With images of over 300 pleasure products and associated accessories owned by over 100 companies of all sizes and independent artists, how are we able to make and sell this deck without infringing on copyrights? Each company or artist involved has signed a Licensing Agreement to allow their imagery to appear in Vibrating Tarot.

The entire scope of the project is a deck of 80 cards with guidebook, and an accompanying limited edition PDF colouring book. In addition to this, a free font will be released for non-commercial use. Aside from that, there will not be any other official merchandise. There will never be any stickers, patches, pins, posters, t-shirts, tote bags, or any other kind of product that I will ever seek to sell. The licensing agreement that Vibrating Tarot is using goes into detail on this issue and states that we are licensing imagery to only be used in the deck of cards and accompanying colouring book. If the licensing agreement did not restrict me to using the images for the Tarot deck only, many of the companies would not have agreed to participate, as unrestricted use of their product images would mean that I could start selling various items containing their intellectual property. I want the focus of this project to be a legitimate Tarot deck without compromising on the deeper meaning. Vibrating Tarot is a true system of divination, not just a commercial product, and I do not want anything to distract from that.

Stripe is the payment processor for all crowdfunding platforms and they have agreed to work with us and process pledges for our campaign.

The goal for Vibrating Tarot is to not only raise the funds to create the project for those who back it in this campaign, but to make it available in the retail marketplace, including at adult stores and occult shops. That is why I can offer it to you at a more competitive price: it is in line with the eventual retail price. So by backing my campaign, you are not only helping realize the project and getting the deck before everyone else, you are getting it at a lower cost than typical crowdfunded or independently made Tarot decks.

In the project itself, all companies will be listed and thanked in the guidebook that comes with the deck of cards. They will also be noted within the description of each card so that people know which company contributed which toys. On social media, I always tag the accounts of the artists and businesses who are featured in the post. Please see my Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, @VibratingTarot On my website, I always post the names of the contributors within the images that are showcased. I also have a list on my website of all of the contributing companies with links to all of their websites.

"Good luck with it." -VP of US Games, owner and publisher of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck. In addition to researching the matter and discussing with my intellectual property lawyer, I have also reached out to US Games and have heard back from their VP, who reviewed several cards in the project and has endorsed our project by wishing us good luck. Vibrating Tarot uses the original black line illustrations drawn by Colman Smith, which are now in the public domain, as a guide, and these are the only elements from the original RWS Tarot deck that Vibrating Tarot uses in its artwork. We do not make use of any of the elements protected by the US Games copyright. Furthermore, Vibrating Tarot does not make use of the Rider Waite trademark, which is owned by US Games, at any time in any of our materials. In cases where we talk about our inspiration and visual guidance, we take careful steps to describe the deck as being "based on the original Pamela Colman Smith illustrations."

Each card in the Tarot deck tells its own story and there should always be a good reason as to why a certain toy appears on a particular card. Therefore, each toy is carefully selected for the card it appears on. A toy's function, shape, materials, and colour are usually the chief decision makers. Certain pillars of the pleasure product industry must be properly honoured by showcasing them on the best cards in the deck. The companies who have paved the way for others in the industry, or who have contributed breakthrough products in their field, are usually gathered in the Major Arcana. Someone once told me that all the cards will look the same because none of the toys will carry their own nuance. I say this in return: There is a lot of detailed information that has been built into the imagery, and just like any other Tarot deck, it will take you a long time to discover all of the different layers.

This is a very important part of putting this puzzle together because I believe that I should showcase the brands and products that are the most trusted and most revered, and who pride themselves on being inclusive and body safe. I have been approached by many adult toy manufacturers who I would never allow into Vibrating Tarot, and I have made it a mission to feature only the most reputable companies. I have always used a community informed approach, and have always asked that my audience be open about communicating their thoughts and desires to me. This deck is not for me, it is for all of you. For the past few years, I've been trying my best to build bridges with the most well-known names in the adult pleasure product industry, and to keep an open dialogue about listening to their requests and paying attention to the factors that are important to them so that I can ensure that everyone is happy and proud about moving forward with this project with the highest form of integrity. People will use this deck and look at it as a source of inspiration, to expand their ideas, and to try new things. I always want to be putting the best products in front of their eyes, and to always try to make available a rich discourse on the matter.

No, there are no illegal substances of any kind, nor is there anything featured that is not directly linked to the world of sexual wellness. There are no drugs or alcohol of any kind.

As I’ve expressed in the Vibrating Tarot Guidebook, it should be absolutely clear that card readings and interpretations from Vibrating Tarot are not ever required to be sexual or erotic in any way, shape, or form. Users are invited to bring their own unique brand of eroticism to the cards in their own private spaces, or ones that they share with close friends or partners, to whatever degree they deem appropriate, but these themes are certainly not required just because Vibrating Tarot’s artwork features imagery of pleasure products. I continue to advocate for the seriousness behind my intentions, for the extreme depth of detail found within all of my design decisions, and for the socially, culturally, and ethically conscious lens that this deck has being designed under, as described in my overall online presence and extensively on my website. I would never suggest that anyone impose any reflection of sexuality when they do a reading for a stranger in any professional setting of any kind. Card readers should exercise a mature and dignified mindset when reading from this deck. Always obtain consent to use these cards in a reading ahead of time, don’t ask a client to choose blindly and then spring these cards on them. You will find it advantageous to be clear and concise about what kind of reading you intend to give, and to what degree you intend to bring sexuality or eroticism into the reading. Negotiate your terms ahead of time. I’ve always found it helpful to be upfront with my intention to not touch upon sexual connotations whatsoever. Vibrating Tarot was built in a way that offers insightful and worthwhile card readings on the merit of being an authentic Tarot deck alone. Oftentimes, it’s advantageous to describe the showcased pleasure product, or what it does, and the more detail you can uncover, the more in-depth the reading will be, but the cards themselves are intuitive and easy to interpret without the reader including any sexual connotations. The cards mean what they mean. It doesn’t matter if there’s a picture of a person, or a mushroom, or a polar bear, or a vibrator. The metaphors are the same no matter what is pictured on the card.

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