SittingIdiot
Best use of a LWB (for me) is trying to understand the artisit's concept of the image/archtype/myth. As an artist myself, when asked what one of my paintings means, I always reply, "That's entirely up to you; you're the artist now (creating your own mental image and meaning)." But, with icons or other story-telling imagry, I like to know where an artist is "coming from". Most LWBs never give you this info.
A good example is Ferenc Pinter's artwork in "Tarot of the Immagination". I love Pinter's artwork in the deck and the LWB is useless (it's a Lo Scarbeo publication, after all). Frustrating in Pinter's deck is my ignorance when it comes to European royalty; many of the court card personalities are recognizable, but not to me. After some researching, I found that the Page and Knight of Coins are Stanley and Livingston. This does not change my read of the cards but rather enhanses it a bit, keeping in the back of my mind what the historical figure might add to a reading. I really love Ovenall's Victoria Regina Tarot for this reason; the court persona are fun to read and play with and eventually led me to read a biography of HRH, "Mum".
On the other hand, sometimes the artist gives you wa-ay too much information, such as Maritxu Guler's decks. She must be quite a witch (I mean that in a really respectful, complimentary way), but I am not a member of a Gnostic Church, the Golden Dawn or BOTA and probably will never go there. I really can't "get" the use or application of "The 22 Paths" (of Qabala - or whatever PC spelling is used for this word), and wont be reading the Sefir Yetzera anytime soon, even when Rachel Pollack recomends it.
My resolution is people; read for others, with others, especially "tarot-ists" to learn about cards.
A good example is Ferenc Pinter's artwork in "Tarot of the Immagination". I love Pinter's artwork in the deck and the LWB is useless (it's a Lo Scarbeo publication, after all). Frustrating in Pinter's deck is my ignorance when it comes to European royalty; many of the court card personalities are recognizable, but not to me. After some researching, I found that the Page and Knight of Coins are Stanley and Livingston. This does not change my read of the cards but rather enhanses it a bit, keeping in the back of my mind what the historical figure might add to a reading. I really love Ovenall's Victoria Regina Tarot for this reason; the court persona are fun to read and play with and eventually led me to read a biography of HRH, "Mum".
On the other hand, sometimes the artist gives you wa-ay too much information, such as Maritxu Guler's decks. She must be quite a witch (I mean that in a really respectful, complimentary way), but I am not a member of a Gnostic Church, the Golden Dawn or BOTA and probably will never go there. I really can't "get" the use or application of "The 22 Paths" (of Qabala - or whatever PC spelling is used for this word), and wont be reading the Sefir Yetzera anytime soon, even when Rachel Pollack recomends it.
My resolution is people; read for others, with others, especially "tarot-ists" to learn about cards.
