September 24 - Daily Draw

For my daily draw today, I felt like spending some time with Pamela Coleman-Smith.  Her illustrations are featured on the Rider-Waite Tarot, brought to life here by the PCS Commemorative Edition of the RWS.  It's an absolutely beautiful deck, feels and reads like a dream.  To go along with it, I got out my Pixie's Astounding Lenormand; a wonderful deck by Edmund Zebrowski.  It feels just as creamy and shuffles as wonderfully as the PCS, and features art taken from Pamela's work, so I love to pair them together.

The Tarot seems to be telling me that I have perfect happiness at the moment with the Ten of Cups, but to make it last I'll have to have a strong will and keep my ducks in a row (Chariot); otherwise I'll begin wishing and dreaming this happy time away as pictured on the Four of Cups.  This certainly applies to my life as a mother - it's hard to sit back and enjoy the children as they are, without wishing they were either more grown up or smaller again.  No Pentacles today, for the first time in several days!  I suppose that means it's time to turn  some of my concentration away from the business and back towards my other responsibilities.

The Lenormand pair for today is Mountain + Ship.  This tells me there's an obstacle I'll have to actually move around and avoid, I won't be able to conquer it or move it myself.  Sometimes when life puts something in your way it's best to just turn and take the longer route, rather than beating your head against a roadblock for ages.

September 22 - Daily Draw

I'm using the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg for my daily draw today, one of my first decks and still one of my favorites.  I especially love it around Christmas-time, all that gold seems so ornately festive; but it's wonderful any time of the year.  Once again I drew the Ace of Coins.  The tarot's message is pretty clear: concentrate on getting this new deck off the ground!

For my Lenormand pair I chose the Gypsy Lenormand cards - these seem to have recently gone out of print, but they're still available fairly cheap on eBay.  These two cards don't quite do it justice - there are many more fully illustrated and absolutely beautiful.  The Lenormand cards have a similar message as the tarot today.  Anchor + Fish tells me that stability and security today will come from my self-employment - a welcome message, as things seem less than stable lately!

September 21 - Daily Draw

Today's daily draw was with the Arcus Arcanum Tarot, one of my favorites.  It has the same art style as the covers of fantasy novels published in the 70s and 80s - books that I grew up loving.  Though it is a bit dated, it's a very nostalgic dating.

I didn't ask a specific question today, just laid out some cards to tell about my day.  Right away I notice the two Pentacles - I did just start selling my tarot deck yesterday, so money is on my mind a lot.  The Ace tells of a beginning; the new deck.  The Nine shows a woman happily displaying a table of gold Pentacles, hopefully foretelling that I'll be able to make back the money I spent on this project!  Judgment is a bit more ambiguous here.  To me, it often represents an awakening from a period of self-reflection signified by the Hanged Man.  But this Judgment is not only the trumpeting angel of the Rider-Waite Tarot - this angel carries a sword as well, and though many are reaching up to appeal to him, one notable person in the bottom right is burying his face in his hands.  This may be a painful awakening or realization I'll have to go through before I find the promised 'riches' of the Nine!

For today's Lenormand pair, I've used the Astrological Lenormand once again.  Cross + Flowers is a worrying combination - a difficulty or sacrifice that may come in the form of a gift or with a pleasant face.  I wonder if this is also what the Judgment card was referring to.  Either way, I'll have to be on my guard today;  it seems a silk-covered dagger is coming my way!

September 18 - Daily Draw

For my daily draw this morning, I used the Lo Scarabeo Tarot in conjunction with the Astrological Lenormand.  It's been awhile since I've dusted off my Lenormand cards, so I'd like to get back in to them by interpreting a pair per day.

When drawing my tarot card, I asked the question "What do I need to learn today?".  Drawing Temperance was no surprise, though probably a needed wake-up call.  Starting a new project is always very exciting for me, but the initial interest and passion often burns out in a few weeks.  Temperance is advising me to come at this venture with a little less enthusiasm and a little more of a realistic vision.  Now is not the time to write four or five blog posts - one will suffice for today :).

When drawing the Lenormand pair, I had in mind a question much more suited to its abilities: "What can I expect from my day today?".  My favorite way of interpreting Lenormand pairs is the Noun + Verb method; Dog + Mountain tells me that someone close to me will be getting in the way of my progress - probably my husband wanting to watch a movie tonight, so I won't be able to get any art done on my deck-in-progress!  It's alright, Temperance is telling me I need to take some time off anyway!