AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I've been focusing mostly on tarot writing in recent months, my true love in cartomantic divination has become the 36-card Lenormand Grand Tableau. I think of it as the "Swiss-Army-knife" of cartomancy, a multi-tool that is able to cover a wide range of topics in a single pull. But when it is … Continue reading “Chunky, Not Creamy” – A Lenormand Working Model
Lenormand Material
Intersection in the Lenormand Grand Tableau
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a technique for reading the Lenormand Grand Tableau known as "intersection" that is used when examining the interaction between two "topic" cards. Typically it comes into play in a romantic scenario where there are two emotionally-engaged parties to the situation, but it may be used with any two topic cards. It … Continue reading Intersection in the Lenormand Grand Tableau
Maximum Mea Culpa: A Lenormand Lost-Item Update
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As sportscaster Howard Cosell might have said "How about that!" I'm calling this a "maximum mea culpa" episode because I was guilty of not trusting the cards and being too impatient with a prediction. To absolve myself, I'm going to have to choke down a big slice of crow pie, walk widdershins thrice … Continue reading Maximum Mea Culpa: A Lenormand Lost-Item Update
The Four Corners: A Post-Hegelian Dynamic
When I read the four corners of a Lenormand 3x3 spread as a sequence, I often see each turning point as a "plot shift" in the story-line. The upper-left corner states the premise of the reading and initiates a narrative flow; the upper-right corner builds on that projection while perhaps offering a counter-thrust; the lower-right … Continue reading The Four Corners: A Post-Hegelian Dynamic
The Diagonal Dilemma
AUTHOR'S NOTE: An interesting discussion on one of the Lenormand Facebook pages led me to a new perspective on the diagonal series of cards in a 3x3 tableau. I will use the example spread from my previous post for this discussion. The "central conflict" in this reading involved differing views of "access to education" in … Continue reading The Diagonal Dilemma
“Hot” Cards
Many of my ideas about Lenormand reading spring from my numerous fertile conversations on the Aeclectic Tarot forum with authors Andy Boroveshengra and Mary K. Greer before they both moved on - and then we all did. This one is no exception. I've written on this subject before (links below) but I wanted to sharpen … Continue reading “Hot” Cards
Playing-Card Insets: A Challenge Worth Taking
I've been working with the Lenormand cards going on nine years now, but I've never put a lot of effort into understanding and using the playing-card insets. Concurrently, I've been studying playing-card cartomancy somewhat casually, first through Dawn Jackson's Hedgewytchery material and more recently through the excellent blog of Kapherus (J. David Arcuri), Art of … Continue reading Playing-Card Insets: A Challenge Worth Taking
Stiff-necked Scholars, Attend!
Although it's an over-simplification of the truth, I can easily pass for a card-carrying member of the "Stiff-necked Scholars' League" of Lenormand practitioners: I value the historical basis of this cartomantic system above all else, and take a dim view of too much imaginative tinkering with its customary methods. (On the other hand, is there … Continue reading Stiff-necked Scholars, Attend!
“Knights’ Crossing” – The Marginal Significator
In an earlier post in this series I discussed how to deal with a floating Significator or topic card that appears in the bottom row of the 9x4 layout, such that there aren't enough cards left in the deck to populate a nine-card square surrounding it. The worst case occurs when it lands in the … Continue reading “Knights’ Crossing” – The Marginal Significator
More Lenormand Line-Play: The “Floating” Topic Card
This follows up on the suggestion made in my previous post about continuing to pull cards in a line spread until the chosen significator appears as a "floating" topic card, and then reading the entire stack beneath it as a situational "sub-plot" to the main story-line. I used a five-card line to explore the question … Continue reading More Lenormand Line-Play: The “Floating” Topic Card
