AUTHOR’S NOTE: During the brief time I spent in the traditionalist enclave of the online Lenormmand community (it turned out that, even though I adhere closely to historical methods, my original ideas were still too “experimental” for them), I picked up a concept that I have yet to fully explore in my own work. I don’t own his books so I have only hearsay to go by, but I understand it comes from the interpretive approach of Bjorn Meuris.

While working in business management I was exposed to a system of statistical charts and graphs that was created for the purpose of analyzing performance. One of these was the “scatter graph” that captures a wide array of data points to show where the greatest concentration of events lay in the “big picture.” I never found it particularly useful for decision-making because there was no provision to merge the individual elements into any kind of coherent pattern (in fact, I think identifying lack of cohesion may have been its sole mission).

Similarly, when performing a Lenormand Grand Tableau reading, I always assumed that each discrete “life-area” shown by a topic card begins as an isolated island of influence (I think of it as a “vortex”), and my task is to correlate the population in ways that bring the entire panorama into focus, mainly through the use of alignment techniques like knighting, mirroring, intersection, and proximity (aka distance or “near/far” positioning). But it seems there are other ways to slice-and-dice it.

Several years ago in a discussion with Mary K. Greer on the late (and much-lamented) Aeclectic Tarot forum, she pointed out that it isn’t necessary to address all of the topic cards in every reading. When the question is narrowly-framed, we can concentrate primarily on the specific areas that apply most directly to the querent’s subject of interest and ignore the rest. (My objection – which I didn’t voice to Mary at the time – is “Why perform a Grand Tableau in the first place if you plan to disregard most of its testimony?”)

There is a third possibility that seems to have some merit, although it still has to prove itself worthy in my own practice. Because all of the “life-area” cards and their modifiers are “in play” in every Grand Tableau, we can treat each of them as revealing a different facet of a complex answer to a single-pointed question. In this way, every topic card can be related to the main focus of the reading and not merely to its own department of life.

For example, if the seeker’s objective is to explore work or career potential, we can initially target the condition of the Moon and the Anchor (as well as the Ship if the ambition is entrepreneurial), then bring in the status of other relevant cards for insight into how pursuing the goal will affect those areas of life. Thus, we can look closely at:

the Tree for an indication of its likely impact on the querent’s health (in serious or chronic wellness matters, the Coffin or the Tower might also be implicated);

the Fish and the Bear for whether financial growth and stability will be achieved;

the House, the Child and the Lilies for any consequences that might emerge for domestic and family affairs;

the Dog and the Stars for any support or encouragement that can be expected;

the Letter, the Rider and the Ring for any contractual communication (and the Birds for any miscommunication) that might occur with potential employers;

the Heart for whether a “perfect match” with the querent’s desires will be found, and the Bouquet for any offers that might arise from chasing it;

the Sun and the Clover for the likelihood of improving fortunes;

the Book for advice on any additional education that would be prudent to help unlock doors to advancement, as well as any surprising – and perhaps unsettling – revelations that may crop up in the situation;

the Stork, the Roads and the Garden for whether “moving in different circles” would be productive, along with engaging in the strategies and tactics of networking; and

the Clouds, the Whip, the Scythe, the Snake, the Fox, the Mice, the Cross, and the Mountain (the so-called “gang of misery and trauma”) for any troubles, complications, stresses, setbacks, burdens or obstacles that could be experienced during evolution of the matter.

Obviously, the close interaction of any of these details with the querent’s “Significator” card will have a direct bearing on how intensely personal each one will be felt in the outcome.

I will have an occasion to test this theory tonight when I perform a GT for an acquaintance, and with the querent’s permission I will post my observations at a later date.