Vintage Poster Lenormand (2)

petit lenormand, lenormand, oracle, tarot, indie, vintage, indie authors

Yay! Cards are done! I printed them in my home printer, using 200g/m2 (100lbs) paper (thicker than that my printer just says “no!”). Colors look nice, and the backs are consistent. So, yeah! Looks good! The paper you use is actually very important: if it’s too weak, cards won’t stand even one single try of shuffle.

I used a punch to get the corners round. This one was pretty cheap (around $15USD, if my memory doesn’t fail me). There are 45 cards, but no alternative Male & Female as consultants. But as there are two riders, we can use one of those when we have 2 females, or 2 males, so, the other rider would be considered “the rider”. Or, you can decide to print the Consultants twice and mark the cards for the alternate ones.

It’s a lot of cutting and punching, but results are good. Of course, depending on the printer colors may vary a little. But, I guess it’s going to be okay.

petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors, oracle, tarot

I have already shuffled the cards, and made some readings with them. They are just gorgeous. Just a hint: if you choose aquarelle paper the touch of it is great. You can use other types of paper, but be sure that is okay for printing.

What are you going to be able to do with the Vintage Poster Lenormand?

The Vintage Poster Lenormand is a free download deck, dedicated to non-commercial purposes. This means, basically, that you cannot sell the deck, but can give it as a present. (Please note that, I hold the copyright on the collages and the information file). So, what can you do with it?

Use it for your enjoyment.
Share it with friends.
Use it to study the Lennies! Yay!
Use it in your workshops (if you give it as a gift for your students).
Use it in your blog.
Use it in free pdfs, free youtube videos, etc you create to teach the Lennies!
Any other educational or research purposes you think of, or any other non-commercial purposes you think of.

Of course, mentioning the name of the author and link to my “free goodies” section (which grows little by little through time). You will find all the info related to this topic into the information file.

And yes, when you make a layout, it does look good

petit lenormand, vintage, lenormand, indie, indie authors, tarot, oracle

So, the big question is:

When are they going to be available for free download?

Well, as soon as I finish the information file (which is going to be soon). I’m working on it. I want it to be cute, and have information that I consider very important to learn the Lenormand. I want to include some layouts too (but not the GT).

You don’t need to use the information file (Lenormand cards explanation section) if you don’t want to. You can use the book you prefer, from your favorite author.

—
About the images used in the collages:
I was doubtful about which images to choose. There are many around, and some are really cute. All the images can be found out there on the internet in different web sites. Please note that I do not own the copyright on any of these images. All posters, postcards, retro art prints and vintage images copyrights belong to their respective owners. According to the websites I fished from these images, these are images that “are into the public domain”, or are “believed to be so”. So, you can use them “within our rights according to the U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act (title 17, U.S. Code.)” However, if you think that any of the images is infringing your copyright, send me a message to pepi @ depepi . com with a description of the work, a link to where the image is located, and state that the use has not been authorized by you, your agent or the law. Also include your signature.

About the purpose of the deck and the information file:
Both the deck and the information file are entirely for educational, research, and entertainment purposes only. They are also free and non-commercial. While I do not own the copyright on the images used, I do on the sequence and design itself (deck), and the information file. It is my wish to create a totally free deck with its information file, for non-commercial use. Again, both files (deck & information file) are for you to enjoy the Lenormand, and educational & research purposes (the Lenormand and the artwork of the images used).

Kindergarten Lenormand, the Review & Interview

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petit lenormand, lenormand, kindergarten, oracle

The Review

Have you ever considered to use a Lenormand deck to trigger wonderful moments from your childhood? If not, or if not yet, you should highly consider Chloe McCracken‘s Kindergarten Lenormand. It is a sweet, simple and inspiring deck that clearly helps you making the Lenormand yours. I got a sample deck with extra blank cards (so I decided to draw on some of them and get my own extra cards, you can see those below).

Very simple drawings that are like those of a kid, which help you grasp the Lenormand at first sight. But there’s more. You can use it to teach Lenormand to your kids, or use it for meditation or self-study. Their simplicity is the key that opens the gates of the Lenormand. This simple and cute deck is good for starting your journey with the Lenormand, or enjoy yourself while feeding your inner child. Plus, it gives you powerful sense of trust to yourself when you use this deck for reading!

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It has 2 riders (male rider and female rider), two snakes, two trees, 3 bird cards, 2 children, a dog and a cat, 2 male consultants and 2 female consultants). I got the sample deck with blank extra cards, for my creative delight! Why? Because I could draw some extra cards by myself and get a very personalized Lenormand! (I loved that!)

This is a Lenormand that enhances both your imagination and creativity. It encourages you to go beyond the images, to draw something yourself, to overcome fears, to trust yourself, to have self-esteem, to feed your inner child, to play with children, to be yourself. That’s why I loved it so much.

It has Printerstudio’s paper stock quality. It shuffles really well, and cards are strong. Perfect to use them on a daily basis. The backs are flashy: red and blue, with “Kindergarten Lenormand” printed on them.

petit lenormand, lenormand, tarot, oracle, cards

I spent several days thinking about my extra cards. What could I fill in the blank cards that I got? (Or, at least in some?) Well, I finally decided to add 4 cards: 37. the Mirror (for inner study, self-reliance, responsibility), 38. the Cauldron (for magic, believes and the unknown), 39. the Mask (not true self, social self, the face we show to others), and 40. the Totem (for our Totem, animal relationship, inner animal, instincts). I used a permanent black pen. The results are very cute and match easily the spirit of the Kindergarten Lenormand. Easy, simple, funny, creative. This Lenormand made me feel good!

Note that this is a deck which is “hard to get”, unless you go to one of Chloe’s workshops. But, if we get a re-edition, we can get it from home! Read the interview and know how to get your copy

The Interview

Pepi: Where did the idea of the Kindergarten Lenormand come from?

Chloe: The Kindergarten Lenormand came about in 2012 when I decided to run workshops to teach the Lenormand reading system. I didn’t want to worry about copyright issues, so I thought “why not draw my own deck?” Despite my partner objecting that “You can’t draw!” I went for it, and had a lot of fun in the process. There were a few cards that were tough – coffins are harder to draw than you might think, hence why card 8 is titled Grave

P: Are you planning to leave the extra white cards for us to play with those?

C: The extra white cards just happened because I wasn’t intending this as a commercial deck, and because of using printerstudio.com to add the playing card associations onto the cards. If I ever re-edit this deck for sale, I had thought to change the playing card associations on the extra cards. I also intended to include a few cards with card meanings if I re-edit, but I guess I could still leave in a few blanks, for you creative types!

P: I think this is a very good deck to teach children and encourage them to follow the steps of their mothers or grandmothers. How do you think it could be best used for that?

C: I suppose it could be a good deck for kids, showing them that you don’t need huge skills to create your own deck. And it is nice and simple, too. If I used it with kids, I’d encourage them to see a story in the lines of cards…

P:How do you think your deck takes out our inner child?

C: Hmm, does this deck bring out people’s inner child? Possibly. The images look child-like, encouraging us to access the side of ourselves which resonates with images of this simplicity and low skill level. Might encourage us to keep our readings simple, too, which fits well with the Lenormand style.

P:How can we get a copy?

C: I have a very few copies of this deck available at the moment – I’ve been using them in my workshops, so I only have about 5 unopened. If anyone is interested, they can email me at info@innerwhispers.co.uk. As I say, I may re-edit these at some point, it’ll depend on my time commitments and the level of interest.

Business ideas: how to get real profit from your goodies

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indie authors, indie, ideas, business, marketing

Are you aware of the “real profit” you make from your goodies? Did you know that this is related to your working organization? If you are a little bit chaotic when creating your goodies, or want to know if you are really getting “real profits” from your goodies, this might be a post to read. However, if you create your goodies as a hobby or as a side dish to get some other stuff (for example, creating decks to have some profits to buy more decks), this might not be a post for you.

If you want to make a living from the goodies you’re creating right now, PLEASE, KEEP READING.

Organize yourself counting pomodoros!

Whether you are a full time Indie Author, or a part time one, you need to know how to organize your time in a “profitable” way. Why? Because all what you do next depends on it!

As you know, I design and create decks (e-courses and other cool goodies). In order to track if a goodie is “really profitable” I need to track my productivity first. If you take a look to my desk, you will see a total chaos. It is frightening. But for me it’s okay, because it is an ordered chaos. My agenda and some of my files into my computer keep track of what I’m doing. So, the important thing for me is to keep my work organized (more than my messy desk).

In order to know how to get real profit from your goodies you need to be aware of the following:

Materials you use to create them. These include books that I read to know more about the topic, materials that I might use to create the goodies, documentaries that I watch in order to enhance my goodies, etc.
The hours you need to complete your goodies. How many hours did I spend reading those books over there so that I could know how to paint a face? How many hours did I spend creating the pic of this card (or crocheting that bag)? How many hours did I spend watching videos that helped me enhancing my abilities? Anything that makes you use your time in order to create your goodies goes here.

One of the errors Indie Authors make at the beginning are to take into account the materials we use for creating their gorgeous stuff, but not putting into the equation other very valuable information that would help us know when we are having real profit or if we are wasting our time!

Let’s say that I create a Lenormand deck using digital collage, and I don’t know how Pixelmator works. First I will learn about how the software works and then I will start using it. Suppose that I use Youtube videos to learn how to use it. So, I will spend my time, but I won’t use money. Then, I will start using the program and create each of the cards. Here the important is to be aware of how many hours I spend to create each of the cards, and then the whole deck in order to know when I might be profiting from selling my deck in the future or not.

This means that my time and schedule have to be organized. Being a woman, reality is that I multitask. Yup. Women multitask everyday: the kids, the grandmothers, cooking, the part time job, etc. We have many things to do during the day, and even being organized in those tasks we might not be so organized when creating our goodies. So, what to do? Using a “pomodoro” timer to help us organize

I do not use the pomodoro technique as it is described in the program (free pdf download), but I adapted it to my personality. Instead of using a kitchen pomodoro timer, I use my iPhone (not as fashionable). For me, an hour equals a “pomodoro”, and each “pomodoro” equals $30USD. So, when I’m working on a project, new deck, or learning to do something else later on, I start the pomodoro timer.

In our example, creating a deck with digital collage, we would be counting pomodoros as we follow up with our project. Let’s say that I used 2 pomodoros in learning the software. And then, let’s say that I spend 4 pomodoros per card (usually the number will be different depending on the card, but just let’s imagine). My deck has 36 cards, thus I used 144 pomodoros. I also designed the back (4 more pomodoros), and the box (4 more pomodoros). Since I tracked all the pomodoros, I know that I used a total amount of 154 pomodoros. And, 154 pomodoros are $4620USD.

What does that number mean?

It means that I now know how many decks I need to sell to pay myself my work. Once I pass over $4620USD I will be making real profit! (Note that covering expenses, or just paying ourselves is not the same as “getting real profit”. Real profit means “an extra amount of money” produced after paying all the bills, in this case “you”. This real profit can be saved or re-invested. It doesn’t need to be a huge amount, it can be medium or small too).

Now we can makes some calculations. If we sell our deck for $20USD, and for each deck we get, let’s say $5USD, how many decks should I sell to pay myself? How many should I sell to get real profits?

Then you have to be realistic: in order to eat from your goodies, decide the time lapse that you consider it would be okay for you to cover the 154 pomodoros and start getting profit.

Taking care of your pomodoros.

Being organized and taking notes on how many pomodoros you need to use for a certain project helps you notice which goodies are fruitful and which goodies are not. A profitable business requires real profit, not maintenance. (You need to pay bills, go to the supermarket to get food, pay the school of your kids, and so on. Do not just cover your straight salary, try to get some minimum plus). Thus, you will also discover which of your goodies are more successful and profitable for you.

Why do you need to get some more extra profit, and not just covering yourself, not just maintenance. Let’s say that you get enough to cover expenses, to pay some bills, and to keep going. But if you have an emergency or want to invest in some project that requires a large amount, you won’t have the opportunity to do it yourself. If you want to be totally independent, take a plus (even if it’s a small real profit) so that you can save some money to “grow”, “invest” or simply “save”.

These pomodoros will also help you creating objectives and other plans. They will even help you notice a failure in your acting or way of working which, in most cases, can be solved.

Not only these pomodoros will help you being more productive and successful in your real profits, they will also help you to discover hints on how to market your most productive goodies.

Give it a try

Experimental reading: Tarot x Lenormand

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Okay! Here comes the experiment! I wanted to do this experiment using Tarot and the Houses system of the Lenormand with two of my favorite decks. But for that I thought that a previous Lenormand reading would help me achieve my goals, and compare the results. (I know, I know, weird experiment, but hey, a funny one!). PLUS, I would use a layout that I usually use for my Tarot readings, so… I guess you get the “weird” experiment environment here. Here it goes!

Tarot x Lenormand experiment!

reading, lenormand, petit lenormand, experiment

Houses: Kendra’s Vintage Lenormand
On top: Alice in Wonderland Vintage Petit Lenormand

On the success position we find the key on the Stars house. So, the Lennies are telling me that the key to achieve success is in the net! The unconscious however is scared like hell. Mice on mice. Not only fears but insecurities are chewing up the unconscious. (Ouch). The influences on the topic here (success) come from the partners in the story. On the house of the fox (intelligence for business) we get the path (doubts, indecision).

The puzzle here is “to use in the future”. Okay, hang on a second. To use in the future what… hmmm. Let me take a second look! On the house of the grave… the tower! Okay, on the house of transformation, sickness or trauma we got isolation (other meanings for tower are discovery, innovation). So, I would say that it might refer to “use your abilities” or “isolate grieving”. And on resolution we’ve got the rider on the garden. It looks good, like opportunities arising in our circle.

In short, as a personal message, the key is to choose to isolate our fears and open completely to new opportunities, new ideas. In a deeper level we find that the key is the net, fears are all over the unconscious (double mice), our partner is busy in his business (choosing), we need to “isolate the grieving” (sort of speak), so that the results or resolution is being open to new opportunities (rider on a garden).

Well, same topic, same thing with Tarot. (Remember that the card below is a “house”).

reading, tarot, experiment

Houses: Druid Craft Tarot
On top: the Book of Shadows (so below) Tarot

On the position of success we find the 7 of swords on the 4 of swords. The 4 of Swords is the house of the “rest” or the “retreat”. So, the house of “please focus”. What to focus? On top, the 7 of swords, “research”! So, success might rely on taking your time to research the problem “with calm”.

On the position of the unconscious we find the house of the 7 of swords reversed! The house of “deception”, and on it “death”, or transformation. The unconscious is fearing (I’d say it is fearing) the end of something that might be because of a “deception”. So, I’d say “fear”.

On the position of the partner, we get the house of 2 of pentacles, or the house of “balance”, or “stress”, and on it the knave of Swords reversed! Our knave is… stressed! He’s detached maybe wanting to balance.

On the position of “to use in the future” (again spooky) the house of the 2 of cups reversed, or the “house of disruptions”, and on it a devastated 5 of chalices. We’ve got a mourning lady crying her soul out. She feels lost, she needs to grieve. So, what to use in the future? Don’t feeling that disruptions are the end of the world.

And on resolution, we’ve got the house of the 6 of cups, or “the house of exchanges”, and on it the 7 of wands, a brilliant working lady eager to take the challenge and overcome obstacles.

In short, as a personal message, success needs research without making a drama of interruptions we find so that we can take the challenge of new stuff! And please, do it alone because the partner is busy with his stuff.

Do we take a closer look?

We can see many layers here. While the Lennies are being more practical, the Tarot is giving us another flavor to it. Very interesting indeed. (And difficult too, because reading cards like this is challenging :p )

Okay, on the Success position we’ve got House of Stars with a key. While Tarot has given us a House of Retreat with a research program on it. So, do we mix these? (The same question, same topic here). So, the key is internet. So, take it easy and research it. (LOL)

Do I go further? Oh, yes! The unconscious has given us a House of Problems (mice) with fears on it (mice). While Tarot, has given us the House of Deception, and on it a transformation we might not like. So, the picture gets… devastating. Not only fears go up and down the unconscious, but also changes because of deceit!

The partner. The poor one is out of the equation. On the House of Work we’ve got choices to be made. And Tarot says that one the House of Equilibrium we have detachment from the world. He might need to just adjust himself before acting or we’re going to lose him because of stagnation and stress.

To use in the future is… dark! Okay, Lenormand says that on the House of the Grave we’ve got a Tower, telling that “not to focus only on grieving”. Tarot says that on the House of Disruptions we just mourn and mourn and our world is washed away. So, again, please, don’t focus on distrations or making them more dramatic than they might be!

And, finally, resolution! The Lennies say that on the House of Interaction (garden) we might find new opportunities (rider). Tarot says that on the House of Exchanges, a new challenge can be faced at ease. So, new opportunities are awaiting you if you really want to meet the challenge.

Yay! You made it till this point without throwing me tomatoes!

Congratulations, you’ve survived my experiment! I know. At this point you don’t know if throwing me cakes, tomatoes, or just run and try it too I used a very weird system to read the cards: half Tarot and half Lenormand. Layout of Tarot used for both systems, but using the way we would read the Lennies with all the cards (including Tarot). Plus, some spices of intuition: with all the cards.

I can listen to the crowd closing to shout “what are you doing!?” Well, experimenting. And, I think it works. Odly, but it works. I might try it again (OMG!) but I might want to use a less complicated layout. As for now, I invite you to give it a try!

—-
Notes: the cards were shuffled in the morning (Monday), but I wasn’t able to touch the whole stuff, nor read the experiment till 1:40am! (Already Tuesday!) I’ve been interrupted a zillion times: could you do this? I need you for that. And etc. While my partner was to be left alone. Then the ultimate crisis arrived (for my dismay). Thing is, that the success of my day was related to internet (posting something), fears getting bigger (interruptions and mails with what seemed a chaotic situation), partner out of the equation (so, not able to help), and me becomming a drama Queen as hours elapsed. Result: me posting this hours later, with another vision after discovering the cards and doing the reading at 1:40 am! (Imagine my face when I saw the cards LOL )

Vintage Poster Lenormand

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I’m working in several projects at the same time, giving live to different decks. One of them is a present for you. I wanted to thank you deeply for your support. So, the best thing that I could do to thank you is designing a very cute deck! But… what type of deck? What could I do that it would be both nice, and free?

One of my favorite techniques are collages. In fact, I love simple & cluttered collages that use vintage images. So, I came up with the idea of creating a simple deck with vintage images. But, which type of vintage images? Should I use very old ones? Should I try something else? And then, I decided to use postcards and posters. I collect vintage postcards with artwork that I like. I like the images, the artwork, the idea behind. I started to collect those in Japan. Almost all of those belong to promotion posters: soap, bicycles, drinks, airlines… So the idea popped up! What about a free Vintage Poster Lenormand with a free explanation file? Sounded great! So I decided to silently give it a try.

While you can find many sites with vintage posters, you might not find the ones that tune with you. And it might happen that you will end up hunting for a long time for those images that best go with the idea you just had. It is difficult to find images that match your idea, given the images that you can use, or image that you find in the net. So, I came up with a collection of possible usable images. Some, really cute, others… well, just interesting.

This deck has been made entirely for educational, research, and entertainment purposes only. Cards will come with a free explanation file, with layouts and other learning exercises. This means that the deck is created as a free deck, and the target is to make it remain so. No commercial uses are allowed. It is just for you to learn the Lenormand, research the Lenormand (and the images if you like to search for the story behind them), and for you to enjoy the Lenormand. The information file is also for you to learn the Lenormand, research it and enjoy it.

Choose your cards!

petit lenormand, lenormand, free, vintage

The problem with the Vintage Poster Lenormand has been the amount of cute images that could be used for a certain card. Above, you can see two different riders: a man and a woman. I was unable to choose because I love both images. So, I decided to ask in dePepi Facebook page and several groups. “Which one do you like?” It turns out that both. I will follow your advice and choose both so that you can choose the one you like to use at each moment. Maybe you prefer just the man rider, but maybe another day you prefer the woman rider.

I’ve decided to do the same with the “snake”.
petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors

On the left you have a very blue woman, almost poisonous. It came to my mind as the perfect snake for this deck. However, I also thought that having the traditional “snake” card would be awesome. I ended up with a card with two snakes! I will follow the advice for the rider with the snake too. So, this deck is going to have two different cards for the snake.

Please note that the Snake is coupled with the Queen o Clubs. The Queen of Clubs is usually a dark-haired and confident woman, who might give you good advice, but who has a fierce temper. Lose it and you might lose your head! The Snake is temptation, cunning and also distraction. That’s why the blue woman looked to me as the Snake.

And, the same goes with the “flowers”.
petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors

Both posters have a bunch of flowers on them. The one in the left, a woman surrounded by flowers. The one on the right, well… it’s very “Spanish”. It’s a couple dancing flamenco, who seem to have been successful and thus, got lots of flowers around them. I thought it fitted the “flowers” meaning. So, I decided to use that too. Results: two different card flowers.

Note that the Flowers talk about happiness, gifts, friends, having a good time. So, the card with the two Spanish dancers fit to this description. When I saw this vintage poster I decided to use it as one of the Flower possibilities in this deck.

The tricky “birds”.
petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors

The “birds” card was tricky. On the left you have a German Poster with the eagle. It’s a poster which promotes music. It says “Germany, a land of music”. In fact, the eagle is an organ. The “bird” in this case, plays music around, and with the music, the news and the excitement goes. If you take the negative aspect of the card, well, you can say that the eagle is pretty scary. (This card might not make it till the end though. Scary.)

For this reason I took also a postcard with two small birds on it. This is closer to the “birds” Lenormand card than the musical eagle at first sight. But both are, in fact, the same. Both are birds. (The design of the eagle is the only one thing that might put her out of the deck.)

Cat and dogs. The “dog” card.
petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors

Being a cat lover, I needed to add a cat card. So, while you can find a Cat in one card, you find not only a dog, but many dogs in another version. The “dog” Lenormand card is all about loyalty and friend(s). Usually you find just a dog in the card. But since I found this wonderful pic with many dogs, I found it interesting to have a “dogs” card instead of a “dog” card.

While the cat can be a more independent friend, the dogs are more about a group of closer friends. Mind you, I don’t take the cat with a bad meaning. I would do so with the Sybilla cards, but still, I am reluctant to do so because cats are so cute, and good guys too. I don’t feel cats are “bad” per se.

The “stars”/ “universe” card.
petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors

Here I had a really hard time. While I found a poster that matches the stars (on the left), I also found a second one that really gathered my attention (on the right). Since one of the meanings of the “stars” can be “the universe”, I decided to use it the card calling it “universe”. In my readings, the stars have been also talking about the “internet”. So, having a world depicted in the card also makes sense if you connect it to “the world wide web”.

I know it’s a little bit “alternative”, but I decided that you were right: let people choose the one that they do like. This is one of the cases.

The “tree”/ “trees”.
petit lenormand, lenormand, vintage, indie, indie authors

On the left you have a Hannukah Menorah, while in on the right you have some trees. The tree of life has 9 branches instead of 7 (I think), but since I found this poster promoting traveling to Israel, I thought it was a nice possibility.

Please note that the “Tree” Lenormand card talks about health, time, body. It also talks about the environment. It is coupled with the 7 of hearts. That is related to peace, peaceful surroundings, but also lovesickness.

I’m still working on the cards and on the information file, which, I believe, is going to take me a while to complete (I want to do it cute). Please note that not all the cards have duplicates, just some of them. Also note that some of the proposed cards might fall from grace and not be included in the final selection.

Anyway, I just hope that you enjoy this project It will be available for download as soon as I finish the collages (still some cards to go), and finish the information file.

Retreat in London (part 2)

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One of the things that relaxes me the most is walking. Walking a lot. Till my feet feel like Hobbits’ feet. In this retreat I needed to relax walking, and I also needed to relax while entering in other dimensions. That’s why I ended up two days into the British Museum.

egypt, british museum, retreat, london

I love art, so I guess it was just a must for me to spend hours into the British Museum. I ended up going there two days because I felt I had not seen enough. I went twice to the Egyptian part of it. (I could simply not have enough).

Have you ever felt the need to disconnect just for a while? To day dream just to relax? To imagine that you are walking into one of your cards? I guess this happened to me into the museum. I was into a giant Egyptian Lenormand, then into an Egyptian Tarot, then into an Olympian Tarot… While walking in the Museum, and enjoying all its marvels, I day dreamed about cards. I was into them, walking into them. I was in another dimension.

sherlock holmes, retreat, london

I also spent a whole morning into the Sherlock Holmes Museum. A must if you have read all his stories. A great place to get inspiration for future decks! Yup! If you are feeling stuck with your artwork, a solution could be to visit some museums. If you like vintage, one of the places to go in London is the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Why?

The amount of objects and paraphernalia is amazing. The set up is so geek, that you can get a zillion ideas just visiting the place. The tip: go prepared with a camera or an iPhone, and a small notebook so that you can write your ideas.

retreat, london, second hand books

I also went hunting some second hand books. London has a bunch of places where you can find treasures. Literally. I found a wonderful book of Alice in Wonderland, and many other esoteric treasures. This can also be a source for great inspiration. So, while in a retreat, you can also try to inspire yourself further with the things you like, or with different things so that ideas can pop up into your mind.

retreat, london

While I was in my relaxing walking trip, I used to stop in coffee shops. For me, some coffee shops are havens. Havens for relaxing (because I might have Hobbits’ feet), or just because I want to stop and enjoy a coffee while I doodle something or read something. So, yeah, I used to stop at every cool coffee shop I found around. And relax for a while.

For me, museums in London are small Oasis where I can find new ideas, inspiration and day dream. Walking a lot also means no stress, yay! AND, coffee shops means small retreats into a retreat to just relax myself even further. If you are stuck, or feel that you need to dream for a while, or you need to hunt some ideas, consider to visit some museums in your town. They might help you a lot

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Tips:

Get comfortable shoes to walk a lot otherwise your feet will suffer a lot. Hobbit feet are okay. Sheet of paper not.
I got an Ankh pendant in the British Museum. They have some cool reproductions. However, if you are looking for Roman Lunula pendants it might be not the place for your. Try here.
Going to the Sherlock Holmes Museum is a gorgeous experience. But best enjoyed early in the morning. If you wait to go too late, it might be packed with people. To take great pics, you might want some space.

2 of Swords, what should I choose?

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2 of swords

Time ago I got my Druid Craft Tarot (at the left), and I carefully trimmed it, and used it a lot, not to say always recently. However, around two or three weeks ago I got the Book of Shadows Tarot (So below, on the right), and had a crush. And the dilemma appeared!

the HUGE dilemma

Not knowing which of the decks to choose, I finally decided to take the same card from both. I would shuffle my new So below deck, and then take the same card from the Druid Craft. Just for guidance.

The question?

What should I do with you guys?

Yup. That’s it.

So I shuffled my deck, and shuffled it till I felt comfortable and took one card.

Ouch.

The 2 of Swords.

And I searched for the familiar card in my trimmed Druid Craft.

Just using the So below deck would mean missing too much my trimmed Druid Craft. Choosing my trimmed Druid Craft would mean to be “permanently thinking” about the So below deck.

Both feelings were enervating me.

But both decks answered!

The 2 of Swords into the So below deck is telling me about taking things easy, meditate about the topic, and find a middle ground. That’s to seek balance between my rational and irrational statements about both decks.

On the other hand, the Druid Craft is telling me that I’m unable to choose because the dilemma has paralyzed me in a way. Thus, I would need to “be a diplomat”, to calm and then compromise.

After thinking and meditating about the issue, I’ve decided to try something. Use both, one for the “houses” and the other one for the “readings” or as complement using the same card like I did this time. The “houses” technique comes from the Lenormand. I will try to use these two decks in this fashion and see what happens.

I know. Some people will scream at the idea. But I think it is precisely what the decks are telling me. I am a Lenormand girl, but I also like to use Tarot from time to time. Trying something new also means to be a diplomat with these two different systems: the Tarot and the Lennies.

Wish me luck!

Marketing ideas: know your customers

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marketing ideas

Marketing ideas that work must have a solid basis. You might be thinking that creating a solid basis for your marketing must be difficult. It is not. It is as simple as “knowing who your customers are”. If you do know your customers, marketing ideas will work. If you ignore that or target the wrong audience, you are bound to failure.

Do you really know your customers?

Who are your customers? Do you really know them? This is crucial in order to apply marketing ideas, or planning a marketing strategy. Without knowing who your real customers are, applying cool ideas might be as useless as doing just nothing.

Take a look to your sales. Do you see more female or male names? Take a look to your newsletter. Do you see more female or male names? Take a look to your inbox. Who and what is proposing to you changes to your goodies or giving you ideas for your upcomming deck? Who is asking you to write about something in particular in your blog? Go to your Facebook Fan page. How many likes are female likes, and how many likes are men likes? What do they comment?

Now, take a second look. Where are they located? Could you know their average age? What age is the more common? What are the topics that seem to like the most?

Once you’ve figured this out (or at least have some clues about your customers), you have an idea about who is your targetted audience.

Your targetted audience wants surprises.

People loves positive surprises. Amusement is one of the key aspects of Marketing. In order to “amuse” or “surprise” your targetted audience you need to know them first. Once you’ve discovered what they like, you can plan a “surprise” for them. The surprise could come in different shapes (a give away of one of your star goodies, the creation of an alternative deck using all the tips your audience has provided to you, etc).

So, the starting point is: discovering who is your targetted audience, and then knowing them.

The Ring

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Keys:
Union, marriage, wedding, contracts, compromises, association, duty, solidity, happiness, tranquility.

Positive:
It announces a love union, a meeting with our true love, a wedding, a marriage, the signature of a contract, an agreement. It says something positive for the consultant, in a sentimental level or working level.

Negative:
Mirage: love that is not like the love you thought it was. It’s not such a good idea to sign that contract (take a closer look to the small writing or clauses). Or, the positive energy of the card comes with delays.

With other Cards:


Our ideal love arrives. Possibilities to sign a very lucrative contract.	Happy couple. Good luck with love. Good luck with a contract.	Honey moon. Our couple is a foreigner.

A couple that is ver united. Contract about a house.	Quiet couple.	Passionate relationship. Problems with the couple (commitment) that will pass.

Infidelity.	An ex (lover, husband, boyfriend).	Perfect love.

Break-up.	Quarrels. Hate.	Lots of communication within the couple. Problems within the couple.

Couple with kids. Compromise referring to kids.	Egoism. Egoistic partner. One sided contract.	Happy and protected couple. Tranquility within the couple.

Quiet and serene feelings.	Family grows. Changes.	Love relationship with a friend. Very united couple. Contract with a friend.

Isolated, isolated couple.	Friendly couple. A couple that goes out a lot.	The couple has problems. Love problems.

Change of partner. To choose a compromise. A tired couple.	A love that breaks up in small pieces.	United couple, perfect couple. Marriage.

Secret relationship.	Wedding invitation. News from the partner.	Consultant (man) responsible. Partner.

Consultant (woman) responsible. Partner.	Stable and sincere couple.	Perfect couple. Shinny couple.

The relationship with the partner cools down. Homosexual love.	A couple that is learning how to be together. The key is commitment.	Open-minded couple. Association.

Long-lasting love. To be devoted, loyal. Stagnation.	One way love. Love sickness. The end of love. The end of a contract.

Yay! dePepi magazine is here!

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It’s here! The first number of dePepi magazine, plenty of great surprises! In this number you will find the work of wonderful Indie Authors!

On cover: Akina, the indie sound.

Featured: Jera’s Vintage Lenormand. Read the Review and gorgeous Interview with Jera-babylon Rootweaver (Andi Graf)

Featured upcoming: EXCLUSIVE Chloe McCracken‘s Celtic Lenormand (Gorgeous Interview and exclusive card!), Sharon Cumming‘s Keys to Creativity (a great upcoming Tarot), and Pepi Valderrama’s Mixed Media Lenormand.

Plus! A call to the fool (Kendra Hurteau), the Egyptian Lenormand (Nefer Khepri, PhD), May I have this Dance? (Penny Mason), there’s always a frist time (Marina Manzano), and much much more!

Get your magazine HERE.

And if you become a dePepi Ambassador,

You can earn 50% of the sales you make on dePepi magazine. Yay!

Get more information HERE.