Tarot of Forbidden Dreams by Eugene Vinitski (NSFW?) [KS]

[hsbc]

We were pondering for a long time over the question - in what form should we embody such a delicate and tricky subject. Indeed, though Eros and sex are important to everyone, people do not always talk about them openly. And in matters of love, especially bodily love, there are a lot of taboos. Therefore, we decided to call our deck “Tarot of Forbidden Dreams”.

We are Eugene Vinitski, a well-known artist in the world of Tarot, and Elsa Khapatnyukovski, an experienced Tarot-reader and expert, and we would like to present you the deck “Tarot of Forbidden Dreams”, which is built on grounds of the European erotic miniature of the 17-19 centuries. It takes into account the 25 years of experience in reading the Tarot in the matters of love and sex. And also the opportunity to illustrate this sphere of life in a light and very beautiful form of an ancient erotic drawing.

Limited First edition of only 600 decks.

Some of cards presented here are censored with a red heart particularly for this campaign. The deck contains adult materials and it’s recommended for mature audience only.

Tarot of Forbidden Dreams is a 78 cards deck red gilded and companion book in the luxury box, accompanied by the Certificate of Authenticity numbered and signed by authors.

The size of cards 2.7” x 4.7” (70mm x 120 mm). On art paper 350 gm.

[theCapraAegagrus]

TBH, despite not being a tarot collector, I haven't outright had to post "what the f&*k" to the design of any of them.

I wish the regular playing card medium was that safe...

[Merlebird]

TBH, despite not being a tarot collector, I haven't outright had to post "what the f&*k" to the design of any of them.

There is some real garbage out there, trust me. It's mostly just not showing up on UC because the only decks that get crossposted here are ones UC users actually like.

Erotic tarot is actually an incredibly crowded subgenre and for the life of me I don't get the appeal. Maybe if you need to ask the cards why you can't get a boner they'd be suitable for that query, but for most readings I can't see the imagery being remotely helpful or applicable.

[Harvonsgard]

Maybe if you need to ask the cards why you can't get a boner they'd be suitable for that query, but for most readings I can't see the imagery being remotely helpful or applicable.

Made me almost pee my pants.

[hsbc]

Erotic tarot is actually an incredibly crowded subgenre and for the life of me I don't get the appeal. Maybe if you need to ask the cards why you can't get a boner they'd be suitable for that query, but for most readings I can't see the imagery being remotely helpful or applicable.

They actually mention this in their campaign!

Among the modern Tarot decks, there are today already many erotic ones. And they are amazing. The need for them is understandable. As professional Tarot-readers we can say that according to statistics, 80 percent of questions asked to Tarot pertain to love and sexual relations.

[Merlebird]

Erotic tarot is actually an incredibly crowded subgenre and for the life of me I don't get the appeal. Maybe if you need to ask the cards why you can't get a boner they'd be suitable for that query, but for most readings I can't see the imagery being remotely helpful or applicable.

They actually mention this in their campaign!

Among the modern Tarot decks, there are today already many erotic ones. And they are amazing. The need for them is understandable. As professional Tarot-readers we can say that according to statistics, 80 percent of questions asked to Tarot pertain to love and sexual relations.

Joke's on you, buddy! I can't read!

In all honesty, though, I'm not sure this explanation quite washes for me. Yes, the bread-and-butter of tarot readers is queries about sexual and/or romantic relationships, actual or potential. But surely the questions generally revolve around the emotional aspects of these relationships? The imagery just seems too laser-focused on sexual intimacy to meaningfully address broader relationship issues. (Can you imagine trying to explain problems in your marriage using only analogies drawn from videos featured on PornHub?)

The fact that they're curating existing illustrations rather than drawing them themselves further constrains the imagery available to them, and their selections sometimes appear contrived (e.g., the metamorphic nuance of death apparently reduced to "skeleton fingering") or opaque (what does Temperance have to do with what appears to be an amateur breast exam? Is it a visual pun on "two cups" or what?). I think it's a big mistake on their part to not make an excerpt of the guidebook available on the campaign page itself; the visual logic just doesn't seem straightforward enough otherwise, though I admit I'm not much of a reader myself (see above).

To each their own, though, of course.

[hsbc]

Those are good points! I'm just pointing out what the creator said

NB: I only like tarot decks for the art

[dawn]

what does Temperance have to do with what appears to be an amateur breast exam? Is it a visual pun on "two cups" or what?

Thanks for the giggle - I nearly choked on my breakfast.

In the same way that playing card decks should have at least 52 cards with recognisable faces and pips, I only collect tarot cards that are more obviously based on the standard 78-card RWS symbolism/meanings. Sure, I’m also collecting for the art, but I think my purchases should be useable in case I ever want to use them, and repurposed imagery doesn’t quite fit. Clearly there’s a market for these decks though, hope the backers “enjoy” them

[Merlebird]

Okay, so I owe dawn a Heimlich maneuver and shiro a fresh pair of pants? Is that my total score for today?

I'd say I fall somewhere between dawn and hsbc, though perhaps closer to the former. I've bought just a couple oracle decks, when I found the artwork particularly compelling in some way, but in most cases I've stuck deliberately to decks based on the RWS system, and always to decks that are fully illustrated (i.e., no "pip decks," or decks where the numbered cards of the minor arcana show only pips without further illustration). In the handful of times I've attempted reading I leaned heavily on the guidebook, and using a RWS-based deck opens up entire libraries of reference materials you can use to get a better handle on the meanings of each card. With oracle decks you're unfortunately entirely reliant on the guidebook provided by the creator, and in many cases these are... less than clarifying. (This was actually my complaint with UUSI's Supra Oracle deck, and the reason my vote for the 2018 Non-Poker DotY went elsewhere.)

I don't really use my tarot decks for meditative or introspective purposes, but as dawn said, "I think my purchases should be usable in case I ever want to use them." Keeping the symbolism as broad as possible - that is, not designing a deck that's tailored only to a single specific topic of inquiry - is, to me, an important part of that utility. In a sense I think of a good tarot deck like a nice set of china: I'm not going to pull it out and use it more than once or twice, but if the mood strikes I want the deck to be functional and suitable for what I have in mind. (In this metaphor, an erotic tarot like this one would be akin to the Grecian bowls from The Birdcage - amusing for sure, but not appropriate for all occasions. )