The positive cards in the Lenormand Deck are super shiny and cards that we all want to see in a spread, I was asked today to discuss the nuances between the cards in our members group - we have a "Card of the Week" discussion where one card is discussed in depth - as Rebecca challenged me to not one but three cards this week a blog post is necessary.
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The first thing we discuss on the Card of the Week is the core meaning of the first known instruction manual for the system, in the case of Lenormand we look at the Game of Hope Instructions versus the Phillipe Lenormand instructions.
16 Star
Game of Hope Meaning:
At this Star, with great prophecy you receive 6 Tokens
Early Lenormand Instructions:
16 Star signifies Luck. However, when close to clouds, it indicates lots of unhappy occurrences.
We learn from the early instructions that Star is a lucky card, it is an auspicious card (unless Clouds comes in to mess that up) and we learn that it is a card of prophecy - foresight and luck!
31 Sun
Game of Hope Meaning:
29 Man leads you to the radiant Sun of hope No. 31. However, if you got to the person Card from Heart No. 24 you do not move, you wait for your next turn.
Early Lenormand Instructions:
31 Sun, nearby means Luck and Joy like it’s beams share light and warmth, but from afar, brings sorrow and misfortune. Without the presence of Sun, nothing can grow.
Sun also includes an element of luck (but from the German Glück which speaks of fortune and happiness rather than the "luck" in English that we understand - it is a nuance of the German language and encapsulates the embodiment of a fortune - how fortune affects you). The most important identifier from the early instructions is the sentence "Without the presence of Sun, nothing can grow" This is the core of the Sun card - when Sun is near everything blossoms, but when far the suns rays do not penetrate and bring life. In the Game of Hope we see that Man takes his partner to the warmth of the sun - the warmth of growth in a relationship and everything being just "alright and dandy".
If we take these two cards as our first comparisons we see the fortune and wellbeing of the sun versus the luck and foresight of the star - star bringing success in that one gains "6 tokens" in the Game of Hope and suggesting that the player (reader) has focused on their path (Prophecy) and attained a good placing ... the player cannot influence sun - it is there or it is not - an external influence that brings warmth and growth.
33 Key
Game of Hope Meaning:
On receiving this Key you receive 2 tokens
Early Lenormand Instructions:
33 Key, very near announces the certain success of a matter, but when distant means failure.
Key is a stumbling block for many readers, the "certainty" card - it does not bring luck or growth as per Star versus Sun but it does tell you "everything will work out just fine". Think of the way that Lenormand is explained in the Phillipe Lenormand instructions, the Lenormand GT is laid out and the cards have an influence when close that is different to when far (like Sun bringing growth in to build on situations when near, but said situations failing when Sun is far). When you have a GT paid out and Key is far away, your querent will struggle to get projects through to completion, they will fail along the way or just procrastinate enough to delay. However, when Key is close, they will absolutely be successful in the area they are hoping for - for example, close to Child they will have a successful new project (work theme) or if they are wanting to become pregnant Key below the Female Character is a good sign that the pregnancy will go well!
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Small reads:
So that is all fine and dandy when we are doing a GT, we can see what part each card brings to the table, but what if we are doing smaller reads and need some pointers?
You know what I am going to say next..... "it depends on what question is asked" - I know I know I say it all the time, but it is true, however, let's see if we can make this easy :)
Imagine each card as one of your friends in your close circle, you invite them all to a party and observe how they act. 16. Star comes in all bright, shiny and "I've got this" mentality, walking in the room and already foreseeing what will happen, great focus on the details and what she needs to do. 31. Sun walks in and throws his arms out wide and emits a golden light that immediately energises the others in the room and gets them mingling. As soon as 31. Sun entered the room the atmosphere changed to lovely positive and energetic - everybody within the room feels instantly at ease and able to be the best them. The last to enter is 33. Key, who enters and doesn't affect the room like 31. Sun does, but brings in a quiet "this is it" quality, all confusion (if there was any) dissipates.
In short:
Star brings focus and prophecy (in order to gain success)
Sun brings growth and energy
Key brings certainty of success
Nuances of meaning, but actually worlds apart in actual presence.
Again, we discuss these qualities in systems and nuances of meanings in our Members Only Group on Facebook - if you want to be a member and learn every week ... then join us!
Thank you for listening - see you on the next one!
