If you couldn't learn to read Lenormands "properly"

Sorry if this has been covered, I couldn't find it...

I have (sadly) come to the conclusion I am never going to learn to read Lenormands "properly". I have a very linear brain, very compartmentalised. I also have trouble remembering names - and keywords come in the same category - and too many choices leaves me bewildered. It's not going to happen

This then is not a discussion about the "rules" or the "schools" or the rights and wrongs or using Lenormands as oracles. It's just a down-to-earth, practical "How might I find a way to use these lovely decks" HELP! kind of thing!

Has anyone else done this, through choice or necessity, worked out systems for using Lenormand decks as if they were oracles of some sort? If you have, would you be prepared to share some of your ideas?

I bought 5 Lenormands in total (bad, bad collecting bug), they are all lovely, and I really would like to keep them, and use them somehow. My alternative would be to sell them all but it seems such a shame.
So no judgement please, just helpful suggestions for someone who has hit a wall and is honest enough to admit it

Thank is advance
Pathwalker

p.s Mods - if I've got this in the wrong place, please just do the usual. I struggled as to whether to put it in Lenormands or Oracles

Hi Pathwalker,
Though I'm EXTREMELY new to Lenormand, and have been a bit frustrated by not "getting it", I've had the same thoughts as you at times.
Part of me is saying...hmm....why can't I use these cards however I choose to, and not the "traditional" way? Perhaps I could add them to my tarot readings in my own way, using the cards the way they speak to me and not the way they have spoken to others.
But then I have the thought that when I first was getting into tarot I didn't get it either! It took me years before it started clicking, so I feel I haven't given myself enough time with the Lenormand. And I feel that if I start using them in a different way than they were intended, I will never learn them in the true sense.
I'm still on the fence about it and haven't made my decision yet.
But I think it has to be whatever feels right and works for you.

People use things intended for one purpose in many different ways all the time!
I remember when my daughter was a baby and was learning to walk. I used sliced pool noodled on all the table around the house as bumpers! Worked for me. And now, she is much older and we actually use pool noodles as they were intended, as toys in the pool. (a lame example, but you get the idea)

Who says we can't do the same with our cards...I mean, they are OUR cards, feel free to use them however you see fit. And even if someone says you "can't" or "shouldn't"....so what!?

If you have trouble with key words and that form of information, why not try doing the combinations and what you think of them, almost like a chemistry experiment or making up a story.

Take 3 cards from a deck. Look at the images carefully, can you make a story up of the 3 symbols or what would happen if they were all in place. I think you could form your own interpretation by doing that!

I think I rely too much on key words and want to get more intuitive now. I think making a connection between the cards is a good way of doing it. The story method works well for Tarot for sure.

Thank you both
HeatherRose, I can see what you mean, by giving up too early (basically) and never learning them. So I'll encourage you to keep trying LOL
But I am never going to be able to master the combinations and complexities; so I've decided to cut my losses and try something new with them.
Danieljuk - yes that would certainly be a start, thank you. I'm also thinking perhaps of using some kind of positional spread, certainly using the significator card (which I don't do in a tarot reading).

I think I'm happy to have rules to the extent that the cards always have the same range of meaning, but I need a much smaller set of things to relate them to - not the myriad of combinations and positions that a classic reader would use. I get lost in the labyrinth otherwise, I cannot contain, sort and use all the information like that.

I just wondered if anyone else had tried anything similar, and could offer up their ideas as part of my starting point

I hope to post some of my ideas here as they become more solid, to try them out and get some feedback - I just really needed to make it clear that this isn't optional for me - I'm not flouting the established method for the sake of it - I genuinely want to be able to use the cards in some way, and am trying to find that way.

I have quite a single track mind - it was great for the kind of work I did, but it is a disadvantage in some other areas. But I've reached the stage where I don't feel like wasting time beating myself up for not being able to do things (lots of things not just this) in the way other folks do - and just get on and find a working strategy

Pathwalker,

I can't remember a keyword even it were to be tattooed to the back of my hand! Besides, too often I find the keywords to make very little sense to my pragmatic way of thinking. Another issue is that keywords are static and I prefer to read dynamically.

I haven't given up on Lenormand cards, but I have decided, that just like tarot and every other aspect of my life, I don't care what traditionalists have to say. I will make my own traditions and change them as needed. I was raised that way and I don't plan on changing anytime soon.

What advice I can offer is that when you come across an anchor, for example, consider what an anchor means to you. Anchors are about staying put. Stability in a storm. Sometimes, they can be futile - because not all anchors are appropriate to the seabed upon which they are cast. If the anchor is meant for a rocky bottom, then there is nothing for it in mud. Personalise the card at that moment and context.

So, to me, an anchor cannot be distilled to a single keyword that I won't remember anyway.

Okay, I see what you mean


But what kind of questions or spreads do you use with Lenormand cards? Are you using tarot-type spreads, or laying them out in row like Lenormand? Are you then reading multiple directions ?

I'm thinking of static positions - so much more like an oracle or tarot reading. I think I would find that easier. Perhaps something like the CC spread used in tarot, I would maybe work it out for myself how I wanted that to look - 12 cards maybe, a third of the deck.

For now just looking to throw ideas around with others. Thank you for input, I can see I do need to think creatively about each card as I will use it

Pragmatic - OED - "Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations"

You and me both I think

I understand your frustration in that I have a horrible time memorizing anything and have to re-memorize frequently if I want to ave immediate access to the info. But, I've done this where necessary with Lenormand. First - don't memorize combinations. Any list of combinations consists merely of possibilities, not absolutes. Instead, regularly practice putting together combos until you feel comfortable doing it. If the Moon is your work card then what kinds of work would each of the other cards (when in combination with Moon) indicate?

Regarding Lenormand meanings: go through your favorite sources of meanings (including the 1846 Phillipe Lenormand instruction sheet) and pare down the keywords to what seems to you to be the two or three most significant noun keywords. Learn these by memorization or practice. If you wish, add another two or three adjectives. Try working with just this limited set of meanings for a while. Slowly add relevant meanings to your list as they come up in practice--that is, when you have a personal connection with the added meanings.

Thank you for the encouragement, I truly appreciate your kindness.

But honestly, I have to recognise that I am not going to able to do this. I reached a stage academically where I couldn't progress because I cannot retain things well enough, even though they make perfect sense when explained.
I can't remember acronyms, so that never helped either LOL. I forget people's names that I have known for years, although I remember faces really well.

The only way I have ever remembered just "words" is in song lyrics. I can sing whole songs I heard last when I was five! It clicks into a different part of the brain, by being linked to music and movement (I used to dance a lot).

So in an academic sense I was labelled an under-acheiver, because I seemed bright, but failed exams dismally. But in a creative sense I feel very happy with the way I "see" things and work with them.

Perhaps it will seem I'm giving up too easily - maybe I am, I could spend another year ignoring my tarot decks and sweating to remember and re-remember for Lenormand. But as soon as I stop I know it will drift away again, and I've no intention of dropping tarot for ever, so this is the choice I've made. I'm not unhappy with it, I'm just trying to see if I can use the 5 wonderful decks in others ways.

Thank you though, and I hope it inspires others (who learn in different ways) to continue.

Pathwalker

final suggestion Pathwalker what about having images or a film playing in your memory for each card or symbol? visual keywords if you like. the memory experts give words an image and can remember it really well. For example Anchor - my picture of it is that it hangs off a ship, so picture it hanging off a ship. if the water is really rough or they want to stop the ship, they 'down the anchor'. the ship is secure and stays exactly where it is safely. Maybe that anchor has gone down at a port or shore. There is already a Lenormand card for a 'ship' for sailing and travel and overseas, so what is the difference? well this is about that anchor put down on the ship. it's not moving. When it's down there is safety and security. They can do work on the ship or safely get off the ship.

Then apply that visual keyword to each reading based on that visual image. It's a good way to start and maybe helps you remember better?