representing the end of something in your life. Endings can often be painful, and it can be difficult to let go of things that have been a significant part of your life, but the Death card also promises that this ending is making space for something new in your life.

So far from being a harbinger of doom and gloom, the Death card should be seen as reassuring. It is a promise that the loss you are facing is not without purpose, and that it will make space for other things that you need.

The Devil

Contrary to popular belief, the appearance of this card does not indicate that you have been tainted by your sins and that you will suffer the consequences, in this life or the next. It does, however, indicate that there is something negative going on in your life that is leading to destruction. The appearance of the card may be a warning to rid yourself of this negative energy before it causes more damage, but is also usually a sign that you will have to live with the consequences of what has happened.

Although consequences can be challenging, the appearance of The Devil card heralds and opportunity to learn from this situation, and to be stronger and more aware, ensuring that you are not ensnared again in the future.

The Tower

The Tower often indicates upheaval and chaos. Often depicting a tower in the state of being destroyed, and its occupants hurt as part of the process, it can suggest that something that seems solid may in fact be built on shaky foundations and could collapse at any time. Its appearance suggests that while you may think that everything is safe and comfortable, a major upheaval is on the horizon.

The appearance of this card usually indicates that you need to let some fundamental structure in your life collapse. But the card suggests that this will not represent the end, but rather an opportunity to rebuild, and correct mistakes from the past.