Okay, Fine, a List of Meanings for the Cards,
if You Insist
I relegate this chapter to the hinterland of the appendices because it is, in one important sense, unnecessary, even harmful, to create formulaic interpretations of the Lenormand cards. Yet I’m aware that some readers will insist on it, and for those who wish to use this book to learn to read the cards, a list of such meanings might be of some use for inspiration, rather than formulaic cut-and-paste interpretations.
To that end, and in keeping with the purpose and spirit of this book, these are essentially meditations rather than meanings. They’re also personal: they’re my meanings, gleaned from several sources and my own experiences with the cards. You will create your own meanings with experience. Having a section like this does give me an excuse to provide some historical context, which I do with all the historical method and skill of a student of literature and not of history. Which is to say, I probably make more than a few historical errors, despite my best efforts.
So take this section in that spirit, Dear Reader (as an eighteenth-century writer might say), and with a sense of playfulness rather than dogma. If anyone dares say, “Well, Dunn says this card means … ” I shall be very, very grumpy.
1. Rider
Imagine you live in the early nineteenth century for a moment. If you want to have an extended conversation with someone, they need to come to you or you need to go to them. Moreover, the fastest you’ve ever traveled is about 25 miles per hour. A visitor, therefore, is a big deal, but it’s also a common occurrence. Anyone who has come to see you has done so at some personal difficulty, but they also do so on a daily basis, without giving it much thought.
That’s the tension of the Rider, who represents a visitor or messenger. In our modern world, the Rider is coming a short distance, perhaps on a bike. This is the neighbor who brings you over a casserole when you’re feeling ill. It’s the friend who drops by for coffee. And, of course, if you’re reading for a querent, it may be you or the querent: whichever one of you is the visitor in the other’s home.
I feel obligated to point out the obligation of visitors. Showing up at someone’s house means you’re subject to our society’s unwritten hospitality laws, which are strict and unspoken. The guest must bring something as tribute, and must not impose upon the host; the host, in turn, must provide anything the guest needs without quibble or stinginess. This is the card that invokes that hospitality.
The Rider also offers a bit of a threat: the words for “guest” and “host” are actually related to each other etymologically, and both are related to our word “hostile.” So look at the cards surrounding the Rider to find his or her attitude.
The cards after the Rider sometimes indicate what the Rider brings: Flowers are gifts, Letters are—letters. Birds are conversation or news. What about the Whip? Pain, perhaps, but also perhaps other kinds of exertion. (Ahem.) The cards following might also indicate what kind of visitor it is to be: a Tree might indicate a family member. Dog is a friend. Bear might indicate a person in power over you: time to impress the boss with your cooking.
2. Clover
The clover in my yard has nearly choked out the witchgrass and creeping charlie. And good thing, too: clover is easy to care for. It’s no work at all, and it’s pretty and pleasant. This is the card of “ahh, nice, I didn’t expect that.” We tend to think of clovers as lucky tokens, and this is a lucky card. Everything here is coming up clover.
This card is about things that are easy, lucky, and pleasant.
The shamrock, a particular species of clover, is a symbol of Ireland because St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, used it as a symbol of the trinity. Therefore, this symbol can represent things that come in threes. In the right combination, it might talk about two becoming three, as when a couple has a child.
Sometimes the card in combination reveals the sort of lucky stroke we can expect. If followed by Bear, it might be a windfall. If you’re a creative person, and it’s followed by Star, it might well indicate a sudden burst of inspiration.
3. Ship
Again, in the nineteenth century, if you wanted to go for any worthwhile trip, you needed something a bit faster and more comfortable than a horse. This was the ship. Now, of course, we have landships in the shape of cars, and airships in the shape of airplanes. This card can mean “long-distance travel.” If you couldn’t walk there or take a bike, this trip is one represented by Ship.
Some systems put commerce here, but I only read it this way if the commerce specifically involves shipping.
Ships involved some degree of risk, of course, from pirates, storms, and just plain bad luck. Our long-distance travel is a lot safer than it once was, but sometimes this card, if followed by something worrying like Mice or Cross, might indicate travel difficulties: a flat tire, a speeding ticket, or worse. When this card follows a person card, it often indicates a foreigner or someone from far away.
Because long trips often throw us in with strangers, this card can indicate the unknown or distant, especially in more philosophical readings.
In a day-to-day reading, it’s just the far away. The cards after sometimes indicate what kind of trip or the destination. Home is a return trip. Birds can indicate air travel. Flowers is a vacation, while Fox might be a business trip.
4. House
Even the birds have their nests to come home to. This card is the place you lay your head at night. It’s also everything you keep at home: your family, your things, and sometimes your investments.
Metaphorically, we used to refer to a person’s family as their house. This card still means that, as well: your immediate family lives here. When followed by happy cards, like Flowers, this means a happy family. When followed by Scythe, it might mean a break with family: sometimes just an argument, sometimes divorce.
This card is also a person card, and thus can represent a man: usually a father, if not the querent’s father. Here combinations become tricky: if followed by Cross, does this mean an unhappy family, or a priest (a “father” of the cross)? And this is exactly why I don’t think a list of formulaic meanings will do you much good: in a real reading, context will make it abundantly clear how you read this combination, and intuition must feed into that. You can’t write intuition.
5. Tree
Our feet are roots, our spine is a trunk, and our hands and head are branches. The tree is the body itself.
Our body comes from our ancestors, and we speak of “family trees.” Where House is the family you live with or near, the Tree is our ancestors. And, of course, the oldest human spiritual system is reverence of ancestors, so this card can also indicate that kind of spirituality.
Giving a health reading is usually a bad idea, for several reasons. If someone substitutes cartomancy for health care, they’re making a pretty poor decision. Also, if you predict disaster and are wrong, you’ll make someone panic without any good reason; and if you give an “all clear” to someone who really should see a doctor, you could be in serious legal trouble. On the other hand, if reading for yourself how long it’ll take for the medicine to start working or for the bone to knit, and you’ve already gone to a doctor and just want to know, there’s no harm in doing a reading with Tree as a signifier for health.
In traditional systems of reading, sometimes Tree was regarded as a negative card when it occurred close to the signifier. I don’t use this method of interpretation, but some people still do. I see Tree, like Ship, as a neutral card. Followed by something pleasant, like Clover or Flowers, it means health and physical beauty. Followed by Mice, it might mean a minor or annoying health problem. Followed by Mountain, it can indicate blockages. If followed by Cross, it could be something more serious.
Some people like to read with Tree representing karma, an extension of the “family tree” meaning, with the idea that our karma is a result of our family as well as our past. Here’s one of those times when you decide before a reading that you want to read it that way: you just tell yourself, this question involves fate and karma. Tree will represent that part of the question in this reading.
6. Clouds
Where did I put my pen? Wait, what time is it? How did I forget to eat lunch? And have I been wearing this shirt inside-out all day?
Clouds is confusion and obscurity. When it appears in a reading, it’s a big shrug.
Some cards, in traditional styles of reading, are read according to their orientation. If you notice, this card in your deck probably has a dark cloud on one side, and a light cloud on the other. Traditionally, those cards on the dark side represent things that are obscured or confused, while those on the other side represent things clearing up. If House is on the dark side, for example, it might mean there’s a secret someone in your family is keeping. If House is on the light side, it might mean the lifting of a dark cloud at your house.
You’ll notice that Clouds is a person card, the King of Clubs. As usual, clubs are a bit negative: this isn’t necessarily a happy person. Perhaps it’s someone whose mind is confused, or someone who likes to confuse others. If this is followed by Snake, I might even think of a con man. If it’s followed by Lily, I’d imagine it’s an older person who has suffered some loss of cognitive abilities.
When Clouds is paired with Fox, it can mean confusion and disorder at work. If Bear, better check your account books. If paired with Tower, I tend to think bureaucracy and endless forms. If it’s close to April, I think “taxes.”
7. Snake
I rather like snakes. Growing up, we had a massive bull snake that ate mice in the barn. We left it alone, and of course it left us alone. But I also learned a healthy respect: bull snakes are peaceful, and garter snakes are nearly harmless, but even they can nip. We’ve also got rattlesnakes out in rural Illinois, and a couple times I’d hear a dry shuffle and whisper and decide to walk in a different part of the farm that day.
In the Lenormand, though, Snake is something you don’t turn your back on, no matter how peaceful the breed. This is the card of betrayal, sniping, poison, and complexity. Sometimes, Snake just means a tangle; other times, it might mean sarcasm or biting wit. And sometimes it means a devious person.
At the same time, not all devious people are bad. Some might even be allies, as long as you remember that their goal isn’t necessarily to be your friend.
Obviously, there’s a biblical parallel here, with the most subtle beast of the Garden of Eden offering Eve the apple that caused all the trouble (or all the fun, if you think the Garden sounded kind of dull). Temptation might show up as the Snake, even for those who don’t necessarily believe this story. Unfair to the poor snakes, perhaps, but there it is.
This is also a person card: here, a woman, usually a bit older, or perhaps with a devious personality.
8. Coffin
It amuses me slightly that this card, which seems pretty grim, actually isn’t all that bad, while Cross, which seems nice enough, is often pretty grim. It almost exactly parallels the general perception of XIII–Death in the tarot. And, in fact, Coffin shares a lot of meaning with that card: it means endings, completion, being boxed up. So having it followed by House might mean a death in the family, but it might just mean boxing up your stuff to move out. In general, don’t predict death: you’ll be wrong most of the time. And if you’re reading for yourself, you’ll be right only once.
Endings are a kind of change, and so Coffin can mean things are changing. After all, life goes on.
In the nineteenth century, it was common to set out the coffin for viewing in the deceased’s home rather than a funeral parlor. In fact, some nineteenth-century homes would have a family coffin they’d store in the attic and trot out during deaths for such an occurrence. After the viewing, the deceased would be placed in a less expensive coffin for burial. Some very old houses have nooks at the staircase landings, so that one could position the coffin down the stairs. None of this has anything to do with the meaning of the card, but is really interesting.
9. Bouquet or Flowers
Flowers are the sexual organs of plants. Fruit is a plant’s ovaries. Next time you eat an apple, remember: you’re crunching into a delicious tree ovary, and the next time you smell a rose, you’re sticking your nose in the genitals of a plant.
Strangely, however, this card isn’t really sexual: instead, it’s a card of innocent fun and beauty. It’s the card of art. Followed by Star, it might be music, or just a beautiful mind. It’s also the card of gifts, of course, and decorations. Followed by Tree, it might represent makeup or other efforts at personal beautification. Followed by the Sun, it’s stunning beauty. Followed by the Moon, it might be a celebrity.
This, too, is a person card: here, usually a young, pretty woman, innocent and perhaps flighty.
There’s also the tradition of tossing the bouquet at weddings. This derives from a number of old traditions of the bride offering gifts to the wedding party, including bits of her own clothing. The idea here is surrendering what you once had and will never need again: the gown you were married in, the flowers that decorated your innocence, and so on. The tradition evolved to a toss and the idea that whoever got the bouquet would be the next to marry. This card can indicate marriage or availability. If it follows another person card, it could mean that person is attractive, but it could also mean they’re single.
10. Scythe
This the card of abrupt endings. If you were to dig through eighteenth and nineteenth century poetry, you’d find scythes mentioned often. They’re symbols of time, of ending, of harvest, and of sudden death. The swift and irreversible action of the scythe also makes it a card of choices with no going back.
In the European tradition, the Scythe is often interpreted as “cutting” the card on the side of the blade (usually the right side). So when followed by Mountain, it means “cutting through a delay.” When followed by Cross or Mice, it might mean “cutting through worry or annoyances.” Followed by Anchor, it may mean a sudden change of lifestyle, or a “coming unmoored.”
I tend to lump everything sharp and pokey in with this card. It’s surgery, sculpting, and even cooking if the context supports those interpretations.
11. Whip, Birch, or Broom
Whack!
We live now in a time, mercifully, when we no longer regard it as a civilized or helpful act to beat children with rods. And, thank goodness, it’s no longer a given that a husband should, from time to time, smack his wife. In fact, it’s reprehensible.
And yet we’re still knocked about by other kinds of birches and brooms. This is the card of a good drubbing, either physically or, more often for the lifestyle most of us lead, metaphorically. Even verbal arguments (especially if followed by Birds) show up here, and punishment of an official nature might be indicated if followed by Tower or Book.
At the same time, because we used to regard—quite wrongly—physical reinforcement as essential to discipline, this card can also mean acts that take a lot of discipline. If you’re asking about your violin performance, this card might represent practice. If you’re an athlete, it represents exertion of all types, as well as exercise.
In fact, there’s one type of exercise that Sylvie Steinbach associates with this card specifically: sexual exercise. I don’t think she’s making a joke about sadomasochism here: it’s just that the line between pain and pleasure is a fuzzy one, as any marathon runner can tell you.
12. Birds or Owls
Here we have two birds singing to each other. Most birdsong, incidentally, is either establishing territory or inviting a mate. Those beautiful songs boil down to “Hey, I’m available” or “My tree! Back off!” Human conversation, on a day-to-day basis, is often pretty similar: it’s mostly grooming behavior. “Good morning, how are you?” is really saying “I am friendly to you.” Well, it beats eating each other’s lice, which is what our primate cousins do instead.
This card therefore indicates conversation, or less politely, gossip. It is one of several cards of communication, but where Letter is written communication, this card represents spoken communication or rumor.
The card after it often indicates the subject or quality of the conversation. Whip indicates oneupmanship, or argument. Followed by House, it’s a family meeting. Followed by Fox, it’s workplace conversation. And followed by Cross, it’s bad news. If followed by Garden, it’s a group conversation.
Traditionally this card has also referred to things that come in pairs. So if you see it near Child, it might indicate twins if the context supports it. And if asking a question about time, it might mean two days, weeks, months, or years.
13. Child
Obviously, this card represents children. But I know a lot of people who refer to their pets as their children, and I often think of my books as children. By extension, then, this card represents anything small that requires our care.
The entire idea of children was a new one to the nineteenth century, which might be a hard thing for us to understand. We assume that there’s a natural category of “child,” but in reality for much of Western history, children were seen as merely small and underdeveloped adults. The child labor of the eighteenth century was a purely practical concern. After all, children were agile and had small hands, very useful for all sorts of work. It was only as the idea that children possessed a valuable quality of innocence grew that putting them to work began to seem regrettable.
The nineteenth century is also the time we began to understand that children learned in a way different from adults. Even our technical term, pedagogy, means “leading children.” This card, then, can also mean education.
The cards that follow this one might give us an indication of what kind of child it is. Followed by a work-related card, like Book or Fox, it could just indicate a new project. Followed by Tower, it can indicate a school or school system. When this card follows other cards, it often means “a little” or “small.” For example, Ship followed by Child could mean a short trip.
14. Fox
Fox is an interesting card from a historical perspective, because it’s one of those cards whose meaning differs a lot from tradition to tradition. In some traditions, it indicates an enemy or betrayal. But in others, it’s a sign of cleverness. And a lot of American readers, following Sylvie Steinbach, use it as the chief indicator of work.
Why is a fox on a card at all? Why not any number of other animals? Because the fox is symbolically important to a particular subset of European culture, in the form of the fox hunt. This diversion, often engaged in by both men and women, involved letting a fox out of a cage and giving it a small head-start, then releasing dogs and chasing after them on horseback. I suspect, due to the mixed genders and general chaos possible in this sport, it served as an excuse to steal a few moments with a member of the opposite sex without a chaperone around. One could always claim that one’s dogs followed the wrong trail, perhaps that of a wild goose.
Foxes were chosen for this sport because they were small, fast, and clever enough to make it a challenge for the dogs. Hence, we get the notion of cleverness out of this sport. But foxes also were predators that attacked chickens and other small farm animals. Having a fox steal your best laying hen was no doubt a frustrating experience, which might account for the symbolism of enmity.
How, then, did it come to mean “work” for some? I don’t know exactly, but it seems to be an extension of the idea that foxes are particularly clever and most of us work at jobs that require more cleverness than other traits. Even those performing physical labor need to think fast on the job; we live in a time when intelligence and quick wits are well-rewarded.
I usually read this card as cleverness and short-term jobs or projects. The card that follows may indicate the kind of job: a Cross might mean a priest or religious vocation, a Book might indicate a writer or scholar, and a Tower is a government job. When this card follows a person card, it either shows that the querent knows him or her from work, or that he or she is particularly clever—although not always in the querent’s favor.
15. Bear
This big fellow is a symbol of power and force for the typical European, partially because of the sport of bear hunting and partially because of the regrettable pastime of bear-baiting, in which a bear bound by a chain is set upon by several dogs, and spectators place bets on which dog will eventually kill it. This latter tradition was popular around Shakespeare’s time, so by the time the Lenormand was invented it was mostly a memory. But it’s worth keeping in mind that in the background of this card is the idea that the big and powerful can be brought down by the small and vicious.
This card indicates two qualities of the bear at the same time. First, it shows the power of the bear: it can often represent a boss or authority figure, particularly an intimidating one. Second, it recalls the bear’s ravenous behavior before it goes to sleep for the winter. This card can represent, therefore, what and how we eat, as well as how we get our food. By extension, then, some people read this card as the card of money and income.
That’s a lot for one card to bear.
16. Stars
If you’ve never been outside of a city, you’ve never really seen the stars. Take a drive out to the country some night, turn off the lights of your car, and sit in the dark for a few minutes. Then you’ll see that the night sky is filled with light. Looking up at these stars makes one think—and that, perhaps, is one of the reasons this card represents the mind. At the same time, it indicates success in endeavor and even “star quality” or creativity. It’s a very all-purpose, positive card.
When it represents the mind, followed by Cross it can indicate a troubled or depressed mind. Followed by Mice, an anxious mind. Followed by Bear it can mean that you have money on your mind, and followed by Book it can indicate creativity, literary or otherwise.
Because of its association with the pentagram, a symbol representing occult tradition, Stars can also indicate an interest in esoteric matters. When it follows a person card, it may indicate such an interest, and when I see it after Book, in my profession, I know it’s probably talking about a book on magic or the occult.
The Star can also indicate a goal or aspiration, especially if the context suggests it.
17. Storks
The Storks are a sign of change, almost always for the better. Storks are migratory birds, so they often indicate a change or move of home. Of course, in modern mythology, we pretend that children are brought by storks, so they can also indicate that kind of change. But in general, they are an improvement in place or circumstances.
The cards following the Storks indicate the type of change. If House, it’s probably a move. If Child, a child. If Ring, an engagement. If Ship, perhaps a long-term trip or a new car. If Letter or Bear, a possible pay raise or promotion.
This is a person card, at least technically. It might indicate a tall, mercurial person, although in my experience it rarely does. Perhaps I just don’t have many such people in my life.
18. Dog
Dogs were among the first animals humans domesticated. Through generations of selective breeding from their wolf ancestors, we’ve created a species of animal that is intelligent enough to work and play by our side. The dog has long been a symbol of loyal service, even when one’s hounds were work animals and not loving pets. The dog’s intelligence elevates it to the status of near-human, which is why many cultures have a taboo against eating dogs (and those cultures that do eat dog usually only eat specific breeds that are never raised as pets).
Dog sometimes does just stand for a pet, but it can also indicate a human friend. When it occurs next to a person card, it usually indicates that the person is familiar to the querent, even if not a friend. Some readers use Dog to represent the partner in a gay relationship.
When Dog stands for a friend, the card after it can indicate what kind of friend or what that friend does for the querent. If it’s Snake, it might be a devious or two-faced friend. If Cross, a counselor or spiritual partner. If Lily, an older friend or mentor. If Ship, a distant friend or a travel companion.
19. Tower
If you read the tarot, do not panic. This isn’t the same kind of Tower as in the tarot card of the same name, although it shares some similarities. This Tower is a watchtower or fortress tower, and represents authority, power, and public buildings of all types.
It can indicate schools, universities, courthouses, and by extension higher education, law, and government. It can also indicate anything metaphorically lofty or high or far-seeing. This card heavily depends on context. In questions about a dispute, it probably means recourse to official arbitration or the courts. In questions about love, though, it might indicate a courthouse where a marriage might occur, or if followed by Cross, a church or other religious building.
Metaphorically, it can also stand for perspective and “rising above it all.”
The cards after it can indicate the type of building, if it is indeed a building. Book will indicate a school, university, or library. Letter will indicate a post office. Ship, a foreign corporation or travel agent or embassy. Lily might indicate a museum, and so on.
20. Garden
What do you do when you’d like to have people over, but your house is just too small—or too messy? Simple: you have a cookout and eat in the yard. Some things rarely change, so Garden indicates public or semipublic gatherings. It’s the party card, whether a dinner party or a potluck.
But the garden also had philosophical meaning to the Romantic imagination. For one thing, it was a place where the creative power of nature met the creative genius of the individual: we could shape nature into our own image. Voltaire’s Candide, for example, ends with the exhortation that we should “cultivate our garden.” This precept, in distinction to the optimism of Pangloss, is simultaneously a reminder that nature is beautiful, including human nature, but it requires cultivation. One cannot simply trust that a garden will grow out of the tilled soil.
So in a more philosophical reading, this card can represent cultivated human nature. In most readings, of course, it will stand for social interaction, and the card after it will describe the kind of interaction. If followed by Moon, it’ll be a party with lots of big names. If it’s followed by Fox, it might be a salon or a work party. If followed by Snake, I’d RSVP my regrets.
21. Mountain
Mountains have always indicated solitude and meditation in the West. Moses’ encounter with God the Lawgiver took place on a mountain, and in the popular culture we have the image of the wise man sitting, meditating, on the peak of a mountain. We also have the odd and expensive (and thoroughly Romantic!) sport of mountain climbing, in which individuals brave great hardship and difficulty in order to scale a giant rock—“because it’s there.”
In a reading, Mountain means a challenge or an obstacle. It often indicates a delay—something you have to go around or climb at great effort. For some people, this notion of a challenge is a source of excitement. Others would rather not have to deal with it.
The card after Mountain indicates the kind of delay or obstacle. If Ship follows it, plan for a delayed flight. If Bear follows it, it might be a blockage in your income. If Fish follows it and you’re asking about a financial venture, it might not be the best investment. If Ring follows it, expect a delayed contract or wedding.
Mountain can also indicate, as I said, challenge or blockage. When it follows Tree, it can indicate a physical or spiritual blockage (Tree + Mountain is the combination indicating constipation. Now you know. If nothing else, you’ve got your money’s worth in that tidbit of knowledge). Star followed by Mountain might indicate an idee fixe, an obsessive thought.
22. Crossroads
The folklore of crossroads stretches back to ancient Greece, where the goddess Hekate guards the meeting of roads, and where statues of Hermes, called Herms, were erected at crossroads. In Rome, you had Trivia, a goddess of the Three Ways, and in later Europe you had a tradition of using crossroads as a place of public execution. Due to all this they became associated with magic, and in American folklore that’s where you meet the devil to learn to play the guitar.
In the Lenormand, the card usually means a choice, a fork in the road literal or metaphorical. The card or two after it may indicate the nature of the choices.
But keep in mind, especially in more esoteric readings, the ancient folklore of this important site. Also, since this is a person card, we can get some clues as the kind of person we’re facing. We’re facing the Queen of Diamonds, but she’s Hekate or Trivia here. She offers a choice, but she’s dark, mysterious, and perhaps a master of occult knowledge.
When this card follows another, it might mean “multiple.” Children + Crossroads might mean many children. Mountain + Crossroads might mean myriad delays.
23. Mice
The poet Robert Burns assures the little mouse he has found in his field that “a daimen icker in a thrave/’S a sma’ request”—which is to say, a single ear of grain in a bundle of twenty-four isn’t too big of a request for a mouse to make from the farmer. But a mouse can eat a heck of a lot more than a daimen icker in a thrave. They can eat the whole thrave, and then foul the rest of the bundles with their feces. When Mouse turns up in a reading, then, it represents loss, theft, and annoyances.
Yet a mouse is a small annoyance, and can be dealt with. This isn’t a card of disaster, usually. It can indicate theft, but in my experience it most often indicates lost objects, annoying breakdowns and failures, and unexpected maintenance costs. When it shows up after House, it can actually signify vermin of some type, or small but urgent repairs. If it follows Anchor, it can mean a plumbing problem, or a dissolute lifestyle, depending on context. If it follows Ship, take your car in for a tune-up, and if it follows Tree, make an appointment with your GP for a checkup.
When I see this card, I tend to think “annoying.” It can also mean “busy, but to no avail,” especially if following Fox. If it follows a person card, it might indicate that the person thus represented is potentially dishonest in a petty way.
24. Heart
The symbol of the heart is a mysterious one. It looks nothing like a human heart at all, so what is it originally? One suggestion is that it is a pair of inverted testicles, which I suppose it could be. The other possibility is that it a pair of buttocks and the vulva. That seems more likely to me. In any event, this is a symbol whose innocence may hide a less innocent origin.
In the Lenormand, this card indicates emotions, usually positive ones although not necessarily. It can also point to courage, as the word courage comes from the same root as the French word for “heart.”
The cards that follow this one indicate the kind of emotion. If it is followed by Stars, Moon, Sun, and other positive cards, it is usually love or happiness. If it’s followed by Clouds, it is a broken heart, confusion, or sadness. If followed by Mountain, it may indicate unrequited love. If followed by Whip, it could indicate sexual attraction.
When this card follows a person card, it signifies an emotional connection, usually love-related. Notice it does not indicate a relationship, necessarily, just the emotion. When I see Heart and Snake, it’s hard not to think of infidelity.
25. Ring
In Anglo-Saxon society, a lord would buy his thegns’ loyalty by offering them gifts, often gold arm rings. Thus, he is sometimes called the Ring-Giver. Such a gift created a contract between the lord and his thegns: he would provide for them, and in return they would protect him and his lands. The wedding ring in modern culture is a similar contract, although the lines of power are—hopefully—less unequal.
Since most querents will only get married a few times (usually in a row), it makes sense to extend the meaning of Ring out from marriage into any kind of contract. After all, most nineteenth-century women had few business prospects outside of marriage. But modern querents probably enter into many contracts in their day-to-day lives.
The card following Ring will indicate the type of contract. Ring + Snake will indicate an unfair or deceptive contract, while Ring + Fish is a business contract, potentially lucrative. Ring + Heart is a clear sign of marriage.
When Ring is close to a person card, it indicates that the querent is in a contract with that person, perhaps that of marriage itself.
26. Book
For bibliophiles like myself, Book is a pleasant card. It can indeed represent an actual physical book, particularly if the context warrants it. For writers, it is the logical signifier for the current writing project. For others, it has a range of metaphorical meanings.
For one thing, it can indicate secrets, as if it were a locked diary hidden away somewhere. It can also indicate the abstract idea of scholarship itself. And it sometimes represents the memory.
When followed by Snake, it can indicate a faulty memory or dangerous secret. When followed by House, it might represent household accounts. Followed by Star, it could indicate a book of poetry, and followed by Moon it may even be a bestseller. That’s a combination I’ve never seen in my own personal readings, sad to say.
Book can also indicate the occult, because of the study involved in it. This interpretation links it, again, to secrets.
27. Letter
I’ve written elsewhere about the vital importance of letters as a means of communication to homebound eighteenth- and nineteenth-century women. The very first novels of the eighteenth century, in fact, are epistolary, or in letter form, because their authors could not imagine a story not told in letters. Until very recently, the post office in England delivered the mail several times a day (at one point, apparently, mail arrived in the city six times every day!). And one of the earliest and most important offices established in the early American colonies was the post office. We forget the importance of letters, perhaps, because we receive so few of them.
On the other hand, we do receive written communications: emails, texts, even blog posts. These pieces of writing are also represented by the card Letter.
Letter can also represent paperwork in general. The cards following it give either the content of the letter, or the nature of the paperwork.
For example, if Letter is followed by Mountain, it’s a delayed letter. If followed by House, it’s home-related paperwork. If followed by Bear, it’s a bill, while Heart or Dog indicates a more friendly, personal communication.
28. Gentleman
This card represents the querent if male. Otherwise, it represents the most important man in the querent’s life.
29. Lady
This card represents a female querent or the most important woman in the querent’s life. In my experience, these genders are fluid: do not assume that Lady always represents a woman. Sometimes I think these cards should be renamed Self and Other, leaving gender out of it. But gender was of vital importance to the nineteenth century—it was destiny.
30. Lily
This card displays a wide variety of meanings, from sexuality to spiritual peace. You can almost identify the tradition of Lenormand reader by his or her meaning of this card. In Europe, it often means sexuality or pleasure. In America, especially among those who ascribe sexuality to the Whip, it is a symbol of peace, satisfaction, completion, and age.
Being a person card, it can indicate an older man (or woman), often a mentor or sage figure.
When Lily follows a card representing a physical object, I like to think of it as meaning something like “old” or “venerable.” So Book + Lily might mean an old book, and Ship + Lily might mean an antique car, if such a meaning is appropriate to the context. At other times, I take Lily to mean “peaceful,” so when it follows a negative card I read it as the wisdom to deal with the problem represented. For example, Cross + Lily implies worry and difficulties overcome through wisdom and serenity.
31. Sun
This card is one of those confluences of meaning between the Lenormand and the tarot. It has almost the same range of meanings as the tarot’s Sun. Many contemporary readers take a psychological approach, using Sun to indicate the outward ego. It’s a card of warmth, happiness, and joy.
Often, it can be read literally. If asking when something will occur, for example, Sun could indicate “during the day.” When Sun follows another card, I try to read it as “bright” or “warm.” So Lily + Sun might be an older mentor figure who is warm toward the querent.
A few particular combinations indicate some unambiguous meanings. When Sun is on the lighter side of the Clouds, it indicates the sun breaking out from behind clouds; the opposite, of course, is relevant when it is on the darker side. Similarly, Snake + Sun means a deception coming to light.
32. Moon
Moon indicates the inner life of the querent, the intuition and, for some querents, the spiritual side of life. Literally, it can indicate that something happens at night (ignoring the inconvenient fact that the moon is visible during the day for much of its cycle). It can also signify dreams, both in the literal sense and in the sense of goals for the future.
Traditionally, the moon can indicate fame, because it’s the light reflected from the sun. We can extend that meaning to reputation, as well, for those querents concerned about such things.
The Moon, appropriately, has a double nature: it’s both the inner life of the querent and the reflected outer life. It can also, then, represent cyclic changes. So reading this card requires—appropriately—more intuition than usual.
When I read it in combination, I usually link it to the context more than other cards. For example, in Cross + Moon it could be troubling dreams, if that seems relevant, or worries about reputation, or Wiccan spirituality. Heart + Moon could be an inconstant heart, but it could also be a yearning for fame.
33. Key
After Moon, it’s nice to see a card with a clear and unambiguous meaning. Key means “yes.” When it follows any card, it acts as an exclamation point. It can be a card of opening, destiny, and so forth, but you’ll rarely go wrong if you just look at the card it follows and say, “Yeah, that, again.” If it follows Ring, expect a marriage or contract, without a doubt. If it follows a person card, that person is extremely important: pay attention to them.
The only complexity is that Key is usually positive, so when it follows a negative card or combination, it indicates “a way out.” So Cross + Key could be “intense worry” but is more likely to be “a way out of your burdens.” Look at the following card for the nature of that key. If it’s a person card, consider that it might be outside help. If it’s Ship, it could be a literal or figurative putting of distance between oneself and a problem.
34. Fish
The little fishies in the pond all swim where they will. This card, therefore, indicates independence, freedom, and fluency.
Where Fox indicates work or a job, Fish can represent a career or a businessperson who creates his or her own money. In fact, since it’s a person card, Fish can literally mean “a big fish,” a mover and shaker.
Fish is a card of capitalism. When it indicates a business, the card following can show the kind of business. Fish + Tower is a major corporation, while Fish + Child is the childcare industry, Fish + Bear is the food industry, and Fish + Book is the educational or publishing sector.
35. Anchor
This has always struck me as a strange symbol for a divination system. It’s a bit like a Brake Pads card. But so it goes: sometimes we move ahead like the Ship, and sometimes we drop Anchor and stop. But we already have a card that indicates stopping and delay: Mountains.
The difference, of course, is that we can’t control where the mountains are, but we can control when we drop anchor. So Anchor is where we choose to stop, physically and metaphorically. Anchor, therefore, can be the card of rest. Metaphorically, where we stop and rest is our lifestyle, our way of living. For example, if you’re doing a reading about someone wishing to change jobs and Anchor comes up, you might start asking the person what it is about their lifestyle they don’t want to change.
The cards after Anchor can indicate the kind of lifestyle we’re discussing. If it’s followed by House, it’s a nice domestic life, with or without picket fences. If followed by Ship, it’s a traveling and vagrant lifestyle, and if it’s followed by Moon we might be dealing with a bohemian of some variety.
36. Cross
This card is not the happiest card in the deck; in fact, in my opinion, it’s the least happy. But like many cards, it has two meanings. On its basic level, it means religion, and not just Christianity. But since people often turn to religion in times of trouble, it can also mean trouble, especially worry and grief. Read this card carefully.
When it indicates religion, such as when you’re trying to learn about someone you don’t know, the card after it can give a hint as to the kind of religion. Cross + Star can indicate Judaism or Paganism, depending on context. Cross + Book can indicate a holy text, or one of the religions of the book, while Cross + Moon can indicate Islam or Wicca, again depending on context.
More often, though, it indicates something that sends us to prayer: a problem. Even in reading atheists and agnostics, the card can be read as a concern or burden. After all, the cross was a symbol long before Jesus was hung on it, and it wasn’t a particularly pleasant symbol for anyone. The symbol of Christianity is, for better or worse, a tool of torture. Remember that “excruciating” has the word crux in it, meaning “cross.”
And, of course, cross can also mean crux, in the sense of an important event that determines our future direction—especially when near Crossroads. Often, those events feel unpleasant at the time, but we later look back and think, “Ah, without that I wouldn’t be who I am now.”
The card following Cross can indicate the nature, and sometimes the way out of, the worry. Cross + Coffin is grief over an ending. Cross + Heart is a broken heart. But when Cross is followed by a very positive card, like Key, or when it is on the lighter side of Clouds, it can indicate a passing out of or escaping from grief.