Category Archives: Lenormand Cards

Card Reading 101, Card Spreads, Lenormand Cards, Playing Cards, Tarot Cards

Card Reading 101: Predictions and Probable Outcomes Part 1

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It’s natural to be attracted to, or intrigued by, the uncanny ability Tarot Cards, Lenormand Cards, Playing Cards and Oracle decks seem to possess. Logical or not, cards appear to be able to predict the future. That’s what draws many people to card divination in the first place. We want to know what’s going to happen today, whether he or she likes us, will we get the job, what if the money doesn’t come through in time, etc., etc.

If you are even semi-serious about card reading, that particular  mindset can be less than helpful. This is because any card draw, using any deck, for any question, at any given moment in time, is simply reflecting the prevailing energies in motion at the time of the question.

In other words, 9 times out of 10, what you are seeing is a probable future and not one that is set in stone.

Furthermore, if you don’t monitor them, your own thoughts, beliefs and feelings about the message(s) you got from the cards will influence what actually transpires. Sometimes, without even realizing it, you wind up setting a “self-fulfilling prophecy” into motion. This can have either good or bad results depending on whether your thoughts, beliefs and feelings about the question asked and answer received are predominantly positive or negative.

If up until now you’ve been reading cards from a basically predictive mindset, you don’t need to stop. But you might want to consider exploring a different layer of information the cards may be suggesting. Are they really answering your question as you stated it or could they be answering another, underlying, question?

I’ve found that’s often the case and if I dig around a little, and/or revise my question based on fresh insights I’ve gotten from the spread, I can ferret out information and advice that’s inordinately more helpful than the “answer” to the question I originally asked.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

 

Card Reading 101, Lenormand Cards

Lenormand Clarification Cards: Should You Use One?

From time to time I use clarification cards in Tarot readings, particularly when I’m having difficulty understanding the meaning of a card I draw for a certain position. I also use them on a fairly regular basis to give a summary or clarification of a reading.

There are four main ways I do this:

1. Pull the top (or bottom) card from the remaining deck (after having laid out the entire spread).

2. Pull the bottom card from the pile assigned to the position I wish to further explore. (I do this when prior to card selection, I cut the deck into as many piles as I have positions.)

3. Add the numerical values of the cards laid out in the spread, reduce to 22 or less, locate that card in the remaining deck and select the cards before and after as well (three clarification cards total).

4. Pull a card (or cards) at random from the remaining deck.

Lenormand cards are read differently than Tarot cards and some readers insist you should not “mix up the rules.”

While I understand and appreciate this viewpoint, I also believe each reader should experiment and use what works for him or her, even if “that’s not the way you’re supposed to do it.”

I often use Lines when I draw Lenormand cards. While I usually draw a Line of 5, you can also use a Line of 3, a Line of 7, or a Line of 9. Using an odd number of cards gives you a central, or “hinge” card, which can be used to determine the focus or theme of the spread. If you browse through some of the Lenormand posts on this website, you’ll notice that I’ll often place an additional card below the central card of the spread.

Like this:

 

Lenormand Mystical 27 Letter - 19 Tower - 16 Stars - 10 Scythe - 24 Heart - 6 Clouds http://livingwithcards.com
27 Letter – 19 Tower – 16 Stars – 10 Scythe – 24 Heart – 6 Clouds

Mystical Lenormand (c) 2006 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

 

While you could certainly chose another selection method, I select the base card (the bottom card of the remaining deck) as the clarification card. I use clarification cards in my Lenormand spreads because I have consistently found that they will almost always provide me with additional information and/or clarification.

Sometimes the clarification card will modify one or more cards above it. Sometimes I’ll get the intuitive sense that it represents a “House” in which the central card sits.

In the above example, 6 Clouds as the clarification suggests uncertainty at best and dashed hopes that result in heartbreak at worst.

Not to leave you hanging, the spread above was cast last Spring to find out whether a student would get accepted to a particular college. The application to college (Letter + Tower) had been made with high hopes (Stars) but would end in heartbreak (Scythe + Heart). While the Line of 5 was clear enough by itself, the clarification card 6 Clouds reiterated the depressing nature of the prediction (which, unfortunately, turned out to be true).

I’m curious to learn your thoughts about the use of clarification cards in Lenormand readings. Do you use them? Why or why not? Please use the comment feature to let me know.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

Card Reading 101, Lenormand Cards

Lenormand Cards Pick the Topic: 33 Key, 12 Birds, 29 Woman, 15 Bear, 14 Fox, 4 House

As I’ve mentioned, I pull cards every day. When I can’t “think” of a specific question, I usually ask the cards to tell me something that “will happen,” that I “need to know,” or simply give me a general “heads up” about a situation or circumstance that may impact me.

One morning back in September, after mulling over whether I should re-involve with this website (I’d let it slide over the summer), I decided to give the cards free reign. You pick the topic, I silently instructed, and tell me something I need to know. I pre-decided that the central card of a Line of 5 would symbolize the topic.

I’m using an actual page from my personal journal to show you what the Lenormand cards dished up:

Piatnik Lenormand 33 Key - 12 Birds - 29 Woman - 15 Bear - 14 Fox - 4 House, http://livingwithcards.com
33 Key – 12 Birds – 29 Woman – 15 Bear – 14 Fox – 4 House

Mlle. Lenormand Jeu de destin No. 194115 (c) 1986 Piatnik

 

Note: in addition to drawing a Line of 5, it’s my personal preference to also include the base card (bottom card of the shuffled deck) in the layout, since I find it usually provides helpful information and/or clarifies the reading. 

It was obvious the reading was about me (29 Woman as the central card, symbolizing the topic). Since Woman was surrounded by Birds and Bear, money worries or financial stress was factoring in. Key mirroring Fox suggested the solution (Key) was a job (Fox).

I thought about what the cards were saying, wondering why they would suggest a job, perhaps a managerial job or something to with accounting or numbers (Bear + Fox), I could do from home (House). The suggestion left me flat. I’m retired, but I still want and need to bring a little extra cash in each month to supplement social security. But a job? A boring, clerical job?

Suddenly, the light bulb went off.  4 House could also be symbolizing my “home page,” or my website. When I initially set this site up,  the plan included monetizing it to provide a little extra retirement cash. The cards were simply reminding me:

The solution (Key) to the money stress (Birds + Bear) is to work (Fox) on the website (House).

 

Once again, the Lenormand cards provided clear and insightful information I can use to help me accomplish a practical goal. I encourage you to develop your own card reading skills so that you, too, can learn to work more productively with your subconscious mind.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

Card Reading 101, Lenormand Cards

Lenormand Card Meanings & Combinations: 7 Snake

As you work with Lenormand cards in your daily draws, you begin to experience patterns in which the cards personally speak to you. This happens with Tarot cards as well, or any other cartomancy system with which you work regularly.

It’s always a good idea to make notations in a personal journal as to what the card combinations mean to you. This helps you build your own cartomancy vocabulary and assists you in becoming a more accomplished card reader.

The Lenormand card, 7 Snake, is an interesting card that has a generally negative meaning.

Lenormand 7 Snake meanings and combinations http://livingwithcards.com
Lenormand 7 Snake

 

By itself, it warns you “something is up,” likely in an unpleasant sort of way. With 3 Ship, 1 Rider or 22 Paths, 7 Snake can symbolize something as mundane as roadblocks or traffic snarls, particularly in a daily draw where the card meanings are of a “lighter” variety. In a health question, 15 Bear + 7 Snake could represent a digestive issue. If 21 Mountain is close by, it could be constipation.

In general, however, 7 Snake symbolizes deceit, betrayal, and complications, particularly in a relationship reading. With Queen of Clubs as the playing card inset, it also is one of the person cards, symbolizing a woman who may or may not be older than the querent and who may be devious or mysterious in some manner. As a woman, 7 Snake often wears glasses or contact lenses. 7 Snake can represent a woman with psychic abilities. It may also represent the partner in a lesbian relationship, or the “Other Woman” in a love triangle.

The following example shows how 7 Snake may play out in a reading:

A female querent wanted some insight on a male co-worker who’d recently joined the company where she worked. She found the man attractive and wondered if a possible romantic relationship could develop between them. He appeared to be “footloose and fancy free,” didn’t wear a wedding band, and she hadn’t heard any gossip that he was already involved in another relationship. They worked together in the same department and as far as she could tell, had plenty in common. She could already imagine herself in bed with him, but before she went any further, she wanted some reassurance he was as “available” as he appeared to be.

 

Is Male X romantically available?

Lenormand Piatnik 7 Snake 26 Book 29 Woman
7 Snake – 26 Book – 29 Woman

Mlle. Lenormand Jeu de destin No. 194115 (c) 1986 Piatnik

 

The Lenormand cards selected at random for this reading were quite literal: “No, he is not available!”

7 Snake shows deception or complications and 26 Book shows secrets or hidden information. The cards clearly indicate that this man is deceiving (Snake) our querent by hiding (Book) his relationship with another woman (Woman).

She’d do best to steer clear of him…

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins



Card Reading 101, Lenormand Cards

Lenormand Relationship Advice: Online Dating?

 

A divorced female who’s been out of the dating scene for a few years is being nagged by her adult children to sign up for an online dating service.

She’s been resisting the idea but admits it sounds intriguing. Can the cards tell her if this is a good idea for her or not?

Lenormand Advice Relationship Issue: Online Dating? http://livingwithcards.com
Lenormand Advice Relationship Issue: Online Dating?

 

Since there are few decisions or choices in life that are irreversible, as I mixed the cards, I certainly wasn’t anticipating the answer would be particularly negative.

On the contrary, after turning over the first four cards in a Line of 5 layout, the commentary seemed quite positive.

The fifth card, 36 Cross, however, brought my thought process to a screeching halt, and the base card, 11 Whip, offered no comfort.

 

Lenormand Cards Piatnik 27 Letter - 20 Garden - 24 Heart - 35 Anchor - 36 Cross - 11 Whip http://livingwithcards.com
27 Letter – 20 Garden – 24 Heart – 35 Anchor – 36 Cross – 11 Whip

Mlle. Lenormand Jeu de destin No. 194115 (c) 1986 Piatnik

 

Ouch.

How cruel of this Line of 5 to end in 36 Cross, a card of grief, pain and burdens, when the preceding cards pointed to social interactions and dates (Letter + Garden) and love (Heart), possibly even long-lasting or permanent love (Heart + Anchor).

The cards, however, clearly suggested the “permanency” (Anchor) of the relationship would become a burden (Cross) and the querent would ultimately regret her foray into the social world of online dating (Anchor to the left of Cross).

Whip as the base card (bottom card of the shuffled deck) spoke of arguments, strife, animosity and perhaps even emotional abuse (Heart + Whip) on the increase.

I pulled one final card to illuminate the result and 12 Birds showed up, suggesting worry, stress, anxiety and disappointment with a relationship started via online dating.

Lenormand Piatnik 12 Birds
12 Birds

 

When I explained what the cards were saying, the querent was silent for a moment. Then she thoughtfully replied that she wasn’t really that surprised, for the cards had mirrored her inner conviction that another relationship (whether initiated online or through more conventional means) would ultimately prove to be oppressive and burdensome.

She actually seemed somewhat relieved that the cards didn’t give her a green light!

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins