This version of an erotic tarot by René Marcel Rivière consists just of the major arcana, the 22 of the 78 cards of a full pack. They are the named or numbered cards in a cartomantic tarot pack, the name ‘major arcana’ being originally given by occultists to the trump cards of a normal tarot pack as used for playing card games.

Rivière’s symbolism is, as with all his work, an exploration of his understanding of the deeper meaning of each of the 22 cards. To some tarot users the cards of the major arcana represent stages of life, to others an initiatory sequence to be used to establish a path of spiritual ascension and evolution, to yet others they have a deep psychological and archetypal significance. Rivière suggests that they represent ‘the cultural cycle of humanity, for which after periods of over-emphasis on the material there is always a turning back to the ancient knowledge.’

The Erotic Tarot was published by Adam McLean in a limited numbered edition of 100 packs.