Assuming your deck follows one of the main schools of tarot, I have a general sense of what the symbols mean. But I love to know what the symbols mean to the author/artist who used them. Did you include (insert object here) because it was pretty or does it have some meaning to you that might not be readily apparent to me?
Personally, I feel if there are going to be keywords any where, please let them be in the companion book and not on the cards themselves! Sure, list them in the book. I probably won't use them, but others will.
A new and original spread or two is always welcome in a book.
Again, I'm more interested in reading what the cards mean to you than I am in reading a rehash of RWS, Golden Dawn, Thoth or Marseilles meanings.
Card images (color if possible) are always nice. Big enough to be able to see details, but they don't have to be big enough to photocopy to make a bootleg version of the deck.
In short, the best companion books reflect the author's take on things and aren't a rehashing of things I already know. If you're going to rehash, save yourself the trouble and do a LWB instead.
Rodney
