Tarot Review # 12 Tarrocco dei Giardini di Priapo

Design and art by Amerigo Folchi. Published by Italcards, Modena Italy. No publish date.

The cards measure 4 5/16" x 2 9/16". The card stock is thick, printed with shiny ink but doesn't feel coated. The edges are rounded.

The artist, Amerigo Folchi, is very well-known in the Tarot world. He has done many beautiful decks, among them my most wanted collector deck, the Carnival of Venice.

The cards are edged in black, 3/16" both back and front. The edges have some evidence of paper tags. The cards do not appear to be reversible. the backs are marbled with diagonal black stripes alternating with grey-green and 2 pink in the center stripes. The stripes have a marbled finish. In the center of the card is a grayish-purple oval with a picture of an ass - which is the spirit of these cards.

The artwork is very well drawn and detailed. The drawings depict very sexually explicit scenes, and have striped marbled backgrounds over which the scene and suite symbol has been displayed. The art work has probably been done in pen and pencil predominately.

The lettering on the title cards is plain, bold type in a white stripe of background in both Italian and English.

The people in the majors are all blonds or red-heads. The coins are blond, except the King, wands are red-heads, cups blonds, swords black hair.

The cards are, again, extremely explicit sexually. In addition to nudity and very detailed depictions of sexual acts there is a great deal of fetish oreinted sex. The cups, for example are wine glasses filled with urine - and some are in the process of being filled. The Knights are possibly doing more than riding those horses, and some scenes involve cupids, which look very like young children, although they are not.

The booklet explains that the deck is a grotesque satire dedicated to the erotic universe. In spite of the tongue in cheek humor this deck still makes me uncomfortable when I use the cards. Although it could be used as a reading deck, if one didn't have kids and were not offended by the images, I wouldn't.

I can't recommend this deck for anyone except collectors who have a specialty in erotic art tarot decks. The subject matter is too kinky to use as a readying deck except possibly for someone in the sex-oriented lifestyle.

This deck is out of print. (I think.)

I would not replace it if it strayed.

Collector only, not good for reading unless you are in a certain lifestyle. And not a beginner.