Umbrae goes on a Rant about LWB's

LWBs

Some are better than others. The one with the Goddess Tarot tells you a bit about the Goddesses in the pictures, I believe. The Ancestral Path Tarot LWB certainly gives you this kind of info. The Whimsical Tarot has only a few key words but they give an idea of what the author intended. If the deck isn't a RW clone, and it doesn't have its own book, the LWB may give some hint about what the cards mean in this particular deck.

Of course it isn't 'gospel'. Nor is 'Learning the Tarot' by Joan Bunning, or Thirteen's Basics (sorry Thirteen ) I work by finding out all the meanings I can for that card in that deck. Then when I read (which I only do for myself) I go with what makes sense, feels right, or whatever. The LWB is just one of a number of layers of meaning that is available to me.

I keep all my LWBs. And my cards live in their boxes, where they seem quite happy. Very useful if I want to trade them later

Okay, please don't throw things at me but....

I collect LWB's. Don't know why! I don't read them, need them, but I already have enough warmth in my place anyway! No need for a bonfire!

Kiama

There are so many awesome tarot books around now-a-days, why don't the tarot deck companies swap the LWB for a card with a list of good tarot books? Companies like Llewellyn could certainly do this, as well as making (1) good tarot readers and (2) more money for Llewellyn

...ah...Nintendo...You know VGimlet...I worked there for seven years. I was once a professional video game player.
But Nintendo booklets are different than LWB's...good to hear of your growth.

there are some great LWB's out there...
the kazanlar is really a book of fairytales, the medieval scapini got lots of those quirky little details that gets explained in the LWB just to mention two of the LWB's i love.

oh and you got LWB's that are not so little at all - like nigel jackson and vision quest.

but the rest of them, i just chuck em in a box and forget about them until i need them (like once a year or so)

and talking about tarot-books. the most splendid deck-specific book of them all just HAVE to be the tarot of the spirit by Eakins.
i ordered that directly from the states and the postage cost more then the book but it was so worth it.
the LWB to the spirit deck is quite ok too by the way.

umbrae,
might you consider, changing LWB to LWP?
it would be much easier to stomach my friends being pamphlet burners!


(this is just a joke!)

The key word in LWB is ‘little’. Example. The Victoria Regina deck comes with a rather large, VERY well written book. It is NOT a LWB.
LWB is a generic, colloquialism for Little White Poorly Written Pamphlet of Little Value.

Umbrae: Your point is very well-taken & I have enjoyed reading your comments!
I still prefer to keep my LWBs with their decks & in their boxes except for the decks I have used so much their boxes are all worn out. Those are in Tarot bags.
Since I trade some of my decks, having everything intact is better for trading.
My first Tarot deck was the Rider (Smith) Waite, published by Sam Weiser's. At that time, I could not find any books on Tarot so its LWB was all I had. I soon saw it was of no help & never looked at it again. I do not know what happened to it, but do not miss it. Unfortunately, my deck was misplaced several months ago & I miss it terribly! I keep hoping to come across it as I unpack & go through stuff but it has not turned up yet. I hope it did not wind up in what was donated to charity or thrown out.
The LWB for the Chinese Tarot is much like any other LWB but it refers to ancient traditions & folklore. It is a fascinating glimpse of the background for the deck.
On the other hand, the LWB for the Templar Tarot is a Large White Book & includes background information on the Knights Templar & a glossary. All LWBs should be more like this one!

Ill join in the burning, but only with my Conolley's LWB, its such crap lol. MaybeIll whipout some interesting tidits, Ill stick them in the other post that has the not so serious meanings

But like to read the LWB laugh at them or look confused as how they got THAT from that picture, then stick em back in the box and ignore them lol

Oh, I agree that they shouldn't be used as a "Bible" of tarot, but as some people have said, not all of them are crap. Some can be very useful, especially when I need a quick reference. Some are good, like the one that comes with the Gendron Tarot which explains the symbols on the majors, while some, like the one hat comes wit the Dragon Tarot, are crap.