The other morning I did a basic 3-card spread to see how my day was going to go. I got whip centered but couldn’t figure out who I’d be arguing with or why since I was recovering from a health issue and had no plans but to take it easy.
My clarifying spread was worse, so I pulled nine cards to clarify the day. It was mostly a bunch of chaos with the whip centered again. I was concerned but went about the day, only to spend most of it asleep on the couch before retiring early.
Lesson: chaotic spreads mean you aren’t supposed to ask, and sometimes the whip is just you arguing with yourself.
Breaking in a new deck and I did a basic 3-card “what’s in store today” pull.
dog + fish + key
I figured this was probably going to be fairly literal as I’m spending the weekend watching the dogs.
I don’t pull extra cards for the same question. I might do a follow up drawing for clarity but pulling more cards for the same reading is cheating, and generally just muddies the water.
Alas, I was tempted to pull two more cards, just to see what would happen with the key as the central card.
The result: dog + fish + key + moon + sun
Conclusion: I need to shuffle this deck more. Some cards are still sticking together. Also, adding cards to a spread is still cheating.
before I left for work today I on a whim pulled a random tarot card and I got death which is a positive card in general but it also made me laugh because I asked the cards "What's my work shift at the funeral home gonna be like today?" And I got death. Like yes ha ha you guys are hilarious. Making me pull that very on the nose card. Yes, death will be there it will be death-like at the funeral home. very funny
The more I read these cards the more opinions I form on what a good deck needs. Multiple man/woman cards are good! BUT you need one of each to face left and right (so the significators can look toward/away from each other). The cards facing toward you is not particularly useful!
The full list of Lenormand cards with pips. Each group is a row in the grand tableau. My first deck was literally a stack on index cards with the information written on it.
The full list of Lenormand cards with pips. Each group is a row in the grand tableau. My first deck was literally a stack on index cards with the information written on it.
I’m in a couple of different Lenormand groups online. I like to practice interpreting the spreads, but I also enjoy looking for other interpretations. If I can’t immediately figure out how someone came to a certain conclusion, I’ll ask about their method. I’ve learned some neat tricks this way!
Recently someone told me she only does the grand tableau—laying out all 36 cards in four rows of 8 cards, with the last 4 cards centered beneath—but then finds the significator card for the specific question and reads a 9-card box spread centered on that card.
It’s interesting for two reasons: since all the cards are laid out you know significator will make an appearance, and also because if you need further clarification you have the entire grand tableau to draw on.
I tried it and realized immediately that I need to practice my box spreads. 😬
Let’s give it a try!
I’m going to do a financial reading for a friend.
The grand tableau:
Remember, for this reading we just want to look into financials! The card we’re looking for is the fish, and the cards immediately surrounding it. (Note: I do not yet know how to read this if the fish had been on a border and couldn’t be centered.)
DON’T PANIC! Yes, there are some scary-looking cards in this spread but everything depends on context. Let’s break it down.
There are two ways to read a box spread. You can go traditional and just read the three rows and three columns as if they’re six different spreads about the same topic. Alternatively, you can incorporate some other cartomancy traditions and read the corners and diagonals making ~10 spreads about the topic. The second option takes forever.
In a box spread the central card tells you the gist of the question.
Fish, for wealth
Now the rows!
Row 1 for conscious: bouquet+dog+sun. Friend hooks them up with a good gig
Row 2 for reality: scythe+fish+clover. Easy money coming to an end
Row 3 for unconscious: cross+clouds+tree. Buckle down. Something is uncertain, growth might not be as projected
After rows, we read columns. This will be familiar with tarot folks.
Column 1 for past: bouquet+scythe+cross. Unexpected social invitation causes strain.
Column 2 for present: dog+fish+clouds. An abundance of friends, but uncertain what you value/prioritize
Column 3 for future: sun+clover+tree. Small victories, improved growth!
Putting it all together:
It looks like you got a decent job through a friend, but the time for easy money is coming to an end. You need to tamp down your spending because things are going to be slower for a while. It looks like you spent a bunch on last- minute social stuff recently. Right now you’re having a hard time balancing between spending time with your friends and spending money. You’ll get better at this, and you won’t be short on money all the time.
This is a pretty accurate reading for the friend in question, so I’m not going to mess with corners and diagonals unless I get bored later and want to practice.
A while back I started doing a daily 2-card draw with the question “Who should I worry about or check on today?” Two cards seems to work for identifying someone and it gives me an excuse to reach out to people. If I’m curious, I can always ask more questions.
Who should I worry about today?
Rider + animus/man
*gasps* a gentleman caller? For me?!
Rider is usually news or fleeting/transient status in the querent’s life. Animus is a signifier for a masc individual or masculinity. So a message from an unknown masc.
Let’s ask another question!
What’s this about?
lily + dog + coffin
Okay, that looks bad but the coffin is rarely as ominous as it seems.
Lily = sex/sensuality or ethics/morality/wisdom
Dog = friendship or loyalty
Coffin = endings, suppression, buried
Read as a sentence: if I had friends with benefits thing going, this might mean that was about to end. (lily+dog+coffin)
Mirroring: friendly sex (Lily+dog) and buried/suppressed friendship (dog+coffin), which could actually be the start of a FWB thing, I guess.
I suppose this mystery will be solved if/when it crops up!
“What do I need to know” readings weren’t working out for me, probably because I go nowhere and meet nobody. So I decided to switch it up.
I started doing a two-card reading with the question “Who do I need to worry about/for today?” It’s worked really well so far, and sometimes it gives me an excuse to reach out to old friends I haven’t talked to in a while.
I am recovering from another health thing and asked who I should worry about today.
Fox + tower
In this context it pretty clearly states I need to take care of myself (fox=self interest/care, tower=isolation). I particularly like how this deck (Seventh Sphere) looks like the fox is taking food back to the tower!
It’s funny because people tend to react to fox as a “bad” card. It’s often a signifier for a selfish, sneaky person or the other man in a relationship.
Tower similarly scares people, but I think that’s just a reaction from its meaning in tarot. In Lenormand the tower can mean loneliness or isolation, but just about the worst it can stand for is ego. It’s pretty neutral.
Just a reminder to keep the context of your question in mind when you read.
nearly done with the swords suit. whew. i had to change the vines a bit due to hand and wrist pain.
the entire suit will be available for view, as well as other works, at push/pull in seattle, beginning september 13th until november. hope to see local pals there.
Thought I’d check out a highly recommended book on cartomancy, but it’s just incomprehensible mean girl stream-of-conscious shit. I’ll still go through it for useful stuff, but it’s like a throwback to junior high students venting on their blogs in free verse.
It’s come to my attention that some folks are under the impression that this is a joke about tarot decks with funny suit names and are not acquainted with the traditional iconography of the Seven of Wands, so for reference:
gamechangershow
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
izzy806
yousharknotpass
romaincrisis
kianamaiart
