I guess in a way I'm a bit of a purist. I like combining cards into sentences, and that's pretty much all I like. One of the things I enjoy about Lenormand is being able to escape for a while from complicated esoteric practices involving numerology, cabala, astrology etc.
I think we are on the same page Lee
I think there is a risk that you are using systems within systems just for the sake of it. By doing so, the flow and feel for the reading goes, as you use the other side of your brain to do maths or create pathways that are not always necesary. I also think there is a risk the reading goes off on a tangent in a direction it doesn't need to.
I am not saying these methods are pointless - I know they are of value to readers who use them, but I am not trying to get blood out of a stone when I do a reading. I just don't feel the need to use every and any permutation (mirroring, adding, knighting etc) on a system that is muted to be straightforward.
My thought is this: If the whip card is relevant it will appear somewhere in the layout or line up. I will not force it into being by applying numerology.
Just my take. I love how we can all adopt whatever method we feel is relevant to us as an individual, and it still works well and gives the right information. So no criticism on my part - just a thought to those starting out who may feel they need to make the whole thing more complicated than it needs to be.