I had such an experience this morning when I threw a Lenormand Line of 5 to get a “heads up” on how my son’s art show opening reception this evening would go.
Background
My son is an emerging artist who’s recently completed his second year of a three year graduate fine arts program out of state. In the past, he’s had some success showing and selling his work at regional venues. He’s back in town for a few weeks and the opening reception for his latest art show is this evening.
Beyond curious as to know what the sales potential for tonight’s festivities might be, I couldn’t help but throw a Lenormand Line of 5 with the Blaue Eule (Blue Owl) Lenormand cards this morning to get the skinny.
The spread starts out with some fears and worries, perhaps some pre-show jitters, about low attendance or potential lack of sales (COFFIN + MICE). The central or hinge card, 25 Ring, however, augers “contracts,” and in combination with 34 Fish, these are likely sales. (FISH, in and of itself, is a money card, confirming that the cards are indeed addressing a money question.)
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Note: As usual, I included the Base Card (bottom card of the shuffled deck), which I’ve found gives extra insight to the Lenormand Line of 5. In my experience, the base card either modifies the hinge (central) card or clarifies the focus of the reading. In this spread, it does both.
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20 Garden can be interpreted as “a public event” and here represents the art show itself. 2 Clover ending the Lenormand Line of 5 suggests success and a positive, likely profitable, outcome.
In a nutshell, “stresses and fears that attendance may be low or that sales might be poor (COFFIN + MICE) will dissolve/ dissipate/ end (COFFIN). My son will “get lucky” and likely experience a profitable outcome (CLOVER). The show (GARDEN) will bring in sales (RING + FISH)”.
To gain clarification and/or additional information, I quickly added up the cards’ numerical values and reduced the sum to a number equaling 36* or less:
* 36 is the number of cards in a Lenormand deck. If I had been using a Tarot deck, I would have reduced the sum to a number equaling 22 or less, the number of Tarot cards in the Major Arcana.
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I then found 4 House in the remaining deck and selected it along with the card before and the card after.
Blaue Eule (Blue Owl) Lenormand 10 Scythe – 4 House – 31 Sun
SCYTHE is literally “a cut.” HOUSE symbolizes the venue. Literally, “the house gets a cut”(their commission on sales) and everyone walks away happy (SUN).
I was pleased with the card draw and can hardly wait to see how this goes. I’ll let you know! 🙂
Stay tuned,
Blessings,
Mary Hawkins
Update
Woo Hoo!! Opening night was a success! SUN and CLOVER came through with flying colors 🙂 — Attendance was fabulous, sales were made (so oh yeah, the house got its cut), opportunities for future shows at other venues are likely, the gallery owner is extending the show dates … all in all very positive and my son is very pleased at how things went.
Those of us who tend to view life through a magickal lens know we each have, to some degree or another, the power to change our circumstances. This is why I lean towards using the cards (Tarot, Lenormand, Playing cards or Oracle cards) for self-understanding rather than prediction — although there certainly are times when prediction is exactly what is needed!
On that note, last Sunday morning, after yet another night of mindless munching in front of the television set, I pulled out my recently-acquired Celtic Lenormand card deck by Chloe McCracken and Will Worthington and asked (in a pitiful, whiny voice): “WHY am I overeating when I really want to lose weight?!”
I decided to cast a Lenormand Square of 9 where Row 1 would represent the problem, Row 2 would give the solution, and Row 3 would provide advice or further commentary. Additional information gleaned from the way the cards fell would be icing on the cake (Gahhhhhhh!!!)
Here’s what I got:
Q: Why am I Overeating (& What Can I Do about It)?
Celtic Lenormand Weight Loss Advice:1 Rider – 19 Tower – 15 Bear – 33 Key – 2 Clover – 12 Birds – 17 Storks – 25 Ring – 34 Fish
Since 15 BEAR, an appropriate card for weight gain, falls at the end of Row 1, I sensed the first two cards in the row were the factors leading up to the condition of being overweight: namely, lack of movement (RIDER) and isolation (TOWER). As usual, the Lenormand cards pulled no punches. I spend too much time alone (TOWER) and I don’t move around enough (RIDER).
The solution (KEY) is to look for opportunities (CLOVER) to socialize (BIRDS), particularly in the evenings (I noticed the Moon on the BIRDS card), which is when I do most of my overeating.
My key to dieting success (KEY) would be to focus on salads, leafy green vegetables (CLOVER) and fowl (i.e., chicken & turkey) (BIRDS). Low-carb dieting came to mind. I’d had success with that approach in the past and these cards suggested I’d profit from giving it another try.
Row 3 – Advice, Factors to Consider: 17 Storks, 25 Ring, 34 Fish
Celtic Lenormand Weight Loss Advice Row 3: 17 Storks – 25 Ring – 34 Fish
The first two cards, STORKS and RING, seemed easy enough to interpret: “positive changes come with commitment” or “commitment is needed to bring about positive changes.”34 FISH at the end of the row threw me off. Eat more fish? That would go along with the low-carb dieting approach indicated in Row 2.
Perhaps FISH was also referencing the concept of “quality over quantity” (FISH is plentiful, expansive). Maybe if I were to focus more on the quality of the food I eat, I’ll have a better shot at reaching my goals.
Additional Info I Pulled from this Reading:
In addition to socializing, BIRDS represent electronic communication, the media and anything that travels over the airwaves including television. I couldn’t help but notice that Row 3 read vertically (BEAR + BIRDS + FISH) suggested “an excess (FISH) of television watching (BIRDS) leading to weight gain (BEAR).”
True dat.
Conversely, FISH + BIRDS + BEAR suggested an expansion (FISH) of social activity (BIRDS) could help resolve the weight issue (BEAR). This also rang true. Maybe I could schedule evening activities once or twice a week to break up the pattern. A Continuing Ed dance class? A Meet-Up group? Those ideas had crossed my mind before, not that I had given them much more than a passing thought.
2 CLOVER, the central card in the Lenormand Square of 9, seemed to be showing me that a wealth of opportunities to get a handle on my problem existed. Move around more (RIDER). Stop isolating yourself (TOWER). Get out more often & socialize (BIRDS). Improve the quality of your eating (STORKS, FISH, BEAR); eat more greens (CLOVER), fowl (BIRDS) and fish (FISH). Commit (RING) to a diet plan that will bring you success/ improvements (KEY, STORKS).
Lenormand Clarification Cards for Weight Loss
The information I pulled out of the reading wasn’t dramatic. Rather, it was quite matter-of-fact. Lenormand cards are known for “telling it like it is” and they rarely beat around the bush. This is an attribute I very much appreciate. That notwithstanding, it didn’t stop me from wondering whether the cards had anything else to say, so I decided to pull clarification cards using my go-to method, which is to add up the card values in the spread and reduce them to a number equaling 36 or below:
I then located 14 FOX in the remaining deck and selected it along with the card before and the card after.
Celtic Lenormand Clarification Cards – Weight Loss Advice: 20 Garden – 14 Fox – 6 Clouds
I immediately noticed two things: all that food laid out so temptingly on the blanket in the GARDEN card — and the fact that the FOX was looking right, toward the CLOUDS. Despite the food feast on the GARDEN card, I also had to consider its standard meanings: socializing, parties, public activities, etc.
Two important messages came to mind:
My fears/ doubts about socializing / reluctance to socialize (GARDEN, CLOUDS) are contributing to the problem (FOX).
“If you’re trying to convince yourself this is not about overeating (GARDEN), you are deceiving yourself (FOX + CLOUDS).”
Once again, in plain language, the Lenormand cards provided a highly informative analysis regarding a matter of concern. With CLOVER as the central card in this Square of 9, I realized I’d need to act on the messages Lenormand so graciously provided, and not just let the “wealth of opportunities” to resolve my issue fade away from lack of attention.
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“An opportunity is only positive if we seize it; otherwise, it will disappear as quickly as it came.” -Celtic Lenormand LWB (Little White Book) re: 2 CLOVER
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***Note from Mary: The reading prompted me to start the Atkins “40” low carb diet plan which is a “tweak” of the plan outlined in “The New Atkins for a New You,” link below. Wish me luck 🙂
As to whether my social calendar will begin to fill up, that remains to be seen…
Blessings,
Mary Hawkins
***Another Note: The Celtic Lenormand card deck offers three versions for 12 BIRDS: Songbirds, Chickens and Owls. Chickens would have really driven home the message about eating fowl, but if I hadn’t pre-selected Owls as the BIRDS card, I would have missed the “night-time eating” clue provided by the Moon on the Owls card image.
The Celtic Lenormand card deck features three versions of 12 BIRDS: Songbirds, Chickens and Owls
If you’ve been reading Tarot cards, Lenormand cards, Playing cards or Oracle cards for a while now, you’ve likely noticed the cards are perfectly happy to answer pretty much any type of question. It’s just as valid to ask “Will I have fun at the party?” as it is to question whether or not your job is secure, your significant other is cheating on you, or if you’ll pass the real estate licensing exam.
For example, my 7 year old grandson really, really, really wants a particular Skylanders game for Christmas…
This is one of the most direct, literal spreads I’ve ever thrown. Coffinends things and Birdscan show stress, anxiety or worry that is often short-lived. In the context of my question, I can see that Birds + Coffin easily translates to “Don’t worry!”
Clover is the central or hinge card, giving a very positive spin to this spread. Clover indicates good luck and positive opportunities. Followed by Rider, it’s easy to see that good things are on their way to my grandson (Child).
I had to smile at this very pleasant probable future. “Don’t worry, Sweetie,” I told him. “Just tell Santa you really, really, really want that game and I’m sure he’ll bring it to you.”
Of course, I’ll be sure to put in a good word with his mother…….
Mlle. Lenormand Jeu de destin No. 194115 (c) 1986 Piatnik
Here’s how I interpreted the cards:
Death of a pet. My dear kitty Sasha is on her way out. Dog + Child = puppy, small pet. (Dog can refer to pets in general, including cats.)
She’s old (Lilies), small (Child), a pet (Dog), and she’s on her way out (Coffin + Ship).
Clover indicates 2 months / 2 weeks / 2 days.
What Actually Happened:
My sweet, little 18 year old kitty, Sasha, had been losing weight over the summer at an alarming rate, and I was just beginning to realize she’d lost her hearing as well. I knew something was up. Despite the cards I had drawn, I remained in denial. I wasn’t ready to let her go.
Sasha took a turn for the worse approximately two weeks (Clover) after the date of the draw. The week of 8/19 was very bad. By Sunday, 8/25, it was certain she was dying. On Monday, 8/26, I called a local vet and arranged to bring her in for euthanasia. Sasha was given a lethal injection at 10:45 am on Monday, 8/26/2013.
Sasha Michelle Kitty 1995 – 2013
I cried all day.
All week.
On and off through September, and into October…
Approximately two months later (Clover), Charlie and Midnight came into my home and my life.
Charlie & Midnight
Charlie and Midnight are Rescue Kitties, abandoned when their family pulled up stakes and left town. Charlie, the orange guy, is about 3 or 4 years old and as friendly and cuddly and playful as can be. Midnight, an older, toothless gent of about 7, purrs up a storm, eats like there’s no tomorrow, and wakes me up every morning by poking his paw in my face . I still miss my sweet Sasha, and always will, but I’ve grown to love my new Kitty Boys.
Mlle. Lenormand Jeu de destin No. 194115 (c) 1986 Piatnik
The Lenormand cards seemed to be following up on a situation I’d heard about yesterday when I was alerted that an older gentleman friend had wound up in the hospital after experiencing what appeared to be a stroke.
This morning’s cards showed the sudden (Scythe) hospitalization (Tower + Coffin), and went on to indicate a potentially slow and possibly challenging recovery (Mountain + Clover). Rider as the base card suggested I will get an update on the situation sometime this week.
While Clover at the end of the Line of 5 is encouraging and suggestive of recovery, I know this card has a temporary influence, so I can’t help but worry a bit about my friend’s long term prospects.
On the other hand, perhaps Clover is simply saying that this old boy will luck out & be sent home as good as new. I think I’d rather focus on that outcome for now.
Blessings,
Mary Hawkins
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