Uncategorized

The Book of Fate

You will find that I rarely jump into something with both feet in the world of Divination. The last time I did was over a decade ago, Petit Lenormand and we all know how that ended up – A Love Affair of my Heart and. Mind that still goes on !!

Now to be fair, I did enter into a brief affair with Mildred Payne’s Secret Pocket Oracle – I guess I was fickle there and didn’t give her the time she deserved so I will be going back to her one day. I also do have a love of Pendulums – my Dad actually started that when we dowsed for a well on property we were purchasing in the Catskill Mountains for a second home. And of course Tarot, but not the psycho babble/self help venue of it, picture more the early 70’s, late 60’s of it when Fortune Telling was still was taught with this deck. Yes I have another family member to blame for my Tarot workings. But now ……

Well I can blame this new interest on someone as well. If you are familiar with the film Practical Magic and know the Aunts, well I am one of them and the other is Stella of the Fate Keeps on Happening Blog. She and I are rather close and well she just gets me into things, Livre du Destin / Book of Fate is what she talked about and here we are. I quickly ordered the deck from an Etsy Seller; https://www.etsy.com/listing/1234762985/handmade-livre-du-destin-cards-in-a-bag?click_key=58b3241658319fb22b126d358851a16a5fdf9642%3A1234762985&click_sum=18007514&ref=shop_home_active_16&pro=1 because I have learned if Stella is telling me something – it bears looking into. Well down the rabbit hole I have gone. This deck is old world, made on an amazing card stock and just speaks to those of us who do like things of a more “antique” nature. The link above is where I purchased mine but Stella has another option for you.

The link to Stella’s post is here;

https://fatekeepson.blogspot.com/2024/08/livre-du-destin-book-of-fate.html

I suggest you read her post before continuing as she covers a lot that I am sure not do justice to and so won’t even address. What I will say right away is this deck is fun. Now fun for me might not be fun for you. You need a pencil and notebook and a nice block of time, I am about 11 hours in and have barely scratched the surface of how I think these cards converse. The deck comes with some card meanings, a one sheet LWB Benebell Wen created I believe. Now I am a fan of Benebell but as with all things you can disagree – some of these meanings I don’t quite hold to. There is also, if you can find a copy, the LWB that came with the deck when Grimauld produced it – that one take with a HUGE grain of salt. I will also say if you are a fan of using just intuitive readings this is not what I think would be the deck for you – I could be wrong, just saying.

Stella did note in her blog post and I must mention here – there are a lot of people cards. As so many people have a tough time with people cards or Court Cards in Tarot this deck might challenge you in the same way.

I started a notebook with one page per card and wrote down, whether I agreed with it or not, the meanings from the Grimauld LWB as well as the one that came from the one sheet given with the deck I purchased. I am now adding to this by doing small readings and filling in notes on how those cards represent themselves. I am making sure to do readings on different types of context – work, relationship (love or otherwise), etc. to best find out the meanings of these cards in all kinds of ways. I am taking a rather practical way of looking at the images, icons much like Lenormand is how I am working with them at the moment. I am then able to formulate from all of this how the cards are conversing, the information they are sharing. I look at a process of this much like I think an archeologist does at a dig site, go slowly and carefully, examine and evaluate and then move to the next level.

I would suggest using simple 3 or 5 card line readings to start with and working yourself up. The older cartomancy lines and squares are where I think this deck will work best as far as spreads go. I am not sure if the more Tarot spread orientated positions will work well or not, I haven’t progressed past 5 cards at the moment and don’t think I will for a bit. Then after I get this more worked out I will move on to readings for others – my real proving ground of a divination tool. I will say this, if you are not interested in putting in the time, working with a deck that has no books and you must do all the work and research, and working with an obscure deck that won’t see the light of day in most reading groups – stay away, The Book of Fate I do believe guards it secrets well.

So why did I post this? Well I so rarely post that first off it was about time don’t you think? Then there is the fact that I think I might be onto something here, a good down to earth no nonsense tool (Thank you again Stella for the heads up !!) that will do well for me over time. Lastly I like to share the diamonds in the rough, the tools you get to learn on your own, forge a path to understanding and then (oh goodness I sound like one of the YouTube Tarot Goddesses here) find joy in the accomplishment of my own hard work. Crystals, Nag Champa and New Age music are not required to learn this deck 🙂

Until I post again, Hugh

PS – if you know of a user friendly, non – AI generated, blog host other then WordPress which I currently use, I would appreciate hearing about it. I am finding this system harder and harder to use ! If this post seems a bit choppy I must admit I have had quite the time trying to format, grammar and spell check, etc. time I think for a new venue.

August 24, 2024 1

How do I read Lenormand??

Hello there,

Quite recently I was asked “how do you read Lenormand cards and get so much info from them so quickly?” Well that’s a question with many answers let me just start there.

It takes time and study to properly read using the Lenormand system. I laugh when I read posts online and classes offering “become a certified Lenormand reader in XYZ amount of time.” First off who certified the certifier ?? Then I have to admit, and it sounds daunting but it is true, it takes many many months, yes years in fact, of practice until the Lenormand system reads with ease – and even then we get a head scratcher from time to time.

I then saw that the person asking the question wanted to know if I used a “system” to read Lenormand. Okay, now the question becomes a bit easier to answer. Lenormand is a system, so yes of course you use one to read with. If you are looking to be an intuitive reader – Lenormand is not your bread and butter deck. Not to say intuition doesn’t play a part but…… it is a part AFTER the system is used to decipher the cards.

This all said I am a student of Lenormand influenced by the teachings of Andy Boroveshengra, and Bjorn Meuris then add in a dash of Rana George and Caitlin Matthews. Mostly I read as Andy teaches in his amazing book, Lenormand Thirty Six Cards. The smallest spread I read is a three card (never one card alone and a two card is only for a quick description that I might need) all the way up to the Grand Tableau. My go to spread is the 3X3, Portrait Spread, Nine Card spread – it goes by so many names!

When I read, before I look at the Lenormand images I take note of the playing card inserts – all the decks I use must have a playing card insert. I take note how many of each suit is present, if a suit is pre-dominant or is a suit is missing from the spread all together. Each one of these scenarios of course tells me a different type of info. Example – no Hearts are present, this is not an emotionally charged issue/question and yes that is just an off the cuff example not what it means every time.

Then I read the playing card inserts again to see if there are any duplicate types of cards there and if so how many of each. Each set of 2, 3 or 4 of a kind has a different meaning. It would be too long to type here, refer to Andy’s book for a comprehensive list of meanings. Yes, 3 Kings in a spread has a meaning just as a pair of 7’s or any other cards does.

(With both of the above please note everything thing is present in a Grand Tableau so that info doesn’t apply when using that spread.)

Now I have an overall feel for the reading from the Suits with an overall or over riding message from duplicates if they are present. You can have multiple sets of duplicates in a spread – ah there is more info to glean.

Now I proceed to reading the Lenormand Cards by their individual meanings and their proximity to each other. Yes, I am a Near/Far or Proximity reader in the Lenormand system.

So that, in a nutshell is how I read using the Lenormand system. I hope that answers the question. As well here is a link to Andy’s book – I can’t recommend it more highly. I have both paperback and Kindle versions and it is never far from me.

Until we meet again,

Hugh

August 21, 2023 4

Blogs and Blessings

Today I decided to splurge, a brand new shiny laptop to help me with rebuilding the website and getting my work back on track. So…. Blessings to the new laptop and time to blog!

This is my small tranquility area on our back deck. Even with the severe lack of rain here in Vermont this season, the green of the Green Mountain State is still thriving. I bring you here thinking of blessings which abound around us if we choose to just take the moment and think.

This small little scene shares blessings I had from a friendship gone too soon. My dearest friend Helen passed away a number of years ago, only in her 50’s. I spent many days/nights in her company, studied Tarot and Reiki and yes we drank way more wine then was good for us. Her home in Chappaqua, NY was an oasis of calm and she had a Buddha just like this one. We set out on an adventure one day and lo and behold we found mine.

The stones are all from Montauk, NY, called “The End” by some. It is the very tip or End of Long Island and long thought of as a vortex of energy such as Sedona, AZ. While not as popular it has an energy that stays with one. I experienced this a few times, again all with Helen.

Two chunks of Apophyllite are in this photo as well, at the far side, right and left. Yes you guessed it already, Helen helped me learn all about the energies of this stone, I might suggest you research it for yourself.

Now as I get older, a privilege these days that I do not overlook, I get to enjoy this spot. It is not a place of sadness for my friend’s memory, it is a sanctuary of calm that she helped me realize I could create in my life, where I needed one. It’s a seasonal one yes, but that helps me remember how things change – something I also do not overlook the privilege of knowing the value of.

So why blog on this? Simple blessings are in my life and while I normally don’t talk or blog about them, today felt like the day I should. I am not going all “white light” here on you, rather I just gentle remind you that you have them also. I faced some of my hardest times these past 2 years, and the lessons I learned have been a few – count your blessings is among them.

Care to count yours as well?

August 14, 2022 0

Sitting back and …..

I have been quiet for quite sometime, i apologize. We moved to Vermont for peace and quiet and things sort of spun out of control on us. Here is the short version of the low down;

In September of 2020 I was diagnosed with Rectal Cancer and needless to say my world turned a bit upside down. I went through 2 different chemotherapy treatment series, a radiation treatment series as well as 2 surgeries. I also was cared for by a team of Reiki practitioners, and a few close friends who use other alternative therapies/practices. I am now Cancer free (yay me!!) and am on a road of recovery that keeps me a bit fatigued but still able to work full time with a slightly modified shift schedule. That’s it, I kept things mostly quite as I didn’t, and still don’t, want to make my life about Cancer or having had had it.

Now during all this sort of forced down time I had lots of time to study alternative healing work as well as return to traditional methods of reading Kipper and Lenormand. I added in Playing Cards – what a ton of fun those are – and made a few friends on a card readers forum. That forum, I will be kind and not name it, has gone South in a big way. They decided to embrace this new methodology of ”wellness” in readings and not support those of us who are Fortunetellers. Its all about, ”what is my greatest good”, ”will soul be nourished by this endeavor” and….. geez dear Gods help me. While that sort of thing might appeal to others, just give me the facts of life, ”how do I save enough for retirement quickly?” or other practical information and let me live life. I don’t feel I am am qualified to be handing out arm chair Psycho Babble and I won’t. Nuff said.

So I will be spending the next few weeks updating this website and get it back to running form. Readings and Healing works will be offered again. These are done around my Full Time job so please understand that. I also pace myself a bit more until I am back full steam, never fear I can perform this work well and actually doing so helps me out tremendously.

That’s it. That’s whats up. And now, let us move forward !

April 23, 2022 1

It is all coming up Clover

It is all coming up Clover, or at least I hope it is.

This card is from Maybe Lenormand, by Ryan Edwards, US Games Systems Inc.

When the #2 the Clover appears in your reading almost always we have a note of joy, in fact that is the essence of the card. We have keywords normally associated with this card of;

Luck
Opportunity
Change of Fortune
Gamble/Chance
Good Luck Charm/Talisman

these are just a few of the words we can use of course. Let us also remember that what the Clover brings along is of a short duration or quick window of time to work with/obtain. The effects don’t hang around long, seize them while you have the chance – pun intended.

This card has always been my little Leprechaun of the Lenormand – catch this one in your reading and things can go well for you unless…… #6 the Clouds are close by. This is one of two cards that has its meaning reversed by #6, the other card that is reversed by #6 – keep up with the blog posts to find out. So this said without the #6 we see Good Luck, Good Opportunity, Good Change of Fortune, etc. and with #6 near, Bad Luck, Opportunity that is not good for you, etc. and still even with #6 near, it is quick and short in duration.

Questions -feel free to ask away. This is, to me of course, one of the easier of the cards to interpret and I love hearing how it works for you.

Remember to always read with wisdom and compassion,

Blessings, Hugh

June 23, 2020 0

Lenormand Card Meanings – You asked for it

As I start to settle into Vermont life I am also getting to settle back into my spiritual work. One of the items on my to do list is to blog about the meanings of each Lenormand Card. While this has been covered by many others, I am consistently asked how I read them and would I mind providing this. I happily do so with the caveat that this does not take the place of the excellent books that are out there nor does it take the place of a class or workshop you might attend. Also might I add, these meanings are how I have learned to read the cards – others read them differently I am sure.

For these blog postings I will be using the graphics of the cards from Ryan Edward’s most excellent deck, Maybe Lenormand, published by US Games Systems, Inc. A while back Ryan gave me permission to do this and I must say I am so happy that he did. If you are going to be learning Lenormand this is a fabulous deck to work with and if you are an old hand with Lenormand you will enjoy them as well. Thank you again Ryan.

So you will start to see these posts shortly. I haven’t decided as of yet If I will go in card number order or just post them as they present themselves to me. The Muse of Lenormand will assist me I am sure.

Blessed Be, Hugh

May 25, 2020 2

And then, Vermont !

So the move is done and I now reside in the Green Mountain State, Vermont.

The how and why to the move is simple – I wanted a more simple life and after almost 60 years of life living just outside of New York City, getting to relocate to Vermont is like a dream come true. It is true, the Mountains are Green and the Air is so much more clean AND I will now be able to concentrate on what I have wanted to do for quite some time, Readings and Healing work on a more full time basis. How this will all shape up and transform my life is to be seen but I know that the adventure has begun. As I await my husband Dan to join me here, I am taking the time to take the time and not rush into anything.

I share this to let you know, while I have sort of fallen off the Map, at least the NY State one, I am here and appreciate the many emails of support. Online/Email readings will be the first to start back up as well as Distance Healing Sessions which have shown so much success for those who have partaken of them. Just give me a bit more time and feel free to email me with questions.

In closing I hope this finds all of you doing as best you can during this incredible time we live in. “May you live in interesting times” was a curse I once heard uttered – we have that in spades now don’t we? Let us find the ground to learn and grow from what we are going through, not to tear others down. My heart and prayers go out to all who have lost a loved one, We Are In This Together – never forget that !!

Many Blessings, Hugh

May 25, 2020 1

Cultivating Clarity Part 2

When performing readings, using any tool you choose to do so, clarity is of ultimate importance to whom you are reading for. Cultivating how best to achieve this should be an ongoing pursuit – one can never get good enough at this.

Part One was basically all about Focus, Part Two will be dedication to your readings, perhaps another kind of focus you might say.

I have been involved in the studies of divination systems since some time in the early 70’s. Tarot was the name of the game here in America back then and with few resources you learned as best you could. In the 80’s I started learning Runes and Playing Cards and in general the resources for divination studies were growing. The 90’s to current date has added Petit Lenormand and Kipper Cards to my repertoire. With a fun “side of ” an oracle called Mildred Payne’s Secret Pocket Oracle and the her additional deck of Dark Enchantment my studies are quite a full time job.

So basically we have 5 systems with my personal fun Mildred systems added over the course of 40 years (geez that hurts to even type how long I have been doing this) and I am at my limit. Now again, I do this more or less full time so I do admit I have more time then the average person does to work with my divination tools. Okay you say, where is he going with this? Let me tell you oh inquisitive one.

The internet and the plethora of divination tools that we now have access to through it is almost staggering in it’s volume. And…. it is growing by the day or at least seems to be in my eyes. With all of this and, I admit I will be doing this shortly as well, teachings via the internet venue it is like the candy store of divination and children (no insult to any of you) are running wild through the aisles grabbing a bit of this and that and ending up with – a divination tummy ache.

There comes a time when, if you are a serious reader of a divination system, that you have to dedicate yourself to just a system or two to learn. Tarot, as an example, is a life time work of study no matter how you look at it. The Lenormand system I love so much, with only 36 cards might I add, still teaches me something daily about how to work with it. If as a student of divination you truly want to learn the depths of a system – you have to limit yourself to what you study.

Okay, so now I ruined your fun – but not really. I can’t tell you the joy I find in Lenormand and I only found that by, diving in deep and working my way through the cards in such a wide multitude of ways that shocked even myself with what they could do. I literally lived with the cards for months on end and that was to just feel I have the basics down. Now I find there are not many questions I can’t answer with this little deck, okay yes I need to think out a question or two from time to time. I only got there by concentration on ONE system. I didn’t fall prey to running to this oracle and that, the Wooden Pineapple Coins and the Intermittent Mage Stones (okay I made those both up) called but I resisted their lure.

Am I saying don’t ever experiment with something new? Absolutely not but I am saying you only have so much time and if you want to get to a point in your divination studies where you can at least feel you are at an intermediate level (I hesitate to ever say mastered because once I do the tool proves me wrong, lol) and provide concise readings that give clarity then you have to limit yourself. Plain and simple and yes that is my opinion by the way – learn Just a few systems. Again, and not to brag because again it hurts to admit it but I am this old, I have been at this for almost 50 years and look at how I have cultivated really just a few systems.

So at the end of the day/blog post here is the question I guess you need to ask yourself ;

Do I want to become truly good at reading just a couple of divination systems or do I want to know a little about a whole lot of them?

I went with the former, how will you decide and what couple of systems really do call to you if you follow my lead? I hope if nothing else this gives you food for though and help your cultivate yet more Clarity in your readings!

An early Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA readers – don’t eat to much!

Blessings,

Hugh

November 23, 2019 0

A 2020 Election Reading – My Reading

Greetings,

There is no doubt in the World of Cartomancy there are a number of people I admire and respect. Andy Boroveshengra, Rana George, Toni Puhle, Benebell Wen, and Stella are just a few. Wait Stella? Who is Stella did you ask – well if you don’t know Stella it’s about time you did.

Stella is an old fashioned, sassy card reader with a style and flair all of her own. She is insightful and yes at times in your face with her views – hmmm remind you of anyone? She is one of those people I would like to sit and talk to over a pot of coffee and a good deck of Lenormand or Kipper cards – and she is who started me thinking of posts for this 2020 Presidential Election here in the USA.

First off Stella can be found at fennario.wordpress.com and in her blog you will find a posting with the same title as the one above, a 2020 election reading. I contacted her after reading her post and asked her to share the wording to the question she used and I would then follow suit and do the same – here we go;

First the question – What effect will the next election have on the office of POTUS? I didn’t change one word of this, its is exactly as she posted to me in the comments of her post.

Here are the cards I drew and yes Stella and I have the same amazing taste in cards so I used the same deck that she did, Mlle LeNormand’s Wahrsage Karten der Engel which you can find at thecartomancer.bigcartel.com

Now I am going to NOT post my breakdown of my reading here as Stella did, instead I am going to pose this to you – using the same question and the Lenormand reading system cast your own Portrait Spread and see how they fall for you. I am finding it interesting to see the comparison between Stella’s reading and mine, both what is similar and what is different – or when you really look at it is it all that different?

I would love for you to add a link to this post and let us get a head start on what is sure to be an interesting 2020 Election!

May I add in closing that Stella’s website is well worth your time to peruse – I learned a lot from reading her blogs and I guess you might as well.

September 22, 2019 0

The Fortune Tellers Society

Walking the Path of Life, One Card at a Time

Category