Putting Down The LWB

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

miss_apples	09 Feb 2004
I have a bad bad habit of using the little white book that comes with the cards for help with inturpretation. I know thats alright for beginners but Ive been reading for almost 5 years now and I still do it! I have practiced doing readings without it and I do a good job but Im just so scared that my readings will come out wrong if I dont use the LWB so I end up grabbing for it. Does anyone else have this problem? And does anyone have any advice as to how I can break my bad habit? Thanks

Tarot Sparrow	09 Feb 2004
Just relax. There's not much more you can do...you know from experience that you can give good readings without it. The greater power is in your mind, not on the pages. Let go and learn to trust yourself. It just takes time but once you fully realize how good you are you'll have no use for the book.

inanna_tarot	09 Feb 2004
I'd say i do!! I mostly do readings for myself, or for other people over the net, and i could never do a reading for someone face to face unless i can put the book down - but i find it very hard still! I need it there as a little cushion so i dont fall completely on my butt when reading the cards. I'm trying to ween myself from it, but its very hard indeed. I think i need more reading practise other than for myself. Sezo x

contrascarpe	09 Feb 2004
It has taken me time to gain the confidence of not referring to a book during readings. Actually I am not quite there yet. But as Dead Star states, there is a time that comes when you learn to trust yourself and the book becomes irrelevant. I am trying to make my readings more intuitive and less strict. Once you have the basic concepts of the cards, learn to look at the pictures and see what they say to you "today". Studying a card or two a day from your favorite deck(s) is a good way of doing this. Also, joining in with one of the Study Groups in these forums is a good start. They force you to take one card at a time and reflect on it and to also learn what others think of the cards. If your deck is not among those being studied, start a thread under the General section and I am sure others will join in. Since I joined this forum I have learned so much but the most important thing I have learned is to trust my feelings when a card comes out. Once you get to this point, it is like a burden lifted off you.

Imagemaker	09 Feb 2004
Checking the book is your way of making sure you haven't forgotten something. You could try doing the reading without the book, writing down the keywords/meanings that come to mind, then after the reading is all done check the book to see if you forgot anything crucial. You will probably find that you didn't. That will be proof *to yourself* that you CAN trust your intuition and memory (they work together).

13thFaeChylde	09 Feb 2004
When I do online readings, I have at least 2 books with me. I go with my gut at first, but always use them to make sure there isn't an angle that I might be missing. There usually is! So for now I'll probably keep double-checking.

catdoc	09 Feb 2004
I find that I now feel familiar enough with the tarot to do a reading without referring to the LWB, but when a deck creator has also written a more detailed companion book to accompany the deck I will refer to this text. There is often a bit of wisdom or a slightly different perspective to be found in these more in depth discussions of what the card means to the creator of the image. Deb

Emily	09 Feb 2004
I have to agree with catdoc, its not very often I refer to the LWB, I don't think I have even read the ones with the Morgan Greer, the Radiant Waite or the Universal Waite - all decks I use often. But this is because I refer to companion books, not specific to the Radiant/Universal but the RWS symbolism. I love to read through '78 Degrees of Wisdom' and 'Spiritual Tarot' - also other books that take you off the beaten track and give new insights and ideas. This in turn makes you look at cards differently - like the 7 Swords refering to a computer virus sneaking onto your pc, doing damage, stealing things, something I would never had thought of. I am a bit of a bookworm lol :)

miss_apples	09 Feb 2004
Im glad Im not the only one with this issue. I could read other books but I have a very short attention span and cannot get myself to sit down and get myself interested enough to read any book. Thats why I like the LWB...its nice and short and I dont have to read the entire thing.

Emily	09 Feb 2004
Hi miss_apples, Some LWB's are very good - the one with the Russian Tarot of St Petersburg is very informative - the only thing is its left me wanting more so I've ended up ordering the companion book anyway - something I wasn't going to do. :D

Aerten	09 Feb 2004
I thought the LWB in the Crystal Tarots was nice, too :) Shame on me! Don't worry; I still refer to the LWB on occaision when I'm completely stumped-- I'd rather get the artist's original ideas then some very vague third party's idea that claims to apply to most every deck... though I love reading books such as 78DW, just to have it hanging around in my subconscious.

Phoenyx*	09 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Emily I am a bit of a bookworm lol :) Oh good, so I'm not the only one! LOL, my Granny used to say that we'd have to move out the house so the books could move in....literally. Right now, we have bookshelves in each room, at least one, and one entire 40' wall covered top to bottom in bookshelves, filled to the brim.

Never_Mind	09 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by miss_apples Does anyone else have this problem? And does anyone have any advice as to how I can break my bad habit? miss_apples It helps when I'm reading for myself, because works as an "external voice". If you feel like using it, feel free to use it. Why not? I like to think, when I'm reading my cards, that I am free to do it as I want. I often consult the deck's book myself. Why not?

miss_apples	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Never_Mind miss_apples It helps when I'm reading for myself, because works as an "external voice". If you feel like using it, feel free to use it. Why not? I like to think, when I'm reading my cards, that I am free to do it as I want. I often consult the deck's book myself. Why not? Well yeah when Im reading for myself no problem. But Id kinda like to do this semi-professionally some day. I did do a reading today without it and had no problem...but right after I was done i immediatly picked it up to compare notes.

LadyMedusa	10 Feb 2004
Hi miss_apples, Here's a trick that has worked well for me. I too have been working on weaning myself off of reaching too quickly for the book(s). I started leaving the book in the box or on the shelf for at least 30 minutes after I feel I have completed a reading. Then before I start lookings up, I go over my notes while taking another look at the throw. It won't take long before you find that more of the extra insight you will gain, will come more from going back over the throw with your own notes rather than from the basic information in the books. It has really helped build my self-confidence. LadyMedusa

Umbrae	10 Feb 2004
Get Sausages, or other “Phun Phood”. Get matches. Burn the LWB as quickly as possible. If the “Deck Creator” had something to say, look at the cards – NOT the LWB (Tarot of the III Millenniums excepted). If they had something really interesting they would have written a companion book. Burn the LWB and warm your sausages…Yum…

Lee	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae If they had something really interesting they would have written a companion book. Umm, sometimes deck authors aren't given that option by the publishers... -- Lee

baba-prague	10 Feb 2004
As someone who put a horrible amount of effort into our LWB (it is hard putting meaningful stuff into 30 tiny pages only) please regard the LWB a bit like a poem. Read it for inspiration and to spark ideas in an evocative way - not to give "the" interpretation or, for that matter, as something you have to learn by rote. After you've read it - put it firmly in a drawer and close the drawer... but be prepared to take it out again sometimes - but I'd suggest after a reading, not during.

Kissa	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Burn the LWB and warm your sausages…Yum… Umbrae, does this mean vegetarians are allowed to keep their LWB? I mean these soy saysages are soooo baaaad (at least in Finland...) I don't use LWB. I put them apart as soon as I get the new deck. Unfortunately, I've noticed that some cards seem to get an odd form if being stocked in their box vertically for a long time without LWB :-( So I stock them horizontally he he ... without LWB. I am a huge fan of companion books though. And I stopped being a veggie ... Kissa

Khatruman	10 Feb 2004
Not sure there is much more I can contribute to the advice given here, other than to agree with those who tell you to somehow cut yourself off from the LWBs. The analogy I would give is like learning touchtyping. I did learn it way back in eighth grade, but because I needed to get papers done, I cheated and looked at the keyboard. I did this for several years. The only way that I got the skill back was simply to not allow myself to look at the keys. Put away your "keys" (LWBs) and trust your instincts. You have been doing it for five years now, and I am sure you have developed instincts on all the cards by now. It is just that your "crutch" is holding back all the inner knowledge you have. Time for some intensive physical therapy... (started with one metaphor, ended with another :D)

miss_apples	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Get Sausages, or other “Phun Phood”. Get matches. Burn the LWB as quickly as possible. If the “Deck Creator” had something to say, look at the cards – NOT the LWB (Tarot of the III Millenniums excepted). If they had something really interesting they would have written a companion book. Burn the LWB and warm your sausages…Yum… The problem with companion books is that they are big books and as i said earlier in the thread I dont have the attention span to read full length books. Thats why I like the LWB...its short and sweet. Youre a wonderful tarotologist however not all of your techniques work for everyone. Lady Medusa...I like your idea...I'll keep my LWB in my sock drawer far fdrom my immediate reach until after the reading :) I have been holding myself back and doing the reading first and then looking at the LWB after Im completly done to compare my inurpretation with the LWB...I think thats a good first step for me.

WalesWoman	11 Feb 2004
Miss_Apples, I'm trying very hard not to keep looking up the cards after doing a spread, but I'm sure it's mostly a matter of confidence which I am slowly beginning to have. Especially if for some reason I just go blank, I really have to fight the urge to quick pick up a book instead of just thinking until something clicks. But I do try always to wait until I've done my interpretation for the whole spread and then "check" my reading with what the LWB or companion or reference book has to say. It just sucks when there are about 50 different interpretations for the same card and the" AH HA! That's what that meant!" comes to me two or three days later.

miss_apples	11 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by WalesWoman Miss_Apples, I'm trying very hard not to keep looking up the cards after doing a spread, but I'm sure it's mostly a matter of confidence which I am slowly beginning to have. Especially if for some reason I just go blank, I really have to fight the urge to quick pick up a book instead of just thinking until something clicks. But I do try always to wait until I've done my interpretation for the whole spread and then "check" my reading with what the LWB or companion or reference book has to say. It just sucks when there are about 50 different interpretations for the same card and the" AH HA! That's what that meant!" comes to me two or three days later. Yeah there are a thousand different meanings for each card. This is the first time in my life that ive had more than one deck of tarot cards...and Im comparing the meanings in the LWBs and theyre different in each book. Its odd!

Stregaverde	30 Jan 2005
I just got the Tarocchi di Vetro (Crystal Tarot) and am reading through the original Italian version of the LWB. The language is evocative and truly thought-provoking. Another thing that I like is that she doesn't give the names of the Major Arcana, only the numbers, and then its essence. For example, The Papessa is listed as II- La scienza--Ella é la soglia tra la luce e la tenebra, coiè che si conosce e si ignora, ciò che si possiede e ciò che terrorizza. Sua é la custodia dell'ignoto. That's a toughie to translate, but trust me, it's a lot more than just a few keywords! It speaks volumes about the card in just a few lines. I don't read the LWB of the BBC because I have the wonderful companion book, so I can't comment on that one. However, the LWB for the Tarot of Mermaids is almost worthless--it would be better used to warm sausages, I agree. :)

tarotbear	30 Jan 2005
Most LWB's are not necessarily written by the artist, much to everyone's dismay. In fact, sometimes the LWB is created by the publisher who doesn't have a clue about any subtleties of the deck. I usually suggest to my classes that they should read the LWB - once - to see if there is something new or different or cool that the book is telling you that you would miss otherwise. Then take the LWB and TOSS IT AWAY IN THE BACK OF A DRAWER! Yes - I DO have a shelf of tarot reference books and occassionally I do refer to them. However, you really have to wean yourself off thinking that if you give a meaning that isn't in the LWB that the world will stop, planets will fall from the skies, or that Bush will get re-elected for a third term!

Major Tom	31 Jan 2005
tarotbear wrote: you really have to wean yourself off thinking that if you give a meaning that isn't in the LWB that the world will stop, planets will fall from the skies, or that Bush will get re-elected for a third term! :laugh: Tarotbear - It's so good to have you back. :) Sometimes folks can even come up with meanings that can't be found in any reference book. ;)

souljourney	04 Feb 2005
It was all a good thread until Tarotbear had to bring up Bush.... and we were having such a nice time. I must say though tarotbear... your posts are always really insightful and have humor...love that. Ok, about the topic... I keep the LWB's, but I much prefer decks that have a companion book. I find I do refer to them sometimes (certain cards maybe) once I've done the reading and interpretation. I was very disappointed in the LWB that came with my Gothic Tarot of Vampires. I wanted more info. I am glad the LWB is there, because some of the meanings are so different. But this forum has been helpful, there is even a study group for that deck started. I feel like that will be way better than any LWB. Goddess Tarot LWB was pretty good actually...like a mini companion book sort of. I think LWB's aren't inherantly bad...but if people stick to only those meanings, and don't expand then that isn't good. Many LWB's have the feel of open deck, do this spread, read the 3 words meanings and Poof...you're a tarot reader. That is almost dangerous I think

Fudugazi	04 Feb 2005
Stregaverde wrote: I just got the Tarocchi di Vetro (Crystal Tarot) and am reading through the original Italian version of the LWB. The language is evocative and truly thought-provoking. Another thing that I like is that she doesn't give the names of the Major Arcana, only the numbers, and then its essence. For example, The Papessa is listed as II- La scienza--Ella é la soglia tra la luce e la tenebra, coiè che si conosce e si ignora, ciò che si possiede e ciò che terrorizza. Sua é la custodia dell'ignoto. That's a toughie to translate, but trust me, it's a lot more than just a few keywords! It speaks volumes about the card in just a few lines. I agree with you on the Tarocchi di Vetro LWB - it's beautiful - like Baba Prague said about some LWBs, a poem. My Italian isn't fluent but I read it competently, and I say it out loud, for the music. I don't necessarily buy all their interpretations (6 di Denari springs to mind) but the short text is always thought-provoking. Still, I wouldn't read the cards with it in hand. It's another ingredient in the pot of the conscious-unconscious with which we read our tarot cards...

Fudugazi	04 Feb 2005
miss_apples wrote: I have a bad bad habit of using the little white book that comes with the cards for help with inturpretation. I know thats alright for beginners but Ive been reading for almost 5 years now and I still do it! I have practiced doing readings without it and I do a good job but Im just so scared that my readings will come out wrong if I dont use the LWB so I end up grabbing for it. The boyfriend who introduced me to tarot had that same habit. He was a mathematician - both structured and intuitive - and perfectly capable of giving good readings without it, but he hung onto it because a part of him didn't want to let go and become "soulful" and depend on that intuition (he didn't believe in the soul - not then at any rate: he has changed :)) Funnily enough, it was when he realised he was getting some splendid breakthroughs in his maths research thanks to his intuition and to tarot that he got the confidence to let the LWB gather dust...

Satori	04 Feb 2005
Ah the book, the LWB. I find them confusing. When I stopped reading the books and started reading the cards something wonderful happened. I found some wonderful information started to come out of my mouth. I would go and check the book then and I saw that sometimes I said something that meshed with the book, and sometimes said things that didn't, but the most wonderful part was that I was just open to making the mistake, if that is what it was. And people started to listen to my readings differently. The best day was when I was reading for a friend, and she reached over and grabbed the LWB to check on something I had said, and the book was very similar to what I was saying, but I was giving much more depth to the meaning of the card. I didn't get offended, just kept going, and she has since looked to me with a renewed respect for what I do. So sometimes I will look at the book after the reading, when I've come home and want to check something. But mostly the books have been on a bit of a vacation around here. What I'm reading lately are books on symbolism, and I'm basically looking to see what symbols were being used when....and looking to see if my personal symbol set matches up with the books or not and noting the differences.

cSpaceDiva	05 Feb 2005
baba-prague wrote: Don't burn it! If we didn't read the LWB for Baroque Bohemian Cats, we might not have known that you shouldn't really dress kitties. :D Agree that you shouldn't refer to it during the reading.

mnemosyne7	06 Feb 2005
You are either reading the LWB, or you're reading the cards. I don't know if you can really do both at the same time. Mnem

caridwen	07 Feb 2005
If I'm doing a reading for a friend or querent - I never refer to any book. I think it looks as though you don't know what you're doing so why should they trust what you're saying? They could look up the meanings themselves. When I do readings for myself - I look up a particular card that doesn't make sense to me. Sometimes I check cards to make sure I'm getting all the info possible. So I suppose I do a mixture of the two. I also ask the querent what they see in the card, to see what strikes them. Often they don't see much but it's useful to ask - it also makes the reading much more personal. I also never ask what their question is. I ask them to write it down so they can focus whilst shuffling. Then I do a Celtic Cross and see what the problem is from the first two cards and the general cards shown. That's what I've been doing recently anyway. I find the question limits what I see and guides me in a certain way which isn't always 'right'. Anyway, I'm rambling...

seapearls	12 Feb 2005
I find myself being able to just come up with good readings of the cards that are visual but there are always cards to me like the Singers in my faery oracle deck that just don't say anythigngto me I have to look it up. I'm going to try other decks and see if I find one that suits me better.

rainwolf	14 Feb 2005
Theres nothing wrong with reading the LWB. Its there to give you understanding why the author included the symbolism they did, so read it once, and let your intuition flow thereafter. I have to say the World Spirit big white book was kinda useless tho. Personally i never found them very useful, entertaining at most, but i think the sybolism can tell me much more than i can read.

RedMaple	14 Feb 2005
I didn't use the LWB's much, but for a long time I would do readings in bed, with all kinds of Tarot books around me, checking every reference I could find. Then I read a book on doing intuitive tarot, which said to put all your books away for three months. I was filled with panic, but decided that i really needed to wean myself from the books or I'd never be a "real" reader. So I did. And lo and behold, I could read without them. And what's more, the readings were vivid, and accurate, and I discovered my own special meanings for cards, and started seeing things in spreads that I hadn't noticed before because I was too busy reading the books instead of the cards. LOL I still read the books occasionally, but for background and refreshing, but never when I'm reading the cards. And I feel free to disagree on meanings, or to know that the meanings are limited, or modified by a particular deck's image. What I find most helpful now is a comparative Tarot approach -- how is this card in this deck unique from those in other decks? How do all the images from all the different decks inform the meanng of the cards? It keeps me with the images and stories, and away from abstractions, and I think I read better for it. And it's so much fun to lay out all the Devils at once and really look at them, or all the Strength cards --- those lovely Ladies with their Lions....you get the idea.

Sechat	14 Feb 2005
Elf mentioned on the thread about putting down the LWB reading more books on symbolism to strengthen the interpretive muscle. What books on symbolism or other esoteric material has been found to be helpful in tarot study that are not specifically tarot books? For example, I mentioned on another thread that I have found Annemarie Schimmel's The Mystery of Numbers very helpful. It is not specifically tarot targeted (how's that for alliteration) but it is focused on mystical/occult/religious dimensions of numbers and number systems. I am particularly interested in finding various tarot components such as the elements, the suits, etc. peace, sechat

Fudugazi	14 Feb 2005
Sechat wrote: Elf mentioned on the thread about putting down the LWB reading more books on symbolism to strengthen the interpretive muscle. What books on symbolism or other esoteric material has been found to be helpful in tarot study that are not specifically tarot books?... Chevalier and Gheebrant's Dictionary of Symbols is a mine of information. I am getting some interesting insights from various books on cathedral iconography (in French - I don't know if they are translated). The Dartmouth college site on numbers and geometry that is often given is always worth a good long browse: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit1/INTRO.html And scroll down the side for sections on numbers, geometry and pythagoras.

tinkerbell	18 Feb 2005
when i got my first deck (the robin wood) and being a regular visitor to this site-i remebered another thread in this vein where quite a lot of you recommended "tossing the lwb away". i admit, i nearly did, but i've learned that actually, LWB's provide a wonderful mini reference, especially for SPREADS and they can come in handy if you're going away and unable to take your trusty ( yet bulky) reference books. of course, you never know when your taste in decks may change , in which case, if you decide to trade, people always like their decks to have a box and LWB, (well, i do!) even if they do end up finding it of little use to them! i say be kind to the LWB!!!! love tink xx

Silaria	18 Feb 2005
Like you, I'm still weaning myself off the LWB. I find I need it less and less as time moves along BUT I still need help with some cards I don't encounter much - certain Major Arcana and the Courts mainly. (What I should do is spend more time with these cards to get to "know" them better.) miss_apples wrote: The problem with companion books is that they are big books and as i said earlier in the thread I dont have the attention span to read full length books. I LOVE the companion books to decks but, like you, I don't have the attention span to read them cover to cover. So, what do I do with them? I look up the cards that came up in the spread after I'm finished with the reading (unless I'm really stuck and drawing a blank - then I'll look it up right away). I also keep my Journal nearby so if I encounter an interesting tidbit about the card, I make a note of it.

The Putting Down The LWB thread was originally posted on 09 Feb 2004 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.