Communication represented in cards

Hi

to me there are a number of cards that signify communication in the cards:
letter
owls/birds
whips/rod
even the fish in some decks

I thought i would start a discussion onthe differences in the type of communication in these cards.I understand the letter for written communication even if its electronic such as emails, and even the rider can bring news.the whips are meant to arguments or harsh words that sting,or communication about S&M...lol. The birds/owls can be gossiping type of information and phone calls.

The main questions i have are:
1- can the whip never be gentle, is it always arguments or harsh words, can another card mitigate it?
2-are there other cards you see as communication?
3- if you do a spread and dont see a communication card, does it mean its face to face meeting, or a longing, simply thinking about them, or no contact at all
4-Which cards to see being the biggest influence on the communication cards

anyways fire away with your answers, questions or general comments

Good idea for a discussion Red..!

The whip can certainly be mitigated, it always depends on the surrounding cards... If they're painting something gloomy, I'd go with the more severe meaning of the card... The reverse for light hearted cards. Just keep a power struggle in mind when you see it (playful competition, or very serious disagreements). Like union discussions... Someone has the upper hand, and everything goes well, usually, if everyone collaborates, the problem is that both have diverging interests which makes the communication or situation more unstable / potentially volatile.

The birds are about gossip and a succession of face to face meetings (like a lunch date) too, but are mainly about verbal communication. They are more about information sharing... Look at the surrounding cards to see if it's misinformation (like slander) or simply good natured exchanges. Usually it's low key, but if you see cards that represent crowds (garden), then you have something a tad bigger on your hands. IE: if someone is slandering you, it's one thing, and then quite another if that slander takes place with your entourage nearby... Say, at a board meeting. But if there are very nice cards included in the mix then the it might be recognition of sorts (look for stars, the sun, and other positive indicators).

The letter, as you have mentioned, are about written documents (with the birds, I'd say quick text messaging), with the roads by regular mail, with the ship from far away, rider by courrier and usually important, etc.


I think the above are the main communication cards, and I don't see the fish as communication, but more as a subject of the communication.

Your last two questions are interesting ones but I'm not sure how I'd answer them... All the cards are impacted by their surrounding cards in subtle ways. If a communication card doesn't show up... It might just mean that it's not really of consequence to the answer... But when you do have them appear, you should look for who, what, where, when and how...

Whip/Rod

Thank you LE, i was thinking about this mainly as there are alot of questions like 'will he/she contact me...' and reading the cards unlike tarot it seems to answer when to a yes/no question (tarot can do this sometimes, sometimes it pokes its tongue out at you).

The whip is one i sometimes see clearly, but in the mystical its a painful card, but in other decks it doesnt look that bad, in the mystical i cant see the sexual element to it either...but can in other decks.

For instance Book/flowers/whip could be a secret brought into the open has a postive outcome, but the flowers being there i cant see the whip as being bad as the flowers is too nice, so perhaps the sexual element of the whip comes in?

also Lily/whip i can see as sexual conversation or S&M.

whip/sun i would see as the arguments bringing something positive out.

Sun/Whip i could see as openness casues arguments.

owls/Whip- scathing text message conversation that wounds

love the distinction about the owls/birds being about sharing information, so i could see that as something like twitter or FB, or as you say a lunch with friends

214red said:

The whip is one i sometimes see clearly, but in the mystical its a painful card, but in other decks it doesnt look that bad, in the mystical i cant see the sexual element to it either...but can in other decks.

Click to expand...

And there you have the disadvantage of those beautifully art inspired decks vs the more neutral ones. You automatically get affected by the artist's rendition and bias of the symbol. With Lenormand, I usually prefer the decks with the more neutral looking cards... it's not a single card that makes a spread, if you know my meaning, it's a combination of cards.

For example, the neutral aspect of a whip goes back thousands of years... it's symbolic with the rights of the strong over the weak (imagine a slave driver whipping and lashing a lazy slave / a cat-o-nine-tails on an English ship 200 years ago, etc). Dominion over nature (imagine the farmer whipping his oxen to plow his fields). The whip is a symbol of authority and the capacity to pass immediate judgement. Look at Egyptian glyphs with Pharaohs and the shepherd hook and whip.

So, while self-flagellation depicted on the card is more inclined with personal punishment and self-purification, I think it's the wrong angle on that card given it's one sided interpretation. It can also be used for good, without hurting anyone... more for the sound might scare an ox to plow ahead, instead of punishing it outright in the other scenarios... which is the soft / sexual side of the whip in this case...

(sorry, I realise this is somewhat of a rant, so I'll cut this there).

214red said:

For instance Book/flowers/whip could be a secret brought into the open has a postive outcome, but the flowers being there i cant see the whip as being bad as the flowers is too nice, so perhaps the sexual element of the whip comes in?

also Lily/whip i can see as sexual conversation or S&M.

whip/sun i would see as the arguments bringing something positive out.

Sun/Whip i could see as openness casues arguments.

owls/Whip- scathing text message conversation that wounds

love the distinction about the owls/birds being about sharing information, so i could see that as something like twitter or FB, or as you say a lunch with friends

Click to expand...

Agreed on all of these...!

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halil said:

I think the garden is another card that can involve communication, but the public would be involved somehow. Traditionally, a garden was where people would meet and talk, and was an area where men and women could court.

I'm guessing letter/garden could include a press release, while birds/garden could range from a business meeting to a TV interview.

Click to expand...

Oh! Very good point..! I like it.

Both the Rider and the Book are also about communication. The first one brings the news, the second - brings knowledge, one way or another.

Ronia said:

Both the Rider and the Book are also about communication. The first one brings the news, the second - brings knowledge, one way or another.

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I can see what your saying, so its a bit like the fish, it can bring you information but its doesnt mean its 'normal' communication, you can get knowledge thats not verbal or written.

The fish was my subconscious at the weekend, something bubbled to the surface and 'spoke' but not in a conventional way.