The Lenormand Oracle Cards and Booklet A few months ago, I received my first set of Lenormand cards. I wrote about them here: https://paganpages.org/emagazine/tag/lenormand-cards/ . If you remember, at the end of that article, I posted pics of the set of cards that I wanted to get and for Yule, I bought them for myself. They arrived in the mail on the third day of Christmas, if I remember correctly. I was so happy to get them! They are exactly what I wanted. They have the “antique” looking pictures of the original cards but also the playing card inserts that to me, are the essence of the Lenormand. I was…

A Review of Sasha Fenton’s Fortune Teller’s Handbook I have been a fan of Sasha Fenton for thirty years. I remember when The Fortune-Teller’s Workbook: A Practical Introduction to the World of divination first appeared at my favorite library and I borrowed it again and again. I was so happy when I found it in on Amazon.com – I snapped it up immediately. It’s the kind of basic text that any student of the divining arts ought to have, and it is perfect for beginners. Not only is it written in a clear and concise manner, it has some fun divination techniques – and who says that divination can’t be…

5-Ingredient Insta Pot Rotisserie Chicken My sister Sue bought me an Insta Pot Pressure Cooker last year for my birthday. I have to admit that until recently, I haven’t used it too much. In my last apartment, there wasn’t enough room for it on my counters – let’s face it, I had no counterspace whatsoever. And I first moved back to Buffalo, I was in the grip of a pretty strong depression that I am just coming out of. I haven’t felt much like cooking – or eating – since I live in a town famed for local food, I have been doing a lot of eating out. But as…

Bountiful Beef Salad I eat salad every day. Usually for lunch, but sometimes for dinner, my salads are small meals in and of themselves. My base salad is a bowl of mixed greens, sliced red onion or Vidalia, slices of seedless cucumber, garbanzo beans and chunks of cheese – usually sharp New York State Cheddar, but sometimes Colby-Jack or Swiss. Depending on what I have on hand, I may add chunked or sliced tomatoes, salad shrimp, pieces of cooked chicken, ham or turkey, albacore tuna, avocado, sliced green pepper, celery, carrot or whatever other strikes my fancy. One thing I always thought was strange – you see salads with almost…

Mexican Wedding Cakes When it comes to holiday cookies, Mexican Wedding Cakes are among my very favorites. I do have to admit – I only eat the ones that I make myself. The reason is this – I use my mother’s recipe and her recipe is the only one that has honey in it. Every other recipe for this little snowball of a cookie omits this important ingredient and the result is a dry, crumbly cookie. I know people who hate Mexican Wedding Cakes and refuse to eat them because they’re like eating “rolled up dust and nuts,” as one of my boyfriends once complained. But these cookies will melt…

The Witches’ Almanac is not so much a book as a yearly almanac, much like The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Almost everyone knows The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Sold in the smallest country store as well as the largest supercenter, it is the one of the most recognizable almanacs in the United States. It was always a mainstay in my parents’ home. Another almanac that I remember being in our home was The World Almanac and Yearbook – when we went on vacations, we would play trivia games in the car during the long drive to our cabin in the mountains of Maine and the World Almanac was our reference. Looking through…

Three Books About the Tarot If you are like me, the best gifts under the Yule tree are books. I like historical novels – Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Key Penman are favorites of mine – and books about goddess religions and divination – especially cartomancy. As I shop, I look for books that I want to give to my loved ones but I always find ones for myself. Here are three books about the tarot that might interest you – either as gifts for another person, or to give to yourself! Here are three books about the Tarot that would make great gifts for any Tarot enthusiast. The first one…

Yuletide Sobriety Who doesn’t party during the holidays? Scrooge? The Grinch? But when you’re in recovery, holiday parties – whether they are office parties at work, family parties around a table groaning with food and drink or coven Yule rituals with “cakes and ale” – are a challenge, to say the least. What do you do? How do you navigate these chilly, choppy waters? I’ll be honest with you – I’ve relapsed over the holidays more than once. It’s so easy to see everyone else – those so-called “normal” people – with drinks in their hands – laughing, happy – and want what they seemingly have. Yeah! Just one drink.…

  i was thinking about a dream i once had & realized it really happened: smooth green elevens everywhere dancing to a laughing song memories masquerading as dreams: my life in crystal darkness but the moon tells another story: a wonderful obliteration once upon a time there was a little girl who liked to sit on the bridge: moon on the water: constellations that create stories to tell when the moon is full the flowers bloom at night & sing the nocturnal sun: pink petals peeling away from the bright yellow perimeter three times three plus two dream divided by dream squared equals a new dream memory moon stars sun:…

Learning the Lenormand I can’t remember when I became interested in Lenormand cards. In the past thirty years, I have mainly focused on Tarot cards but my search for original and artistic decks lead me to many different kinds of cards – Oracle cards, vintage playing cards, and of course, Lenormand cards. I was immediately attracted to Lenormand cards because of what I saw as the combination of playing card imagery with pictorial symbolism. At the time, I thought that it was the marriage of playing cards and the Tarot. But that’s not what the Lenormand is. They have absolutely nothing to do with the Tarot, other than being a…