Melia
I don't think Lenormand is counter-intuitive at all. It's a system with rules, upon which variations have been made down through the years, upon which one's own personal variations can be added to ... which makes it a very good oracle.
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Do you find the Lenormand to be counter-intuitive?
heron
Here is a jpg of the Phillipe Lenormand information sheet on my website. It is a high resolution scan so you can print it and read it easily.
Thank you, Tag Jorrit. I shall type the sheet & post it for anyone else to use. Interesting to see how much more complex the use/interpretation has become over time (as seen in, for instance, Rana George's book) from the simplicity of these Philippe notes.
andybc
Here is a jpg of the Phillipe Lenormand information sheet on my website. It is a high resolution scan so you can print it and read it easily.
Thank you for posting that Tag jorrit.
Tag_jorrit
Thank you, Tag Jorrit. I shall type the sheet & post it for anyone else to use. Interesting to see how much more complex the use/interpretation has become over time (as seen in, for instance, Rana George's book) from the simplicity of these Philippe notes.
It is interesting how different people interpret the same things. I see Rana's book as illustrating the use of the cards by showing how they can apply in a variety of situations. She de-mystifies them and shows how using the nuances of each card and how other cards influence each other can open doors of perception that simple dry definitions on a page can't. I found the way that she presented the cards in the context of many applications -- work, family, relationships, etc. -- illustrative of the many ways that each card can behave in different circumstances. And it was enlightening to see how her mind works in interpreting the spreads in relation to events that happen. From that standpoint I think it is a wonderful book that brings the cards alive.
Getting a *real feel* for the cards takes so much time and I think that Rana's book can shorten that time because of the easy way she presents her ideas. THEN, after that, to go back to the "Phillipe Le Normand" definitions brings the Lenormand into sharper focus.
Astraea
I completely agree. Rana's book is clearly the product of someone who has a real working knowledge of the cards, and as such - in the way of professionals in all fields - she molds technique into a smooth, elegant whole. Rana's approach is compatible with traditional Lenormand schools, without straitjacketing the material; her detailed but user-friendly presentation smooths the passage into the Phillipe's abbreviated, starker world. A great combination.Getting a *real feel* for the cards takes so much time and I think that Rana's book can shorten that time because of the easy way she presents her ideas. THEN, after that, to go back to the "Phillipe Le Normand" definitions brings the Lenormand into sharper focus.
Teheuti
I agree. There's the real, everyday world focus of Rana and then there's the brief definitions (warning, lies, virtue, etc.) of the instruction sheet. I find there is a dance between them. BTW, if you lay out the sample reading from the instruction sheet and follow it along, you'll see how far we've come in being able to offer depth in our readings! Yet, I still go back to the original sentiments to double-check what I'm seeing.Getting a *real feel* for the cards takes so much time and I think that Rana's book can shorten that time because of the easy way she presents her ideas. THEN, after that, to go back to the "Phillipe Le Normand" definitions brings the Lenormand into sharper focus.
Cosma_Leah
Hi all
I´ve seen in other lenormand forums that some users want to have only pragmatic aspects by reading the lennys but other persons have more interests for the spiritual side.
kind regards
Cosma Leah
I´ve seen in other lenormand forums that some users want to have only pragmatic aspects by reading the lennys but other persons have more interests for the spiritual side.
kind regards
Cosma Leah
ThtDancerGuy
I don't mean to instigate anything negative with this thread, or piss off anyone, but this is something that has been weighing heavily on me for about a year now.
Perhaps it's my frustration...
with myself, and with the people who went out of their way to tel me that I read the Lenormand cards the wrong way, and that I should stop making decks that propagate the wrong methods.
I have been a diviner for a long time, and almost everything I learn is through trial and error, practice and trusting my instincts or my intuition.
And I personally don't think there is a wrong way to do anything. If you find a method that works for you...then why is that a bad thing?
But here's the thing with the Lenormand cards...like any oracle it has it's own system, and it's own set of symbols, and I can respect them.
I studied the cards for 5 years now, and have done countless readings with them for clients.
I know all the "traditional meanings" of the symbolism inherent in the cards, and I can read with them this way if I choose.
Only it doesn't work for me.
I agree that there is some need for intuition in combining the cards to access the proper meaning. The issue I have is that the symbols don't always correspond (and sometimes disagree completely)with the 30 years of reading these symbols in other methods of Divination.
To have a complete symbolism dictionary in my head, is what allows me to look into a cup of tea leaves, and tell someone their life story. Sometimes those symbols mean other things...or I get a flash of something else, that I am compelled to say out loud...and it's always a good idea, when I do.
When I try to read the lenormand in the traditional way, I am stuck trying to figure out who the elderly man is in my life when the lily comes up(since there really aren't any elderly men in my life) or why I should tell my client about upcoming fame/recognition when the moon turns up...even though my whole body is telling me that it means she is hiding, and being passive...as the moon's tradition is in almost every other divination method I have used.
To me...the lily, by non-lenormand traditional symbolism is a card of virginity, purity and distinctly feminine attributes (I think Georgia O'Keefe each time I see it) so trying to overlay it with the symbol of an old guy...just doesn't work when I try and read them for clients.
On the other hand...my intuition seems to love the easy and simple lenormand images!
How else could I amaze a client by telling him that I knew he knew he was in the wrong, and needed to apologize to his girlfriend? (dog + house+ flowers)
I guess I just need to know if I am alone in this? Does everyone read the lenormand cards by what has been decided is the "proper " meaning of each card?
I admit that I had a similar issue when first learning playing card reading, because the meanings disagreed with what I knew of the tarot...but this is different, because the playing cards don't have the visual impact that the lenormand do...and I guess I am a very visual person!
(and don't get me started on how the playing card inserts on lenormand don't match any playing card system I know!)
Let's take a quick look in perspective at the Lenormand cards. What are Lenormand cards? They are a 36-card deck of symbols - just symbols. They are not like the Tarot where your Intuition is heightened exponentially by moving imagery and various scenes. With that said, let's next take a look at human nature and symbolism: humans cannot look at symbols of any sort without developing all of these feelings and conceived notions about them. Anyone who reads Lenormand without the use of Intuition is doing it wrong, hands down. Intuition opens up for the reader where specific meaning(s) for a card (or cards) apply in context to the sitter's question, because let's face it: each card has a myriad of varying meanings, oftentimes opposing in nature. How can the Fox be both a card of treachery and deceit and then stand for a sitter's work in other readings? It can't; not when read traditionally, anyway. With Intuition, you have a set of psychic antennae of sorts that automatically direct you toward which meaning applies in which position for the sitter. Traditionally, when read analytically, that is near impossible to do and be right about it.
Plain and simple: the Lenormand is an Oracle system, made for the purposes of PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT, not analytical development. If you are reading the cards with your left, analytical-logical brain, you are doing it WRONG. I have heard those left-brain readers and all they do is spew out general meaning after meaning because that is all they know, not specifying or attaching anything to the context of my question. It's wasteful to sit with those readers because you don't ever get any direct answers.
Teheuti
If you ask just-intuitive readers to all read the same spread you will get a range of responses, many of which will be contradictory, often reflecting each reader's philosophy, biases and assumptions far more than any kind of oracular intuition. Which one is the true intuitive - for instance, for finding a lost object where an outcome may be known? I've been evaluating such questions and responses for several years and my observations suggest that traditional readers tend to be far more accurate, although very rarely someone comes up with specific details that go beyond any information offered and prove to be right on — a feat I'd call psychic rather than intuitive: it happens. Traditional readers who use the Lenormand system are also intuitive (it's an automatic human function) but have an internal checklist (called heuristics or rules of thumb) to keep them on track, so we can say they have an "informed intuition" - which according to researchers who have studied intuition - is the best kind.With Intuition, you have a set of psychic antennae of sorts that automatically direct you toward which meaning applies in which position for the sitter. Traditionally, when read analytically, that is near impossible to do and be right about it.
