Astraea
Not sure how much help this will be, but recently there was a thread about the relationship between playing card insets and Lenormand imagery - here's a link: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=170756&highlight=playing
I wanted to select this particular observation, re Tower, to say, we may "feel" that there is something "isolated" about various Towers down through history, or from literature and motion pictures, etc., but Towers are/were (imho) historically social, self-sufficient, and even as a defence in turmoil, a refuge designed to sustain life and freedom for the core group.Teheuti said:With Spades there's a slight tendency towards benefiting from associations or interactions with others (except for Tower ~ whose isolation might just prove the point).
With Spades there's a slight tendency towards benefiting from associations or interactions with others (except for Tower-whose isolation might just prove the point).
As a collector of old fortune-telling books, I'd noticed the similarities to tea leaf symbols myself. I've checked all my old books of playing card meanings and haven't found any parallels yet, but I don't have access to old German cartomancy books, that I'm hoping might be a little more revealing.Long study has led me to conclude that the early "LeNormand" decks (circa 1845 and printed in a Germany more inclined to Protestantism than the restricted and suppressive market country, an increasingly secular 'Catholic' France) were based on tea leaf readings, and when printed were combined with the well-known 36 card Le Petit Jeu Fortune Telling playing-card-based decks.
So, you are saying to just use the cards as playing cards and forget the pictures? As if I could forget the pictures! Also - a piquet deck only uses 32 cards (no 6s) and the English system uses 52 cards so you'd have to adapt a playing card system anyway.
Daphne - thank you so much for clarifying. I can be a little dense sometimes.I meant to forget the pictures when reading the playing cards. This can happen before or after you already read the Lenormand pictures. It`s not to ignore completely, but temporary, during reading the playing card story.
In the end you have 2 sources of information
So, you are saying to just use the cards as playing cards and forget the pictures? As if I could forget the pictures! Also - a piquet deck only uses 32 cards (no 6s) and the English system uses 52 cards so you'd have to adapt a playing card system anyway.
BTW - I've notice that the 6's could be seen to relate to: tall, short, near, far (Tower, Clover, Cross, Stars) - but that might be a stretch.
I meant to forget the pictures when reading the playing cards. This can happen before or after you already read the Lenormand pictures. It`s not to ignore completely, but temporary, during reading the playing card story.
In the end you have 2 sources of information, playing cards and Lenormand that complete each other as a whole, but not card by card. The mix is in the end result, not during the process.
I don`t believe in reading each card simultaneously, like playing card and Lenormand, trying to fit one to each other. It`s artificial and often too stretched, they go by different systems.
KariRoad mentions very good points on the Tower. In Lenormand it can mean a dungeon, it is also a high vantage point to "lookout" for trouble (or opportunities). As defenses go, a tower is vulnerable and relies on others for support, and we can't forget ITarot's more modern sky scraper that involves corporations and organizations.
In love, I see the tower as the princess in her tower. She has everything she needs, but is lonely. So self-sufficient, but lonely.
Very interesting discussion on the suits though! Good thoughts in here!
As a collector of old fortune-telling books, I'd noticed the similarities to tea leaf symbols myself. I've checked all my old books of playing card meanings and haven't found any parallels yet, but I don't have access to old German cartomancy books, that I'm hoping might be a little more revealing.
BTW - I've notice that the 6's could be seen to relate to: tall, short, near, far (Tower, Clover, Cross, Stars) - but that might be a stretch.
I was always told, and it seems quite true in readings, that you want the High Tower and Mountain far away from the Lady and Gentleman.
When you get 28/29 + 19 + 28/29 they've always split, with the one on the left pushing the one on the right away. I dread seeing it in readings now.