Holiday Update

Time flies when you have a major health scare in the family! I spent most of my time from December 19 to December 23 at the local hospital with my husband. He had a stroke and suddenly lost his peripheral vision and some of his forward vision in one eye, with minor vision impairment in the other eye.

Let's just say I think I now know the meaning of the Snake card that I pulled in my Lenormand line of three on December 16...

The oracle also held true in that my husband was discharged from the hospital on the 23rd and thus able to celebrate Christmas Eve and the rest of the holiday with our family. My husband's vision seems to be improving somewhat. Doctors say it may or may not return to normal in the future. But all things considered, the damage could have been much, much worse.

I hope to get back on track with Tarot Notes on January 1, 2014. Until then, I wish all of you a happy holiday season. Enjoy your friends and family!

Best wishes and brightest blessings,

Zanna Starr

Week at a Glance: Garden, Snake, Bouquet

Last week’s Lenormand pair – Choices (22) + Rings (25) – did not seem to relate to any actual event in my life, at least not that week. As an author, I do have book contracts with publishers, and I am married, so there is that “contract.” But I was not aware of any decisions or choices that needed to be made.

This week I am continuing my exploration of Lenormand style decks using Shaheen Mirro’s Tattered Nomad Oracle. (My spellcheck program insists that his name should be "Shaken Mirror"…)

I am drawing a line of three cards this time.

THE GARDEN (20). . . THE SNAKE (7). . . THE BOUQUET (9)
Okay, my very first reaction to the first two cards has to be the story of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, and the Snake (serpent)! Then we add The Bouquet, which goes very nicely with The Garden. Yet there is that Snake in the middle. I get a sense of a lovely setting filled with flowers in which something false or deceptive hides, waiting for a chance to cause trouble. Instead of a “snake in the grass,” it’s a “snake in the garden.”

Let’s see what Shaheen says about each of these cards:

• The Garden (20) – gatherings, celebration, meetings, social events, public property, creation
• The Snake (7) – deception, attach, difficulties, envy, wisdom, bad omen
• The Bouquet (9) – gifts, offerings, affection, encouragement, happiness aesthetic

Well, here we are in the holiday season, with Christmas just ten days away, certainly a time of gatherings, celebration, gifts, etc. A lot of that going on all around me. But there’s that Snake. What is he up to, exactly?

In The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle, Sylvia Steinbach offers similar interpretations of my three cards:

• The Garden (20) – the general public, groups and crowds, parties, meetings, social activities
• The Snake (7) – difficulties, disappointments, jealousy, manipulations and tricks brought on by familiar people
• The Bouquet (9) – beauty, grace, joy, gift, strong positive vibrations

Sylvie also provides possible interpretations for card combinations:

• Garden + Snake = trouble makers, disturbances, gang
• Snake + Bouquet = positive turnaround, repairs, corrections
• Garden + Bouquet = happiness, contentment, bliss

I like the overall “vibe” of these cards because they give me the sense that even though trouble may lurk, it is not likely to overthrow the happiness and beauty of the week, and that any damage is probably going to be repaired.

Listen to the Animals: Unicorn

For this Tarot Notes feature, I pull one card each week from a different animal-themed deck to represent an important message from that animal.

If you are interested in finding out who your own Animal Guides are, you can get an Animal Guides Reading through my _Etsy shop_ or my _Web Site_.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/83334186/animal-guides-reading
http://zannastarr.weebly.com/animal-guides.html

This week my deck is one of my oldest and beloved decks, the Beasts of Albion by Miranda Gray (Aquarian). This deck uses ancient British animal guides for self-development.

My card today is the UNICORN.

Beasts of Albion

In the Beasts of Albion deck there are three Kingdoms, each represented by a Spirit Animal. The Unicorn is the Spirit Animal for the Kingdom of Purity. Miranda Gray describes the Unicorn as “a creature of the moon – wise, graceful and beautiful,” representing “purity, chastity and gentleness.”

In legend, the Unicorn becomes meek and gentle in the presence of a maiden, which proved to be a fatal weakness in many cases.

Similarly, the purity and innocence symbolized by the Unicorn can be a strength or a weakness, depending on the situation. The Unicorn also has a wild side that is kept in check but can be released when the creature is threatened.

I have not ever seen a live Unicorn, but I will share a picture I took of a close relative, the horse.

Week at a Glance: Choices + Rings

This week I am continuing my exploration of Lenormand style decks by using a pair of cards from the Freshly Squeezed Lenormand by Jean Hamilton-Fford.

CHOICES (22) + RINGS (25)

Traditionally, card 22 is called Paths or Roads. Jean Hamilton-Fford calls it Choices because the main theme of the card is about needing to make a choice about which way to go. Of course we all make many choices every day, and perhaps this card is simply alerting me to pay attention to choices that come up this week, as they may be more important than I realize at first.

The Ring is about partnerships, including marriage. Hamilton-Fford added red and white roses to this card – the red for desire, the white for knowledge.

CHOICES plus RINGS could mean that I am likely to face a decision concerning a partnership or agreement this week.

From The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle by Sylvie Steinbach:
The Crossroad (22) = choices, decisions, serious evaluation, exercising free will
The Ring (25) = contracts, agreements, committed relationship, satisfying solution (full circle)
The Crossroad + Ring = commitment, settling down, agreement, reunion

I would love to hear your thoughts on how these two cards might be interpreted as a pair.