Celtic lenormand – How to survive the last week of Summer?

For my daily draw I’ve used the Celtic Lenormand by Chloe McCracken and Will Worthington. First I’ve shuffled my deck thoroughly and then I searched for the sun card to represent the intense heat of this week. Then I picked up the two cards on either side of the sun, asking how to get through this week as good as possible.

And I drew: anchor + house and birds +letter:

Lenormand is sometimes such a blunt and direct tool and can tell you exactly what you already know. As if it is telling you: “why do you bother me with  trivial questions with such obvious answers! I am capable of so much more." And maybe it is right; I do tend to forget this tool when I need guidance for something. I also notice that I often return to the same decks and forget others entirely. And I do believe each system and each deck has its own individual quirks and qualities so this is a good reminder pay some more attention to my neglected decks. But I digress so let’s look at the cards: 

Anchor and house. 

Stay at home, especially during the hottest hours of the day.

Birds and letter

Write a blogpost, journal, phone a friend and talk with M about daily fun stuff and don’t start complaining  about how hot it is.

Anchor and letter

In Dutch we have a saying: “Who writes will remain” so I will take this as an encouragement to journal more elaborated this week. When it is so hot I tend to skip the juicy details and keep my entries more concised.

House and birds. 

Social gatherings at home. You're all invited! :D

Celtic Lenormand Healing Spell – Update

The last full moon on May 4, I have created a Healing spell for myself with the CelticLenormand by Chloe McCracken and Will Worthington. Today when the moon is almost dark and we are about to enter another moon cycle, I wanted to share with you my experiences and some alterations I've made.

First of all I am happy to say I feel a lot better than two weeks ago. The sun has certainly began to shine more regularly for me and since I have been mediating again, I do feel more calm and peaceful. I won’t comment on how much this has to do with my spell but I can say with certainty it did help a lot.  Every time when I went to my room I was reminded by the cards of my intent to enter the burial mound to face my fears and come out stronger, more confident and happier. During these two weeks I noticed it was hard for me to do so. It was almost as I was lingering before the entrance of this burial mound. So I strengthened my Spell with some crystals. I picked one for each “bridge” card: Black obsidian for dealing with my fears and grief, Rose Quartz for the love I want to give myself and others and Amethyst  for the wisdom I need to grow and move forward in life. 

And still it wasn't enough. Fear can be suffocating and grief can cause large stumbling blocks. That's when I decided  to turn to Deity. To represent the fierce aspect of the Goddess I choose the Lady card with her spear in her hand and shield in the background. I blended the entrance of her house with the entrance of  the  Burial Mound.  She would be there to give me courage and protect me when I would enter the into the darkness.  I also added a bindrune which is the combination or Nauthiz ( the strength to persevere) and Uruz (vitality and willpower). Especially the woman card was helpful for me. It gave me the feeling I didn't have to do the scary part all on my own.

As you can see I have added quite a bit. For me magic is like cooking: adding ingredients and spices to a dish until I feel the recipe is finished. I also think it keeps the spell's energy moving. 

Tonight I am going to take down my spell and give thanks for the  positive changes in my life.

( and maybe be cook up a new one……)

Healing spell with the Celtic Lenormand

Yesterday was the day of the full moon and inspired by Chloe from Inner Whispers, I decided this would the perfect time to create a healing spell for myself with the Celtic Lenormand by Chloe McCracken and Will Worthington. 

Chloe has been talking and writing about how to implement magic into our daily life. Her approach is very down to earth but with lots of room for mystery and enchantment. After having read about her ideas about magic and watched her video’s, I thought performing this spell  would be a beneficial and proactive approach to my current situation. For me a Spell is something between a prayer with props to focus on and an affirmation made visual. I believe there is something magical about intention combined with ritual, words and representations of the intent.

Before I started creating my spell I first performed my own little ritual to break in a brand new deck. First I set  up sacred space with a few items to represent the elements and then I divided the deck in nine stacks and put it back together again. I repeated this three times while thinking of my intent for the usage of these cards.

Then I flipped through the deck to find  some appropriate cards for my healing spell:

Situation (left) – Mountain (21) and Clouds (6)

As of late I am feeling depressed and weighed down. It is very difficult  for me to move from this clouded and obstructed place

What do I want? (right)- Sun (31)and Lily (30)

I want to life a happy life; to feel  more confident and good about myself ; to let my inner light shine . Also I seek inner peace and harmony

How do I bridge this gap? (middle)– Heart (24),Burial Mound (8) and Owls (12)

With lots of Love (including self love)and inner wisdom I will enter that dark place to learn what is hidden and let go what no longer serves me.  I will come out more compassionate, happy, loving  and a lot wiser

I will leave this spell on my altar until the dark moon when I shall revisit it, see how I’m doing and maybe make some changes for the new moon.

Lenormand – practice, practice, practice!

This morning I figured it was about time I picked up my Lenormand cards again to practice my reading skills so when my copy of the Celtic Lenormand would arrive, I would be able to work with it. For this line of five I have chosen the Gilded Reverie by Ciro Marchetti. The question is: what advice can you give me on how to pursue my challenge of “Making room in 40 days”?

After shuffling the cards I searched for the ring as a symbol of my commitment to this challenge and picked the two cards on either side of the ring. Together they form a line of five with:

whip + cross + ring + heart + sun

Cross+ ring+  heart : it is important to devote yourself spiritually and emotionally to this commitment.

Whip + cross : establishing some repetitive spiritual practices can be very helpful

Sun +heart:  Give yourself permission to bask yourself in the light of self love

Whip + sun : although there will be difficulties, maybe self-doubt and other  and inner  struggles, this challenge will  strengthen your confidence and will give you  a lot of insight in yourself

These cards gave me lots of practical advice. Especially about  creating some daily rhythm, so there will be some flow during the day and I won’t be constantly aware of the things I cannot do but more focusing on what I can and want to do. Honestly it feels a bit like when I quit smoking but with the heart and the sun in view I am on my way again!

Chosing Joy, moment by moment...

How do you start to live fully again after having suffered a great loss? How do we pick up our daily chores and activities.  How do we start to feel joy without guilt and feeling like we do something wrong. As if laughter isn't allowed while grieving.

It has been a week since Tara died and we miss her every hour of the day but we are also trying to move forward. Yesterday we have buried her ashes but in the meantime we are also thinking about a new puppy. We've always had a dog and the emptiness is screaming to be filled by a furry little rascal to love, to cherish and to care for.

After a long time without playing with my cards, I've picked up the Mystical Lenormand and asked how to embrace joy:

And I pulled Whip + Sun + Roads

I see this line of three as a encouragement to consciously choose joy and happiness over repetitive regrets and guilt. Grieving is good but it is also okay to take you mind of the sadness and enjoy the little things which might make you happy. 

My first Square of Nine with the Lenormand about Creativity

Yesterday I've read my first square of nine with the Piatnik Lenormand. This little deck is my main practice deck. I like the pictures and it's classic look and  also because I have two copies of this deck so if I'll ruin it, I still have a spare one left. This little deck is living in my purse so I can practice my combinations where ever I go.

I've seen how Chloe from Inner whispers  has tackled her square and I thought her approach was clear and structured, which is wonderful way for a beginner to learn this spread :

To add something personal to the reading I decided to turn the center card first, in order to determine the topic of the reading: Moon - intuition , creativity. These keywords jumped out to me for this reading. 

Then I turned over the other cards....

First I've read the corners. 

Cross + Key + Heart: 

Open your heart to lighten you burden. The solution to your emotional setback is to be found in your heart.

Cross + Fish + Heart: 

Setbacks are asking for abundant love. An abundant rich spirituality is the solution to your problems

The Action Cross has the following cards:

Bouquet + Moon + Sun: talent and intuition will lead to success

Lily + Moon + Whip : Practice frequently until you  are satisfied  and content. Don’t beat yourself up but be gentle for yourself

I like it how the corners clearly state the problem en the action cross contains a practical advice: it is not only talent you need but also practice, practice, practice.  And not to forget a kind and gentle attitude towards your efforts. It is also good to notice the first card was the burden (Cross) and the last card is love (Heart).

 J

Chrysalis tarot – My First reading!

Yesterday I've received my copy of the Chrysalis Tarot in the mail. I was pleasantly surprised because I’d expected it to arrive on a  much later date. In this post I am not going to write about the beautiful artwork, the warm color palette, the magical charm of the depictions, the great quality of the cardstock and the beautiful matte finish. Instead I will just jump in with a small reading! I've seen this deck on other blogs so I was prepared for the differences between this deck and the Rider-Waite system. At first I was hesitant to purchase it. Would I be open minded enough to read with this deck? When it arrived, I decided in advance I would let the deck do the talking. I wouldn't try to find similarities between this deck and the RW system, which weren't intended by the creators.

Then I drew the first card as the main characteristic of this deck: 

Sun:

We see a Sun with a tear on his cheek. The Sun is a card of confidence and optimism. The keyword from the LWB is Empowerment. I think when I am going to read with this deck and let it speak to me in its own language, I can  expect a great deal of empowerment and a boost of confidence for my intuitive reading skills. Also, I feel this card  is showing me the warm and loving energy of this deck.

The next two cards are adding some more information to this reading.
The Companion:

I don’t have to do this alone. The deck has  a troupe  of guides for your journey and this King of Spirals will accompany me while exploring the Chrysalis Tarot. When I feel stuck he will show me which way to go. It seems he is a bit pushy, sometimes arrogant (fire) but that is tempered by the little laughing bird

Nine of Spirals:

The winds of change. How apt for such a new approach to tarot. New winds can be refreshing and stir things up. The keyword for this card is perseverance. So when I encounter difficulties I will  be motivated to continue working with this deck

In my opinion three great cards to sum up some of the wonderful aspects of this deck. I am looking forward reading with it and getting to know it on a more in depth level.