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 … Continue reading A Lenormand Near/Far Impact Table
Lenormand – General
Lenormand Techniques: Intention and Realization in the Topic Card
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a common practice when reading the Lenormand five-card cross and nine-card "box" by which the central "topic" card (aka Significator) is intentionally chosen to represent the subject of the reading. Some traditional readers don't use this approach and instead allow the Significator to fall randomly. I can see advantages to both … Continue reading Lenormand Techniques: Intention and Realization in the Topic Card
The Lenormand Tree: Rotten to the Core?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came to the realization that the illustration of the Tree card in most Lenormand decks shows it to be mature and clearly in excellent health, while its usual interpretation is anything but hale-and-hearty. This discrepancy seems like a "red herring" that leads beginners to see it as a fortunate card when … Continue reading The Lenormand Tree: Rotten to the Core?
The Lenormand “GT Mandala”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although this post is somewhat redundant to my "GT Architecture" presentation and has become divorced from it by intervening topics as well as decoupled in time, it's worth seeing all of the features combined in a single graphic.The array of cards surrounding the Significator Card (SC) in a Lenormand Grand Tableau is sometimes … Continue reading The Lenormand “GT Mandala”
“It Was A Dismal Day” – A Lenormand Work Song*
(*With apologies to Paul Simon for co-opting "It Was a Sunny Day.") This scrap of nonsense was lodged in my head, so I figured I had better flush it by writing something. (Sings in his best "Weird Al" Yankovic voice) It was a dismal day (Clouds)The boss-man poked me in the eye (Snake + Whip)And … Continue reading “It Was A Dismal Day” – A Lenormand Work Song*
The “Closer”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my recent essay on the "trickle-down" progress of a Lenormand Grand Tableau reading I mentioned that the card at the extreme lower right of the layout has the potential to "bring the querent the greatest satisfaction since it is a 'known quantity' that is under complete control." The assumption is that cards … Continue reading The “Closer”
Lenormand Houses: “Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the song of the title, bluesman Albert Collins complains of a wife who is clueless about her devoted husband's faithfulness toward her and is always doubting him without proof. Her eyes are open ("lights are on") but her head seems to be empty of reason ("nobody's home"). Some Lenormand readers experience an … Continue reading Lenormand Houses: “Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home”
The “Trickle-Down” Theory of Tableau Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any tableau-style layout in the Lenormand system of divination (that is, one with a vertical as well as a horizontal axis) entails consideration of the direction of flow. Because of the way the original Game of Hope play proceeded (from the Rider at the top left to the Cross at the bottom right), … Continue reading The “Trickle-Down” Theory of Tableau Reading
Lenormand “Clutter Cards” – An Unpopular Opinion
AUTHOR'S NOTE: No, that isn't a typo. There is an assumption in Lenormand circles that nearly all of the life-area or "theme" cards are joined by other cards of a trivially congruent nature - together called "clusters" - that reinforce the message, and that all of these cards should be considered as part of the … Continue reading Lenormand “Clutter Cards” – An Unpopular Opinion
The “Gestalt Overview” in Cartomancy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In developing this essay I borrowed from the way I've always read tarot since, at least in this one instance, the visual integration of both tarot cards and Lenormand cards in large layouts is almost identical, although Lenormand exhibits more formal structure in terms of what I call "sub-routines" or "protocols." Unlike the … Continue reading The “Gestalt Overview” in Cartomancy
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 