UPDATE: The birth occurred early in the morning on January 9th, which was within slightly more than 24 hours of the predicted date. I seem to be giving my younger readers an ongoing education in idioms from a bygone era. This one seems particularly appropriate to the situation. We have an informal family lottery going … Continue reading By Guess or By Golly
Lenormand
A Lenormand Forecast: Land Sale Outlook
I've been neglecting my Lenormand practice lately, so I took the opportunity to do a 3x3 reading on an initiative we've just begun to sell some property we own. When we moved out of our old home, we kept an adjacent five-acre parcel that we intended to sell separately from the house plot. We haven't … Continue reading A Lenormand Forecast: Land Sale Outlook
Starting Over
Although there are differing opinions on the subject, there are times when it just seems prudent to scrap a reading that has begun badly and start over, not because the testimony in the cards is unfavorable but because something about the circumstances of the draw was "off." Last night I did two Lenormand Grand Tableaux, … Continue reading Starting Over
“I Yam What I Yam . . .”
". . . and dat's all what I yam!" (In the immortal words of Popeye the Sailor Man.) I came across a neat bit of wisdom on Andy Boroveshengra's blog Fortuna's Picturebook that I'm going to borrow for the theme of this post: "Cards are never something else before they are themselves." https://abcartomancy.blogspot.com/2019/07/shall-i-compare-thee.html Andy was … Continue reading “I Yam What I Yam . . .”
Playing-Card Insets: A Challenge Worth Taking
I've been working with the Lenormand cards going on nine years now, but I've never put a lot of effort into understanding and using the playing-card insets. Concurrently, I've been studying playing-card cartomancy somewhat casually, first through Dawn Jackson's Hedgewytchery material and more recently through the excellent blog of Kapherus (J. David Arcuri), Art of … Continue reading Playing-Card Insets: A Challenge Worth Taking
A Summer Solstice Grand Tableau
My birthday is on the Summer Solstice, and every year I do a Grand Tableau to look at the year ahead. This is Lynn Boyle's Heloise Lenormand, my current favorite. All images copyright Lynne Boyle Except for the Fox, the Man's row is filled with nothing worse than "neutral" cards. The Fox suggests the worm … Continue reading A Summer Solstice Grand Tableau
Stiff-necked Scholars, Attend!
Although it's an over-simplification of the truth, I can easily pass for a card-carrying member of the "Stiff-necked Scholars' League" of Lenormand practitioners: I value the historical basis of this cartomantic system above all else, and take a dim view of too much imaginative tinkering with its customary methods. (On the other hand, is there … Continue reading Stiff-necked Scholars, Attend!
“Knights’ Crossing” – The Marginal Significator
In an earlier post in this series I discussed how to deal with a floating Significator or topic card that appears in the bottom row of the 9x4 layout, such that there aren't enough cards left in the deck to populate a nine-card square surrounding it. The worst case occurs when it lands in the … Continue reading “Knights’ Crossing” – The Marginal Significator
“Knights’ Crossing” Example Reading #3: The 2019 “Troutlook”
I've been an avid fly-fisherman for most of my life, and was of the "catch-and-release" persuasion long before the US Border Patrol co-opted the phrase, although my targets are native and not immigrant. Hmm, come to think of it, both rainbow and brown trout are "introduced" species in my region, so there are parallels, but … Continue reading “Knights’ Crossing” Example Reading #3: The 2019 “Troutlook”
Paired-Deck Reading #2: An Old Acquaintance
As I envisioned, the pocket-size Centennial Edition of the RWS "in a tin" is the perfect companion for Pixie's Astounding Lenormand in two-deck readings. The latter was adapted by Edmund Zebrowski from Pamela Colman Smith's artwork, so there is an agreeable consistency in the images, and the size is roughly equivalent. I decided to do … Continue reading Paired-Deck Reading #2: An Old Acquaintance
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 