We each have our crosses to bear. Mine include frequent morning headaches which I rate in my daily journal on a scale of 1 (not so much) to 5 (just shoot me now).
This morning I got hit with a 4.
The headache, which had started around 4:00 a.m., was so painful I almost didn’t pull cards (the key word being ‘almost’). The ibuprofen I’d taken (chugged down with the requisite cup of black coffee) hadn’t made a dent. How I even managed to shuffle the deck can only be explained by sheer force of habit.
Here’s what I drew:
8 Coffin – 36 Cross – 17 Stork
Mlle. Lenormand Jeu de destin No. 194115 (c) 1986 Piatnik
The first two cards were appropriately literal. COFFIN can indicate a headache and COFFIN + CROSS certainly can suggest a headache of monumental proportions. The third card, STORK, was hopeful, indicating relief, as this card often indicates changes, usually for the better.
I wound up going back to bed for a couple hours, and by the time I got back up, thankfully, the headache had dissipated, allowing me to continue on with my day.
In retrospect, I’m glad the daily draw hadn’t been more complicated. My head was hurting way too much to bother trying to figure out much more information than these three cards provided.
This morning, randomly, I started thinking about the recent rash of TV commercials that start with the word “honestly” and how much they annoy me.
“Honestly? Who can say they don’t want to be tan?” (Kardashians tanning commercial)
“Honestly? I’m a little old fashioned. I love chalk and erasers…” (Microsoft Surface commercial)
Honestly?! Ask me how fast I can press the mute button…
Then I got to thinking. Why does the word “honestly” annoy me so much? Could it be because sometimes I’m not completely honest with myself, embarrassing as that might be to admit? It then occurred to me that maybe the Lenormand cards could give good insight into what we might have to gain if we were willing to be brutally honest with ourselves.
Here’s a phrasing you might use if you want to give this approach a try:
If I were being honest with myself about [situation/ circumstance/ issue], I would realize .
For example, say you were having a relationship issue. You could ask:
If I were being honest with myself about my relationship with X, I would realize …
Or a job situation:
If I were being honest with myself about the current dynamics at my workplace, I would realize…
If you’re willing to drop your defenses and really look at yourself, you could use this basic wording for insight on how you might be shooting yourself in the foot or hiding your head in the sand in just about any situation/ circumstance or issue that’s causing you concern. Of course, it goes without saying, if you really don’t want to know the answer, don’t ask the question…
On that note, here’s a personal example:
I decided to use the honesty phrasing in a Line of 5 Lenormand layout where the situation/ circumstance/ issue would be my own card reading abilities.
If I were being honest with myself about my own card reading abilities, I would realize…
I immediately see my commitment (Ring + Moon) to Lenormand. I also see confusion (Clouds) that’s blocking (Mountain) my progress (Tower) or clouding (Clouds) my judgement (Tower).
If I look at the clarification card* in relation to the central card of the spread, it’s easy to see I’m confused (Clouds) over which path (Paths) to take/ school to go with, and that my tendency to mix meanings from the different schools is holding me up (Mountain) and clouding (Clouds) my judgement (Tower).
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*Clarification cards are a tarot reading technique, not a Lenormand reading technique. Some Lenormand experts teach that using a base card (bottom card of the deck) or another clarification card in a Lenormand reading is simply not necessary. Others take a harsher viewpoint, stating it pollutes the integrity of the reading.
I disagree. I often use the base card as a clarification card in a Lenormand Line of 5, and it usually provides useful insights regarding the reading.
You might want to try the technique for yourself and determine whether it works for you.
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I’ve been working with Lenormand cards for almost six years now, and my “hit rate” is not as high as I’d like it to be. If I’m going to be honest with myself, I’ll admit I tend to cherry pick meanings from the various Lenormand schools, using meanings that suit my purposes at the time of the reading.
The cards in this “Honesty Spread” made it clear: if I were being honest with myself, I’d realize that choosing one particular Lenormand approach and sticking with it would improve my accuracy — at least for now. I could always make a different decision later on, should circumstances warrant.
The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle – Caitlin Matthews & Virginia Lee
Here is my interpretation, straight from my journal:
I think I will hear from my younger daughter today. Heart + Woman speaks of an affectionate woman or a woman I am fond of, and Child suggests she is younger rather than older. Child could also be literal, referring to her son / my grandson.
I think she will text me (Letter) and maybe call me on the phone (Birds).
Here’s what happened:
School was cancelled. My younger daughter (Heart + Woman + Child) texted (Letter) to see if I would babysit my grandson (Child) while she conducted a tutoring session (she’s a teacher). A few minutes later, she texted again, telling me the tutoring session was cancelled and wanting to know if she could come over for coffee. A few minutes after that, she sent a third text, telling me she wanted to run a few errands and maybe she’d see me later.
So a flurry (Birds) of texts (Letter) from my affectionate younger daughter (Heart + Woman + Child), with mention of her son (Child).
She never did come over, but then again, 1 Rider didn’t show up in the spread.
I received the Tarot of Pagan Cats deck I ordered yesterday.
This morning I did a reading, asking the Pagan Cats if they could give me some advice on how I could best work them.
I drew the following cards:
10 of Pentacles – XIX-The Sun – 5 of Swords – VII-The Chariot – VI-The Lovers
The message: “We are rich with meaning (10 of Pentacles). For you, we are a blend of high intuition (10) and logic (swords). Don’t let us make you dizzy with our silliness (5 of Swords), we are just being playful. Bask in our wisdom (XIX-The Sun), let us take you for a ride (VII-The Chariot) and we’ll make a great team (VI-The Lovers). Don’t be overly serious. Let your intuition kick in.”
These cats are sneaky! I originally read 10 of Pentacles as 10 of Cups, which gave me the impression they were telling me to use my intuition (cups) along with logic (5 of Swords). They tricked me in a sneaky, cat-like kind of way into interpreting how they were suggesting I work with them. How crafty of them!
The querent is a female artist who’s hit a dry spell. Lately she’s been worrying, thinking maybe she’s lost her edge. She fears she’ll never be able to produce the quality of work she’s produced in the past.
“It feels like my creative well is dry,” she confided. “At first I thought I could shake this off, but it’s been a few weeks now and it’s starting to scare me.”
Her question was simple: How Can I Replenish the Well?
I decided to cast a 5 Pointed Star tarot spread to address her question. This is a positional spread where each point of the Star discusses a certain aspect of the problem/ situation/ circumstance of concern.
After thoroughly mixing the cards, I selected the following cards to address her question:
5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread – Replenish the Well
Position 1:The nature or basis of the situation/ issue/ circumstance, or the reason for the question:
Page of Cups as the nature or basis of the situation suggests a couple of things to me. First, it literally suggests creative (Cups) thoughts (Pages). Second, it gives a sense of perhaps being overly emotional about the situation and not trusting her own intuitions, which certainly could put a damper on generating new ideas.
Position 2:The querent’s thoughts or mindset, conscious or unconscious:
Quite literally, 0-The Fool is zero. Nothing. Coupled with Page of Cups as creative thoughts, we see the querent’s situation capsulized in the first two cards: as far as creative thoughts / new inspirations are concerned (Page of Cups), there are none (0-The Fool).
Position 3:Additional information or comment that may impact the situation (can be known or unknown):
2 of Pentacles in the third position suggests a sense of uneasiness/ imbalance, and perhaps a fear of disappointing self or others. There is also a sense of discouragement. These feelings could be causing her to bounce back and forth, between hope and despair, accomplishment and the lack thereof, which could be stifling her creative faculties and affecting her ability to make careful, balanced decisions.
Position 4:The Answer, Advice or Solution:
Knight of Cups suggests the real problem is a lack of faith in herself and her abilities. She needs to re-develop her self confidence. Knight of Cups suggests she should learn to recognize whether she’s acting on fear-based emotions or out of genuine enthusiasm for her passions and interests.
Position 5:The Probable Outcome based on the current energies surrounding the situation/ issue/ circumstance:
Queen of Pentacles furthers the advice of Knight of Cups. If the querent follows the advice of Knight of Cups and resurrects her faith in herself and her abilities, she’ll be better equipped to take on her challenges and figure out effective ways to deal with them.
Clarification Card:Ties the reading together and often gives a direction to consider for achieving a suitable outcome:
V-Hierophant is a card of tradition, encompassing specific, daily routines and rituals. Instead of worrying about a lack of inspiration or a dearth of ideas, perhaps the querent could set a daily schedule that would put her in front of the computer (she does digital design) whether she feels inspired or not. Sometimes the Hierophant can represent an older or more experienced person who passes his or her knowledge on to a student or apprentice. Perhaps the querent could consider offering online classes to beginners who would love to learn the basics of digital design, and in doing so, recover some of the spark and excitement she believes she’s lost.
Hopefully, one or more of the insights provided by this reading will help the querent in resolving this issue.
Blessings,
Mary Hawkins
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