AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm taking a stand against the non-traditional* view that the Lenormand Lilies is the "sex" card of the pack. In my opinion, this belief leans too heavily on a whimsical Freudian assumption that touts as its basis the reproductive organs of the lily blossom, a premise that relies more on "free-association" from … Continue reading An Unsentimental Look at the Lenormand Lilies
Lenormand Material
Lenormand: Wisdom In A Cup
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As Mary K. Greer has pointed out, the original source for many of the Lenormand card descriptions was not solely the German Game of Hope (although that added to the vocabulary), but rather the practice of "coffee-ground" divination that predated it, at first in the Middle East and later in Europe. Among the … Continue reading Lenormand: Wisdom In A Cup
Lenormand and Astrology: Strange Bedfellows?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I prefer to keep my Lenormand practice free of entanglement with other modes of divination: that means no mingling with tarot or astrology and no psychic conjecture based on free-association from the images. I'm more practical and literal than eclectic and improvisational in my interpretation, and my use of intuition in Lenormand reading … Continue reading Lenormand and Astrology: Strange Bedfellows?
Into the Mystic: The Triangular Grand Tableau
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Very little about the Lenormand system of divination can be called metaphysical or psychological, and as a nominal traditionalist I believe this is appropriate despite efforts by tarot transplants to hijack it with their intuitive and psychic sensibilities. But I've been re-reading the Lenormand Symbols e-book by Anthony Louis and decided to take … Continue reading Into the Mystic: The Triangular Grand Tableau
Romance in the Making? – A Lenormand “Cross” Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a reading for a man who has romantic inclinations toward a woman (and suspects she harbors similar sentiments toward him). He wants to know what may transpire between them during an upcoming gathering. Before I begin, there is a convention in Lenormand reading that if the Heart is absent, there will … Continue reading Romance in the Making? – A Lenormand “Cross” Reading
An Accident That Never Happened
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The fascinating thing about this reading is the direct validation I received early in the period regarding its chances for occurring as predicted. As of mid-April, the prediction is over eight months old and nothing drastic has ever happened, but it still makes for an interesting case study. Notably, I did experience some … Continue reading An Accident That Never Happened
“Mystic Mercury” and the Lenormand Deck
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've made a conscious habit of avoiding all esoteric correspondences (astrology, occult number theory, etc) when using the Lenormand cards for divination. But I recently came across an interesting coincidence. On the Hermetic Tree of Life, the planet Mercury corresponds to the number 8 and its "mystic number" is 36, which is achieved … Continue reading “Mystic Mercury” and the Lenormand Deck
A Lenormand Near/Far Impact Table
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
The “Dexter” Grand Tableau
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've spent the last 12 years applying the original methods of Andy Boroveshengra to my reading of the Lenormand Grand Tableau, having received some online mentoring from him before he published his book. As one rule of thumb, I use his assumption that the "flow" of the cards surrounding the querent's Significator (Man … Continue reading The “Dexter” Grand Tableau
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