AUTHOR’S NOTE: As I browse the Lenormand Facebook pages, sub-reddits and blogs, I inevitably encounter the three-card line as the “go-to” spread for just about any topic, even when there are better (or at least more comprehensive) options. Here I will examine the various traditional spreads in use today, but first I want to anonymously recognize an online acquaintance who observed: “Lenormand has been relegated to ‘Let’s make this as quick, easy, and painless as possible, with some not wanting to engage in serious, in-depth study and learning.” My own opinion is that Lenormand has not (yet) degenerated into the swamp of mystical, spiritual, psychic, intuitive “woo” that popular “exoteric” fortune-telling with the tarot has become, but “tarotization” has been making inroads as Lenormand neophytes infect the practice with inappropriate assumptions and techniques from their previous incarnation. They don’t want to learn the ropes and will just riff on what they already know. (My favorite rant is “The Lenormand Moon is not the tarot Moon, which in turn is not the astrological Moon; these lines of interpretation must not be blurred.”)

To begin:

First off, nobody with any knowledge of Lenormand pulls and reads a single card; the cards are meant to be read in combinations of two or three, which will often be instrumental in the expanded format furnished by a larger array.

For completeness, I will first share a few thoughts about the three-card line. It seems best suited to the lightweight, topic-neutral questions that are typical of the daily draw, and for other narrow, simply-stated inquiries. I find, however, that asking “What will I encounter during the upcoming day?” is better served by rephrasing it as “What will happen in <life-area of choice> during the next 24 hours?” It gives the reading a slightly more specific target to aim for, which I would suggest is more important with Lenormand than it is with tarot.

The five-card line is recommended for meatier subjects with a longer “window of opportunity.” It is very effective in avoiding the narrative gaps that may appear in the three-card draw (and, to be honest, I prefer not to work that hard at puzzle-solving if I don’t have to). In my own practice, I find that it hits the “sweet spot” for line readings because it allows productive merging of two-and-three-card combinations in various ways within its span while still being relatively concise.

I appreciate the seven-card line for weekly readings of an open-ended nature, although a single subject may emerge as most pressing during the period and this spread offers plenty of detail. That said, I don’t resort to it much since it doesn’t really deliver on the “economy of scale” premise.

I don’t use the nine-card line for the same reason, but the 3×3 square or “box” is ideal for general monthly readings and for topics that may have a broader scope of applicability or that can experience shifts in direction or “step-changes” between developmental phases of the matter. It excels at reading in “tiers” and “columns,” and its expanded situational perspective makes it my choice for problem-solving scenarios.

The 15-card, 3×5 “mini-tableau” is a good compromise when more interpretive range is desired but the Grand Tableau is impractical. Although I don’t throw it much, it employs most of the iterations of the GT in a necessarily truncated manner.

The 36-card Grand Tableau (in either its 4×9 or 4×8+4 format) is the champion of multi-path life-reading since numerous topic areas can be addressed in a single pull. I favor it when time and space permit because I can lay all 36 cards and then read only on the subjects of particular interest at the time. It is far more discursive than any of the other spreads and offers numerous ways to integrate diverse factors into the story-line.

We might say that the GT develops “organically.” The narrative starts with a “seed idea” in the topic or focus card for a specific area of inquiry, then admits the influence of the eight cards touching it to create an internal 3×3 array before moving outward in all directions (by row, column and diagonal), subsuming pairs and triplets in what is known as the “near/far” progression. It reaches its fullness in a number of far-flung pairs that create symbolic convergence with the “seed idea” (via mirroring, knighting, intersection, etc). In practice, though, the core figure of nine cards for each life-area applies the more humble parameters of the three-card line (taken thrice) along with the three columns, two diagonals and four “corners” of the 3×3. This is the basic unit or “engine” of the Grand Tableau that underlies its multi-dimensional potency. (For its use in combination across the whole spread, see my essay “Ripples on a Pond.”)

Ripples on a Pond

Ultimately, every reader will pick the approach that works best for the purpose at hand. These are my own choices for different reading scenarios.