AUTHOR’S NOTE: I spent some time sifting through Andy Boroveshengra’s book, Lenormand: Thirty-Six Cards, looking closely at the “near/far” guidance for assessing the effect of distance between certain cards and the main Significator (Man or Woman card). Then I compared my observations to the more limited instructions in the seminal Philippe Lenormand Sheet (PLS), seeking to identify inconsistencies between the two. I didn’t find any, but there are many cards for which the PLS is silent on the subject, and I seem to recall Andy saying that his “near/far” techniques came largely from his principal teacher, Erna Droesbeke.

At any rate, there is more to his approach than a simple judgment of separation; other factors such as the proximity of positive and negative cards to the card of interest play a role in determining whether that card is disposed favorably or unfavorably toward the querent, regardless of how far it falls from the Significator (the numerous qualifying statements in the text support this conclusion). By way of example, Andy advises that “You don’t want to see the Anchor close by with negative cards” even though by itself – as a harbinger of lasting stability – it is one of the better cards to have handy.

In the attached table I stayed mostly with “near/far” considerations but gave a nod to other determinants in a general way (for example, there is hardly an instance where having the Clouds or other unfortunate cards nearby fails to make the situation worse). The premise I’m using is that a card that falls close to or far from the Significator will be either better or worse for the querent’s circumstances depending on the nature of the card. In most cases, “bad cards far away = better,” while “bad cards near = worse,” and the opposite is true for good cards in each instance.* (I should also mention that there are some cards for which no “near/far” significance is given by either Andy or the PLS.)

The table entries represent my assimilation and abridgement of Andy’s more comprehensive language. I know he has linked to this blog in the past, so I hope he finds my efforts worthy. Since my blog isn’t monetized (at least I make no money from it even if WordPress does), I’m offering this tabulation as a service to the community. If you find it interesting, buy his book (make sure you get the latest edition since I know of at least two).

*Note that the “far” designation is limited to the 36-card Grand Tableau since the cards in smaller Lenormand tableaux are by definition no farther away than “near” to one another, and distance is not normally applied to line spreads of any length (at least not by the diviners of my acquaintance).