In the company of wolves

Stories of the Future, as Told by the Cards of Mlle Lenormand

Thinking back, I really can’t remember how on earth I came across these cards. I had a brief tarot phase, but it was very adolescent and fleeting! Where these alternative cards came from, I truly can’t recall… spooky! And most of the time I forget I have them. I don’t think I’ve tried reading them for about 7 years, thinking about it. They’ve just been sitting in a drawer all that time… I stumbled across them when packing to leave London, and I decided on an impulse to bring them with me.

These cards are different from Tarot. If their instruction leaflet can be believed they are replicas of a certain Mlle Lenormand’s 19th century fortune telling Parisian playing cards, and what they do is kind of construct a story of the subject’s context and near-future possible plot twists. I like that it’s meant as more of a narrative than tarot, and narratives are subject to many factors: changes of heart, unexpected interference, multiple directions, sub-plots, and I do it more out of its gimmicky factor and because the cards are sooo divinely tweevil!!!

So I got them out today for a new year’s reading:



After shuffling, the cards are laid out in 4 rows of 8 cards and 1 row of 4. The cards tell their stories in relation to the protagonist card – card 29 for a woman and card 28 for a man. All the cards have meaning – the most important being those closest to, and those furthest away from, the protagonist. Though every card in the pack needs to be read, and their proximity to other cards also tell the story.

So this is my interpretation of the presented narrative:



The child to my left is an indication that I need not fear how I am perceived: my character is not in question. But perhaps this directly connects with the bear at my right, who ‘bears’ the burden of jealousy and envy of people who may be close to me. I should take care not to trust too easily, not to disclose information too readily (which is a problem, since I’ll be open with anyone who is open with me). The closest person to me right now, apart from Eran, who I know I don’t need to worry about, is Noa. And since we’re getting on really well, and I’m finding in her a friend I didn’t know was there, I really hope this doesn’t refer to her. I honestly don’t think she’s using information I give her… so it must refer to someone else… but who?

But beneath the bear is the sun, and its closeness to me has a positive affect on the cards around it. The future is bright, so perhaps those who ab/use my trust will not have a lasting effect on things to come… On the other hand, above the bear is its friend, the fox, who ready and waiting, very close to me, to use its skills of deception. Basically, I need to keep me ears and eyes open, and my mouth shut!

The other messengers of strife nearby are the owls, who hoot of difficulty and even grief. I am instructed to “bear with the temporary problem and see it through to a solution” which reassures me slightly, as it seems more to refer to the situation I currently find myself in here on the project, dealing with my place and my purpose, and less with what I immediately feared meant in relation to Pandora, who I think might be ill. That the tree is directly above me, and next to the owls, where they can roost, reassures me also, since it is a sign of good health and wellbeing, which I intend to share with Pandora, who is most certainly an extension of me, at least at present.

The furthest symbol from me is the anchor, which fits my story exactly, since its distance suggests constant changes of mind and circumstances, and instability in every aspect, not only emotionally. But I’m not too worried about the year to come. I’m feeling pretty good about it, and the instability is so much a part of mine, and Eran’s, life that it is a familiar face, and often a positive one. Its presence makes this story interesting… It makes me want to find out what will happen… And that the anchor is ‘cornered’ on each side by the serpent and by the lillies makes it even more ambiguous and ‘chancey’, since the serpent is a sign of danger and the lillies a sign of happiness. Anything can happen in the story when the anchor point is reached…

…And in the next month, Eran and I once again are faced with a decision that must be made about the future. I think I’ll have to read again nearer that time to see if it will be serpents or lilies that fall from the tree upon which I’ll be counting on to keep us whole…

(...And if you don't mind phoney fortune-tellers, then let me know and I'll tell you your story...! ((You can cross my palm with paypal, personal cheque or credit card details...!! - Only kidding!!))

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