should i throw away my lwb

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Dragons_Wing	09 Apr 2003
i've been v. dependent on my lwb in all of my readings and i've been reading some of the threads and articals here and its really mixed on how to learn. and i'm basicly wondering if i should throw away the lwb and just soley go on gut feeling?

azuremariposa	09 Apr 2003
ok, you will hear resounding hollers to throw away the book here...and honestly, yeah...you should...read this...really read it...and follow it...:) once, many moons ago, i had a journal like the one described in that article...i've since lost it...but i've started a new one...since acquiring new decks, i feel it's important to reevaluate what my cards mean to me...really read it, ok? i'm sure i'm not the only one to offer up this article to you *coughs* Umbrae *coughs* ;) many blessings to you...and let us know what you choose to do!! :D

Umbrae	09 Apr 2003
Check with local authorities concerning fire danger in your area. Burn the LWB…roast a marshmallow or a weenie. The Process…The guy is seriously wacked but follow the directions and you’re on your way… Journaling is the way to learn. Also: http://www.aeclectic.net/basics/index.html

azuremariposa	09 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae The Process…The guy is seriously wacked but follow the directions and you’re on your way… Journaling is the way to learn. oh yeah...he's wacked alright...tremendously so...but he also knows his...stuff...(trying to curb potty mouth) ;) best listen to Umbrae, a more solid sort... (*snickering* i can hardly contain myself) blessings! *g*

Dragons_Wing	09 Apr 2003
"i'm sure i'm not the only one to offer up this article to you *coughs* Umbrae *coughs* " :) i've actually read that today and many others which is what sperred this question. :) and i have the 13 booked marked on my computer :)

azuremariposa	09 Apr 2003
well, there ya go...but do the journalling thing first, ok? :) then read thirteen's basics...(they're really good!) :D journalling really does help...:) blessings!!

Dragons_Wing	09 Apr 2003
i have to make a film run tomarrow so i'll pick up a journal while i'm out and start there. after reading the artical everyone is giving me :D i did a reading for today and wrote down what i bounced out to me in the pictures and how they felt to me on the back of the artical not sure if i'll transfer it into my journal i start up or not.

Thirteen	09 Apr 2003
LWB's have been getting better--but they're still of more use for starting fires in the fireplace. On the other hand, if your deck comes with a REAL book, don't toss that. Go ahead and read that one as it will give you some insight as to what the creator of the deck was thinking when they decided on the designs for each card. It'll point out symbols you might not otherwise notice, etc.

Minos	09 Apr 2003
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Quote: Originally posted by Dragons_Wing i've been v. dependent on my lwb in all of my readings and i've been reading some of the threads and articals here and its really mixed on how to learn. and i'm basicly wondering if i should throw away the lwb and just soley go on gut feeling? Throwing it away is one possibility. But then maybe you'll just be saddled with half-remembered and un-thought-through snatches of LWB-interpretations that you've unconsciously adopted? Maybe an alternative would be instead of tossing out the LWB, studying it even more fervently, until you've memorized large parts of it and interiorized the spirit of the whole thing, until every contradiction, hidden meaning, oversight and insight is known to you like a childhood landscape, until you've critiqued and defended and critiqued again every passage several times over, until you've picked it apart and put it back together again so many times that you hate it and love it and can't stand it and can't live without it and just want to scream. And then one day you realize that you haven't thought of the LWB in months, that you probably don't know where it is, that it doesn't matter, and that the LWB was inscribed onto your heart in letters of lead that were then transformed into gold, which then caught fire and turned to ash, out of which an angel rose, which now prophecies sweet and true things about god and man to you every waking and sleeping hour. Of course, I didn't do anything like that myself, and I don't think I'd recommend it, but it does go to show there are several possibilities. Love is the Law, Love under Will. - Minos (Who's never quite sure when he's just kidding and when he's deadly serious, and is usually both at once.)

Aerin	09 Apr 2003
I have mixed feelings on this now. A year ago I would have said toss it (unless it is a Big Book), or more probably put it away and don't look at it (I don't believe in burning books on priinciple, Faranheit 451 anyone?). Now I have more experience with the cards, I do look at one sometimes after I have finished a reading since just occassionally a keyword will leap out and hit me and give me a new insight that seems just right. So I would say, put it away until you are further advanced in your study and then maybe go back and take a look to see if it adds anything new. And when studying, find out what resources best support YOU: for me it is several good books and Thirteen's basics; for you it may be something quite different. Aerin

Mimers	09 Apr 2003
Dragons Wing, Don't throw it away! Save it in case you want to trade the deck in the future. Definitely journal. In my journal, I have notes on each card in the majors. When I need reference, I look at my notes, not usually a book (sometimes I do, but it isn't usually the LWB). Make sure as you study the cards, you leave blank pages for future notes. This way you won't have to look all through your book for notes on one card. Or you could use a 3 ring binder and just add pages. But I find them too big and the pages eventually start falling out. Good luck, Mimers

Khatruman	10 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Burn the LWB…roast a marshmallow or a weenie. The Process…The guy is seriously wacked but follow the directions and you’re on your way… Yeah, well he may be whacked, but he sure sings a mean drinkin tune!!! I knew once you responded to this there would be no need for others to do so. In response to the original query.... if it bothers you that you depend too much on the lwb, well, there is your sign to start roastin! :D

Cerulean	11 Apr 2003
sometimes are useful. The small Zerner-Farber deck has a LWB that I would say is actually a nice little pocket guide to a 'quick take' or message. While predictive or fortune-cookie snippets isn't always what I want, a quick shuffle and a card a day pull can be a nice little breather...like an affirmation card. On the other hand, if you find the meanings so generic and commentary unrelated to the art as you see it, tuck it inside the original box if you might want to trade or give the deck away.

Khatruman	11 Apr 2003
Actually, what I have been finding now is that I like books which give insights into the choices of imagery and symbolism that the creator chose. For instance, with the Sacred Circle, Franklin explains the significance in pagan mythology of certain animals, such as the badger or background into the stone structures. I do ignore "meanings" at this point though.

galadrial	11 Apr 2003
I was just mentioning, in my reply to your "eeeek" reading, that LWB's can be limiting and that you might try reading the card meanings found at "Joan Bunning's Online Tarot Course". I like them because she gives a range of key words and possible actions for each card that I found sparked my intuition more than smothered it. Seeing all these references to keeping a journal though, reminded me that I kept a journal of my own interpretations of cards in actual readings even as I was learning hers, always putting more credence in mine. Eventually, I absorbed all she had to offer had also developed a strong feel for my own instincts. Some cards even became "unique", consistently having a meaning to me not to be found in any book. I've read many books since (not little white ones) and have found that what resonates "sticks" and the rest kind of lies dormant until sometimes, in some very particular situation, a previously ignored book meaning might be exactly what "clicks", and I'm glad I stuck it in my subconcious.

wolfen045	11 Apr 2003
And here I am thinking the LWB's are great Literature, worthy of mention in the Times Literary Supplement( London) and the New York Times Book Reviews!! Silly me.... **snickering** wolfen

The should i throw away my lwb thread was originally posted on 09 Apr 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.