10. Scythe - meanings

Padma

Hey Fire Cat :) Thanks for your thoughts on the matter!

Yes, context seems very important with the Lennies! What I find especially intriguing in your comment is that you mention it can be bad for one person, but good for another. So the Scythe then can cut both ways, would you say? (depending on the context, of course!)

In regard to the initial question about Sycthe + Dog + Lily, I am now wondering if the Donnaleigh thing is accurate, where the Scythe falling before a good card frees that thing to happen in one's life. But you also mention an equally true thing, that Scythe + Dog can mean the end of a dog's life (as well as the end of a friendship) Here we are with context again, I suppose!

I think that unlike with the tarot, that can veer off in its own mad directions in order to reveal truth, if it so pleases, being irrelevant to the question sometimes, the Lennies seem to be interpreted *only* in context with the exact question posed. But in a Grand Tableau it can become difficult to deduce what is incidentally happening in your life, if you should ask, oh, say, "How will next month be for me?" Because then if Scythe plus Dog (e.g.) came up, or Scythe + Tree, it could indeed be a death? Or it could mean the death of a friendship? Or even Scythe + Snake could be the end of a pesky woman bothering you, or it could also mean having some plumbing work done, or it could mean you give away your pet snake...! How to determine then? I suppose the only thing that helps is the surrounding cards?

Sorry, I haven't been doing the Lenormand that long, and I am trying to understand how it works.

Which then I guess means that ideally, one should have a firm question in mind, and not be vague like "what next week brings" when doing a GT...?

There are certain cards and combos in the Lenormands that can make me cringe! But overall it seems an eerily accurate way to predict. So I also wonder if that is why, as in tarot, we long to find positive associations for scary cards, as well as taking on board the potential negatives. Anyways. Theorizing here ;)
 

kalliope

It all depends on the context, and most importantly the question, but for me, the Scythe is:

--usually: suddenness or danger/pain (magnitude varies)
--when it follows a card it's usually describing that thing as sudden, surprising, unexpected, sometimes as hurtful. These combinations can be more pleasant (Bouquet-Scythe=a sudden gift or happy surprise; Clover-Scythe=sudden luck or opportunity; Ship-Scythe=unexpected travel; Heart-Scythe=suddenly (jarringly!) falling in or out of love, a love that is painful or aggressive)
--the card after it is the thing that is in danger, or it describes the danger/pain. It can "cut away" the following card. (Scythe-Ship=danger in a car, car accident; Scythe-Lady=danger to a woman or a dangerous/aggressive woman; Scythe-Heart=pain due to love, breaking up; Scythe-Paths=in danger of making a wrong decision or going the wrong way)
--(some people use the direction of the Scythe to tell the difference, but at the moment I prefer to use before/after since I have a few decks that I use)

--danger, aggression, accidents, cutting, separation, surgery, pain, cruelty; behavior that cuts and can't be taken back
--suddenly, painfully;
--dangerous, unavoidable; rude, sarcastic, or cruel
--less commonly it signifies sharp things, metal things, dental issues

--Usually an uncomfortable card, even when it's "cutting away" something bad. The process won't be fun even if it's getting rid of something that will improve circumstances. You'll probably have to ride out some discomfort.
--Obviously if you're doing a daily draw then take things in context and the magnitude of all cards will be diminished. Probably a lot less "danger", but rather things like mild warnings, garden-variety snide comments, or simple stuff like paper cuts.

*********

To throw another wrench into the matter, here is a method for reading the Scythe from Britta Kienle. It's kind of backwards from what I described above, but it's interesting, and she's consistent about it:

--at the beginning of a line or row, it means that whatever follows will suddenly start;
--at the end of a row/line, it means that whatever precedes it will suddenly end (it can be a situation described by a few cards leading up to it, not just the one before it.)
--when in the middle of a row to the right of a person card = that person should be more forceful and "cut their way through"
--enforcement

So Scythe-Dog-Lily according to Britta could mean the sudden appearance(Scythe) of an attractive and charming(Lily) young man or lover (Dog).
 

Aulruna

The way I learned it is very similar to what kalliope describes - the suddenness is usually associated with danger/risk. The danger part will still be present even if it's an obstacle that's removed. The symbolism was more connected to the Reaper than to a treasured agricultural tool - still, if I got a reading with that interpretation, it would sound plausible to me!

Generally, I was taught that it is important to find consistent rules in Lenormand and stick to them, so Britta Kienle's approach would probably work too ... but only with the "main flavour" of the card, which will (in my book) always be danger - the attractive young man would endanger an existing relationship, for example.

And yes, there is the literal thing :D

(I'm also one of those persons who doesn't need to see the silver lining everywhere. Sometimes, you will not be able to see the silver lining until after you passed through the tempest, and sometimes the silver lining will be that you survived and not anything else.)
 

Padma

Aulruna and Kalliope, you both make interesting and informative points! I have been trying to stick to one system when learning the combos (the cards themselves on their own are simple enough - ) but there is a lot of different information out there, and different methods, so hard to just stick to one system!

Kalliope, the way you describe how you read it goes with my deck - the Scythe handle is what presents itself when it falls after a card, so less harmful (?) and the blade presents when it comes before, so cutting is definitely implied.

And I have to agree with Aulruna, sometimes the only silver lining is you survive intact! I think from now on I will take it as a "heed the danger, heads up!" warning card. I cannot find too many positive associations with it, and I think it just is what it is - a cutting implement, which can either cause pain or be a constructive healing cutting but that is it. The only exception I can see is when it brings luck with Clover...and that is only because of my own experience!

I have ordered the Mario Dos Ventos book, I hope it makes better sense to me than the other books I ordered! :p There doesn't seem to be too many good books on the subject, and what is available on the web is confusing and contradictory!

It's times like these that I wish I could time travel to Mlle. Lenormand and get a reading from her myself :D Then I would understand properly!
 

La Force

I am nervous about posting sorry, I just don't want to say anything, leery, to start stuff up again. I'm really sorry. I will try very hard to be better at communicating, to not cause any confusion/misunderstandings.

Wow amazing combos you all posted, That is what I was looking for awesome.

I didn't see those when I practising thanks, That's what I like, well explained, easy to understand, well layed out showing how you do it. Thanks so much.

You see I really enjoy peoples different methods of reading, and opinions, I like variety, so that I can pick and choose what will work for me or not. so when it come to the varying traditional meanings, I can see how the work or don't work. so that I find my ground in applying what will work me using the lenormand card.

Thanks
La Force
:)
 

La Force

I'm very nervous about posting, I fear that I'll get attacked again,

La force said:
Everyday I am a student of lenormand, it doesn't matter how many years I read up, researched, etc. I had a stroke, I have lost all short term memory some long term memory as well. I mentioned in another thread, that the stroke was on my left side of the brain, in the Thalamus region, this is your main computer in the brain, It just like your computer at home when it doesn't work properly, or is off. I went for a full assessment, to be tested to see the severity of the stroke, I failed all test, except, for the Higher visual function testing. I scored well above average, which shocked psychometrist, who did the psychometric testing. lol

so I like abstract, and patterns, visual (right sided), and I am very good at noticing when something is missing. lol , may I say in pictures, well that was what the test was, looking at pictures to see what is missing. lol This could very well be why I like my tarot and lenormand card. lol just one problem loss of memory. so I write on my cards the keywords, oh well. This just goes with a right sided brain.

So I have been trying really hard to work on my memory issue. I found Donnaleigh's videos helpful, if only I can remember. lol

So Please, continue to post, showing me visualy how to do the 3 card combo, it will help me to see how it is done.

I just wanted to add, what I was practicing, in Full. This is a good exercise for the brain, I did adjust Donnaleigh's method a little bit. In Donnaleigh's video she used Man, So what I did is I went through all the cards in the deck doing this. As you do this you may find more trickier cards. It gets your brain thinking, and great for practice.

You can view my main post if you need to for words, you can also view my post #3 and post #6 if you need to. that's the method I used to do this excerise, or use your own method.


Write a question down, any question, that will be phased to have both positive and negative sides to the question. as in it can go either way, good or bad. (No timeing is needed). This can be easier to use hindsight for questions. I did cause I'm learning how to actually apply the cards, and not just read or research about them.

(I chose this question cause it can be either or, positive and negative. for when I'm learning I use hindsight, cause it's stuff I already know, so helps me put the pieces of the puzzle together easier for me.) I have found when working with a new deck whether it be tarot or oracles or Lenormand, when learning the cards, or system using hindsight and questions to things in your past very helpful in grasping the cards and system that used.

THIS IS NOT A READING, This is practising only:

This was my question: Will my brothers ladder sleeve be a success.

this is a Scythe 3 card combination:

Scythe + Dog + Rider
Scythe + Dog + Clover
Scythe + Dog + Ship
Scythe + Dog + House
Scythe + Dog + Tree
Scythe + Dog + Clouds
Scythe + Dog + Snake
Scythe + Dog + Coffin
Scythe + Dog + Flowers/Bouquet
Scythe + Dog + Rod/Whip/Birchrod (Dog/pet abuse)
Scythe + Dog + Birds
Scythe + Dog + Child
Scythe + Dog + Fox
Scythe + Dog + Bear
Scythe + Dog + Star
Scythe + Dog + Stork
Scythe + Dog + Tower
Scythe + Dog + Garden
Scythe + Dog + Mountain
Scythe + Dog + Roads/Path/Crossroads
Scythe + Dog + Mice
Scythe + Dog + Heart
Scythe + Dog + Ring
Scythe + Dog + Book
Scythe + Dog + Letter
Scythe + Dog + Man
Scythe + Dog + Lady
Scythe + Dog + Lily This is the combo I asked for help with.
Scythe + Dog + Sun
Scythe + Dog + Moon
Scythe + Dog + Key
Scythe + Dog + Fish
Scythe + Dog + Anchor
Scythe + Dog + Cross

I found I got stuck trying to find positive in negative card combo's.

You can start off with

Scythe + Rider + clover
Scythe + Rider + Ship
and so on down the list or tryout different cards, like Scythe + House + Rider. etc

(ETA:Then you can try same method, this time put the Scythe in the middle position. ie: Rider + Scythe + Cover
Clover + Scythe + Ship

and so on

Then try putting the Scythe at the end position
Rider + Dog + Scythe
Clover + Dog + Scythe
Ship + Dog + Scythe

or

Rider + house + Scythe
Clover + house + Scythe
Ship + house + Scythe

and so on

end of ETA: )

Also you can do 2 card combinations.

for some help you can view my other thread that I did with Donnaleighs video
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=203987

Scythe + Rider
Scythe + Clover
Scythe + Ship
Scythe + House
Scythe + Tree
Scythe + Clouds
Scythe + Snake
Scythe + Coffin
Scythe + Flowers/Bouquet
Scythe + Rod/Whip/Birchrod
Scythe + Birds
Scythe + Child
Scythe + Fox
Scythe + Bear
Scythe + Star
Scythe + Stork
Scythe + Dog
Scythe + Tower
Scythe + Garden
Scythe + Mountain
Scythe + Road/Path/Crossroads
Scythe + Mice
Scythe + Heart
Scythe + Ring
Scythe + Book
Scythe + Letter
Scythe + Man
Scythe + Lady
Scythe + Lily
Scythe + Sun
Scythe + Moon
Scythe + Key
Scythe + Fish
Scythe + Anchor
Scythe + Cross

Have fun

La Force
:)