Now

Last updated: September 2026

This page forms part of the “Now Page” movement. Rather than serving as a biography, it provides a snapshot of the subjects, projects, studies, and interests that currently occupy my attention. As such, it changes from time to time.

St Michael’s Lent

I am currently observing St Michael’s Lent, the traditional forty-day period of preparation leading to the Feast of St Michael and All Angels on 29 September. Associated particularly with the Franciscan tradition, it commemorates the period of prayer and fasting undertaken by St Francis before receiving the stigmata upon Mount La Verna.

Alongside the Rosary, I am praying the Franciscan Crown each day. During this season, however, I replace the customary Seven Joys with the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. I have found this adaptation especially fruitful. Contemplating these mysteries provides a visceral encounter with the Gospel and with the realities of suffering, loss, and faithful endurance.

There is something profoundly moving about viewing the life of Christ through the eyes of the Theotokos. Whilst Christ remains the perfect model of holiness, Our Lady often feels more immediately relatable. She experiences uncertainty, grief, anxiety, helplessness, and sorrow in ways that speak directly to human experience. In meditating upon her sorrows, one finds not merely a witness to suffering but an example of steadfastness, trust, and hope amidst circumstances beyond one’s control.

Writing and Research

Much of my time has recently been devoted to revising and editing material to be incorporated into The Cartomante.

The present focus remains on adapting and posting material on the Tarot de Marseille with material on the suits coming up.

A recent conversation with my friends Hugh has also encouraged me to move forward with a project that has been quietly occupying my thoughts for some time. I have now begun work on a second Petit Lenormand book under the working title Petit Lenormand: Divining with Eikōn, Essence and Function.

Unlike the first book, which was deliberately introductory, this new volume is aimed at intermediate and more experienced readers. It draws far more heavily upon my own observations and practices developed over many years of working with the cards – still traditional, though. I have completed a first draft of the card meanings and am currently working through the reading examples. The book will include four complete Grand Tableaux, examples of traditional cartomantic draws, and several layouts that I have developed and refined over the years. I would also very much like to include one of Mary Marco’s spreads, although whether this ultimately proves possible remains to be seen.

At present, publication is likely sometime in late 2027 or early 2028, though experience has taught me that books often develop according to their own timetable.

Decks on My Table

The decks currently receiving the greatest attention are:

• Jeu Lenormand Cartes de Bonne Aventure (Brepols pattern, Carta Mundi)
• 194115 Mlle Lenormand (Piatnik)
• Tarocco Soprafino (Il Meneghello)
• Oracle de la Triade (France Cartes)
• Renaissance Tarot (Brian Williams)
• Summer Serenade Lenormand (Königsfurt-Urania)
• L’Oracle Belline (Carta Mundi)
• Minchiate Fiorentine (Il Meneghello)

As often happens, no single deck monopolises my attention for long. The Brepols Lenormand remains a longstanding companion and, in many respects, still feels like my Lenormand. The Renaissance Tarot and Minchiate Fiorentine continue to satisfy my affection for historically informed cartomancy, whilst the Soprafino provides a particularly elegant expression of the Italian tarot tradition.

Alongside these sit the Oracle de la Triade and L’Oracle Belline, both of which reward careful and reflective study. The most recent addition is the Summer Serenade Lenormand. I love Irene Captijn’s artwork and have found myself increasingly drawn to this series. I’ve also enjoyed using Ciro Marchetti’s Gilded Reverie Lenormand for week ahead readings.

Reading

I am currently re-reading some of my favourite novels by Agatha Christie. There is a particular pleasure in returning to familiar mysteries, especially those in which the enjoyment lies not merely in discovering the culprit but in observing once again Christie’s wit, craftsmanship, and remarkable powers of misdirection.

I have also recently finished re-reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a novella that I continue to find both fascinating and deeply disturbing. Whilst I undoubtedly prefer Stoker’s Dracula in many respects, Stevenson’s tale remains the more chilling of the two. Dracula confronts us with an external evil; Jekyll and Hyde suggests something far more unsettling, namely that the monster may already reside within ourselves. Its exploration of duality, self-deception, and the fragmentation of the human personality remains as powerful today as when it was first published.

Alongside these literary revisitations, I continue to read a portion of St Benedict’s Rule each day. Few texts combine spiritual wisdom, practical common sense, and psychological insight with such economy and clarity.

From a cartomantic perspective, I continue to work through Colette Silvestre’s study of the Grand Jeu Lenormand whenever time permits. It remains one of the most rewarding and intellectually stimulating works in my collection, and each reading seems to reveal details I had somehow overlooked before.

Future Projects

I have also been giving serious consideration to establishing a YouTube channel. For many years I have been asked whether I would ever record lectures or discussions on card reading, astrology, symbolism, and related subjects. The prospect is appealing, particularly as a means of preserving material that is not always easily conveyed through written articles alone.

My principal obstacle is technological rather than intellectual. I remain somewhat challenged by modern recording equipment and am presently investigating practical methods of filming bird’s-eye demonstrations of readings and card layouts. I really want to record some material on tableaux. If nothing else, the process itself promises to be educational!

Health

Perhaps most importantly, my recovery continues to progress well. Whilst there remains work to be done, I am grateful for the steady improvement and for the opportunity it has afforded me to return to study, writing, prayer, and the gradual expansion of both The Cartomante and Obsculta.

As ever, my interests remain divided between theology, philosophy, literature, history, astrology, cartomancy, and the enduring question of how human beings find meaning in the symbols, stories, and experiences that shape their lives.