Erotic Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

evangelion	01 Oct 2002
Does anyone have or have you seen the Erotic Tarot by Milo Manara? I've seen a couple pix on Ebay but not much, I was at a favorite shop here in town and went through a massive catalogue when what should appear before my virgin eyes, ;) the Erotic Tarot! :> I was excited to see that such a deck existed! And I've never heard of it till now. So I was just wondering if anyone had some info. Thanks for the help!

VmprGokuboi69	01 Oct 2002
I don't know about the Erotic Tarot, but while going through the cabinet of tarot, at my local borders... I seen to my astonishment.... the Kama Sutra in tarot form... im like... uh.. the thoughts running through my head.. LOL

evangelion	01 Oct 2002
Oh my! What have we opened up here?:P A kama sutra tarot! Sweet, the possibilities are endless. I'll have to look that one up too! Thanks VmprGokuboi69!

VmprGokuboi69	01 Oct 2002
No Problem... I tried to stay away from it.. but it was enticing.. so i kept looking at it over and over again... i finally put it away cause the store was closing.. LOL

Rhiannon	01 Oct 2002
I haven't personally seen the Erotic Tarot by Manara, although I am considering starting an erotic deck collection. The Tarot Sutra (not sure if this is the same one you guys are talking about) is mainly a re-make of the Rider Waite deck with a semi-erotic card back and certain keywords on the cards: http://www.wicce.com/tarotsutrapix.html R :)

lunalafey	01 Oct 2002
Ther Erotic Tarot is available through Llewellyn, and is published by Lo Scarbeo. There is also another deck of this nature being released as we type. Also through Llewellyn called Decameron Tarot. The artwork is nice on both decks. The Erotic Tarot art reminds me of the penthouse(was it penthouse that put out the x-rated comic books?) comics.

VmprGokuboi69	01 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lunalafey The Erotic Tarot art reminds me of the penthouse(was it penthouse that put out the x-rated comic books?) comics. LoL :D That might have been before my time... ::runs to ask dad:: hmmm... even he doesn't know, but I wouldn't know of playboy doing it, so I guess it was penthouse....

ihcoyc	01 Oct 2002
Actually, the Penthouse comics came out maybe three or four years ago. A number of major comic artists including Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, and yes, Milo Manara, contributed. Of course, Milo Manara is also well known for his XXXenophile comics, so the fact that his tarot is also erotic comes as no surprise.

kayne	01 Oct 2002
Have you all seen Tarot Erotica by Lori Wells? I have it in my collection... many of the cards are damn ugly but interesting none-the-less... ;)

Fuzzmello	02 Oct 2002
This thread reminded me of a deck I stumbled on some time back. I doubt this deck will be useful for reading, but it is kind of interesting. Ok, porno. It's just dirty. What can I say? http://www.loscarabeo.com/deck.htm (Scroll to Tarot of Cassanova) Fuzz

VmprGokuboi69	02 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by ihcoyc Actually, the Penthouse comics came out maybe three or four years ago. A number of major comic artists including Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, and yes, Milo Manara, contributed. Of course, Milo Manara is also well known for his XXXenophile comics, so the fact that his tarot is also erotic comes as no surprise. Thanks ihcoyc, yup before my time, i would have been 14-15... hehe.. to young to buy any of that.. NOT that I would look at any of that stuff.... uhm... :: laughs nervously::

evangelion	02 Oct 2002
That's right! I thought he did some of the comics for Penthouse, now I'm sure! Anyhow, Thanks for the links and info. I wasnt aware there were a few others out there who had the wonderful idea to...dare I say "sexplore"? ah ha ha ha ha! Ok, seriously though, this can be a touchy subject for some but I'm so glad to see so many open-minded (and somewhat dirty) minds like me! Thanks all, keep the fun comin' :P

WillieHewes	02 Oct 2002
Tarot and erotica, two of my hobbies combined. :) I agree with kayne, some of those cards ARE ugly. I don't like the style much, but I bet they are interesting to read with. The one I really like is the Casanova tarot. I know it's probably not very good for reading with, but I really love the artwork. I also think your classification as 'porn' and 'dirty' are a bit extreme. The 2 of swords in the Tarot Erotica (for example) is a lot dirtier. I think I'll see if I can get a copy of the Casanova one. Thanks for pointing these out, guys. :)

Alaya	02 Oct 2002
How about these 2? I Giardini di Priapo http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/garden.htm Decameron Tarot http://www.tarotpassages.com/decameron78.htm

blue_fusion	02 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by kayne Have you all seen Tarot Erotica by Lori Wells ? I have it in my collection... many of the cards are damn ugly but interesting none-the-less... ;) actually, after seeing the images in the link, i'm drawn to the lovers card (except some rather scanty aspects of their clothing) :)

Pollux	02 Oct 2002
I was feeling sick and nauseated. It was a rather... mental thing. But I didn't know why... Now I do: someone gave a link to that disgusting that again...

Keslynn	02 Oct 2002
I have the Tarot of Casanova and it's pretty nice. I don't use it for readings though I might consider it for questions of a romantic/sexual nature. It's rather tasteful for an erotic deck while I think that the Tarot Erotica (Lori Walls) is completely gross. Some of the cards appealed to me, but the rest repelled me far more than those few appealed. A woman and a horse? Geez! And you can't even read with it (I don't think I could). At least it's possible to read with the Casanova. As for the Manara, the jury is still out on that one. I've considered buying it several times. :) Kes

ChrisTheObscure	03 Oct 2002
I just came across the "Tarocco Erotico dei Giardini di Priapo" while looking for a new deck and all I can say is "eeew". That one goes beyond erotica into just plain...gross. C.

Jeanette	03 Oct 2002
I just looked at the Tarot Erotica deck, and I must say the people in the pictures are very nimble, and athletic! The art is kind of cool, but the images are a little distracting (at least for me anyway).

Thirteen	03 Oct 2002
As a Manara fan, I can tell you that a good many of the card images--likely all-- were lifted from his books--he usually does erotic, graphic novels. It's clear that with this deck, as with so many by particular artists, the artist did not draw up the cards special, but rather let examples of his art be used for the cards. Which means that the picture and card meaning might not really go together well--nor, I'm guessing, that the suits will work as a whole. But, frankly, that's not why one would get this deck.

Lion-O	05 Oct 2002
Hi guys, I don't want to sound all negative here but I'm still wondering about 2 things. Would something like this be usefull in actual readings (I guess this heavily depends on the reader) but if so.... Doesn't it draw away your attention to where it should be ?

Kiama	06 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Lion-O Hi guys, I don't want to sound all negative here but I'm still wondering about 2 things. Would something like this be usefull in actual readings (I guess this heavily depends on the reader) but if so.... Doesn't it draw away your attention to where it should be ? I have the Erotic Tarot by Manara... I cannot use it as a reading deck, cuz quite a few of the card's pictures don't actually have any link to the meaning of the card itself. I don't think the pictures distract me, its just that they don't have any meaning in them, except for a few of them. And the Courts are pretty difficult to read too... The Tarot Erotica by Lori Wells is one I've been after for ages but cannot et it. I tried ordering it through a large bookshop, but they didn't have it on their databse... :( I'm thinking maybe you can't get it in the UK? Anyway, this deck seems more readable, but some of the cards look... Painful... So that would put me off I think, suddenly getting faced with one of the more painful cards. Instead of the card's meaning making itself clear, my mind would be joted for a second, and thus not in a reading mood... I sooooo want this deck though! Kiama

Kirali	06 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama The Tarot Erotica by Lori Wells is one I've been after for ages but cannot et it. I tried ordering it through a large bookshop, but they didn't have it on their databse... :( I'm thinking maybe you can't get it in the UK? Anyway, this deck seems more readable, but some of the cards look... Painful... So that would put me off I think, suddenly getting faced with one of the more painful cards. Instead of the card's meaning making itself clear, my mind would be joted for a second, and thus not in a reading mood... I sooooo want this deck though! Try the Mystic Eye Got a couple of nice decks there too. ~Kira :)

Shade	06 Oct 2002
The Wells deck is available from her site (I can't remember the exact url but if you search by the name of the deck and artist you should vbe able to find it. I think I got there through a link from tarotpassages.com. I think the erotic decks can be used for reading but they usually fall into the category of read based on the actual content of the art of the card rather than the standard, accepted meaning. I have had a number of folks ask me sex-related questions for tarot readings and the cards lend themselves to that. I haven't gotten the Manara deck because a number of folks have said that it was mostly compiled by taking previous work and putting it on a card. Maybe I'll break down. One complaint that folks had was that this deck, the Casanova, and the Decameron contain scenes of abuse and violence. My answer to that is that the cards need to reflect dark themes at times and when sex is what your working with cards depicting pain Tarot Sutra is meant to be used to enhance your current sex life and the book included gives suggestions as to how you might interpret the cards. If you draw the chariot you might try to get a little wilder, take a little more conrol, or have sex in your car (some of the meanings were just a little bit too literal. I really liked the Decameron tarot, a lot of the cards got pretty wacky but they made me laugh, the humor content made it easier to work with. My only complaint was that of 78 cards only 2 had any homoerotic content (The Queen of Swords and the Sun). I think that there are a number of cards that, in an erotic deck, lend themselves to more variety than the standard boy + girl theme. Tarot Erotica also had very few homoerotic images (the 2 of wands and 2 of cups were the only ones I remember).

Zev	07 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by kayne Have you all seen Tarot Erotica by Lori Wells ? I have it in my collection... many of the cards are damn ugly but interesting none-the-less... ;) I think that these cards are wonderful!! Interesting? yes! and beautiful! maybe I think so because I´m in love. but still... Does anyone know if Lori Wells have done other decks? In that case: please tell me! /z

tarotbear	23 Dec 2002
Anyone who was shocked by the mere sight of casual nudity in a tarot deck (as in the Cosmic Tribe) is going to have a coronary if they see the Scarabeo deck' the Decameron tarot', based (sort-of) on imagery in 'The Decameron' by Boccaccio - a lusty and near pornographic work of several centuries ago that was banned, along with it's author, by the Church. In it couples are copulating all over the countryside. One wonders how those Knights can ride their steed and fornicate with a lovely maiden without sliding out of the saddle! Probably a good deck for 'sex readings' and 'sex magick'.

franke'	27 Dec 2002
I own the Erotic Tarot and I must say it IS very provocative! However, as much as I love this deck, I feel it takes away from the gist of what I'm trying to do-which is divination! It was not easy to find (might be part of the appeal) and the art is great, but man it's hard to take divination seriously when you have these images in front of you. It's good for magical foreplay I suppose (grins)..after all, sex and magic should go togetherr. Don't use if you have serious questions folks!

Jeannette	28 Dec 2002
For anyone who is interested in the subgenre of erotic cartomantic decks in general, here's a link to the Tarot Garden list of erotic decks we've documented so far (not complete, of course, but perhaps a good start): http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?view_category=erotic -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

The Erotic Tarot thread was originally posted on 01 Oct 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.