Artist‘s Statement

I’ve been writing about Vibrating Tarot and adding to this website for three years now. My most refined explanation of the project can be found on the main home page. 

But how did it all start? Where did it all come from? And what does it all mean?

Those questions are easy to answer.

The day after my apartment building burnt down, I went out and bought a Tarot deck and a Magic Wand. That was the day a brand new seed was planted.

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Years ago, when I was still in high school, I remember someone saying that the jobs we’d be working as adults don’t exist yet because we would be inventing those jobs ourselves as we get out into the world. 

I owe my entire professional life to those words, as no other have been more accurate when describing my career. 

After I got my Bachelor of Design from Your/Sheridan in 2011, no one ever told me to start working on any of the projects I’ve developed, and certainly no one told me to start building this Tarot project up from scratch. I didn’t know a single person in the pleasure product industry in early 2020, and I didn’t even know that most of their products existed.

Coming to this project predominately from a graphic design background, and secondly from a Tarot and divination background, the pleasure products were what I needed help with to fully understand.

A community informed approach was adopted from the start, and in the early months and first years of the project, I ran questionnaires and surveys to discover the landscape of the products available and to tap into the consciousness of my prospective target market.

I still welcome input from anyone out there who has something to share with me, and you can find me asking for you to reach out in various spots on my website. Until all the contracts are signed and the deck has been sent off to the printer, I will always be open and willing and eager to hear your input and suggestions.

After a variety of big names in the pleasure product industry started giving me positive feedback and agreeing to be involved in the project, I knew I had something worthwhile. 

I've had the opportunity to meet with a variety of people in the pleasure product industry over the past three years, and have taken direction from them in terms of outlining the details of their legal questions, and taking their advice on building our licensing agreements. 

I developed the project far enough to approach US Games, the owners of the RWS Tarot deck in order to solve the copyright question once and for all, and upon reviewing my progress, their Vice President endorsed the project, wishing us “Good Luck”. 

Please see our Copyright Statement by clicking here.

We're at the point now when the majority of the artwork has been completed with the initial permission and approval of the majority of participating companies. Now is the time when we are coming together to approve the final images and sign the licensing agreements. 

I’ve invited dozens of different companies to be involved in the project, from big corporations to small businesses to individual artists, from across the globe, so that the deck of cards embraces a large variety of different products and more faithfully resembles our own individual and unique collections. 

That being said, I have always employed a critical eye. Vibrating Tarot is made up of iconic products from reputable companies. I have many people to thank for refining my decisions and bringing greater context and meaning to the choices I’ve made. 

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It's not enough to just have a great idea. It has to come at the right time and the circumstances have to be ideal in order to follow through with it. On top of that, you need the door to be open for you.

I realize how fortunate I am to be working on this project with the support of so many. Never once did I want to treat it with haste or with less consideration than it deserves. I never wanted it to just be some joke or novelty item, or for it to amount to a series of web art or some elaborate meme. I believe it can be a worthwhile product in the pleasure product and metaphysical market places and I've always approached its artwork, its message, and the rhetoric surrounding it with respect and dignity. 

To everyone in the community who I’ve been in contact with, thank you. You have all given me different things to consider and this project would not be the same without your input. If you have ever interacted with Vibrating Tarot, please know that you have had a direct hand in shaping its landscape. 

To those adult pleasure product companies that I have wonderful relationships with and permission to move forward with the project, I thank you for your ongoing support. 

To those that I am still in discussions with, I respect and value your companies, your products, and your intellectual property more than you know. For the past three years, we’ve been taking steps towards a licensing agreement that would grant me permission to publish Vibrating Tarot. 

I’ll always be grateful for your consideration and I’m certain that when the time is right, we’ll find the right path forward.

For more info, please explore the rest of the website, see our Frequently Asked Questions page by clicking here, and don't hesitate to contact me anytime.

Frank Lawrence, B.Des

(he/they)

Vibrating Tarot

by Pallor Publishing

vibratingtarot@gmail.com

What was the impetus for this deck, it’s so unique.

Dreamwork is an important component to my practice and is an area of study I’ve focused on since I first discovered what lucid dreaming was back in high school. I often solve a lot of my creative problems in my dreams, particularly during the time when I’m drifting off, half asleep and half awake. 

One evening in 2017 when I was drifting off to sleep, I saw the We-Vibe Chorus floating like an angel in the sky, set upon the Lovers card in the Tarot deck. I immediately jumped up and wrote the idea down. Without thinking twice about it, I added a note that the Magic Wand should sit on the World card. Instantly, I had just designed two cards in a brand new Tarot deck that I immediately knew would be called Vibrating Tarot. 

Being an artist and a creative designer has taught me that the creative process is one that requires you to work hard on a specific problem, then take equal time away from it to allow your subconscious to work on a solution. That’s where the breakthroughs come from. If you can understand this process and harness its power, you will be better able to take advantage of those “Eureka!” moments when they happen. 

Since working on this project, many people have told me that they’ve had the idea for a sex toy Tarot themselves. I'm not surprised. These ideas are out there floating in our collective conscious. Everyone has the ability to tap into that if you learn to trust yourself, follow your intuition, and teach yourself how to recognize certain signs. 

I shared the first two process images of what would eventually become Vibrating Tarot on Valentines Day 2020 and immediately got a positive response from fans asking where they could buy the deck. Soon after that, industry members were asking how they could get their products featured in the project as well.

Obtaining proper permission from each company became extremely important moving forward and I’ve been building relationships with each of the product manufacturers you see featured in my work for the past three years. Some have been incredibly encouraging, going out of their way to help me understand the landscape, and opening doors for me along the way. 

Approval from each company by email led way to the signing of formal licensing agreements, and that’s the stage that where we’re all at right now. 

Next we’ll find a crowdfunding platform that will embrace the project with as much enthusiasm as we all have for it ourselves. After being told that our project is not welcome on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo because of its relation to sexual wellness, we are turning to BackerKit, a brand new and very promising platform populated with an exceptionally dynamic and supportive forward thinking community. 

We will keep everyone up to date on these details, and as part of our dedication to full transparency, everyone can read more about these specific details on our Crowdfunding page by clicking here.

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What has been the most exciting thing about creating this deck?

Learning about the pleasure product industry has been an amazement. Its so exciting to be welcomed by such a generous, accepting, helpful, vibrant, forward thinking industry. Pillars of the community have helped me out in various ways and have always advocated for each other in the process. 

Getting each different brand on board with Vibrating Tarot has been full of wonderful highs. 

The problem solving component of the project, which is matching up each toy with its most appropriate spot in the Tarot deck, is stimulating in its own right, but when I reach out to a specific company and ask their permission, and they say yes to the idea, at times, I’ve fallen to the ground with tears of joy in my eyes. 

That’s how exciting it is to have official partnerships with each of these pleasure product manufacturers. 

Doing this project the right way, with the full approval of everyone involved, is of paramount importance, and right now, we’re all working our way through the process of signing licensing agreements that will allow us to crowdfund, manufacture, distribute, and sell the deck of cards in adult retail environments. 

It’s a delicate process because each company is different, and they all have their own unique voices. I’ve been working with each of them individually to come to the best understanding of how we can move forward with an agreement that makes everyone feel seen and heard.

I’m proud and honoured to be moving forward with the full confidence of those companies who are signing with us. Without their kind permission, this body of work would not exist. 

For a full list of product manufacturers featured in Vibrating Tarot, please see our Product Manufacturers page by clicking here.

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What are some of the cool things you learned about Tarot?

Seeing the reaction to designing my own Tarot deck has taught me that the ways we connect with the Tarot are truly unique to each of us. 

Reacting to feedback in real time has helped to evolve Vibrating Tarot past my own ideas surrounding it and has elevated my approach to many different details.

My interactions with people who love Vibrating Tarot can teach a great deal, but my interactions with those who challenge it have helped me to rethink certain aspects at their core, to refine my work, to develop a mature rhetoric surrounding it, and have always forced me to adopt me a broader outlook. 

The amount of integrity that I’ve worked hard to build into Vibrating Tarot is a direct result of those who have challenged my work, so I always thank absolutely everyone who has ever taken the time to let me know how the project has made them feel. 

Many people are delighted at Vibrating Tarot, saying they’ve been waiting their whole lives for this project to exist, others defend the original Tarot deck fiercely, calling my work blasphemous. I always welcome everyone’s opinions because once we peel back the layers and get to the core of the matter, I can better understand where different people are coming from and viewing the project through a different lens has helped me understand my work in a greater context. 

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How can people get involved and support?

What I’d like to ask everyone to do is a bit unique, but I think it will be fun!

I want everyone to reach out to your favourite pleasure product manufacturer and tell them how excited you are to see them involved in Vibrating Tarot. Thank them and tell them that you’re proud of them for supporting an independent artist like me. Tell them you’re looking forward to owning your own copy of Vibrating Tarot because when their card pops up in a reading, you’ll have glowing things to say. 

If you haven’t seen your favourite company featured in the artwork, or if you’re unsure if your favourite toy is showcased in the deck, send them an email and ask them about it. Tell them how important you feel it is to see them join our project and how disappointed you'd be if they were left out of the final artwork. 

Reaching these companies is as easy as visiting the Contact page on their website. That’s how I was able to get in contact with each and every one of them in the first place, and that’s how I was able to get this whole project off the ground. 

So, I’m asking you to do the same thing. Everyone from any level of all surrounding communities, contact the manufacturer of your favourite sex toy and tell them how cool you think it is that they said yes to an independent project like Vibrating Tarot.

Contacting them personally and letting them know how you feel will go a long way in assuring them of the strength of our Tarot project and the dedication of its community. 

If they’ve already signed with us, they’ll be happy to hear about your excitement, and if they’re currently on the fence about it, or haven’t gotten around to signing with us yet, it will display, first-hand, the level of excitement that there is out there for the project.