Using Lenormand Combinations

[porcupines]

I will stop hijacking other threads to figure this out so here goes...

How have you evolved from a list of combinations in the book to those which serve every situation, and different types of questions.

For example, I had Woman + Tower + Ship come up in a relationship reading and I am pretty confident the airport/sea port is not the answer here. I thought it was more like, moving away from a long term commitment with a lady. Or something like that.

I am not asking for interpretation of the cards here, but just for ways you go from book meanings, to custom, question specific ones:

- Is there a book you found particularly helpful for reading combinations/with a very useful list of combinations?
- Is this something that comes with practice (because I can see that, but I was wondering if there are ways and tools to further that progress)
- If you switched to being able to interpret combinations in all types of situations, were there any practices (such as journalling) which were incredibly helpful to you?

I know there is a whole treasure trove of superb threads on here, so if there is one I am missing please point me in that direction.

Your time and valuable guidance will be incredibly helpful in my journey as I learn and I am truly, truly grateful

 

[annabel398]

Let's say you have four pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that are all the same shade of green. Three of them are "innies," and the fourth piece has two out-sticking bits. You take that fourth piece and try to mate it with the others, turning it this way and that, until ha! it fits!

I feel that matching up Lenormand meanings is something like that. Take high place/powerful person/isolation/corporation/big office, and try fitting it to travel/voyage/foreign/change/arrival until something clicks. Maybe the lady is Rapunzel who finally got down from her tower and eloped with her prince... (modern translation: the man she lives with is emotionally unavailable so she's thinking of stepping out with a new beau) or maybe it's something altogether different. I just sort of shake up my sets of meanings until they fall together into a combination that makes sense.

This for me is not the same as reading Tarot. There are a fixed set of meanings for the Lenormands, I don't want to make up any new ones. It's more like... uh, like throwing dice? Three dice can make 192 combinations out of 1-2-3-4-5-6.

Does this make any sense at all?

 

[DownUnderNZer]

The question asked is key to how you use the cards in answering.

Generals are different and could refer to a range of topics/areas/scenarios.

If the question is travel then the Ship is a perfect card to pull, but in a relationship with the Tower a totally different meaning again and it is either saying someone has been single a while and prefers distance or not to be involved and/or the ego as well as morals come into play etc.

Specific answers when questions are specific.

 

[porcupines]

Thank you so much for your responses!

Let's say you have four pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that are all the same shade of green. Three of them are "innies," and the fourth piece has two out-sticking bits. You take that fourth piece and try to mate it with the others, turning it this way and that, until ha! it fits!

I feel that matching up Lenormand meanings is something like that. Take high place/powerful person/isolation/corporation/big office, and try fitting it to travel/voyage/foreign/change/arrival until something clicks. Maybe the lady is Rapunzel who finally got down from her tower and eloped with her prince... (modern translation: the man she lives with is emotionally unavailable so she's thinking of stepping out with a new beau) or maybe it's something altogether different. I just sort of shake up my sets of meanings until they fall together into a combination that makes sense.

This for me is not the same as reading Tarot. There are a fixed set of meanings for the Lenormands, I don't want to make up any new ones. It's more like... uh, like throwing dice? Three dice can make 192 combinations out of 1-2-3-4-5-6.

Does this make any sense at all?

Yes, this does make sense. I am relatively new to Lenormand, and am trying to not read the way I read tarot (as everyone advises on the threads here). Your method sounds interesting, and I will have to give it a go.

The question asked is key to how you use the cards in answering.

Generals are different and could refer to a range of topics/areas/scenarios.

If the question is travel then the Ship is a perfect card to pull, but in a relationship with the Tower a totally different meaning again and it is either saying someone has been single a while and prefers distance or not to be involved and/or the ego as well as morals come into play etc.

Specific answers when questions are specific.

Hah, this makes sense, thanks so much for your response! How would you know which one of the meanings you described above it is? Sometimes it comes to me intuitively or using the rest of the spread, but I was curious what others are doing and I am not existing in a bubble.

 

[Melia]

As DownUnderNZer said, the question you ask is the key to how you read the cards. Therefore, there cannot be any set list of card combinations that serve for all readings. As the question here is a relationship one, and without you giving specifics, this may be referring to a woman who is ambitious or self-absorbed/self-centred (tower) who is distant (ship) or prefers to keep her distance and be alone.

If, for example, you were asking the cards instead for a description of the woman you would meet, you would read these 3 cards differently - i.e. perhaps a tall woman (tower) who is a foreigner (ship). If the question was about where she works or what sort of job position she holds, you would read the cards differently again.

The best way of learning is different for everyone. But, I think if you put what you learn from the source (i.e. books, video, teachers etc). into practice by doing lots of readings is really the best way. Journalling may be useful when you are beginning too, but it's the readings that will really help to consolidate what you have learnt.

 

[Lee]

As DownUnderNZer said, the question you ask is the key to how you read the cards. Therefore, there cannot be any set list of card combinations that serve for all readings.

I agree. In my opinion, there needs to be a certain amount of flexibility in any interpretation method, or else you're going to end up telling your querent about an impending divorce when all they wanted to know is if their roses are going to grow.

Another alternative is to know so many possible combinations that there will always be something that fits the context of the question. But this involves memorizing hundreds if not thousands of combinations, something which I don't think I'm up to, myself. There is an author (Britta) who advocates for that, but I've never seen any commentary from any of her students who have actually memorized all those combos.

 

[porcupines]

As DownUnderNZer said, the question you ask is the key to how you read the cards. Therefore, there cannot be any set list of card combinations that serve for all readings. As the question here is a relationship one, and without you giving specifics, this may be referring to a woman who is ambitious or self-absorbed/self-centred (tower) who is distant (ship) or prefers to keep her distance and be alone.

If, for example, you were asking the cards instead for a description of the woman you would meet, you would read these 3 cards differently - i.e. perhaps a tall woman (tower) who is a foreigner (ship). If the question was about where she works or what sort of job position she holds, you would read the cards differently again.

The best way of learning is different for everyone. But, I think if you put what you learn from the source (i.e. books, video, teachers etc). into practice by doing lots of readings is really the best way. Journalling may be useful when you are beginning too, but it's the readings that will really help to consolidate what you have learnt.

I think with tarot it was offering readings for feedback and seeing how cards fit which helped me. This forum was key to developing my skill. I think I am just a bit nervous at how little I know and need to just keep doing more readings before I feel better about my abilities.

I agree. In my opinion, there needs to be a certain amount of flexibility in any interpretation method, or else you're going to end up telling your querent about an impending divorce when all they wanted to know is if their roses are going to grow.

Another alternative is to know so many possible combinations that there will always be something that fits the context of the question. But this involves memorizing hundreds if not thousands of combinations, something which I don't think I'm up to, myself. There is an author (Britta) who advocates for that, but I've never seen any commentary from any of her students who have actually memorized all those combos.

Haha I do not think I could remember those many!! I think, as I keep reading everyone's posts that there is just a lot of nervousness. I need to perhaps keep doing readings and see how it turns out. But it is good to know that others have figured it out, and it would be nice to know if anyone had any tips or tricks which could be helpful in my journey.

Thank you all for your comments!!

 

[Chanah]

Doesn't Rana have an exercise or two in her book about making combinations? Like writing down a couple of keywords for each card, then randomly drawing a couple of cards and reading them together?

It comes down to understanding the core meaning of the cards. Once you get that, the combinations are easier - but even those of us who have been reading for many years will have those days when all we can do is gawp because none of it makes sense (that doesn't happen too often, though!)

 

[kell]

Hi,
I don't have this card combo thing all figured out, so maybe I shouldn't put in my two cents, but the one thing that is helping me the most is daily 3 card draws, writng them in a journal, and then reflecting back at the end of the day.
Every combo is dependent upon the context. When I'm doing the daily draws, there is no context yet. It develops as I start seeing patterns and trends. For example, moon is usually romance for me. Snake is usually older woman. I don't read for others, so not sure how the same cards would translate. And there are times the cards make no sense at all.
I've been doing this for over a year now, and I still have tons to learn about Lenormand, but this has helped me more than anything in developing meaning.
Good luck on your Lenormand adventure!

 

[porcupines]

Doesn't Rana have an exercise or two in her book about making combinations? Like writing down a couple of keywords for each card, then randomly drawing a couple of cards and reading them together?

It comes down to understanding the core meaning of the cards. Once you get that, the combinations are easier - but even those of us who have been reading for many years will have those days when all we can do is gawp because none of it makes sense (that doesn't happen too often, though!)

Yes she does!! I found those super helpful!! Thanks for stopping by, and for your input. I hope I can get that good one day. I think the core meanings are sinking in for me, slowly but surely.

Hi,
I don't have this card combo thing all figured out, so maybe I shouldn't put in my two cents, but the one thing that is helping me the most is daily 3 card draws, writng them in a journal, and then reflecting back at the end of the day.
Every combo is dependent upon the context. When I'm doing the daily draws, there is no context yet. It develops as I start seeing patterns and trends. For example, moon is usually romance for me. Snake is usually older woman. I don't read for others, so not sure how the same cards would translate. And there are times the cards make no sense at all.
I've been doing this for over a year now, and I still have tons to learn about Lenormand, but this has helped me more than anything in developing meaning.
Good luck on your Lenormand adventure!

This is an incredibly helpful tip, thank you so much! I will work on journalling more. I get lazy at times.