I've been thinking, and having thunk...

(This relates back to my previous post, where I began to look at why I don't read with my cards more...)

... One thing that struck me is that I love my cards. Really love them. All of them.

I love to touch them, look at them, aimlessly shuffle them. I've arranged my personal space so that I am virtually surrounded by all of them. They make me feel happy and cosy and safe. Sacred space.

They all have individual voices, and one or another calls to me from time to time. And then I want to take it from its resting place and sit with it, talk to it, look into its "eyes". Do I want to do a reading with it? Not necessarily. Sometimes my hands will pull a few cards without my conscious direction. Other times I'll just commune with its essence for a while.

I'm trying make sense of this by relating it to relationships I might have with other inanimate objects. The only thing that's similar is my connection with crystals and stones.

Sometime I'll deliberately work with a specific crystal, applying its particular energies to a situation. But very often I'll just get the seemingly random urge to put one somewhere in my space or wear one or hold one in my hand for a while. They also sit near me, and are dotted here and there on the decks I have out, not to enhance or protect them, although I'm sure they do, but simply because they called to each other.

Maybe I don't read as much as I think I "should" because my connection with cards is less about divination and more about magick. My decks are sacred objects, talismans, spiritual companions.

And I think that's where I need to start...

Thank you, ATA!

Thank you, American Tarot Association (ATA)! I won a $25 Amazon voucher* in their April e-magazine contest, and immediately set about spending it! On cards, of course. . Believe it or not, I don't actually have that many decks on my wish list. Even fewer that can be bought on Amazon. But these two were there and cheap enough that I could get them both and cover the postage. . (*They kindly sent me the equivalent Amazon UK voucher.) . Tarot des los Angeles - Fournier, Spain (with instructions in English as well, fortunately) Tarot: The Complete Kit - Dennis Fairchild (aka Tarot Nova - so cute!) #igotlucky #newdeck #newdecks #tarot #angelcards #tarotreadersofinstagram #fournier #tarotdeslosangeles #tarotnova

A post shared by Judy K (@weirdeye) on Apr 29, 2017 at 10:26am PDT

Crazy thing is, this is the second time I've won. With all the members ATA must have, I can't believe that's possible! But I'm not complaining. 😁

YouTube: My Gypsy Decks - Special request video for chris379000

Chris is the reason I have yet another gypsy/zigeuner deck. I told him so, and he wanted to see the rest of my "collection".

See the first of Chris's gypsy videos here.

Seduced by a Deviant Moon

I have never liked the Deviant Moon Tarot.

While I appreciated the novelty and humour of the artwork, it didn't strike me as anything I'd want to work with. I was happy to leave the deck to those readers who responded to it.

So what happens? I'm checking out cheap tarot decks on eBay (search: "tarot cards", <£8, worldwide. Warning: do not do this unless you have a very tolerant partner or you can consistently get to the postman before they do) and someone is auctioning a new Deviant Moon Borderless Edition.

Now, because of my general disinterest, I didn't even know a borderless edition had been published (2013). Mildly curious, I had a look at the images. And something clicked in my head.

I Googled up some more images and that was it - I wanted this deck. Luckily for me, the rest of the world and his dog must already have their beloved copies because there were only 3 bids and I nabbed it for £11 including postage.

The deal done, I just considered it a cheap and quirky addition to my collection.

And then it arrived. Oh. My. God. I was not expecting to love it like a long lost friend as soon as I had it in my hands. The card stock is gorgeous - warm and velvety, and just the right stiffness for the size of the cards. And the size! I love the skinniness of it. My hands are just big enough to shuffle them side on.

And, of course, the images. Maybe they seem so familiar because you can't avoid seeing them everywhere on the interwebs. But it's more than that - I feel like I know them, almost like they're family. This is what drove me to blog about the experience within minutes of opening the box. I've not had a reaction like this to a deck before. I knew I clicked with the Earth Magic Oracle before I'd even bought it because I was always drawn to sample spreads posted on Facebook and read them with ease. But I ignored the Deviant Moon ones.

Very strange, but then lots of things have been shifting for me over the past week or so. What's going on astrologically right now? Must check that out. But not before I spend some time reacquainting myself with an old friend.

A mini makeover for a less than ideal deck

You are the boss of your cards*.

Last year I bought a secondhand Soul & Spirit deck off an acquaintance on Facebook. These decks come as occasional gifts with Soul & Spirit magazine, so they're nothing special. She had several she was offloading but only that one appealed to me. It was the "Your True Calling" oracle by Genevieve McGee. More about that deck in a bit - I mention it because I love it so much that when a new S&S deck featuring Ms McGee's artwork came up on eBay I bought it blind - the Angel Blessings Oracle Cards.

Hmm.
The technique used to create the artwork is very different from my other deck, and doesn't really appeal to me. Also, and I shouldn't have been surprised by this, it is all angels, or in some cases blobs that I imagine are supposed to represent angels

And then there's this -

Really, Soul & Spirit? You need 36 images to create a deck and you resort to this?

But never mind, I can deal with all that. What I can't deal with are the cheesy and frankly redundant "affirmations" at the bottom of the cards. "Whispers - Heart whispers bring you joy". Oh puleez!

At this point, I was so underwhelmed that I considered selling it on. But then I thought No, I'll give them a chance to prove themselves. So I tried a little reading, a follow-up to a playing card reading I'd done for someone earlier in the day.

The cards were so spot on for the situation that I knew I had to keep them.

But I had to do something first. I had pretty much the same issue with the Your True Calling cards. They didn't come with their box so I didn't get the "blurb", but the affirmations and advice on the cards seemed very much geared towards helping you to find or create your dream job. Job satisfaction basically. Too restrictive for the all-purpose use I intended to put them to, and too distracting. So I fixed them.

Just like this.   Correction tape rules!

Now I can use just the titles and colour patterns (if not the images themselves ) to trigger my intuition.

*I'm trying to remember who said this. It may have been Hexe Claire, but please correct me if you know differently.

I've been Thothed!

I started out in Team RWS and that's worked out well for me. But after many years I learned how intriguing and flexible Marseille-style decks were, so I took that up as well. Then there was Dame Fortune's Wheel with its amazing colours and Etteilla-based system. Most recently I found Balbi, yet another system, and it was love at first sight.

But in all that time, and we're talking about 40 years here, I was never drawn to the Thoth Tarot. Too esoteric. Too eccentric. Too intimidating!

Then, a little while back, I was talking tarot with my step-mum and discovered she actually owned a deck herself - a Thoth. I was surprised and impressed. Then Thoth seemed to be popping up in all my social media haunts. I started to get that itch. Clearly the time had come for me to take the plunge.

I found this used deck, complete with "Book of Thoth" bag and wrapping silk, on eBay. As soon as I saw it I knew that was the one I wanted (I have no problem with used decks - I've put it in order, washed the silk, and we're good to go).

It's the standard size, 70x110cm, and it's in quite good condition, I'm pleased to say - faint wear on the surfaces but no creases or marks. It came with a US Games LWB but the cards themselves have ©1996 AGMüller on the back. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that AGM printed some of the decks for USG (or I'm dreaming again) but it could just be that the cards and booklet came from different decks.

I don't really care. The colours are clear and bright without being lairy (eh? - Google it) and it's not one of the ones with the greenish tinge. And it came with all three Magus variants. I'm going with the one in the middle.

It will be a nice size to work with and, who knows, maybe one day I'll treat myself to a set of the bigger cards.

For now I'm going to try to familiarise myself with the symbolism, and get to grips with the 15-Card Spread and the intricacies of Elemental Dignities. Wish me luck!

MT June Challenge (Instagram) - Week 2

Hey guys, here's week two! I'm going to use them as journal prompts. Feel free to snatch this image up and use it to get on with your decks in June and hashtag with: #mtjunechallenge 💕🌺💜⭐️🦄 link to video: https://youtu.be/5Fqht39_TwM

IA photo posted by Sherry C (@moonlit.tarot) on Jun 7, 2016 at 5:39pm PDT

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Psychic Tarot (John Holland, Hay House Inc.) this past week. It really opened up a connection between us that I hadn't managed to develop before. I'll probably keep using it with the Week 2 prompts.

But I've just received Connected and Free  - The Alchemist's Oracle (Lauren Aletta, art by Tegan Swyny, self-published: Inner Hue) and I think it would benefit from a run through of the Week 1 questions. I guess I can do that, too,

So, I'll be posting a few more pictures on Instagram over the next week. Come and see me. ☺️ And take part - it'll be fun!

I might try this

Hey, remember the video I made? The decks I don't use? Well, this is the questions I'm going to be asking for the first week. I haven't decided if I'm going to be changing them up. I'm going to use them as journal prompts. Feel free to snatch this image up and use it to get on with your decks in June and hashtag with: #mtjunechallenge 💕🌺💜⭐️🦄 link to video: https://youtu.be/5Fqht39_TwM

A photo posted by Sherry C (@moonlit.tarot) on May 26, 2016 at 12:02pm PDTI

Edit 2Jun16 - I did try this, and it's turning out really good. The "deck I don't use" that I'm using for this challenge, LOL, is the Psychic Tarot by John Holland. I've had it for a while and I love the images but for some reason I've never used it. I can see it being used a fair bit in future.

Open Reading 10

Time to warm up another new deck with an open reading. Knowing me, this should be a fairly regular occurrence. Are you ready, my little guinea pigs?

This is the Magdalene Oracle by Toni Carmine Salerno. I deliberately bought the version with the matching card borders, which I believe can be identified by the "An Ocean of Eternal Love" subtitle on the box (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). There is another edition that has borders of different colours and a dark title bar at the bottom. Not so nice, in my opinion.

You've been giving too much of yourself. Feeling overwhelmed, misused. Taking the blame. Free yourself from that; you are free of that - don't accept the blame, don't blame yourself. Look beyond the circumstances. Believe in yourself and you will win through.

31 Days of Tarot Challenge - Days 5-8

Here is the next instalment of my responses to Ethony's 31 Days of Tarot Video Challenge. I was maybe a teeny-weeny bit less nervous this time?

If you missed my film debut, you can catch it here.

I came down with a cold yesterday so I'm going to have to put off recording the next segment. Right now 15 minutes of footage would contain about 5 minutes of... excuse me, ACHOO!!... sneezing.

Beauty

I was gifted a set of Earth Magic Oracle cards for Christmas. I'd seen sample spreads posted here and there and was drawn to the card images. They were particularly appealing because I noticed to how clearly they seemed to speak to me.

Naturally, I couldn't wait to open up the box and have a look at my new babies. But wow! I was not expecting the backs.

Is that not beautiful? I love the heron. And the bears! And the way the reflection of the tree looks like roots burrowing into the earth. I'm in lurve.

Spirit of the Wheel Meditation Deck

I was SO spoiled with decks for my birthday this year. Ok, so maybe the fact that my Amazon wish list was awash with decks of various kinds left friends and family with little option, but they could have just said "Stuff that, she's getting socks" (which would have been cool - I like socks).

So, among loads of other equally thoughtful and appreciated goodies, including Camelia Elias' book Marseille Tarot: Towards the Art of Reading woot!woot!, were the Wild Kuan Yin Oracle by Alana Fairchild, The Oracle of Shadow & Light by Lucy Cavendish and the deck I'm going to talk about today, the Spirit of the Wheel Meditation Deck by Linda Ewashina.

This deck was particularly attractive to me because, having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years, I couldn't help but be familiar with the work of Jody Bergsma. I am the proud possessor of two (admittedly small) Bergsma prints from 1981. If you're a fan, the card images will not disappoint*.

What might disappoint, however, is the little white book (LWB). Yes, there is the all-important information about each card, with three keywords (which also appear on the card), a "prophecy" which gives details about the symbolism and why you may have drawn that particular card, and a "prayer" or affirmation related to the energy of the card.

There is also some information about the concept of the Medicine Wheel or Sacred Hoop. It's a bit sketchy, and sometimes references are made to ideas that aren't then elaborated upon. For instance, when referring to the Moons, or in this case the moonstones, as each card is intended to represent one of the stones that make up a physical medicine wheel, Linda says "Each of the moonstones has a mineral, plant, animal and element associated with it..." But when you turn to the section on the Moon cards none of that information is actually provided. This is not an insurmountable problem because Google. I've come up with a few sources for the minerals, plants and animals, all differing slightly, of course. And I'm pretty sure they take their element from the quarter in which they fall, so for instance Budding Trees Moon falls in the eastern quarter of the wheel which, according to this system, is represented by air.

Those kinds of associations are nice to have from a divinatory perspective, but they're not essential. I've read/heard a few people say that they don't use the Spirit of the Wheel Meditation Deck for divination but rather, as the name suggests, for meditation and personal guidance.

Me, though (like in my Lotería post), I want to read with them. So what most disappointed me were the spreads. I was expecting some use to be made of the Medicine Wheel structure, especially as you're given a poster depicting the layout of the "stones". There is an Inner Circle Spread which assigns influences to the positions of the 8 inner stones of the wheel. But it strikes me that there's so much more that could be done with the energies of the Wheel as a whole. So I'm going to play with the idea for a while and see what I can work up.

For now, I've been locating the Medicine Wheel card (numbered 0) in the deck, pulling the two cards before and after it, laying them out in order - east, south, west and north - and reading them from the "perspective" of each direction as described in the LWB. Actually, an idea is forming as I type. This is precisely why I type, here and in cartomancy groups on Facebook - it blocks out the 'ooo shiny' distractions and makes me focus on the realities of card reading for a while.

*The image and card description mismatches have not escaped me, such as my birth moon card, Freeze Up Moon, sporting a lovely picture of two white buffalos despite the fact that the animal associated with it is the snake. But in fairness, the images were not created for the deck but selected from existing works "to reflect each card's unique meaning, symbolism, prophecy and prayer". Bottom line, it's pretty and I like it.

The Ghetto Tarot has landed!

It's here!! And I love it. The Ghetto Tarot is an Indiegogo crowdfunded project I supported back in May. I couldn't resist. The example cards were so vital and creative, but still instantly recognisable as their classic Rider Waite Smith counterparts - important if I want to use a deck as a Tarot and not an oracle.

These are few of my favourites from my first run through the deck. I love the look on the Page of Cups' face, and the Chariot has such a commanding presence.

Photographed by Alice Smeets, all the scenes were recreated by Atis Rezistans, a group of Haitian artists, using only materials they were able to find or create locally. Hence these Knights with their unusual mounts.

I frankly wasn't expecting it so soon - these projects usually take a long time to wrap up. But with my birthday only a few days away and all next week off to celebrate it, Providence has given me a wonderful new toy to play with.

I haven't been able to discover if the deck will be made generally available any time soon. If I find out anything, I'll post an update here.
UPDATE: The deck can be ordered HERE (scroll about halfway down).

How the Darkana Tarot was born

I love my Hippy Tarot!

The review of Morgan's Tarot begins at 13:06

Paying It Forward (hehe)

I don't see why I should be the only poor schmuck who's seduced into buying (yet another) tarot deck I don't really need simply because some other poor schmuck with equally little self-control dangles pictures of its gorgeousness in front of my nose.

I made the mistake ;) of visiting Le Fanu's blog, My Curious Cabinet, when he posted a review of Le Tarot Noir, a Marseille deck, by Justine Ternel and Matthieu Hackière.

And now I am the, admittedly proud, possessor of said deck.

I love the size of these cards - 10.6 x 14cm, 4 3/8 x 5 1/2". Chunky! Good, substantial card stock so they don't feel flimsy. With their 'picture frame' borders, they look like fine art miniatures ready to hang in a gallery. In fact, one of the reasons I bought them was to occasionally place some on display. I can just barely get my hands across them lengthwise to shuffle. And I do so very carefully, as I don't want to chip the black borders.

The colours are lush and velvety, but I would have liked a bit more intensity (they do appear more vibrant on screen). Love the "gilt" edges. Wish the "gold" of the borders was gilt, too. The backs, sadly, leave me cold. They might have benefitted from being the same gold as the borders rather than a dull dark buff.

Minor whinges aside, I am glad I bought this deck. Maybe I've tempted you to buy it* now, too. Just to make me feel a bit better about myself, LOL!

*But if you're thinking of putting one aside as a collector's item, be warned. Like Le Fanu's, my book fell apart on first opening. Do not do more than peek inside.

Lucky me!

Every month, the American Tarot Association (ATA) runs a contest in their e-zine. And every month, I enter it. Me and 10,000 others, I always think. But guess who won the March contest?

I've already spent some of it on a new tarot deck - Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot. A friend of mine posted a reading with these cards recently and I was intrigued by the use of Etteilla's meanings. Can't wait!

Deck cleansing for the cartomante of limited means

I belong to quite a few cartomancy groups of Facebook and the question of how to cleanse a deck of negative energy has come up several times recently.

I'm not the type to have a supply of smudge sticks, dragon's blood or dressed candles to hand (I do have Florida Water, mind you - love it!). If you're the same and you find yourself with a troubled deck then this may be of interest.

My Thrifty Witch method for cleansing a deck – when all you've got is salt and time!

Place the offending deck ;-) face down on a clean level surface. Place your hand, right or left, you decide, flat on top of the stack and begin twisting the deck. Keep putting your hand back and twisting to mix the cards. As some escape to the sides, push them back into the pile and keep twisting them all together until you're satisfied they've had a thorough blending.

Gather up the cards and place them in order, whatever "in order" means to you – by suit or by number, etc., turning any reversed cards upright.

Get a clean dish or tray and sprinkle some salt on it. Sea salt if you have it, or just ordinary table salt. Place the deck face up on top of the salt and sprinkle it with a bit more salt. You don't have to bury it. Now place the tray and deck on a windowsill where ideally it will get some sunlight, and better yet moonlight, and leave it there for 5 days.

While you're waiting, use another deck. This bit is important. It keeps you from anxiously waiting for your other deck to be ready (so your energies won't be disturbing the resting deck), keeps your divinatory engine ticking over, and potentially releases any negative energies you yourself may be holding into the stand-in deck.

As you can see, there’s a fair bit of leeway in these instructions. Take what you find useful and make the process your own. Like all magic, Intention is the key.

A German Method of Fortune Telling with 32 Playing Cards

As this is my most popular post, I'll leave a note here to let you know that this blog has now moved to Judy Reads Cards. I hope you'll join me there.
13-Apr-18: I have finally uploaded my "expanded" meanings.

My grandmother Helene, from Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony in Germany, told fortunes with coffee grounds, Swedenborg cards and Skat cards, i.e. a 32-card deck of playing cards, also known as a Piquet deck: sevens up to Kings plus Aces. When she learned that I was interested in such things, she sent me a deck with her meanings written on the cards and a brief note of how she read them.

Lene, as she was called, though I would never have dreamt of calling her anything but Oma, only read the cards upright. Sadly, I don’t speak more than a smattering of German, so with the help of Google Translate and reference to a couple of online Skatkarten sites I’ve translated her notes as well as I am able. They were written on the cards in ballpoint pen and some are quite difficult to make out. If you are familiar with German and/or Skatkarten, and spot any misinterpretations, please let me know.

Update: November 2013

I have since corresponded with my aunt Edith, Lene’s youngest daughter and, luckily, she was taught how to read the cards. Edith was able to provide a bit more detail, which I have worked into the information given below.

Clubs:
Ace	Neuigkeit, Geschenk	news, gift
King	Arzt oder Beamter	Doctor or Official
Queen	falsche Dame, böse Gesinnung	false woman, evil alignment (way of thinking)
Jack	Glück, Botschaft	luck, message
10	Reise, großes Haus, Krankenhaus	travel, big (official) house,    hospital
9	güte Veränderung	good change
8	Sorgen über (einen kleinen) Weg	Worry over a small way (for a short time)
7	Tränen, Trennung, Hindernis	tears, separation, obstacle
Hearts:
Ace	Haus	house
King	Er	He
Queen	Sie	You
Jack	Liebe	love
10	Einladung	invitation
9	große Freude oder gütes Ereignis	Great joy or Good event
8	frohes Wiedersehen	happy reunion
7	Liebe in Aussicht	prospect of love
Spades:
Ace	Schrak, Krankheit	Fright, sickness
King	Älterer Herr	older gentleman
Queen	Dunkle Dame böse, Witwe oder allein	dark evil woman, widow or single
Jack	falscher Freund	false friend
10	Beruf	profession
9	Verleumdung, Falschheit in nächster Zeit	slander, falsehood in the near future
8	Gefahr, Krankheit, Ärger	danger, illness, anger
7	Kummer, Verlust, Streit,         Unannehmlichkeit	grief, loss, strife, inconvenience
Diamonds:
Ace	Brief	letter
King	jünger Mann	younger man
Queen	Mädchen oder Frau	girl or woman
Jack	Glück	Happiness
10	Geld, Gewinn	money, profit
9	Vorteil geschäftlich	business advantage
8	Neuigkeit geschäftlich	news of business
7	Geld oder Kind	Money or Child

I should point out here that other German sources tend to assign negative meanings to the Clubs, but you’ll see from the above list that, for Lene, the “worst” cards are the Spades.

Lene’s reading instructions were, as I mentioned, quite brief – essentially shuffle, cut, lay out, read. The fact that she didn’t think it necessary to provide any details on “how” to read them suggests that she felt her method was so commonplace as to not require explanation. I have found meanings similar to hers on Kartenlegen mit Skatkarten (KmS), so I’m guessing their method of breaking down the layout and combining the cards is likewise similar. I’ll go into more detail below. To begin:

Herzdame in die mitte legen.

Karten mischen. Mit der linken Hand 3 Haufen zum Herzen legen.

Die mittleren Haufen auf die letzten legen dann beide Haufen auf die ersten legen.

Die ersten 3 Karten von jedem Haufen haben eine Bedeutung.

Dann die Karten von oben so um die Herzdame legen:

Dann kombinieren was einem die Karten sagen...

The same steps as described by Edith:

Herz Dame in die Mitte legen.

Karten mischen. Mit der linken Hand 3 Haufen zum Herzen legen, den mittleren Haufen nehmen, die 1.drei Karten  nachsehen sie haben eine Bedeutung, dann die Karten auf den letzten Haufen legen, und wieder die 1.drei Karten ansehen, dann alle auf den 1.Haufen legen und wieder die 1.drei Karten ansehen.

Die Karten von oben so um die Herz-Dame legen.

Dann sehen was einem die Karten sagen...

·     Place the Queen of Hearts (Herzdame) in the middle. {Note that Lene only mentions the Queen as a significator. Presumably all her “clients” were female, but if you are reading for a man use the King of Hearts, or select a card that represents your area of concern, for example the 10 of Spades for work.}

·     Shuffle the cards. With the left hand, lay 3 piles “to the heart”, i.e. towards you (confirmed by Edith). {What does “to the heart” mean here? Perhaps, like KmS – “2 Stapel zu sich hin abheben”, you are meant to cut towards yourself, towards your heart.}

·     Put the middle pile on the last pile, then put the two on the first pile.

·     The first 3 cards of each pile have a meaning. {I’m uncertain if she meant 3 cards from each pile or just the 3 exposed cards. KmS uses just the 3 exposed cards. Either way, check them before you recombine the piles} Here Edith made it quite clear – you look at the bottom three cards of EACH pile, combining them to give you a meaning, before placing that pile on the next one.

·     Then place the cards from the top around the Queen of Hearts:

·        Then combine what the cards say.

KmS uses a simple 9x4 layout, but despite Lene’s fancy Star arrangement, I think the breakdown would be much the same: first read the central cross - cards 1, 3, Significator, 4 and 2, combining the cards in sentence fashion. Then read the row – 11, 3, S, 4, 12, then the column – 9, 1, S, 2, 10, and finally the diagonals. Card 17 gives an overview of what’s occurring on the home front.

Update: April 2015

I’ve been studying other “large star” spreads recently and have found that the various “arms” were given different meanings, eg. past/future, obstacle/aid, etc.  I have yet to decide how I want to approach reading Oma’s star.

Now that I know we should be reading the bottom three cards of each cut, it occurs to me that, unless the middle pile (which will now be on the top) contained more than 16 cards, at least one if not all of the cards from the bottom of that pile will appear somewhere in the spread and may be worth paying particular attention to.

Lene then continues:

Vom übrigen Haufen, 5 Karten ziehen.

Die dann auf die Karten legen was man näher wissen möchte.

Zum Beispiel - Herzdame, fürs Haus, Liebe, Reise, und so weiter.

And Edith:

Vom übrigen Haufen 5 Karten ziehen,

und so auf die Karten legen

z.B auf Dich (Herz -Dame )and so on, um zu wissen, was in der nächsten Zeit passiert.

·        From the remaining pile, draw 5 cards.

·        Then lay the cards on what you want to know in more detail, or as
Edith put it, to know what is happening in the near future.
for example – (on the) Queen of Hearts, for the home, love, travel, and so on.

We then proceed to a second spread.

Lene:

Zuletzt alle Karten mischen.

9 Karten ziehen und so auslegen:

Wieder kombinieren was sie sagen.

Edith:

Alle Karten wieder mischen, Herz -Dame bleibt auf dem Tisch liegen.

Karten ziehen und so auslegen

dann wieder sehen was die Karten sagen.

·       Last shuffle all the cards. Edith adds: the Queen of Hearts stays on the table.

·         Draw 9 cards and lay out as follows:

·         Again combine what they say.

And that is all I have been told. Oma passed away in 1998, at the age of 95.

Edith has been very patient with my questions and requests for clarification, so I’ll leave her in peace for a while, but at some point I’d like to ask her how she combines the cards and reads the Star layout.

Update: June 2014

Sadly, Tante Edith has no more information in this regard, or perhaps doesn’t have sufficient confidence in her English to attempt an explanation. Bearing in mind my paltry German skills, this is a feeling with which I can very much sympathise. 

I would love to hear from anyone who recognises any aspects of this method, or can elaborate on what I have presented.

I did it!

I trimmed my first deck.

Well, I had to. I mean, why put a heavy murky-green border around such a pretty picture?

Lenormand Oracle - Lo Scarabeo

The scenery opens up once the border is removed.

These cards were also a little big, but now I have a nice dainty deck to play with.

If this has inspired you to release some of your cards from their cages, see my previous post for a link to Donnaleigh de LaRose's video tutorial.