Here is your chance to learn The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle from the master herself!

Sylvie Steinbach has two Lenormand workshops scheduled for February 2010 in Hamilton, New Zealand.  She will be offering her beginner’s intensive weekend workshop, and an advanced weekend workshop that will include the esoteric use of the Lenormand cards for mediumship,  past lives, and body scanning for health issues.  The advanced workshop is a prerequisite for her Teacher Certification Program.

Sylvie will also present a mini Numerology Clock workshop based on a system of predictive numerology that she herself developed.  Sylvie says “this new system functions like a time machine, allowing anyone to look into the future and the past accurately.

For more information about the upcoming workshops, please check out the Lenormand New Zealand Workshop 2010 Blog.

I discourage health readings due to the legal risks involved, but every once in a while a health issue will catch my attention in the cards that I cannot ignore.  The following example is from such a reading, and I’m very glad that I acknowledged the information because it may have saved a life!

The Lenormand card reading was for a female client who had questions about a recent job interview.  I charged Fox to represent the job, and Woman to represent the client, and threw a multi-level No-Layout Spread.  Although I did not charge Bear, I glanced at the card to see if anything important showed concerning the client’s financial status.  What I saw had nothing to do with money:

Lily + Man + Clouds + Bear + Heart + Mice

Lily + Man represents an older man, and Clouds + Bear indicates poor eating habits.  This is probably an older gentleman who is not taking care of himself, and may be overweight.

Heart + Mice can indicate stress to the heart, and I had the immediate feeling that the man’s poor diet and weight problem may be dangerously stressing his heart.

I advised the client that I saw an older gentleman who would face serious health problems if he did not improve his diet, and take better care of himself.  She said that the cards were probably talking about her father who is overweight.  She said he has a very poor diet, and suffers from frequent bouts of indigestion.  I encouraged her to get him in to a doctor soon.

The reading was several weeks ago.  Today I heard back from the client, and she thanked me for warning her about her father’s health.  Last week, he awoke in the night with what he thought was severe indigestion.  Because of my warning, he was rushed to the emergency room.

The hospital diagnosed a partially  blocked artery in his heart.  He is now under a doctor’s supervision, and he is on a very strict diet.  The client is convinced that the warning from the Lenormand cards saved her father’s life.

Oh, and the cards said the client would get the job, and she did!

Here’s your chance to get a free mini reading from the master!

Sylvie Steinbach, author of  The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle will be offering mini Lenormand Oracle readings on Intuitive Perspectives with Michael Dunlap on Blogtalkradio on Saturday, August 29th at 10:00 PM Eastern.  You can check out the show here: Lenormand Oracle Card Readings with Sylvie Steinbach.

If you miss the live broadcast, you can always play or download the show from the program archives at blogtalkradio.com.  If you check the archives, you can also access Sylvie’s previous interview with Michael Dunlap here: The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle.  Sylvie talks about her motivations for writing her Lenormand book, and also her experiences with world prophecy predictions.  It’s a fascinating glimpse into the life and experiences of a Lenormand Oracle expert, professional reader, and celebrity psychic!

I make it a general rule not to read for children.  Children are very impressionable and easily influenced, and as Sylvie Steinbach mentions in The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle, children are dependent on their parents and do not yet have complete free will over the circumstances of their lives.

On the other hand, I’m not adverse to reading about a child if the parent has questions or concerns regarding the child’s development or well-being.  Yesterday the mother of a two-year-0ld little girl asked me to pick up on what her daughter would become when she grows up.

I advised the client that the question was difficult for several reasons.  First, there are countless factors that will influence the child’s direction in life between today and the next 15 or more years.  Secondly, I’ve conditioned my cards to reveal the near future (generally no more than 6 months), and this question projects far beyond the next 6 months.

I offered instead to pick up on the child’s natural talents and abilities which will undoubtedly help determine her course in life.  The client agreed.

I decided this question is perfect for Sylvie Steinbach’s  No Layout Spread,† and so I charged card #13 – The Child with the little girl’s name, and drew the following cards:

Book + Dog + Fish + Child + Lily + Tree + Bouquet

For this spread, I read the cards to the left of the Key Card as traits and talents that the child has already displayed, and the cards to the left as future traits and abilities.

Book + Dog indicate that the child is intelligent and friendly, and the Fish shows that the child is already displaying a sense of independence and good judgment.

The Lily suggests that the girl may mature early, and she will remain calm and level-headed.  The Tree + Bouquet show that she will maintain a positive outlook and happy disposition in life.

The Tree also points toward healing ability, and along with the counseling ability indicated by the Dog, the girl could make an excellent nurse or doctor.   The Lily confirms the ability to commit to long-term goals.

Tree + Bouquet may also suggests ‘health and beauty’ which could be an area of interest for the child.

The child’s analytical mind and sharp wit shown by the Book + Fish could also point to a successful career in business, or academia.

The client confirmed that the young girl is very inquisitive and already shows a high degree of intelligence.  The child’s father is health practitioner, so it makes sense that the child may also be drawn to that profession.

I don’t think it’s possible to accurately determine exactly what the child will become when she grows up, but it is possible to ascertain that she has the traits and abilities to become a successful professional.

†For instructions on how to draw and interpret the No Layout Spread, please see The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle by Sylvie Steinbach.

The Lenormand 9 Card Spread has become my favorite layout for answering specific questions.  You can get a lot of information from this spread by reading the columns, rows, diagonals, and adjacent card combinations.  I especially like that a significator card can be chosen to represent the question (or situation) because it provides a clear focus and helps to  keep the reading on track.

This spread also works great for a general readings by allowing the oracle to choose the significator randomly.

This sample 9 Card reading was done for a friend of mine who is currently single and looking for love.  

Her question:  Will a new love come into my life soon.

I chose the Heart as the significator to represent my friend’s love life, and then dealt the 8 additional cards from the top of the shuffled deck.

These are the cards that fell for the reading:

Nieuwe Lenormand by Erna Drowsbeke © Amber Studio, 1992 Antwerp, Belgium

Whip + Stars + Moon
Crossroads + Heart + Man
Fox + Mice + Fish

The meanings for the card positions:

1st Column = Past
2nd Column = Present
3rd Column = Future

1st Row = Thoughts, Hopes & Dream
2nd Row = The Answer to the Question
3rd Row = Factors Contributing to the Situation

Corners = Theme
Central Cross = Summary

Interpretation:

For the sake of brevity, I’m only going to include the main card groupings in this interpretation.

Answer to the Question - Crossroads + Heart + Man
Crossroads and Heart indicate that there was separation from a relationship in the past, and Heart and Man indicate that someone new is coming into my friend’s life in the future.

The answer to the question is yes, a new love is coming into her life soon.

Past – Whip + Crossroads + Fox
Deceptions and arguments led to the break up of a relationship in the past.  The Whip falls in the position of  hopes and desires, and  indicates that my friend initiated the conflict and the breakup. The contributing factors to both were the lies and deceptions.

This is true.  My friend discovered that her ex-boyfriend was seeing his ex-girlfriend on the side, and was lying about it.  My friend confronted him and the ensuing arguments ended in the breakup.

Present – Stars + Heart + Mice
My friend is still suffering from the negative effects of the past relationship (Mice next to Fox).  If she’s not careful, these negative feelings may affect her future success (Mice next to Fish).  She hopes to heal the past suffering (Stars next to Whip), make a new emotional start, and fall in love again (Star next to Moon).

My friend’s self-esteem has suffered, and there are trust issues now that will undoubtedly affect a future relationship.

Future – Moon + Man + Fish
A new man is coming into my friend’s life.  He is sensitive and romantic, but also independent and smart.  It’s possible he owns his own business, and I felt intuitively that my friend may meet this man through a business contact or at a place of business.  Stars next to moon indicates that my friend will fall in love with this man, and man next to heart shows the man will be loving, compassionate and caring toward my friend, which is exactly what she needs right now.

The Moon confirms that My friend will meet this new man soon, and the 3 fish on the Fish card,  3 mice on the Mice card, and 3 stars on the Stars card seemed to say it will happen in 3:  between 3 weeks and 3 months. ( I thought 3 days might be a little bit too soon.)

The Corners, Central Cross, Diagonals and other combinations, will summarize the reading and tie everything together, but the columns and rows will always provide the meat of the reading.

This reading was done on Sat., Feb. 21st.  My friend has not yet met her new man (and so we know it wasn’t “3 days”), but I will post feedback when he shows up at her doorstep.

The accuracy of the Lenormand cards never ceases to amaze me!  My Lenormand Daily Card Draws are not usually dramatic, but the following spread is worthy of sharing.

I’m in the habit of drawing 5 Lenormand cards each evening before I retire for the night.  The cards are intended to highlight the energy of the following day (although it can sometimes take up to a week or more for the energy to manifest in my life), and as I doze off to sleep I meditate on the interpretation of the spread.

For several nights in a row last week I kept drawing the Tower next to the Bouquet.  I decided this meant a visit to a shopping mall or to a place of amusement coming soon, even though I had nothing of the sort planned.

Along with the Tower + Bouquet, I kept drawing warning cards such as: Mice, Snake, Scythe, Whip, etc., showing stressful problems in connection with this place of amusement.   It  seemed obvious that wherever I was going, I wasn’t going to end up having a good time there.

On Thursday evening, I drew the following cards:

Tower + Bouquet + Ship + Snake + Scythe

Again the combination Tower + Bouquet appeared along with the Ship which of course indicates travel. The Snake and Scythe showed some kind of problem; either car trouble, or the decision not to go.

I was surprised by a phone call on Friday morning from a friend from out of town whom I had not seen in a while.  It turns out he was visiting the area on business, and wanted to get together.   He’s really more of an acquaintance than a friend, but I agreed to meet him at his resort for a drink.

So, THAT was what the Tower and Bouquet were all about!  I decided I would be extra careful about driving  to the meeting, and avoid the problem that kept showing up in the cards.  I was bolstered by the fact that my Friday evening draw didn’t carry any additional warnings.

Outcome:

Despite my misgivings, I drove down to meet my friend at his resort yesterday afternoon.  As I circled the edge of the hotel parking lot, I failed to notice that a parking block had been removed from a space, and a short piece of metal rebar was still poking up through the pavement.  I inadvertently ran my car over the sharp piece of metal (Scythe), and my right rear tire literally exploded!

After a very messy tire change, I couldn’t even enjoy the company of my friend or the drink.  All I could think about was needing to get to a tire dealership to purchase a new tire that I honestly couldn’t afford.

I’d have been better off heeding the warning in the cards and skipping the meeting altogether.  Another lesson learned!

It’s been a while since I posted a reading.  Recently I’ve had a run of yes/no questions that were answered with an affirmative response by the appearance of the Lenormand Key.  I thought it would be interesting to share a couple of the readings.

A young mother asked if she would be renewing the lease on her current rental home.  She hoped she would not have to move when her lease is up in August.  I drew 5 cards to answer her question directly.

20 Garden + 09 Bouquet + 15 Bear + 04 House + 33 Key

Honestly, this seemed like a strange question to me because the woman is in complete control of whether or not she decides to renew the lease.  I suppose she wondered if anything would come up to change the current situation.

I saw right away that these cards don’t show a move.

Garden + Bouquet = The woman is obviously very happy with the neighborhood where the house is located.

Bouquet + Bear + House =  She also seems happy with the current financial arrangement for renting the home.  These cards don’t indicate that the situation will change dramatically.

House + Key = Key means “yes,’ and indicates that something is mean to be, so I took this as a clear indication that the client would be renewing the lease for her current home.

She’s happy with the neighborhood, she’s happy with the financial arrangement, and she’s happy with the home.  Why move?

Here’s another question that was answered ‘yes’ by the Lenormand Key:

A young woman wanted to know if she would get pregnant.  She and her husband had been trying for a while with no luck.  I drew 5 cards to answer her question directly:

11 Whip + 33 Key + 35 Anchor + 10 Scythe + 14 Fox

The Key gives an affirmative positive response, but the other cards look like there could be some problems to overcome first.

Whip + Key + Anchor = the client is sexually active, so she will get pregnant, but Anchor indicates that a long-term solution may be necessary for her to achieve her goal.

Scythe + Fox =  Scythe suggests that a medical procedure may be necessary before the woman can conceive.  Fox indicates that there may be a small health problem that the client is not aware of yet.

I told this client that she is destined to be a mother, but that medical intervention may be necessary to help her to conceive.  I also advised her to talk to her physician about setting up an exam to determine if there is any medical reason that has prevented her from getting pregnant.

Here’s another fertility question:

A young woman had tried unsuccessfully to conceive, and she wanted to know if she would ever be able to become pregnant.  I drew 5 cards to answer her question directly:

29 Woman + 15 Bear + 07 Snake + 05 Tree + 33 Key

The client is overweight, and I saw immediately in these cards that her weight was causing the problem with conceiving.

Woman + Bear = an overweight woman.

Bear + Snake + Tree = the excess weight and diet were causing the health problem.

Tree + Key = If the client improves her health by losing weight, she will be successful with getting pregnant.

I told the client that her excess weight could be preventing her from getting pregnant, and the cards indicate that if she loses weight he will get pregnant.  I also advised her to see her doctor to confirm that there is nothing physical preventing her from conceiving.

In health related issues, I always advise the client that I’m not a licensed health professional, and therefore I do not diagnose or suggest treatment.  I merely interpret what the cards have to say on the matter, but the cards are never a substitute for medical advice from a licensed professional.

When we’re  first seduced by the Lenormand Oracle Cards, many of us are dazzled by the cookbook lists of card combinations.   For most of us, it’s this ready catalogue of meanings that first draws us to this magical oracle.  

We think we’ve struck gold, and that all of life’s mysteries are contained in those enticing  lists.  We believe we’ve finally found a card reading method that practically reads itself!  We convince ourselves that if we can only memorize these long lists of card combinations, all of the secrets of the Lenormand oracle will be revealed to us.

We soon realize that the cookbook combinations can take us only so far.  We’re left with flat, uninspired readings that make little sense to us based on the canned meanings.  At first, we fault the method and the combinations we’re using, and we begin to search out other books and websites for the perfect list of Lenormand card combinations.  

Before long many of us find ourselves consulting two or three books or websites before deciding what a card combination means.  We start mixing and matching cookbook meanings from several different sources, and we become confused and frustrated by the vast number of possible interpretations for each two card combination.   In the end, many of us feel trapped by the canned meanings, and we become disillusioned.

If we stick with the cards long enough to get past these disappointments, we eventually realize that reading Lenormand is no different from reading Tarot or any other oracle.  The magic is in us, and not in somebody else’s preconceived list of card combinations. 

We learn that the canned combinations are guidelines only, and are rarely applicable to a real life reading.  Their main value is to teach us how the cards interact with each other.  They can provide remarkable insights into the meanings of  the individual cards, but they can’t interpret the cards for us.  

Once we can get past all the glitz and glamour of the Lenormand card combinations, the real magic starts to happen.  We put aside the books and lists, and the cards begin to combine and interact for us in very personal and individualized ways. The accuracy of our readings begin to soar.  

That is the true secret of the Lenormand oracle!

I used to have a difficult time interpreting my Lenormand daily card draws because I would try to make more of them than was actually there. 

I’ve since discovered that my daily draws don’t usually reveal an event or experience about to take place in my life.  (Events and experiences show up in the readings I do for myself.) 

My daily draws almost never refer to someone other than myself.

Most often they simply reflect whatever psychological struggle may be going on in my mind at the present moment.

For example, here is today’s Lenormand daily three-card draw:

• 13 The Child
• 07 The Snake
• 21 The Mountain

An Unruly Child?

The most obvious interpretation of today’s cards is “a problem child.”  The Mountain could suggest some developmental problems. 

It is possible that I’ll run into a problem today dealing with a child, but it’s not very likely.

Making a Mountain from a Molehill?

What is much more likely is that the Child + Snake represents “a small problem in my life.”  The Mountain shows that I’m allowing this small problem to obstruct my progress in some way. 

In some area of my life, I am giving a small problem much more weight than it merits.  In essence, I’m making a mountain from a molehill. 

This is an interpretation I can apply to my life since I admit to sometimes allowing  my problems to overwhelm me.  The advice is good.  Today I need to be aware  not to overreact to a minor problem.  Something I perceive as a major issue, may not be as overwhelming as it appears.

Can the Daily Draws be Predictive?

Yes, If  I need to be made aware of something important going on behind the scenes that day, or forewarned of something drastic about to happen to me or someone I love,  the warning can be reflected in my daily draw.  Most of the time, my life is just not that interesting.

That’s just the way the daily draws work for me.  For some readers, daily draws will reflect the drama of their daily lives, or perhaps the plot of a book they’re reading, or the theme of a movie they’ll see that day.  For many readers the daily draws consistently point toward something just over the horizon.  For me, they reflect my internal struggles to make sense of the events in my daily world.

When time permits, the mutli-level No Layout Spread as described by Sylvie Steinbach in her book The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle is my favorite spread to use for answering a direct question.  This is especially true for questions about romance because if the cards representing the couple fall near enough to each other, a lot of very accurate and useful information can be derived from the spread.

In her book, and even more so in her virtual Workshop on Aeclectic Tarot Forum, Sylvie stressed the importance of asking the ”right” question, and  remaining focused on the question while interpreting the No Layout spread.  I’m sharing this reading because I think it is a perfect example of how the spread answers the question specifically and accurately, but ends there.  I’ll explain what I mean in the feedback section below.

On to the reading: In this example, the client is a young female named Julia who wants to know if her ex-boyfriend Charles will contact her.  This was a college romance that ended after Julia graduated and moved back home last summer.  There were a few awkward phone conversations, and then Charles also moved without forwarding any contact information.

For this No Layout Spread, I charged two Key Cards:  Card 28 The Man to represent Charles, and card 29 The Woman to represent Julia.

Question: Will Charles contact me?

I started my interpretation with The Man (if you’re familiar with The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle, this reading is very straightforward.  When the Key Cards fall further apart, it can be more challenging.):

The Letter + The Clouds = The Letter represents contact, usually in written form such as an email or text message, letter, card, etc.  The Clouds show uncertainty and confusion.

The Clouds + The Man = Charles is confused.  He’s not sure whether or not he should re-establish contact with Julia.

The Man + The Cross = Charles is hurt.  It would appear that something more is going on between the couple than the client has shared so far.

The Cross + The Anchor = the Anchor shows something long-term, so Charles has been feeling bad about the relationship for a while.  He is most likely carrying some regrets about how things stand.

The client shared with me at this point in the reading that in a fit of jealousy she had asked Charles never to contact her again.  (Jeesh, the plot thickens.)

Next I interpreted the cards around The Woman.  The woman of course represents Julia, but it’s important to keep in mind that we are reading about Charles’s intentions, and the cards describing Julia are based on his perceptions, not necessarily on reality.

The Cross + The Anchor + The Woman =  Despite his hurt feelings, Charles still sees Julia as a stabilizing force in his life.  His intentions toward her have remained constant despite the separation.  Since the Cross and Anchor fall between Charles and Julia, it would be safe to say that despite the pain, they have both remained constant in their feelings.

The Woman + The Tree =  Charles sees Julia as a positive influence in his life.  If he thinks in spiritual terms, he sees her as a spiritual person, and he feels a strong connection to her.  Maybe he sees her as a soul mate.

The Tree + The Stars =  Charles hopes to recover from the present situation and make a fresh start with Julia.

I think what is missing from this reading is as important as what is here.  There are no cards to indicate an ending or finality, so my answer to the question is ”Yes,  Julia will hear from Charles again in the future.”

When? 

Julia next asked if I could tell her when she might expect to hear from Charles.  When I glanced back down at the cards, The Stars jumped out at me.  Since the Stars represents the Zodiac sign Aquarius, I predicted that she would hear from Charles after the first of the year, but before the end of February.

The event happened as predicted, although the timing was off.

Feedback:

Within 5 days of the reading, Julia received a text message from Charles.  Maybe on some level he felt the focus of her intention to hear from him.   My defense on the timing is that The Clouds make it very difficult to time a prediction since it indicates a wavering back and forth over a situation, and in the end it was Charles freewill as to when he would contact Julia. 

Okay, now to my reason for wanting to post this reading.  Julia assumed (and so did I) that the outcome of this reading showed hope for a reconciliation.  But a reconciliation was not part of the question.  After less than a week of contact, which included a brief physical meeting, the couple decided to officially end the relationship.  The client did not share any specific information on why (I don’t think she trusted me not to post the details here).

 This was a great lesson for me on how focused the Lenormand cards can be on the specific question asked, and how important it is to ask the right question!