Question on line of 3

ana luisa

First, I apologize for this question which is so basic it's silly . But, I started giving the Lenormand a go. Have watched many videos and read several books on it and decided to practice the line of 3 for the time being. HOWEVER, unlike some readers, I see the center card as the FOCUS card. Fine, so far so good. But how should I view the "barrier" cards then? Those being the coffin, the mountain, the scythe, the anchor ? An example: suppose I was reading about a trip and then got these cards :

COFFIN STORK LETTER

Ok. So stork would imply that the trip is taking place and the letter may suggest booking reservations but if I use the Stork as focus card and read it with the left card, should I invert the order as such --------> STORK COFFIN because the card to the right modifies the one to the left ? And in this case, with the coffin to the right, the trip woudn't happen..

With the line of three I read the center card first, then the left with the right , the left with the center and finally the center with the right. The only problem I have is with the position of the left card in relation to the center. I hope this question makes sense....

Lennie experts, I would love some insight into this !! Thank you in advance :) :love:
 

lightpers

Hello Ana Luisa, i seldom using the middle card as a focus card, when the example spread of yours i read it as a string sentence like the cancelation (coffin) of moving (stork) proposal (letter) or closing the idea of purchasing ticket trip. But i am not an expert in Lenormand either so pardon me :p
 

onesun

Hi Ana-

I'm no expert but from what I've come across in my studies is basically you as the reader are free to read as you like in terms of focus cards etc. It seems that it's a more common thing with 3-5-7 card lines they are just read left to right.

The main thing is always always bring it back very specifically to the question and the question itself is best when very specific as well. You said 'I was reading about a trip', so to really comment with any accuracy this is bit too vague. What were you asking in connection with this trip? In any case here is a 'vague' read:

A cancelled trip is improved by a document -or- A trip that is cancelled is revived by receipt of information -or- The trip is transformed and improved by an upgrade ticket -or- A notice shows flexibility with a cancelled trip.
 

Sharla

Using your example regarding cards for a trip....I'd read these as movement again (stork) after a delay (coffin) in regards to the trips documentation (letter).

So as you can see i've focused on the (2nd) central card as to what's happening, the card to the left (1st) shows what's happened leading up to that, and then (3rd) is the result.

You could even readin both flanking cards (1 & 3) first, and get a delay/no documentation has arrived and the (2nd)middle card then shows movement regarding this....so it will arrive.

If you toss the cards around and kept the Q the same but had stork + letter + coffin then it could be .....the documentation (letter) you "have been" expecting (stork)...i'm putting "have been" as remember i said that the card to the left is in the past, is going to delayed (coffin) in someway or not even turn up at all.
 

Barleywine

I also usually treat the three-card line as a sentence in the "linguistic" approach to Lenormand reading. But if I were to use the center card as a focus in the same way I do in the GT, I would say that the card to the left is less influential in the matter and the card to the right is more influential. Not in a past/present/future sense, more as a kind of "weighting" that reveals a possible trend away from one influence and toward another.

I use Andy's approach, so the card after the Coffin would be "somewhat diminished" in its outlook; therefore the usually favorable developments implied by the Storks could be less gratifying or more constrained than expected. The Letter could be showing some kind of notification about the impending diminishment, perhaps a less-than-desirable change in rates, itinerary or accommodations. You thought all arrangements had been finalized, but something else official comes up; maybe your travel visa has been revoked for some reason.

If I were to read it as a straight-line statement, I might say "At the end of your trip, you will receive an e-mail that your luggage has been mis-routed to Miami and you can expect to get it back in two or three days." :)
 

ThtDancerGuy

First, I apologize for this question which is so basic it's silly . But, I started giving the Lenormand a go. Have watched many videos and read several books on it and decided to practice the line of 3 for the time being. HOWEVER, unlike some readers, I see the center card as the FOCUS card. Fine, so far so good. But how should I view the "barrier" cards then? Those being the coffin, the mountain, the scythe, the anchor ? An example: suppose I was reading about a trip and then got these cards :

COFFIN STORK LETTER

Ok. So stork would imply that the trip is taking place and the letter may suggest booking reservations but if I use the Stork as focus card and read it with the left card, should I invert the order as such --------> STORK COFFIN because the card to the right modifies the one to the left ? And in this case, with the coffin to the right, the trip woudn't happen..

With the line of three I read the center card first, then the left with the right , the left with the center and finally the center with the right. The only problem I have is with the position of the left card in relation to the center. I hope this question makes sense....

Lennie experts, I would love some insight into this !! Thank you in advance :) :love:

Hi ana luisa,

Good question and one that a lot of beginners struggle with. I was taught that Lenormand should always be read left to right, so you will read this line literally as Coffin + Stork + Letter. And with your question about the Stork as the focus card and if you should invert the combinations with Stork being the first card, absolutely not because remember we read Lenormand left to right, so Coffin + Stork is the first combination (not to be read Stork + Coffin!) and Stork + Letter is the final; that is the only time in this line that the Stork is the first card in the combo. I think you are not properly initially isolating the Stork as the focus card and that's why it's confusing you. When you read the focus card first you do not then take it and make it the center of every combination; the focus card is only to be read alone as what is important to the situation or what the focus of the reading will be on. Think of the focus card shouting "HEY!! Over here! I'm important here!" So for a trip, the Stork as the focus puts the emphasis on the actual trip and maybe even the flight if you are flying (The Stork flies so it connects to travel via air). That's all it does as the focus. But now we read it with the other cards in combination: I'm not sure of what your exact question was about your trip (because CONTEXT defines how the cards are read), but generally I might say it looks like it might be a difficult trip or a trip with a problem to start out (Coffin = hardship, problem, delay; Stork = flight, travel), finally with some paperwork, an email, boarding passes, or an important message following (Stork + Letter). Maybe it's predicting an announcement (Letter) of the flight's delay (Coffin + Stork). Or that where will be a complication (Coffin) with your boarding pass (Stork + Letter).

Rule of thumb when reading a line: read it as a cohesive sentence, one card after another. Don't read each card singularly, read it in combination with all the others. And remember, Coffin + Stork is not the same as Stork + Coffin. :)

Oh gosh, I'm sorry this is crazy long, but I hope you understand what I'm saying. :) Any questions, just PM me. I obviously love to help.