AUTHOR'S NOTE: In developing this essay I borrowed from the way I've always read tarot since, at least in this one instance, the visual integration of both tarot cards and Lenormand cards in large layouts is almost identical, although Lenormand exhibits more formal structure in terms of what I call "sub-routines" or "protocols." Unlike the … Continue reading The “Gestalt Overview” in Cartomancy
A “Lenormand Whodunnit” Real-Life Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those who are interested in my Lenormand "cold-case" approach, here is a real-life example reading. Not long ago I was contacted by a woman who saw my past missing-person work and was asking for help with an unofficial inquiry she is heading up on behalf of a friend. She acknowledged that the … Continue reading A “Lenormand Whodunnit” Real-Life Case Study
Narrative or Descriptive Reading: A Cartomantic Divide
AUTHOR'S NOTE: During my studies I occasionally see a distinction being made between a narrative "storytelling" approach to explaining the cards in a reading, in which a series of scenes is presented much like the panels of a comic strip, and a less-anecdotal descriptive style that defines the broader relationship among the cards, often in … Continue reading Narrative or Descriptive Reading: A Cartomantic Divide
A Lenormand “Whodunnit” Tableau & Example Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those who have been following this blog know that I have an abiding interest in criminal "cold-case" readings. I normally use horary astrology and tarot for this purpose, but here I'm exploring an interesting way to apply the Lenormand cards. The first thing I did was locate all of the cards that could … Continue reading A Lenormand “Whodunnit” Tableau & Example Reading
Lenormand and the Tetractys Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some time ago I created a 10-card "tetractys" (aka "decad") spread based on a template I found on-line, applying my own modifications to personalize it. I intended to use it only with tarot cards. However, while reading Lisa Young-Sutton's book, The Petit Lenormand Oracle, I encountered her use of the 10-card "pyramid" spread, … Continue reading Lenormand and the Tetractys Spread
The “Wild-Card Tableau” – A Tarot-Lenormand Experiment
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I seldom use tarot cards in combination with Lenormand cards in a reading, but the minor merger I've come up with here looks like something I can live with. Cartomantic theorists are always looking for effective methods to bring tarot cards and oracle cards together in a combined reading. Lenormand writers have proposed … Continue reading The “Wild-Card Tableau” – A Tarot-Lenormand Experiment
Above, Below and In-Between
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "As above, so below" is a cornerstone of esoteric thought in the Hermetic tradition. According to this theory, life on Earth is a mirror or "microcosm" of the spiritual realm, or "macrocosm." Humans could therefore be viewed as approximate (and perhaps distorted) replicas of the perfect beings who inhabit the more numinous levels … Continue reading Above, Below and In-Between
A Recipe for Timing (or “Why Did My Cake Fall?”)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay is not about a Betty Crocker bake-off; it discusses certain event-timing techniques used in divination. But I couldn't resist the analogy! Modern bakers who use "fail-safe" pre-mixed aggregates (you know the hype: "just add water") won't have a clue what my subtitle is about and will only shoot me a blank … Continue reading A Recipe for Timing (or “Why Did My Cake Fall?”)
The “So What?” Moment
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm indebted to a fellow r/tarot contributor for expanding my vocabulary of exclamatory responses to the surprising things I encounter in tarot readings (although this one may be more routine than exceptional and will understandably evoke a dismissive "Ehh"). We've all heard of the "Aha!" moment, the instant during a reading when an … Continue reading The “So What?” Moment
Waiting For The “Drop” – A Situational Response Spectrum
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Serving as a (welcome?) bit of relief from my relentless Lenormand commentary, here is an approach to situational awareness and response based on the idea that a particular activity described as a set of circumstances or facts can be foreseen to precipitate a "second act" of a countervailing nature (a divinatory parallel to … Continue reading Waiting For The “Drop” – A Situational Response Spectrum
