LWB question

I'm in the process of preparing a very limited print run of a Majors only deck. I started writing a LWB where I talk about how each of the drawings came to be the way they are (rather than giving general card meanings). But the more I write the more I feel that the drawings should tell their own story and not fix that story inwriting. I'm inclined to leave the LWB out altogether. There are other art decks out there without booklets so it's not unusual. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

It probably depends on how closely you stick to the standard symbols and how readable you think your deck is. It probably wouldn't hurt to to show it to a test audience to see what meanings they draw from it. If they choose some meaning different from what you intended, would that bother you?

BrightEye said:

I started writing a LWB where I talk about how each of the drawings came to be the way they are (rather than giving general card meanings). But the more I write the more I feel that the drawings should tell their own story and not fix that story inwriting. I'm inclined to leave the LWB out altogether.

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You can leave out the book and the deck won't be any less for it. Good artwork has its own legs to stand on. However, sometimes people like hearing stories behind the pictures. The pictures will tell their own stories, but only you can tell the stories *behind* the pictures. The next question is, do you want to write a LWB or not? If you enjoy the process of writing, write. People will read.

I would put it in, the process is always interesting to read, and as far as marketing goes, those that do not need will still buy it, those that need one will not, so you can only increase your market by including it.

You could restrict the booklet to the actual meanings and have a link posted in it about your blog where you discuss more about each card. I've seen that done by several artists. You don't have to worry about printing costs that way either. If they want to learn more, you've shown them where they can check.

I understand what you mean, but I still think you should leave the LWB in. Here's why:

The cards should (and will) speak for themselves. However, I see Tarot as a form of mysticism, and a good mystic always attempts to describe the indescribable (such as a divine experience, a vision, or the universe). This attempt is a personal effort to stretch human understanding, and it is an encouragement to others to do the same.

The cards will describe themselves, and then the LWB will describe the cards again. And those who use your deck will describe the cards again and again, for every time they use them. It kind of starts that ball rolling, see?

There is just never too much recursion or redundancy when you're working with the Tarot, in my opinion.

Looking forward to seeing your cards and reading about them!

Thank you all for letting me know your thoughts. The posts have encouraged me to finish writing the LWB after all.

My biggest headache at the moment is scanning and printing the drawings to make them into cards. But I hope that in time I will find a way.