Little White (or Purple) Books - and their storage...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Sep 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jmd	20 Sep 2003
I remember a thread in which mention was made that they are wonderful to start camp-fires on a cold winter night. Yet, I actually think that many of them contain quite a wealth of information given their size, and given that for some people, this is, at least initially, the only assistance they may have as to what the Tarot is and how to begin to use it. For those of us who have numerous decks, and also numerous books, and better still, wonderful firends and experience to draw from, what becomes of those little books from our numerous decks? I for one rarely fully read the new ones I get with my newer decks. After which, in any case, they get placed in a draw along with their cousins from other decks (and some of these cousins are quite distant, or may not even really agree with one another). I must admit, also, that the idea for this thread was wonderfully suggested by others...

Marion	20 Sep 2003
jmd, That is pretty well what I do as well. I find the paper of the lwb's tends to be very thin, and if you leave them in with the decks, they get damaged as you take the decks in and out of the boxes. Partly I keep them in case I ever want to trade the deck, the lwb is part of the trade. Even folks who don't use them expect to have them with the deck. And some decks use some pretty obscure symbols. Mind you, often the lwb doesn't explain them anyway.... buy the big expensive accompanying bok, right? I also have a drawer where I stash lwb's, the spare cards that come with decks and any bags that don't current have decks.

Melissa`	20 Sep 2003
I read in someones posts (forgive me for not remembering) that they stored all their lwb in a wooden box. I thought that was a wonderful idea. Sometimes the most simple ideas, useful at that, seem to never come to me when I am trying to think of something. I was pondering doing this myself. Lately I noticed that the decks I use the most are still in their boxes with the extra cards and lwb. I didn't want to damage them. Sentimental value maybe? who knows.. So I am in the process of moving most used into their very own bags and storing the boxes away.. or if they are too damaged.. discarding them and keeping the extra cards/lwb in a wooden trinket box.

Diana	20 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by jmd (............)they get placed in a draw along with their cousins from other decks (and some of these cousins are quite distant, or may not even really agree with one another). So once they're in the draw, I suppose one gets picked to have first place. How do you do the draw exactly? Or do the cousins that don't agree with each other draw pistols and fight it out at high-noon? Most of my little white books (don't have purple ones) stay in their original boxes (most are not read at all), but it would perhaps be a good idea to put them in a box together so if one is looking for a hundred meanings for the 10 of Swords (let's say you're in Tarot competition and you want to win), it'll be easy to look them up.

firemaiden	20 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana So once they're in the draw, I suppose one gets picked to have first place. How do you do the draw exactly? Oh Diana, you smart alec :D, those with jmd's franco-australian accent are entitled to leave off the "er" of "drawer" -- Or perhaps he left off the "er" out of politeness, lest we not think he put the lwb in his drawers... :D:D:D I leave my lwb's where they are, and sometimes consult them, usually out of curiousity to see how my random associations correspond to the author's intentions. As for the LAB (Little Aubergine Book) of Margarete Petersen, that is being elevated to MHBO status. (Most Honored Book-Object)

lunalafey	20 Sep 2003
If the LWB is a single piece of folded paper- it stays in the box with any extra cards & the lot of them goes into a drawer. Decks are kept unboxed in bads. If the LWB is many pages & has staples (native american, infinite & cat people) those stay with the deck in the bag. Then there are the decks with the BIG books....those all sit close to where the decks reside. I like to keep informative books accessible for other's to look at & for me to grab when I draw a blank.

galadrial	20 Sep 2003
I also have a little drawer I keep the more interesting LWB's in. The rest I keep in their deck boxes in the closet. I like the booklet that came with Melissa Townsend's El Teddy deck a lot, and the booklets from the Book of Chaos, Arcus Arcanum, and Kazanlar get occasional use. My least favorite was the booklet from the Napo- I didn't get past the description of the Fool; blecch (represents a sound of distaste and comes from reading too many MAD magazines). Edited to add: ack! sometimes you forget the very things you're closest to...I keep the Phantasmagoric Theater and Templar LWB's right in the (fancy, wooden) boxes I keep the decks in. I would keep the Margarete Petersen booklet that way except that I can't read German, so I have a folder in which I keep all the translations Firemaiden has done for the forum (plus, then I can reread all the interesting discussions, of course:-)

Logiatrix	20 Sep 2003
I keep my decks in bags, 'cuz I haul them around with me, etc. The LWBs go back in the boxes with the extra cards, and the boxes go on the bookshelf with the tarot books. Typically, I will read thru the LWB once and then store it. If it comes from a deck with any unusual deck ordering, card assignments, or thematic meaning, I will keep it in the bag with the deck until I learn it. The last LWB that I mulled over like that was the one for the Golden Tarot of the Tsar, with all those Biblical figures I had to look up! :)

truthsayer	20 Sep 2003
i usually try to keep lwb's in their box or a bag. i find them handy for those times when i'm doing a reading and just can't remember that ONE word that that'll remind me what a cards means. i don't always need a whole book of detailed definition.

lawguy51	20 Sep 2003
I leave mine in their boxes. Actually I'm fairly compulsive about this. I can't remember where I first read how to do this but here's what I do to preserve the physical integrity of a deck. For example, with the Thoth deck, I take the extra cards and place them at the side away from the flap. Then I lay the LWB on top of the cards. Laying the box with the flap on the top side, you can then slide the LWB out like a ramp and insert your cards on top of it. Then, when you close the flap, you are assured of not disturbing the deck because it has the LWB and the 2 extra cards closest to the flap. I just make sure the flap goes over the two extra cards, and voila, no possible harm to the deck cards from the flap. I told you it was compulsive! BTW, the best LWB, Haindl-excerpts from Pollack's book. LG51

Umbrae	21 Sep 2003
I heat my house with wood. LWB’s make a lovely little starter. So to answer the question, where do I store them: In a wood burning stove. Except for one…I have this table that used to rock due to uneven legs… Larger books, such as the lovely book that comes with the Victoria Regina (“The Victoria Regina Companion”), or the Drogi…those I keep. So think on this – they cut down trees to make LWB’s! And what good are they? Do they contain more information than say…”Tarot and the Tree of Life” by Kliegman? Of course not! So I say Burn Them! Burn them in the fires of hell where they belong! Burn them over the coals of Beelzebub’s lair! Burn them… What? Oh…sorry…got carried away… I do remember one time that Jeannette from Tarot Garden was aghast when she saw me toss the box and LWB from a brand new deck into the trash (they would not allow me to burn them). “You actually do that!” She said. And followed up with, “Well you did pay for it I suppose…” ...Waste storage space on a LWB...what folly...

Dark Inquisitor	21 Sep 2003
I keep all LWBs & tarot boxes for purposes of trade or resale later. I suppose after I die, my daughter might sell some & she will get a better price if the original items are all there. If the LWB has some worthy information in it I will need, I will make a copy of those parts. For example, the Dante & the Ancient Minchiate Etruria have cards I don't understand yet & I will need to refer to something. So I fold the copied paper & put it in the bag with the deck. (Parchment style paper is nice for this !) The boxes get unfolded & flattened out with the LWB inside & then stored in a big box all together . Boxes will just become a deteriorated mess if you are constantly taking the decks in & out . Tarotphelia

lawguy51	21 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Tarotphelia Boxes will just become a deteriorated mess if you are constantly taking the decks in & out . Tarotphelia Better the box than the deck!!

Chronata	21 Sep 2003
I used to never keep the boxes for my decks, as i liked wrapping them up and using fancy bags and wooden boxes instead. (this was before my collection grew to a hundred!) I remember, about 10 years ago,I put all the LWB from all the decks away in a manilla envelope, along with notes from various tarot teachers, and my own scrawled notations. Just after discovering Aeclectic, I also discovered a box of stuff in the basement, and like an archeologist finding lost relics, I stumbled upon that envelope! Out poured all the LWB...some were from Oracle decks that I didn't even remember having little books! The strangest thing, though, was finding the ones from decks I no longer have...and in a couple of instances...don't ever remember owning! (heh...where did the Tarot Starter, El Gran Tarot Esoterico, and Tarot of the Witches go?)

Dark Inquisitor	22 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by lawguy51 Better the box than the deck!! I was not suggesting that decks go around unprotected - I have bags & jewelry boxes to put them in . Shamefully, some of my decks had to stay in plastic ziplock bags recently until I caught up on my sewing . Tarotphelia

StrangeAsAngels	26 Sep 2003
All my decks stay in the boxes - the VR being the exception, as it came with a bag. The LWB stays in the box. It's easier to pack them that way and I move a lot. In bags, you have to worry about bending and such.

Sulis	26 Sep 2003
I only keep the decks I read with in bags (about 4). I keep the LWBs in the boxes the decks originally came in. Those boxes and my other decks go in a drawer. I do refer to LWBs occasionally to see what the deck author reckons about a card. The most useful LWB I have is the one for the World Spirit deck and it's not really a LWB it's a little black book. Love Crystalmynx xx

The Little White (or Purple) Books - and their storage... thread was originally posted on 20 Sep 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.