7 Day Lenormand, page 5
SHIP (3) +FISHES (34) + STAR (16)
The STAR bodes well, for it signifies “Good luck in all enterprises” according to the Phillippe Sheet. For fortune and money (FISHES) the SHIP brings the fortune to the Sitter “after a series of successful undertakings”.
The sitter has been through a series of negotiations with her employers. This reading suggests that this will be effective, and she will benefit financially. However, there is a warning that any financial reward must be invested carefully and with as little risk as possible. The money must not be blown on a Caribbean cruise. I read this in this way because the historical context of the Ship carries the significance of foreign ventures which were always at risk to the investment.
A Deeper Reading
In this final example, I would like to show in brief that the Lenormand be used for deeper readings.
Q. How best to promote a better relationship with an estranged or distant relative?
TREE (5) + MAN (28) + KEY (33)
This indicates health and family roots (tradition) with a man in the centre and an unlocking or locking. We might read this simply as “roots of the man are the key” or “unlocking the man and his roots”. This offers a very psychological interpretation. The man must be made sure of his own family traditions and roots.
Optional Exercise
Use the method of selecting and locating a ‘key-card’ with a real question, producing a three-card reading where the central card is the ‘key-card’ suitable for the question.
This is great practice towards the Grand Tableaux reading at the end of the week.
Day 5. NINE CARD READING (Rows)
Today, we simply repeat what we have learnt with three-card readings to conduct a nine-card reading. Tomorrow, I give several real examples in addition to one today, but you can read ahead a little if it is helpful.
To conduct a nine-card reading, we simply shuffle and lay out three rows of three cards, making a square of nine.
Make sure you ask a clear question!
We then read the top row as things ‘bearing down’ on the situation, past, present and future. The middle row is simply past, present and future. The bottom row are things that we can change or influence – so, “advice”, past, present and future.
The bottom-left card is ‘advice in the past’, then, and this tends to be how you can see something better in the past, let it go, or resolve a past part of the present situation.
I will first give a real example, then I will present todays exercise – which is to conduct a nine-card reading.
A Nine Card Reading of Three Rows
Q. What is the best prospect for improving my finances?
CLOUDS + STAR + SCYTHE
BIRDS + COFFIN + BOOK
SUN + BOUQUET + DOG
On the top row, bearing down on the client, we have the SCYTHE in the future, which is a card of danger – and an issue of timing. This affects the STAR which is in the present position, indicating that happiness is under pressure from time. The CLOUDS are the uncertainty from the past. There is no clear indication of stability in the past from which to build in the present. In fact, as per the Philippe Sheet; “but if near clouds, it means a long series of unhappy accidents”.
This shows us (correctly, as it is confirmed by the client) that there have been several incidents in the past which have significantly affected their finances out of the blue; there has been no chance to build up a stable income, despite following a vision; and that there is a timing issue to make a particular payment which is now bearing down on the client.
A 9 Card Layout
Interestingly, we have no specific work or financial cards in the row, such as the Fish, Fox, Bear, Ship or Tower. This suggests that it is a personal or emotional issue rather than a purely practical constraint in finances.
In the centre row, the BOOK finds itself next to the COFFIN and tells of discovering a secret or a revelation which brings about an ending. The COFFIN is next to the BIRDS which indicates the ending of hardships. A revelation and new openness will win the situation over. If we word it another way, the current situation will end, bringing about a new opening in the future. The BIRDS in the past show that previous distractions - or the opinion and advice of other people - are no longer relevant.
In the bottom row of advice, the DOG finds itself sat next to the BOUQUET. A faithful and sincere friend brings the gift of “much happiness in every respect”. The BOUQUET is next to the SUN and “points to happiness and pleasure, as it its beams spread warmth and light” in the situation in question.
There is clearly a transition point in the financial life of the client currently, and the cards suggest that past performance is causing them to doubt their future. Whilst this seems obvious in any case, it is clear confirmation that the cards have picked up the situation.
In the past, they have been distracted by the advice or chatter of other people, and now they must write a new narrative for themselves in the future – a new book.
They are advised to trust someone whose gift will bring them much happiness and support – and this in turn will improve their finances.
Exercise 1
Conduct your own nine-card reading with a real question. Read the central row first, then the upper row followed by the bottom row for advice.
If you get stuck, write down the keywords or “what you say” sentences and use the first exercises to build up your reading in smaller sections.
You can also walk away from the reading for a little while and then return to it with a new perspective – sometimes a Lenormand reading can first appear meaningless and then suddenly become blindingly obvious.
Day 6. NINE CARD READING (Columns)
We will first look at another real reading, and this time introduce the reading of the three vertical columns. This adds even more depth to the reading and prepares us for the Grand Tableaux.
A Nine Card Reading with Columns
Q: How can I gain balance again in my emotional state?
In this optional method, I choose a ‘key card’ (not always the Key card!) or ‘significator’ to place in the centre of the reading first, and then I lay out eight cards around it in a square. This is an alternative method which you can also try!
I choose the HEART card for the central key-card in this case, as it is clearly a question about emotions.
As we have already seen, the top cards bear down on the situation whilst the bottom cards can be affected by the Client. On the middle row, the card to the left simply represents the past and the card to the right represents the future.
RIDER (1) + FOX (14) + BOOK (26)
MOUNTAIN (21) + HEART (24) + GARDEN (20)
SUN (31) + BOUQUET (9) + DOG (18)
In this reading, I read the direct past and future cards in the middle line first, as they are behind and ahead of the key-card. This is identical to the way we read cards in the Grand Tableaux - so is perfect practice.
The MOUNTAIN card shows that there have been obstacles and challenges in the past, so the Sitter had to find an alternative way around their situation. Their emotional life took some sort of detour from its expected route and destination. The GARDEN card in the future shows that this detour will actually put them in a more open relationship with other people. It is a case of not climbing the mountain by oneself but enjoying the garden of life in good company.
The cards pressing down upon the Sitter show that in the past, the situation was changed by something unexpected and new – a delivery of news which caused the detour below it [RIDER above the MOUNTAIN]. We can read the cards above and below each other in this little square, as again this is practice for the Grand Tableaux. We will return to this column when we look at the bottom line.
The future pressing issue is the BOOK. This means that the client must learn something new, and (or) remain an open book. It is about – in context of the original question – remaining open emotionally, expressing oneself and not keeping secrets. We can check this when we see that the BOOK is above the GARDEN. The Sitter must become open in a social sense, widening their ability to learn from other people as well as sharing their own self with a wider circle.
The FOX in the present shows that the issue bearing down upon the Sitter is their own sense of self-sufficiency. They may feel as if they are being out-foxed, or indeed, need to become foxier. This indicates a sense of self-worth which is weighing on their mind and heart. As this is somewhat negative, as I was doing the reading, I pointed out to the Sitter that the answer was below in that column.
This is the BOUQUET card. Their self-worth is a gift to themselves, and to others. There is something which will come out of this situation which will be a great gift to the Sitter and to those who are in their heart.
We now look at the bottom row for the possibilities for action, in terms of dealing with the past and setting up the best for the future, in the context of the question. We can also now complete any column which we may have already started to read in the first two rows.
The SUN is in the past, and this shows that the good luck and expansion that the Sitter enjoyed in the past is now something on which they must continue to draw.
There is a lot of energy already in the last which is not separate to the present. We can see too that this is the key to the RIDER and the MOUNTAIN situation in the past – even though there was news that caused a diversion, there was great success throughout the past. So, there is still much light to see the way ahead, and the MOUNTAIN is now in the past. The way ahead is clear, even with the change in journey; it was a detour that can still cast a great light on the present and future situation, as well as the emotional state of the Sitter.
The DOG is in the future of the affection row, indicating that the Sitter can be a loyal friend – to their own emotional state. They can trust the DOG even though they also have to reconcile themselves to the FOX. In fact, these two cards are the key to their reconciliation; one is domestic, one is wild. These two parts of themselves seek reconciliation; the loyal friend and the self-sufficient partner.
The DOG is the final key, in the bottom-right corner, under the BOOK and GARDEN. An increasing sense of openness, expression to others and authenticity to self is the answer to reconcile the current emotional state.
Exercise 1
Consider the following nine-card reading and how you would interpret it for this question from a small business “How can we gain more income for project X?”
The nine cards drawn are:
MOUNTAIN (21) + ANCHOR (25) + DOG (18)
BOOK (26) + FISHES (34) + TREE (5)
SUN (31) + BOUQUET (9) + GENTLEMAN (28)
What does the centre line say, and what is bearing down on the project? Will it generally be easy or difficult to gain more income for the project? What does the business have most control over, and how might they proceed?
Exercise 2
Conduct a nine-card reading using both the rows and columns for your own chosen question.
Day 7. THE GRAND TABLEAUX
On this final day, we now turn to the Grand Tableaux reading using all 36 cards – bringing together everything we have learnt this week.
A Grand Tableaux is a layout of all 36 cards in four rows of nine cards – alternatively, four rows of eight cards with four cards placed the bottom of the layout. We will stick to four rows of nine.
There are many techniques that can be employed in reading this layout, including Houses, Chaining, Distance, Facing, and Knighting. In this book, I will just be covering Houses and Chaining – but you do not even need these to conduct a good reading.
CHAINING
To conduct a Grant Tableaux (big picture) reading we can use all the skills we have learnt this week. We can start by using the simplest way of reading two cards – like we learnt with the DOG and the HOUSE seven days ago – and just repeat it across the whole spread.
We usually look to the GENTLEMAN or LADY card, depending on the Sitter, and read from that card.
In fact, it is good to lay out a Grand Tableaux (GT) reading even if you only read a few pairs in it, because it will get you used to seeing a lay out of all the cards. Sometimes, even as an absolute beginner, you will see a particular pattern that has profound significance to the question.
Of course, we want to do a lot more with the Grand Tableaux, and there are many additional layers in reading this spread – but for now, we will just add one method, which is CHAINING.
Chaining is a method of linking cards and their positions (“houses”) throughout a Grand Tableaux. It allows us to easily weave a story and it also deepens the whole reading – sometimes to very accurate and profound significance.
You can read the GT today without chaining (and houses), but I offer it here, so you can have a go at it if you want!
First, we just have to know about the “houses”, and this is why we spent our second day learning about the order and numbering of the cards. As you continue to practice, this will become easier – for today, we will just do the method step-by-step and give a full example of using it.
HOUSES
When we lay out a Grand Tableaux, we lay out the cards in one of two ways. In this case we are using a simple rectangle of 4 rows by 9 columns. So, we lay nine cards across in a line, then another nine cards below them, until we have four rows of cards below each other in a rectangle.
Now, there are no real “positional meanings” to the cards in a Grand Tableaux as there might be in a tarot card spread, such as the middle card being “Your Situation Now”, or a top-right card being “Hopes and Fears”.
But – there are “Houses”. The Houses are actually very straight-forward. Imagine that we have already laid out the deck in numbered order in the same pattern. So, we have the Rider (1) laid down first, then the Clover (2), then the Ship (3) and so on. The Cross (36) would be in the final position at the bottom right of the rectangle.
This would be one of the ways in which the cards of the Game of Hope would be laid out for a parlour game.
This gives us “meanings” for those positions, and it also gives us a connection to another card through chaining.
The Houses
We aren’t covering the meanings, but you can find out more about those in the recommended books at the end of this book. They are pretty straight-forward, and based on the card, so the first position of the Rider (1) is considered “News” in the situation. The final position of the Cross (36) is either the outcome or the biggest challenge of the situation.
So, if we had the Fish in the first position and the Scythe in the final position, it might suggest “News about Resources” and a “Challenge about Time”. If the question was “Will I get a promotion in this current job”, this reading might indicate something quite negative!
In chaining, we start with one card – any card that we are reading in the Tableaux, say the Lady card for a woman, and look at the position it is in, and see the card which would be in that position in sequence. This is the “house” (not to be confused with the card called the House!) and we can then go look for that card in the reading and read it as part of a story.
In turn, we then see which position and house that card is in and go look for that card – and so on, weaving a story, until we return to a card we have read already and end the story.
Make sense? It’s easier to do than explain – and you can even have a client do it with you, particularly if you get a sheet on which the houses/positions are already marked. Another trick is to simply lay out another Lenormand deck on the table first, in sequence, and lay your reading cards on top of those cards.
Example of Chaining
Here is an example which was taken from a real reading. You can look at each card to get a feeling of how I put the card and house together. These are also from a chain, so you can follow along with the chain as we put the meaning together:
The CHILD is in the house of the ROD; there is a situation of Quarrels. The inner child of the Sitter may feel like a child that is being chastised as she is in the house of conflict.
The ROD is in the house of the MOON, “the sign of great honours and fortune”, this means well for the querents issue but currently affects her self-worth.
The MOON is the house of the WAY. What is reflected on the Sitter is coming from the choices they are making.
The WAY is in the house of the RING a commitment to the way. These choices are about commitment.
The RING is the house of the GARDEN this is a meeting of “respectable company” but means that the Sitter is trying to commit to too much or too many people.
The GARDEN is the house of the BEAR, the over-commitment is an issue arising from the Mother of the Sitter and her upbringing.
The BEAR is the house of the STORK, “A change of abode” away from the mother is advised, and the STORK is the house of the FOX, becoming self-sufficient.
As the Client presently lives with her mother, this reading has immediate impact.
Exercise 1. The Grand Tableaux Layout.
Shuffle all the cards and lay them out face-up in four rows of nine cards.
A. Locate the GENTLEMAN card if you are male or the LADY card if you are female.
Conduct a nine-card reading around that card.
If it is close to the edge of the layout, read the cards that are close to the LADY or GENTLEMAN. If there is nothing to their right, the answer is in the past, if there is nothing to their left, the past can be ignored. If there is nothing above them, they have a lot of choice, if there is nothing below them, they have a lot pressing down on them.
B. Next, choose an area in life, such as relationships, locate the appropriate card in the layout, the HEART, and conduct a nine-card reading around that card.
