Week At a Glance: Lilies and Birch/Broom

First, allow me to follow up on my Oct 27 Week At a Glance reading.

Looks like I need more practice with the Lenormand (not surprising, as I've only just recently started trying to read with it). I say I need more practice because not much that happened this past week seems to relate to the cards I drew on the 27th (at least not to my knowledge).

I'll go through and make a few comments. If you want to read everything I wrote about these cards, the original post is _HERE_.

1. Someone I will meet, what comes out of that meeting.
Book (26) + Rider (1)
My interpretation: I am tempted to take the Book card literally, as I expect my first self-published book to be printed this week -- or at least to come very close. However, this could refer to any of my previously published books and someone I might meet related to one of them. I hope the "unexpected situation" is pleasant rather than unpleasant.

Although I didn't actually *meet* anyone new or have a *meeting* per se, I did receive unexpected, unpleasant news concerning my self-published book. Fortunately, the problem was relatively minor and the illustrator and I figured out a way around it. But it was disappointing nevertheless, and time was lost.

6. Something that will help me.
Bear (15) + Anchor (35)
My interpretation: Being in a financially stable, secure position will help me.

This is pretty much true every week of my life but this past week I did something really stupid to the car that required expensive repairs, and being financially stable and secure certainly made that experience "bearable." (Get it? LOL)

9. Something nice.
Fox (14) + Child (13)
My interpretation: Since this is supposed to refer to "something nice," perhaps my suspicions about someone being "tricky" or "deceptive" will turn out to be wrong, and I'm being encouraged to believe the best and stop looking at things with a jaundiced eye. I also have plans to go to a restaurant called "The Fox" with my sister this week, where we will sing karaoke and presumably have a nice time.

I think this definitely referred to singing karaoke with my sister at The Fox. The Child card is perfect, since our connection naturally goes back to childhood (she is 7 years younger than I, so I remember her clearly as a very young child). Singing together also brought out the "inner child" in both of us, and we had a very nice time. I was also introduced to a song that is apparently an internet sensation, though I had never heard of it: _What Does the Fox Say?_

After giving the other cards and their interpretations a lot of thought, I don't see a connection to the events of the past week for me. Perhaps I am just not seeing something that is there, or perhaps more practice with the Lenormand will sharpen my interpretation skills so that I can deduce what the cards actually refer to.

So.... not to be defeated, I am going to do a smaller Week at a Glance reading with the Gilded Lenormand (Ciro Marchetti / U.S. Games Systems Inc.), using just two cards. I am asking the deck to show me what sort of energy, circumstances, or personal qualities I need to be aware of during the upcoming week. Here we go!

My cards are LILIES (30) and BIRCH/BROOM (11)

From a personal perspective, I associate lilies with death and rebirth or resurrection. I can relate to the interpretations I have seen elsewhere that include peace, contentment, satisfaction, purity, and nurturing. This card can also be seen to represent a "father figure" or even an older woman or "mother figure." The Lily can represent sexuality. Astrological references are Saturn (wisdom) and the sign Capricorn.

Personally, when I see Birch/Broom (traditionally known as The Whip), I think of sweeping or cleaning (with a broom), tidying things up, and/or punishment or an attack (the birch whip). Traditionally, this card tends to represent conflict, strife, arguments, violence, exercise, or sports. Apparently it is also seen to represent sexual power and possible misuse of that energy. Astrological references are Mars (sex) and Pluto (deviance) and the sign Scorpio.

These two cards seem to me to represent opposing energies: peace vs. conflict, nurturing vs. abuse, calm vs. agitated, and so forth. In her book The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle, Sylvie Steinbach describes this card combination as "passive aggressive, stubborn pain, yoga, tai chi."

I think I can rule out yoga and tai chi here, as I have no interest in either one. It seems that both cards are associated with sexuality, but I honestly don't see that as a primary focus for me. Perhaps this pairing simply alerts me that there are likely to be ups and downs this coming week, "a time for war and a time for peace" and all that. Perhaps I will need to be a "lily" that diffuses a "birch/broom" moment, or maybe I will need to wield the whip myself to address an undesirable situation?