Lenormand Horoscopes for February 2016

As I mentioned before, I know I’m not alone in doing Lenormand “Horoscopes,” but I do hope these will be fun and perhaps even useful for you!

This time, I am using the Freshly Squeezed Lenormand by Jean Hamilton-Fford (self-published). To read my review of this lovely deck, click HERE.

I realize that the Lenormand cards are meant to be read in “sets” rather than single cards. However, I am going to proceed, just to see what comes of it. The “Significant Numbers” listed at the end of each Horoscope are based on the numbers on the cards. These could refer to dates within the month or something entirely different.

I shuffled the deck and then drew cards 1-12 off the top.

Aries: MESSENGER (1)
In February, a messenger (probably a man) brings news to you, perhaps delivered by Air Mail. This message may give you pause for thought, so take time to think and reflect before reacting or responding. Significant number: 1.

Taurus: MESSAGE (27)
A letter, email, or fax arrives this month, requiring your attention and deliberation. The overall effect on your life depends on how you handle it. Significant numbers: 27, 9

Gemini: BLOCKS (21)
This month you are confronted by a significant obstacle or “block” in your path. It’s likely to be bigger or meaner than you imagined. Rely on your friends to make the best of a difficult situation. Significant numbers: 21, 3

Cancer: ANXIETY (12)
See that loud wallpaper? It represents the way that worries or anxieties can overwhelm us. Have you done something wrong? Do you fear that you have? This month, you are being challenged to see the positive side of things that seem to go wrong. A telephone call may play a role in this. Significant numbers: 12, 3.

Leo: MISFORTUNE (7)
Oh my. This card shows a black cat under a ladder, reaching for a magpie; a cracked mirror (7 years bad luck); an upside down horseshoe; a fallen broom; a snake crossing over the broom; and the number 13. Clearly, this is NOT your lucky month. Don’t place any bets or tempt fate, if you can avoid it.  Significant number: 7

Virgo: CHILD (13)
In February, your focus is likely to be on a child or young woman. It’s time to free your inhibitions and enjoy life! A new beginning is on the horizon, and you can proceed with confidence. Significant numbers: 13, 4

Libra: CLOUDS (6)
Simon and Garfunkel said it best: “Cloudy – the sky is gray and white and cloudy”. What does it mean? The key is to “look at clouds from both sides” (like Judy Collins) and evaluate your situation accordingly. Significant number: 6

Scorpio: WOMAN (29)
If you are a woman, this card could refer to you, to your own status as wife, mother, daughter, or sister. For both men and women, the month of February brings an emphasis on what it’s like to be female or perhaps a need for attention towars a specific female in your life. Significant numbers: 29, 11, 2

Sagittarius: RINGS (25)
A partnership is front and center this month, whether it involves marriage, a business arrangement, or friendship. What you do and how you act will have a bearing on whether you experience happiness or disappointment in this area. Perhaps it is time to make a commitment to a significant other? Significant numbers: 25, 7

Capricorn: LOSS (23)
Whether the loss occurs in the area of health, finances, or property, it may be hard to take. Along with loss, however, you have an opportunity to experience a transformation this month – to leave behind one stage or phase of your life and begin a new phase or stage. Significant numbers: 23, 5

Aquarius: MEETING PLACE (20)
In February, a gathering for business or pleasure takes center stage for you. This is a place of possibilities and opportunities, friendship and love. It’s group activity at its best. Significant numbers: 20, 2.

Pisces: FISH (34)
Well you have to love Fish showing up for Pisces in February! And success and good fortune sound good any time of the year. Accept the fact that some of the success implied by this card may not be immediate. Even so, there should be clear signs of it this month. Significant numbers: 34, 7

Loan and Closing Issue Revisited

Today I am revisiting an issue I have addressed on previous occasions with the Lenormand deck. In August, I asked “Will her loan be approved before the end of the year?” The cards leaned towards a “Yes” answer, with a hint of delay or obstacles. In November, I asked “Will the closing on Mom’s house take place before December 31, 2015?” The cards again suggested “probably yes” but there were possible complications. These previous readings can be found _HERE_ and _HERE_.

Here we are deep into January, and we are still waiting for the underwriter to complete loan approval and send the loan package to the buyer. Our latest “guestimate” for a closing date is “by February 15.”

So let’s see what the Under the Roses Lenormand by Kendra Hurteau and Katrina Hill (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.) can tell us in answer to the question: “Will the closing on Mom’s house take place by February 15, 2016?” (Remember, cards from a red suit indicate "yes", whereas cards from a black suit indicate "no.")

The Answer:

The Locket (Jack of Hearts / Yes)

The Tree (7 of Hearts / Yes)

The Letter (7 of Spades / No)

Gah! Once again, the cards are playing themselves “close to the vest.” I thought for a minute I was going to get an unqualified “yes” but The Letter showed up with an alternative view.

The Locket (24) – AKA The Heart in other Lenormand decks -- is typically about love and romance, happiness, bliss, contentment. I don’t know about “love and romance” but I know a lot of people who will experience “happiness, bliss, contentment” once the closing takes place!

The Tree (5) tends to be about life, health, growth, and environment. The closing will allow several people to “get on with their lives” in good health.

The Letter (27) tells us that some sort of news, message, communication, or information may yet cause a delay or obstacle to the process of loan approval and closing. Who knows what this could be? The buyer has to be allowed three days after receipt of her loan package before a closing can be scheduled, so it’s possible that the hitch will come at that point, even after the underwriter signs off on the loan.

I can hardly wait.

Problem Solving with the Baroque Bohemian Cats

Like most people, I have a variety of relatively small problems that plague me from week to week. I am going to use the Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov (Magic Realist Press) to explore one problem in particular.

I am using a Problem Solving Spread presented by Jeanne Mayell in a _blog post_ from April 4, 2015. Jeanne Mayell does not provide a layout for this spread, so I decided to place the cards in this manner:

1………..2

…....3……

4………..5

…....6……

(1) Nature of the problem: FIVE OF CUPS

The suit of Cups tells me that the nature of this problem is rooted in my own feelings, emotions, and subconscious attitudes. With the Five, we are looking at a sense of loss or a perspective that sees the glass as “half empty.” As Karen Mahony puts it, “unnecessary pessimism… looking on the down side.” In other words, this problem is a problem because I feel it’s a problem.

(2) What led up to the current problem: FOUR OF SWORDS

Retreat and reflection, a “time out” of sorts, seems to have led up to this problem. I stopped “doing” and focused on thinking, analyzing, and critiquing (suit of Swords). This has caused me to focus on the perceived problem.

(3) Current attitude/actions that preserve the status quo: HERMES

This card is a “rogue card” that doesn’t fit into the traditional Tarot structure. Karen Mahony tells us that  “Hermes put himself into the deck last-minute and totally unexpectedly. That's why there is nothing about him in the book - when I wrote the book (and indeed when it was printed) I had no idea that this trickster god was about to barge his way in.”

So what can we say about Hermes that might explain how a current attitude or actions preserve the status quo (the problem)? Hermes is primarily seen as Messenger of the gods, a Roman equivalent of Mercury. Now, Mercury is associated in traditional Tarot decks with The Magician. Like The Magician, Hermes can be seen as a cunning, clever, trickster character. He served as a psychopomp, or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the afterlife (the Underworld in the Greek myths). Hermes is the patron of commerce, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, and border crossings.

It’s really the “trickster” quality of Hermes that stands out to me in this reading. He is a messenger, of course, but do I really understand where (or whom) his messages come from? Is he delivering false information that feeds my misperceptions? As long as I continue to buy what he is selling, I will feel that there is a problem.

(4) Secondary gains from staying in the situation: QUEEN OF CUPS

If I decide to remain in this situation (as opposed to walking away), secondary gains can be found in the Queen of Cups, a double-Water lady with what Mahony describes as “sensibility matched with common sense, a productive creativity. . . ability to combine artistry with real-world success, a love of beauty and the arts.” This resonates with me quite perfectly. Creative but grounded, emotionally open yet never neurotic or out of control. This is what I can evolve into if I stay in the situation while also heeding the messages of the other cards. Her energy is certainly the type I need to embrace and develop if I am to solve this problem while remaining in the situation.

(5) Necessary changes in attitude/actions: EIGHT OF WANDS

One major change that needs to take place is a shift from discouragement and disappointment (Five of Cups) to activity and a “full speed ahead” approach. I need to become excited, optimistic, enthusiastic – and proceed accordingly towards my goal(s).

(6) Outcome: FIVE OF PENTACLES

I must say, this is not the sort of Outcome I wanted to see in this reading. The Five of Pentacles tends to suggest poverty and deprivation, perhaps at a physical or material level. The feeling harkens back to the Five of Cups in the sense of being exhausted, disappointed, and anxious about that “half empty” glass. Perhaps the cards are saying that this is where I’m headed if I do NOT heed the messages of the preceding cards. The Five of Pentacles can also allude to help that is available, that I am not aware of.  I have to have the confidence and determination to look for it before it can be given. Family members and friends can be supportive, or there may be an “institution” that can be of assistance.

All of this makes sense to me. I think the most difficult thing is to be “excited, optimistic, and enthusiastic” when I just don’t see a reason for it. I am hoping the Eight of Wands is, in fact, telling me that there IS a reason to have that positive outlook and attitude!

Sherlock Holmes Card of the Day: Dr. John Watson (Strength)

The Sherlock Holmes Card of the Day is:

Trump 8 / DR. JOHN H. WATSON

(Strength)

In The Sherlock Holmes Tarot by John Matthews and Wil Kinghan (Sterling Ethos), the Strength card is portrayed by Dr. Watson, originally portrayed in films as something of a bumbler, kind of a “straight man” to Sherlock Holmes. Upon closer scrutiny, however, it becomes clear that Watson is a highly intelligent man and able-bodied assistant to the great detective.

The Holmesian Wisdom for Strength is: “If I have one quality upon earth it is common sense.” This quote is from Watson’s diary, as recorded in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Keys for this card, upright, are: “self-discipline, enduring strength, balanced exercise of one’s abilities, health of mind, body and spirit, moral certitude without self-righteousness, courage to accept challenges, fortitude.” Reversed meanings: “reversal of fortune, delay and stasis.”

The book that accompanies this deck also provides interpretations for each card under the headings “The Game” and “The Fog.” The former elaborates on the upright keys, while the latter expands on reversed meanings. An example from “The Game” for Strength: “the strength to keep going when the problem appears to have no solution. . . You are resourceful, but may need to tame the desire to meet opposition in a combative way. Strength held in check remains a reserve which you can tap into.” Examples from “The Fog”: “Weakness, an inability to grasp the problem or to find the energy necessary to combat the situation. An inability to master your fears. . . Feeding your fears gives them strength over you; acknowledging your limitations helps you survive.”

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

More recently, films have depicted Dr. Watson in very different ways. For example, in the television show “Elementary,” Dr. Watson is JOAN Watson, played by actress Lucy Liu. In the TV series “Sherlock,” Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes is accompanied by Martin Freeman as the good doctor. Jude Law plays Dr. Watson in the movie starring Robert Downey, Jr., as Holmes. I confess that although these Dr. Watsons are quite acceptable to me, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Nigel Bruce, who teamed up with Basil Rathbone in the 1940s for my favorite version of Sherlock Holmes.