Cards meaning and intuition

Mim

Hi !
I'm brand new to Lenormand and I wonder how exclusive are the meanings of the cards written in the booklet (Under The Roses).

I wonder how far my feelings and intuition can interfere with the cards and how far I'm bound to fit perfectly to the already established meanings.

Are some experienced users aware of that ? Have you been able to enlarge your vision of the meaning of each card or is it the straight scoolish way "The clover means this and only this and nevermind anything else" ?

Thank you all :)
 

Barleywine

This is one of the best questions to ask, because there is a strong tendency to import tarot methodology into the practice of Lenormand. I've found that the Lenormand cards are much more literal in their meaning, and shouldn't be stretched too far in their interpretation. The vision, creativity and imagination come into it through combining and synthesizing the card meanings in different ways. I generally stick with a central meaning for each card and a couple of alternates; a good example is the Cross, which usually means a hardship or fated burden, but can sometimes stand for religion (unless, of course, you're like a guy who used to live in our area who would dress in a toga every Easter Sunday and drag a large wooden cross up a hill on a busy State highway; he managed to neatly combine both meanings. True story! :))

I apply selective intuition (is that an oxymoron?) when I decide the significance of the various ways in which a "focus" card (such as the Man or the Woman) can be mated with other cards to gain additional insight. But my "bedrock" is always the core meaning for each of the cards that I've chosen for myself. But then, I'm a Lenormand semi-traditionalist who takes a narrow view of many "New Age-y" innovations, despite - or maybe because of - the fact that I lived through their very beginnings.
 

Village Witch

I can't say it any better than Barleywine did!

I just want to add that unlike tarot, Lenormand cards are not read separately, but need to be read in combination with at least one other card. That is where the meanings can vary slightly. The subject or focus of the read helps determine card meanings also.

For example... When I draw the Tower card, I am prone to think of government or legal issues. Higher authority. If I draw Tower + Letter, I could read this as a legal document of some kind. It could also be an acceptance letter to an institution of higher learning. It could also be a bill or test results from a hospital. In these cases, it depends on the subject or focus of the read.
 

Barleywine

I can't say it any better than Barleywine did!

I just want to add that unlike tarot, Lenormand cards are not read separately, but need to be read in combination with at least one other card. That is where the meanings can vary slightly. The subject or focus of the read helps determine card meanings also.

For example... When I draw the Tower card, I am prone to think of government or legal issues. Higher authority. If I draw Tower + Letter, I could read this as a legal document of some kind. It could also be an acceptance letter to an institution of higher learning. It could also be a bill or test results from a hospital. In these cases, it depends on the subject or focus of the read.

In the intuitive realm (humor me here), it could also mean a letter received from an inmate at a prison. Don't laugh, one time my then-high-school-age daughter did receive such a thing apparently out of the blue (part of some kind of "outreach" program set up by the school to rehabilitate prisoners, I think). We never gave it to her. The point is that, no matter how far out on a limb we might get, the whole thought chain still starts with the core concepts (in this case, institution plus letter).
 

Teheuti

What everyone else said. Stick to the tried-and-true traditional meanings as closely as possible while you are learning. There are some modern meanings that make sense in relation to the traditional meanings. Add these slowly and check carefully to see if they work well for you. Try not to mix "schools" of meaning (pick one approach) until you know how one switch will effect everything else. Once you have these down and can read with some ease then there will be times when you'll break all the rules, but you'll then be able to crosscheck your intuition against the more usual interpretation.

That said, daily personal readings (usually 3 cards drawn for a forecast for the day) can be quite literal or feature non-traditional meanings. You also have to "scale" meanings as the danger of Scythe, for instance, may be nothing more than a papercut (or not!) and Coffin (illness or bankruptcy) might just be temporary low energy or little money in your wallet when you get to the store.

Beware the booklets that are coming out with some new decks. Rather than following these rules, some deck creators are seeking to put their mark on the field by adding all kinds of new ways of reading Lenormand. A few are trying to turn the cards into more hopeful affirmations of all the nice things in life.
 

Mim

Thank you very much, Barleywine, Village Witch and Teheuti ! You helped me a lot.

What happened to me is that I picked a Lenormand deck only by chance, about two or three weeks ago on Amazon.
I just had a crunch on the Under The Roses deck and without any deeper thinking, I bought it.

Then I discovered it was based upon the Lenormand deck of which I knew nearly nothing.
But this beautiful Under The Roses really seized me and I fell happily into Lenormand cauldron.

First, I had to let go all my tarot-reader uses and, second, I had to confront with picking key-words for each card (one to three words they said and I picked three). The booklet is dealing a bunch of different key-words for each card, so we can pick easily one, two or three of them.
I first thougt it would be great to pick three different words so they could offer a larger sight for my readings but... they happened to mess it up all over because I began to hesitate between two or three really different meanings for a card.

Then I think by now that I should begin with only one keyword a card. Do you think it would be right ?

Teheuti, I see there are different schools and I don't know which I should pick and follow but I believe your advise is wise.

You all answered me with wisdom and I really wish to thank you as I see clearer by now, even if I still feel a little lost on the path of this brand new - and passionating - world of Lenormand.
 

Teheuti

Having a very specific question helps narrow down your possibilities. Watch the youtube videos by Donnaleigh. One thing that helps is to place two cards next to each other. Generally the one on the left is the subject/noun and the one on the right modifies it (adjective; occasionally a verb). Try turning your nouns into related adjectives.

List three nouns for the card on the left and three adjectives for the card on the right. Match them in every way possible. What do the matches suggest?

For instance, House+Book could be a book-house (neighborhood library or school; a big library/school would be Tower+Book); or it could be a secret/hidden property; or a self-publishing company (literary 'house' - in your home).

There are youtube videos that demonstrate this, websites with lists of combinations, and FB groups that do regular group practice. Try to come up with combinations on your own and then check to see what others have to say. The best intuition is a knowledgeable one. Like any field, practice sessions make sure that your mind-body is flexible enough and has enough range and skill to draw on whatever is needed in the moment = intuition.
 

Barleywine

There are youtube videos that demonstrate this, websites with lists of combinations, and FB groups that do regular group practice. Try to come up with combinations on your own and then check to see what others have to say.

The websites and blogs are really helpful. I was able to copy text into a word processor and merge it together into a single document that I printed, tabbed and keep handy in a binder. I don't agree with all of the 2-card combinations (the 3-carders I agree with even less), but I can see how they were derived, which at least gives food for thought. Sometimes I'm tempted to give an "adjective" more weight than its "noun," especially if it's a more potent-seeming card (I know, they're all supposed to be of equal strength); it's something I have to be careful about so I don't put emphasis in the wrong place.
 

Mim

This oracle's system is really fascinating.
Thank you very much, Teheuti and Barleywine for those other suggestions. I found a french channel on YouTube that provides free lessons from the very beginning to wider readings and I hope it'll help me.

It seems complete and concrete, I think it'll hit the match for me. But I'll have a look on this other channel and try to get here and there a bit more about the Lenormand.
By the way, I wonder if I shouldn't try to get a classical deck to work. Do you think Under The Roses is a good one to begin with or should I get the traditionnal Petit Lenormand deck ?
 

Le Fanu

Beware the booklets that are coming out with some new decks. Rather than following these rules, some deck creators are seeking to put their mark on the field by adding all kinds of new ways of reading Lenormand. A few are trying to turn the cards into more hopeful affirmations of all the nice things in life.
Yes! Bear this in mind. I also remember Teheuti saying elsewhere (correct me if I'm misquoting) that after having observed /studied closely different types of readings, the ones which were most apt tended to be the ones based on traditional - as opposed to intuitive - meanings. I think that was the gist of it but, like I said, I may be putting my own spin on it.

I think the Lenormand waters muddy with each passing day. The more I see, the more I have to pointedly ignore. Stick to a select style. There are a few excellent names in the field which have been cited before. I'm such a luddite for saying this - but I do tend to steer clear of the internet when it comes to Lenormand :D There. I've said it.