I was torn as to which deck system to use for this week’s reading.
If you checked out last week’s post, I shared how I’m in the throes of a crush with The Illuminated Tarot by Caitlin Keegan. I’ve been steadily using it for my personal daily draws, to the exclusion of all the other decks I was working with prior, because it’s pretty spot-on with my daily activities (which is something I look for in a deck).
And I’m also aware of how much viewers and readers have taken a shine to my Lenormand postings (and some have even asked for me to use it more often).
And while it was difficult to put The Illuminated Tarot aside, I ultimately decided to work with my current favorite Lenormand deck, Le Fanu’s Lilac Dondorf, which is on its way toward becoming my go-to working Lenormand deck.
So, now that the deck has been chosen, I’m taking it in hand and shuffling the cards, asking what we might expect for the week ahead.
The video below reveals the cards in the reading:
If you prefer to read the post, here it is:
The cards for the week are: Ship, Ring, Mice, Snake, and Scythe.
Focus of the Reading
The focus card this week, which is in the middle of the line, is Mice.
Mice is a card that speaks of and stress and worry, so, in the center of the line, we’re being encouraged to consider what the stressors are in our lives at the moment, and how we might be choosing to handle them.
Mice is also a card of loss, and can suggest something that lessens gradually, if you consider the “nibbling” effect of actual mice.
And going further with that, Mice can suggest that those worries over a gradual loss or decline can be “eating away” or “gnawing away” at us.
Mice can also represent pests and nuisances, so the stress we’re experiencing may be the result of letting people or circumstances bother and pester us.
Mice, being small creatures, makes me think that it might be that we’re letting the little things annoy us, that little things can potentially rob us of something in the long run if we don’t consider—and change—our reaction and response to them.
Looking at the Line
The cards immediately flanking Mice, Ring and Snake, form a pair that I read in a line as something more in-depth about the focus (Mice).
Ring is a card of commitments and agreements, and with Mice next to it, can suggest stress and worry (Mice) involving a commitment of some kind.
The stress and worry could involve an engagement (Ring) that is declined (Mice), or that the commitment, which might be of a cyclical or recurring nature (Ring), has now become something bothersome (Mice).
The pairing could also suggest engagement (Ring) with a commitment (Ring) has lessened (Mice), and that decline might be cyclical (Ring).
Going to the other side of Mice, and turning to Snake, my first keyword with this card is complication. Next to Mice, we have the stress and worry (Mice) with a complication (Snake).
Ring + Snake, could give us more information, as the pair could be read as a commitment (Ring) becomes complicated (Snake). The snake, being coiled in the card’s image, can imply “twists and turns,” that something has possibly become entangled in complexity.
As a result, Snake can also refer to a “long and winding” process.
There’s another possibility emerging with Snake, which is known as “the other woman” card. If we consider Ring to represent a serious commitment, Snake can possibly suggest a third party or rival (keeping it gender neutral) appearing on the scene, which is causing stress and worry.
And still another possibility is that stress and worry (Mice) comes as the result of a promise (Ring) not being kept due to another party (Snake) not keeping his or her word (Snake).
Whatever the scenario, with Snake in the picture (or, in this case, the line), there will be consequences (one of my other keywords for Snake) to come.
The outer cards, Ship and Scythe, can offer information that would sum things up.
Ship is a card of progression, advancement, and moving forward. If we take direction into account, Ship is facing Ring, and can suggest the progression (Ship) of a commitment (Ring).
Ship, as a card of journeys, might beg the question, “Where is this thing (Ring) going?”
Going further with Ship, it can also represent commerce, so this commitment or agreement (Ring) might involve a commercial venture. Ship is also a card that can indicate something foreign or abroad, and with that in mind, this venture may be on an international scale.
That would then make sense with Mice being the stress and worry of an international agreement, and Snake foreshadowing possible complications and entanglements with foreign parties going forward.
Ring, being something circular, could suggest going (Ship) around and around (Ring), in an effort to reach an agreement (Ring). Mice and Snake would suggest that each go-round (Ring) leads to stress (Mice) and complications (Snake).
And that brings us to Scythe, the card “rounding out” (did you get that?) the line.
If we consider Snake to mean consequences, Scythe could suggest a break, a split, or something being severed. Ship + Scythe could be read as a venture (Ship) that gets cut short (Scythe).
This could be the result of complications (Snake) that seem to be mounting, as Snake is on the side of Scythe that has the harvest next to it, which suggest what’s being gathered.
The pairing could also be read as the temptation (Snake) to cut out (Scythe). Ring + Scythe could also be taken into account and read as a broken commitment/agreement/engagement.
Scythe is a card that implies something unexpected; Snake + Scythe then would suggest that a complication (Snake) arises unexpectedly (Scythe).
Scythe also can suggest something swift, fast, and sudden; at the end of the line, I tend to see this as suggesting an immediate response to the situation, something that needs to happen sooner rather than later.
Cutting Out
I’ll end things here as I did in the video presentation: This week’s reading isn’t the most glowing, positive reading, but Lenormand is known for “cutting” to the chase, getting right to the “point,” and being, at times, rather “blunt” in its delivery of the messages (which, by the way, are all references to Scythe).
When it comes to the more challenging situations depicted in a reading, I tend to look at it as “being forewarned is forearmed.” Getting a possible “heads up” about a potential challenge can empower us to decide how best to solve the problem should it arise.
Let’s make the best of the week…
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