What is the lenormand?
The original 36 card Petite Lenormand deck is derived from a game published around 1799 called Das Spiel der Hoffnung (The Game of Hope) by writer and printer Johann Kaspar Hechtel (1771-1799.) Movement in the game was determined with the throw of dice. The player would land on a verse and receive a fortune telling reading while playing the game.
Later on Johann’s son turned the board game into a deck of 36 cards which he named the ‘Mademoiselle Lenormand Fortune Telling Cards’ after his favourite fortune teller and card reader from Paris. Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand (1772 - 1843) was a French bookseller, fortune teller and cartomancer who rose to great fame during her life. After her death, her name was used on several cartomancy decks. The lenormand style of reading spread throughout France, Europe and then to the rest of the world.
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand
THE PLAYING CARD INSERTS IN LENORMAND
You may wonder about the playing cards depicted in lenormand decks and wonder if they have any relevance? Some modern decks have them and some don’t. The original decks did have them. From doing some research on them, it would appear that they were not put there orginally for divination purposes. The original game of hope was intended to be just a game and was designed by a printer and writer who probably had little interest in fortune telling. As well as the ‘snakes and ladders’ type concept, participants could also play a game of cards perhaps. So this is probably how it came about!
Having said that, the playing cards could be used to add an extra dimension to a reading. They do not appear on first glance to relate to the symbology of the card itself. However, a reader may be able to read something into a particular playing card on occasion as would an intuitive tarot reader may notice something of interest on a scenic tarot card. Some readers may notice the people-based playing card inserts and use that in their reading, for example, the Queen of Diamonds on the crossroads card.
CARD MEANINGS
Rider 9 of hearts - Messages - News - Quickly - Movement - Transport - Journey
Clover 6 of diamonds - Small luck - Small money - Positive outcome - Taking a chance - A gamble - Optimism - Happiness
Ship 10 of spades - Travel - Long distance - Holiday - Emigration - Foreign or overseas connections - Progress - Betterment - A vehicle
House King of hearts - Home - House - Security - Refuge - Comfort - Safety - Heritage -Family business - Working from home -Property sale
Tree 7 of hearts - Health - Wellbeing - Grounding - Foundations - Family history - Longevity - Growth - Nature - Herbs - Medicine
Clouds King of clubs - Confusion - Lack of focus - Unpredictable - Problems - Trouble - Anxiety - Worry - Stress - Depression - Unclear
Snake Queen of clubs - Deception - Betrayal - Lies - Envy - Poison - Danger - Healing - Slippery - Long, winding road - Shedding layers
Coffin 9 of diamonds - Ending - Finish - Sickness - Life change - Depression - Sorrow - Reclusive
Bouquet Queen of spades - Happiness - Beauty - Attractive - Invitation - Surprise - Celebration - Good fortune - Big luck - Gift - Recognition
Scythe Jack of diamonds - Pain - Accident - Injury - Surgery - Cutting ties - Letting go - Parting - Harvest - Hard work
Whip Jack of clubs - Argument - Struggle - Repetition - Cleaning - Hard work - Physical activity - Sorting things out - Sport - Sex
Birds 7 of diamonds - Communication - News - Gossip - Anxiety - Noisy - Companionship - Dating - Meetings - Pairs - Multiples
Child Jack of spades - Child - Baby - Pregnancy - Small - Innocence - New - Immature - Naive
Fox 9 of clubs - Clever - Instinctive - Adaptable - Behind the scenes - Investigator - Detective - Shrewdness - Sly - Cunning - Survival instinct
Bear 10 of clubs - Prosperity - Money - Strength - Power - Success - Leadership - Supportive - Strong female - Overbearing - Family ties
Star 6 of hearts - Hopes - Dreams - Wishes - Good fortune - Destiny - Guidance - Talent - Success - Healing - Mystery
Stork Queen of hearts - Change - Movement - Pregnancy - Birth - Delivery - Liberation - Travel
Dog 10 of hearts - Friend - Faithful - Honest - Loyal - Trustworthy - Reliable - Territorial - Aggressive - Persistent - Past life connection
Tower 6 of spades - Organisation - Authority - Professional - School - Office - Hospital - Legal matters - Solitude - Isolation - High up
Garden - 8 of spades - Community - Social - Network - Events - Meetings - Outdoors - Dating - Public relations - Friendships
Mountain 8 of clubs - Obstacle - Blockage - Struggle - Challenges - Delay - Distant - Far away - Solid
Crossroads Queen of diamonds - Choices - Crossroads - Decision - Alternatives - New path - Travel - Journey - Time is now
Mice 7 of clubs - Loss - Theft - Stress - Poverty - Anxiety - Small worries - Avoidance - Hiding - Eating away at something
Heart Jack of hearts - Love - Romance - Positive yes - Joy - Attraction - Unity - Affection - Desire - Emotion - Satisfaction
Ring Ace of clubs - Partnership - Union - Proposal - Marriage - Commitment - Agreement - Contract - Agreement - Valuable - Long term
Book 10 of diamonds - Unknown - Secrets - Knowledge - Studying - Education - Expertise - Published material
Letter 7 of spades - Letter - Written communication - Document - Certificate - Award - Bill - Will - Passport - Text message - Thoughts
Man Ace of hearts - Male - Leader - Active - Courage - Strong - Proactive - Protective
Woman Ace of spades - Female - Intuition - Receptive - Nurturing - Gentle
Lilies King of spades - Harmony - Purity - Healing - Maturity - Retirement - Elderly - Experience - Parents - Counselling - Wisdom - Sexuality
Sun Ace of diamonds - Happiness - Success - Growth - Optimism - Enthusiasm - Courage - Luck - Victory - Energy - Fame - Creativity
Moon 8 of hearts - Intuition - Emotion - Dreams - Imagination - Subconscious - Fantasy - Illusion - Clairvoyance - Memory - Reputation
Key 8 of diamonds - Success - Certainty - Access - Security - Answers - Yes - Resolution - Opening
Fish King of diamonds - Abundance - Trade - Opportunities - Lots of - Slippery - Adaptable - Going with the flow - Sinking - Crowded
Anchor 9 of spades - Security - Stability - Grounded - Stuck - Safety - Longing - Balanced - Long term
Cross 6 of clubs - Burden - Fate - Suffering - Recuperation - Faith - Belief - Prayer - Spirituality
TIMING IN LENORMAND
RIDER - One - First - January - Very soon - Quickly
CLOVER - Two - Second - February - Unexpectedly - By surprise
SHIP - Three - Third - March - When direction is slow with steady movement, on course
HOUSE - Four - Fourth - April - Comfortable situation so in no rush
TREE - Five - Fifth - May - Timing may be dependant on the family situaiton
CLOUDS - Six - Sixty - June - Uncertain - Not yet clear
SNAKE - Seven - Seventh - July - Timing may be dependant on when another person makes their move
COFFIN - Eight - Eighth - August - May not happen - Coming to an end
BOUQUET - Nine - Ninth - September - Springtime
SCYTHE - Ten - Tenth - October - Quickly - Unexpectedly - Before you are ready
WHIP - Eleven - Eleventh - November - Repeatedy, so more than one chance
BIRDS - Twelve - Twelfth - December - Dawn - When birds are seen migrating
CHILD - Thirteen - Month of May - 9 months - Around the time of a child’s birthday
FOX - Fourteen - When you make it happen, action must be quick
BEAR - Fifteen - After rest, hibernation
STARS - Sixteen - Night time
STORK - Seventeen - Timing may be when the season is changing eg. Spring into Summer
DOG - Eighteen - Timing may be around a friend’s birthday - When a friend is ready
TOWER - Nineteen - Timing may be a long time
GARDEN - Twenty - Afternoon - Time of a celebration
MOUNTAIN - Twenty one - Years - May not happen at all
CROSSROADS - Twenty two - Two days - Two weeks - Two months
MICE - Twenty three - Quickly - Within a week
HEART - Twentry four - Around an anniverseary - Valentines Day
RING - Twenty five - Situation is ongoing - Situation needs to change for progress to be made
BOOK - Twenty six - Timing is unknown - Not meant to know - When unexpected
LETTER - Twenty seven - Maybe slowly - Make the initiative then wait for a reply
MAN - Twenty eight - Birthday of a male - When the male is ready
WOMAN - Twenty nine - Birthday of a female - When the female is ready
LILY - Thirty - Winter - Anniversary of an older person
SUN - Thirty one - Summertime - Daytime - Afternoon
MOON - Thirty two - In the next 28 days - In an eclipse - Evening - Night time - New moon - Full moon
KEY - Thirty three - Already happening - Soon - Take action
FISH - Thirty four - Several months - In a whole season
ANCHOR - Thirty five - Situation is stable or stuck - No movement
CROSS - Thirty six - Easter time - Christmas time - Religious or spiritual occasion
COMBINING CARDS TO TELL A STORY
A good way to progress with Lenormand and any cartomancy systems like tarot is to put 2 or 3 cards together and read them in a combination. You are building up a story. Keep a notebook of your observations.
For example, the dog and the rider
The dog and the rider read in combination could mean a new visitor, a friendly visitor or a friendship that takes off quickly. Pairing the dog with the cross might mean a troubled friendship, a fated friendship or a friendship with a religious or spiritual person.
Example of the letter and the coffin
A letter and a coffin read together might mean a letter of resignation, the end of a communication or even news of a death. Pairing the letter with a heart might mean a love letter, a romantic message or a marriage certificate.
An anchor and a house read together might mean a stable, family home or putting down roots. It could also mean being stifled by homelife. Pair the anchor with the sun might mean reaching your goals, being secure and happy or even a holiday by the seaside.
SOME LENORMAND SPREADS
After practising combining lenormand cards, beginners should start with a 3 card spread. Practitioners will then build up to a 9 box spread.
There are various ways to interpret this. It can be read line by line horizontally or vertically. You could assign past, present, future or your thoughts, feelings and external factors or what is influencing, the situation at hand and what is the underlying issue. The centre card is always the most important. Here is where you may choose to put a significator card, for example if you wanted to know about love then place the heart card, if you wanted to know about a house move or family then place the house card.
The cards can also be read diagonally, by each corner or by a method known as Knighting. This is following the movement of a knight in a chess game.
For a comprehensive overview on how to read a 9 box spread visit https://labyrinthos.co/blogs/learn-tarot-with-labyrinthos-academy/how-to-read-nine-card-portrait-box-or-3x3-lenormand-spreads
2 methods using a complete 36 card deck are the Master Method and the Grand Tableau.
The Master Method (Fortune Telling using Playing Cards by Jonathan Dee, 2004)
GRAND TABLEAU
The Grand Tableau is a 36 card spread that can be used in lenormand, tarot and tea leaf reading card spreads. It can take a while to master as it is so large and probably best to lay it out and then keep going back to it over a period of time. It is read in sections at a time and usually in sections of 9 boxes. For more information on how to read a grand tableau visit https://labyrinthos.co/blogs/learn-tarot-with-labyrinthos-academy/how-to-read-nine-card-portrait-box-or-3x3-lenormand-spreads
Below is a table of the 36 Grand Tableau house meanings (Read Lenormand - Pinterest)
SOME MORE CARTOMANCY-BASED SYSTEMS
KIPPER Kipper style fortune telling decks began in 19th Century Germany and relate to important life situations. The cards have titles like, for example, main male, message, marriage, toil and labour, wealthy man, imprisonment and her thoughts.
GYPSY CARDS Gypsy fortune telling decks are similar to Kipper and have titles like, for example, malady, officer, judge, desire and unexpected fortune.
DESTE Deste cards have titles like, for example, the tomb, the key and saah (Pasha of the ruby)
SIBILLA The Sibila oracle is an deck of 52 cards based on traditional playing cards. They are pictorial and are divided into the usual suits of hearts, clubs, diamonds and swords. Some example cards are Ace of Fiori (Clubs) - Imeneo Marriage, 7 of Picche (Spades) - Disgrazia Misfortune, 11 of Quadri (Diamonds) - Messagiere Messenger, 3 of Cuori (Hearts) - Belvedere Beautiful View
