What do these mean?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Apr 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

katie_here	10 Apr 2004
Reading some threads I've noticed a lot of initials and I'm not sure what they mean. I noticed RW (rider waite?) what does LBW RWS Tdm's mean? thanks

Rusty Neon	10 Apr 2004
RW = RWS = RWCS = Rider Waite Colman Smith deck PKT = A Pictorial Key to the Tarot (Waite's cryptic book on the RW deck) Rider was the original publisher. A.E. Waite was the occultist creator. "Pixie" Colman-Smith was the artist. LWB = little (white) booklet that comes with the deck, even if it's not white TdM = Tarot de Marseille deck DM = divinatory meaning GD = Golden Dawn OGD = Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn LS = Lo Scarabeo (publisher) USG = U.S. Games Inc. (publisher) EDs = elemental dignities TOOTK = The Opening of the Key (a multi-step reading method devised by the OGD using EDs) Rx = reversed e.g., 7 of Cups Rx = 7 of Cups reversed

Osher	10 Apr 2004
Also: TotOP Tarot of the Old Path (my main deck BTW (By The Way))

ros	10 Apr 2004
OOP out of print

Rusty Neon	10 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ros OOP out of print And there's also HTF (hard to find) Both of these abbreviations appear frequently on ebay and are used by vendors to describe tarot decks that are not necessarily OOP or HTF. :)

Osher	10 Apr 2004
Or MIB Men In Black, which means that if you buy the deck, Will Smith and Linda Florentina will... No, just kidding, it means Mint In Box (pity, Florentina was so hot in The Last Seduction, ah well).

WalesWoman	11 Apr 2004
IMO or IMHO (in my opinion or in my humble opinion) FWIW For What It's Worth LOL Laugh Out Loud ROFLMAO Roll on Floor Laughing My A** Off can add an H Hysterically KISS Keep It Simple Stupid

jmd	12 Apr 2004
Thankyou katie_here... This only highlights for me the need to make sure I do not presume that any abbreviations I may use are understood, but are to also be spelled out within my posts for the many within our growing community who may not necessarily read the same threads in which those abbreviations are assumed to be commonly understood. Another abbreviation which is also used (especially elsewhere) for the deck by Waite and Colman Smith is W-S or W-CS. The appelation 'Rider-Waite' is simply the registered name by US Games for the deck which has its copyright expired - ie, not the deck, but the name is copyright by US Games, and even the Rider publishing company never used the term 'Rider Waite' when it published the deck in its earliest days. Other names which are at times used to differentiate various Marseille style decks are by the name of the publisher, designer, or that used on a or some cards within the deck - such as Vieville (sometimes Vievil), Dodal, Noblet, Hadar, Camoin (sometimes, and more correctly, the Camoin-Jodorowski), Conver, Piatnik, Fournier, Grimaud, Marteau, Burdel ... & a host of others, at times without the more generic 'MARSEILLE(s)' word attached for those unfamiliar with the tradition to easily identify the same. Again, I will personally have to be careful as I am sure to have been somewhat remiss at times.

The What do these mean? thread was originally posted on 10 Apr 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.