Lenormand/Titania combinations

Kara

Tree

In a reading, the Tree can also represent the body and health - why I'll get to later. The combinations here are mostly health related, *but*, I can't, and don't do complete health readings, because I'm not a doctor or a healer:). So, I just see them as points to watch out for in a reading, and I do say something(if I get the feeling I should) if it seems to be more serious, and urge them to get a checkup, see a doctor or a healer. Because of the laws of the subconscious, I'm careful with saying anything in this direction.. Of course this is just my view.

+Rider= joints, knees especially, speedy healing
+Ship= long voyage, anything to do with water in a body
+Clouds= minor health issues which can become a problem, also the lungs
+Snake= detours will take longer
+Coffin= illness, worsens all combinations.
+Coffin+Snake= large intestines
+Flowers= alternative, natural healing methods also acne, other harmless growth, also if a person->healer.
+Scythe= aggressive illness, high fever, infectious. Pain, wounds. also teeth (think anything cutting, aggressiveness)
+Whip= hurting yourself through irresponsible actions, also the muscles
+Birds= moodiness, irritatability, nervous system
+Child= healing one step at a time, growth
+Fox= also get a 2nd doctor's opinion
+Bear= inner strength helps healing
+Stars= anything to do with sleep
+Stork= anything to do with legs
+Dog= anything with tongue, mouth, throat, voice
+Tower= Back, spine
+Park= spa, wellness centre, time out
+Mountain= Bones, drawn out healing
+Path+Heart= arteries
+Mice= Stomach, digestive system
+Heart= well, heart
+Ring= circulatory sytem, trust in healing methods
+Book= head, brain. research
+Letter= hands, also diagnosis
+Lilies= hormones, reproductive organs
+Sun= eyes, eyesight
+Moon= depression, soul, psyche..
+Key= iron household, minerals
+Fish= Bladder, Kidneys, anything to do with water in the body
+Anchor= Hips, lower back and abdomen
+Cross= karmic illness
 

Moonbow

Amazing Kara

You're still going.....

Tell me you don't remember these all off by heart? Is there hope for the rest of us?

Are there times when you would look at a card individually, or do you notice the combinations all the time?
 

Kara

Lol, yup, except for the health combos (because honestly, I hardly ever look for health issues, if it pops into my eye, like I can't overlook it, then i won't, but otherwise...), which I thought might be of interest to someone out there... When I started, you're going to laugh, but I had a notebook, and I scribbled everything into that. I still have it, of course, and that's why I haven't looked at my books for so long...
Everything's in it, from the the seven layers of interpretation (I added two more), to the positions on the tree of life. These are deep cards, chock full of symbolism. Too bad you really have to search for some real literature on these cards. But to be honest, pushing all of this info on one reading is a little much. You'd have to spend days studying one spread (maybe others only hours)...
 

Moonbow

Kara

That's really interesting, I didn't realise the cards had symbolism and Tree of Life positions. You use the Piatnik Lenormand don't you? Maybe I will have to give mine a try, I've always used my other deck the Jeu Lenormand.
 

Kara

Yes, I use the Piatnik. I just recently bought the Urania Blue Owl, and I think they are even better. This might sound silly, but I think because those images haven't changed much over time, and is one of the most used decks here, so very charged(like Rider-Waite, probably). Please don't take offense but, the jeu de lenormand has those rhymes:(. They can ruin everything, just like with the Urania Red Owl. The jeu was my first deck too, with the book by Erna Droesbeke. The book is good, but the deck... Who came up with printing rhymes on an oracle?? Otherwise,yeah, they're full of information, layers on layers, and trust me, lol, I'd post everything, but I'm afraid of rambling on forever, and people thinking I'm spamming the forum, lol...:))

xoxo
Kara
 

Moonbow

Kara

No offence taken, I agree with you. I knew the rhymes weren't very good in English, and that the French rhymes are better but I don't speak French. I also have a Flemish deck, which may be better to use because there would be no distraction from the rhymes.....

I would love to hear more about the Tree of Life and symbolism in them, I'm sure others would too. Most sites that I have seen on these cards are in French so any information would be wonderful.
 

Kara

Ok, :))

The Lenormand cards are quite capable of giving deep readings - it is a tool, like the tarot to help focus your concentration/energies which is needed to connect.
It's just about recognizing and understanding the symbolism layered in the card, as with any divination system, nothing new here.
These cards were created in a traditional, catholic Europe, and that's the symbolism which has been used. There were originally 54 cards(still available), but over time, the meanings of that deck were packed into the 36 card deck, which most of us use today.

The 54 card deck was too complicated for people who had no idea about greek mythology, astrology, numerology, divination with flowers, etc. and couldn't relate to the images on them. So the meanings of the cards were redrawn with simpler images the people of those times could easily relate to, and which would trigger the associations to the meanings.

Traditionally, there are 7 layers of reading, I use two more. Not all together or at all times, you could if you really wanted to though.

The red suits, generally speaking were good, the black suits bad. Here, though(seems to be traditional, I learned it this way for my playing cards too) clubs resemble crosses, and stand for sacrifice, pain, grievance, bad luck, fate, the inevitable. Elsewhere, it's the suit of spades which carry this meaning.
Have a look at all the cards with clubs on them, they're all bad luck cards. Except the ring and the bear, but their meanings are associated with sacrifice, responsibility, reliability, consistency, endurance, stamina - traits needed in times of adversity. The clubs can be translated to the suit of swords in the tarot, a 'mental' suit. So that's why, the Whip is pictured with the Jack of clubs = page of swords. It brings strife, sharp words, clarification through arguments. The suit numbers can, for the most part, be equated to the suit numbers of the tarot. There are exceptions, like the fox, which although, it carries the nine of swords, translates better to the 5 of swords. Here, the 9ofSws is given as an explanation for the sneakiness of this card, insecurity, excessive worry which leads to trying to play it safe and buttering the bread on both sides, (plus the symbol of 14/5, communication, other people+fox = lies)which ususally leads to trouble, strife, open warfare. This card can also, in certain situations, mean the complete opposite, with the sneakiness turned into cleverness and honesty. Usually when the person is honest, just in a tough situation.

So part of it's meaning would be that it is up to the individual how he deals with stress and pressure, does he lose his middle and 'flake out', or does he stand strong, and cleverly pick his way through a mine field, trusting his instinct(=higher self)? So the symbology also shows compassion, trying to explain why people act harmful sometimes.

The cards with the clubs also represent the forces in man and life which are typical for creating problem situations in the work area. They're actually showing those qualities - so when you see the mountain for example, you can equate it to the 8ofSws(obstacles, hindrance, feeling blocked, etc.), add to that the feeling you'd have feeling/thinking this at your workplace, and all of a sudden you can feel the weight of the mountain bearing down on you. Could this be your boss? All the pressure, frustration,even aggressiveness against this unfair, obstinate obstacle for whom you can't give anyone the blame, it's just standing there, and you have to deal with it. Sometimes, people act like this, because when they feel like this, they literally cannot move. A mountain is just being itself, not it's fault it's in your way. Which is what the 21/3 (actually a number of success)reminds us of - this card also means success, and sometimes, after becoming successful, this very success can block or trap you. It can also just mean making it over that mountain. How often are we like this when we are successful or the complete opposite, blocked? How many paths have we blocked? So if this card represents a person, it's usually someone obstinate, and frustrating, but without fully realizing that they are being that way.


The suit of spades(suit of wands in tarot) represent the forces/energies typical for creating problems in home life. The Flowers for example, why that one? It's actually positive, right? It's a gift, presents, small talk, friends, the best friend that's at your house every day(and your husband hates), the youngest sister of your Mom's who is so cool(and forever giving her unwanted advice on your kids)... It's that energy which represents the saying, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. All these people are good people, and have good intentions, but in the wrong place at the wrong time can actually achieve better results in destroying things than someone with truly bad intentions. It's equated to the queen of wands in tarot. The traditional thinking here is still somewhat(deep subconscious)along the lines that women are the root of all evil. Fair and flowery and nice, but...troublesome. Even in the common sayings, you can still hear echoes of it, like the common concept(openly laughed at, and always quoted, yet deep down believed) that too many women can't work together, it's a snake pit. Yet put the same number of men together and they'll have your house standing in a day. The 9(humanity)on the card, reminds us that it affects us all, we're all like that, sometime or the other.

The tower, coolness, reserve, tyranny, separation, distance. In a home setting where more emotional traits are needed, acting like this is detrimental to harmony - the six of clubs indicate the roots being arrogance, like the bureaucrat who runs his home like his office, because he can't 'get off his high horse' (6ofwands)at home. The 19/1 reminds us of the ego(these traits are great in a pioneering, work-like setting, but at home, team work is what's needed, and putting yourself last, not first).

Notice these are all pictures of feelings, imagine the situation, and you have the quality of the card.

The hearts represent the cups..:) The ten of hearts is pictured on the dog, because one good friend is worth more than anything else in your emotional life. Not just a lover, but a friend. Not just a mother, but also a friend. The common denominator for good relationships? 'He was also my best friend, I could share anything with him...' The dog is what we westerners associate which true friendship. Loyalty, no questions asked, trust, responsibility. The 18/9 reminds us how this demands sacrifices from all of us, and that it affects us all at one point or the other. A true friend sacrifices, and we must also do the same. I read elsewhere, that the word sacrifice has been negated too much in our ego-centric culture...it actually comes from 'to make sacred'. So someone who thinks you are worthy enough to give something sacred to, or to make something sacred for. Who do you have, for whom you would do the same?

The Queen of hearts on the stork, remind us that love is a 'bringer'. People used to say the storks brought babies, from where, no one knew. The card behind the stork is what is brought to the card in front of the stork. Love comes from where, no one knows(german saying: and wherever love falls, even if it's on a pile of manure - indicating the unpredictability and the unexplainable), and always adds to the situation it has been brought into, it adds in such a way that it also changes and transforms.

The seven of hearts on the tree card remind us that the roots of anything are in the emotions, hopes and dreams. And that we often build things which aren't based on something real, but for what we take it to be. We have no other choice, but without high ideals, what we build has no lasting value. The roots of your thoughts and actions which build your world lie in your feelings, and how you interpret them. The 5 is the body(health...), the five senses. So what we receive in impressions, we use to 'water' our emotions.
Our emotions fluctuate because they are the deep ocean continually being pushed back and forth between our beliefs(which are not our thoughts).
Our beliefs are set by our highest ideals(the stars), and our subconscious (the moon, or, the layer of impressions which have settled at the bottom of the ocean), so people who have high ideals or (from a religious christian point of view, which these cards are based on), firm religious principles to reach for, are better armoured against creatures from the deep tearing them, or what they have built down. Plus, I believe that if you have high ideals, your emotions,which are constantly washing back and forth stir up the layer of impressions at the bottom->you are constantling comparing what is settling at the bottom to your ideals. If you don't have ideals, that ocean is stale, swampy water, just letting everything drop to the bottom and it just stays there...

The diamonds are, of course then, pentacles, representing the material side of things. Also the knowledge of the material = power. So the book represents secrets, because that is the biggest, most sought after secret of all - how to attain power. Power over the self, others, situations, the world.
Power is the ultimate expression of mastery of the material, represented by the book, because knowledge of something is power over something. For the masses, when these cards were created, power in the literal sense was unobtainable. They were uneducated, superstitious, overly religious, without understanding what religion meant or what it was good for, mostly not even understanding the why's of their own faith, they just went through with their catholic rites and believed that's the way the world turns. So a simple book, the bible, for many, was a world of secrets. At the same time, for those that understood, this was the knowledge they were seeking to attain power, which always begins with power of the self. 26/8 reminds us of constructive, creative thinking, which is power to solve, discover and create, and it is a successful vibration. 8 is the number dealing with power.

The key has the 8ofdiamonds, reminding us of work which is showing fruits, skill. 33/6 is a master vibration of compassion. It demands many sacrifices, of healing others and teaching, representing (sort of - but for our purposes here)Jesus before his death on the cross.. don't run away now, lol, this is just a system of thought, and remember, it was 18something catholic France... So the key to your destiny, soul, whatever you are looking for, comes after you have opened yourself to the teachings of a master, and that once you start practicing what you have learned, you must a. be a key, so teach it to others, and b. you have the key to unlock yourself, all answers are within you. This leads to death/transformation of the current self, the coffin , and then to the book, power, which begins with...exactly.

The scythe originally had a different meaning, it wasn't the pain, swiftness, or sharpness of it's blade that was concentrated on, but it was like the page of pents, the beginnings of learning to accumulate(learning a skill, your talents, which makes you valuable). The scythe was a tool used in the harvest, to accumulate. So this represented learning things from the bottom up, collecting knowledge, leaving to learn, lessons, etc.

The next card in courts is the Queen representing decision-making abilities, which anyone who wants to be succesful in life needs to have.

The king of diamonds is one of the deepest in the deck representing the king of the material, or materiality in it's hardest form. This is a wealthy man(fish in the sea, a successful fisher, but not a fisher of men), a man of the world and of all means. And yet, this card also represents alcoholism or addiction... because somewhere along the way, this king lost all his ideals, his guiding stars, the map to navigate him home over the ocean. In the rough seas he crashed the boat taking him home...in order not to drown, he threw himself upon whatever floated by(addiction, remember the saying that drinking spirits is seeking the spirit the wrong way around?)to carry him to his goal. Of course, this was only provisional, so he had to keep lookout for something better that floated by. This was also only provisional, so he looked for the next thing to hang on to, and sooner or later, that became his only goal, to always look for something better, for the next ride home. Soon, he forgot his original goal, forgot there was a home he had been trying to reach, and thought it had always been that way, always looking for the next float, just to stay above the waves a little longer...when he finally became tired of this, and he could hold on no more, he let himself sink beneath the waves, and the world became for him what he had always thought it was, cold, dark, and deep.
In the beginning, there was only the heavens and the earth, and God wandered over the face of the waters of the deep.

It's also somewhat connected to the story of the Fisher King, but..loong story.
Some legends seem to cast the Fisher King as the archetype of mankind, with the wound being the Original Sin, while others show the Fisher King as being symbolic of Christ, with the wound being a representation of his suffering on the cross, or, in some cases, the evil of mankind. This is further confused by the title that Chretien de Troyes gives him. In medieval French it is "Roi des Pecheurs," which can be translated either The King of Fishers, or the King of Sinners, both of which could apply to Jesus Christ.
from: http://www.steelypips.org/wotfaq/3_sources/3.06_fisher_king.html

I tried to keep this posting as short and readable as possible, so all info is very abbreviated, sorry.

I jumbled most of the layers above, so I'll just list them here:

*In the first layer concentrate on the suits, and their numbers.
*In the second, look at the pictures and what they symbolize, tie them together.
*In the third, look at all the cards that could apply as people and what is going on around them(this you have to feel, generally, the more 'power' a card has, or things going on around it, or influence, it's probably a person)
*In the fourth, check for the 'names' of the card and it's one specific meaning and how it ties in, like the Anchor stands for work, how does it tie in?
*In the fifth, check for descriptions of things, which, put together, give you a mood, or feeling of the situation, person, place. People aren't always the same, they act differently in different situations, so that'll give you clues to the mood of things. Remember emotions create, so that gives you clues where things are headed, how a will act, what b will feel, how b will then probably react, and what kind of situation all this will create.
*In the sixth, you can check for health issues
*In the 7th, you check for the timing cards.

My personal:
*check numerology

*position on tree of life(similiar to the way you would tarot cards, only sometimes it's the number, sometimes the suit number. From this you also see if the suit number is a description, or explanation)

You could use astrology too, but I don't know enough about astrology to do that. But la Lenormand did all of this and more, so (if she really made the first set of cards, which is apparently very likely) she packed it all into her cards. And these that came after, more than likely tried to keep the original meanings(except the scythe).

I'm glad you all don't know me, lol, but for me the cards represent streams of different types of energy we deal with constantly. Each acts and reacts differently. Like the energy of the child card is naive, fresh, bubbly, playful, and yet slightly melancholy. This energy, combined with let's say the house, creates a new energy stream of freshness, newness, joy, stability, security, which can be like that feeling you get when you're decorating your new place and know you've found a new home, but with that slight twang of melancholy for the old one.

Part 2 the tree, next.


xoxo
Kara
 

Moonbow

Kara

What can I say, you are amazing!

You have such a great knowledge of these cards, and your enthusiasm for them is ummm.... catching ;)

I have read this but need to read it again and I eagerly await part 2.

So.... which deck is the best by way of symbolism, in your opinion?
 

Kara

The Urania Blue Owl. The Piatnik took me a while to connect to, I don't know why, really. The pictures are beautiful, but... The Blue Owl was instant. I really think it's because it's the most sold here, so many more people have these images in their minds than the piatnik. I even remember seeing the images around before I really knew what these cards were, so they had already been in my mind for a long time when I got them. The Piatnik though, I saw for the first time when I opened the box.