Lenormand cards

Lenormand is a cartomancy system used for divination. It consists of a single group of 36 cards, each of which has a corresponding playing card suit and number, known as pips.

Lenormand is usually read from left to right in the manner of a story, with each card adding to or augmenting the previous one. The lowest number of cards usually pulled for Lenormand is 2, these cards are then read together, for example Dog represents friendship and loyalty, Mice represents decay and pollution, together they could be read as a dwindling friendship.

Common Lenormand spreads are 3 cards, 5 cards, and the more detailed 9 card spread. There is even a spread that uses all 36 cards called the Grand Tableau.

When Lenormand spreads contain 3 or 5 cards you would usually read them in sets of two. So in a 3 card spread you would read cards 1 and 2 together, then cards 2 and 3 together. In a 5 card spread you would read cards 1 and 2 together, then cards 2 and 3, then cards 3 and 4, then cards 4 and 5.

You can also mirror these kinds of readings, where you imagine you are folding the reading down the middle where the central card is, this way you can also pair cards 1 and 3 in a 3 card reading, or cards 1 and 5 in a five card reading as well as 2 and 4.

3 or 5 card readings can also be interpreted with the middle card as the central theme or the querent and the outer most cards as the foundation of the reading.

The more cards you add to a Lenormand reading the more complicated it gets, but you also gain more insight into your situation.

9 card readings are the biggest you will usually do. They are read vertically and diagonally as well as horizontally, with the middle card being the central theme. Unlike 2, 3, and 5 card Lenormand readings the 9 card versions have categories; past, present, future, conscious, reality, unconscious, the central theme and the four corners as the foundations.

9 card Lenormand readings can take hours to work through.

The Grand Tableau is an advanced spread and not for the faint of heart. 36 cards all needing to be read in relation to each other. This spread also puts each card into a category, though it works differently from the 9.

For more detailed information on how to read Lenormand I highly recommended Labrynthos, both the site and app are very well made.