Looking for a Way to Make Your Halloween Artistic? This Spooky Deck of Tarot Cards by Salvador Dalí Should Do the Trick

So, Halloween has arrived, and you are looking to get weird with some tarot cards, but you can’t find the right deck. Never fear: we’ve got you. A deck of 78 tarot cards designed by Salvador Dalí for a James Bond movie has been republished by Taschen just in time for October 31.

The deck was commissioned by the US film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli as a prop for the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die, but for unknown reasons, the cards never made the final cut. After the movie deal fell through, Dalí continued to work on the cards, eventually releasing the full set as a limited edition in 1984. Now, Taschen Books is republishing the 78-strong deck as a boxed set.

Dalí melded his Surrealist sensibility with tarot symbolism and references to Western art history, plus his own deeply characteristic work. Deciphering all the art-historical cameos in the cards is a fun party game in itself. Dalí included himself as the Magician, and his wife and muse, Gala, appears as the Empress. The Queen of Cups is a riff on François Clouet’s portrait Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (around 1571). Dalí gave the queen a beard and mustache in the style of Marcel Duchamp’s altered postcard of the Mona Lisa, L.H.O.O.Q (1919).

The box set is accompanied by a booklet written by tarot expert Johannes Fiebig. He dissects each card’s symbolism and offers handy advice on how to perform readings. Dalí Tarot is available for €50 (around $55) from Taschen Books.

See a sample of the spooktacular deck below.

Taschen’s Dalí Tarot. Deck of 78 tarot cards with booklet by Johannes Fiebig. Courtesy of Taschen books.

Taschen’s Dalí Tarot. Deck of 78 tarot cards with booklet by Johannes Fiebig. Courtesy of Taschen books.

Taschen’s Dalí Tarot. Deck of 78 tarot cards with booklet by Johannes Fiebig. Courtesy of Taschen books.

Taschen’s Dalí Tarot. Deck of 78 tarot cards with booklet by Johannes Fiebig. Courtesy of Taschen books.

Taschen’s Dalí Tarot. Deck of 78 tarot cards with booklet by Johannes Fiebig. Courtesy of Taschen books.

Taschen’s Dalí Tarot. Deck of 78 tarot cards with booklet by Johannes Fiebig. Courtesy of Taschen books.