Stephanie is a mother of two. She has a few problems with Nick, her 11 years old son; he is not behaving as he should at school and home, not listening and trying to push boundaries as much as he can. The question Stephanie asked was “where are Nick’s behavioral problems coming from?”
For these kind of questions, about finding the root cause of something, or questions asking for advice, nothing in my opinion beats the 3x3. I already talked about this spread in the past, but let’s go into details and explain how to do it step by step. Over the years, I changed several times my approach, and here is what I currently use; it is mostly a mixture of what I found useful in the way Camelia Elias and Andy Boroveshengra do it.
Step 1.
I look at the cards to see if something catches my eye. I also look at the mixture of suits to get an idea of what the problems or evolution could be.
We have a majority of spades (4) and clubs (3). In the Petit Lenormand system, spades are a very auspicious suit, which bodes well among Nick’s problems. They represent positive signs, among the problems denoted by the 3 clubs. This, by itself, is a positive sign that Nick’s problems can be solved once the cause has been found.
Clouds are dominating in the top right corner, casting their shadow on a few cards, especially the Mountain, which might represent a serious blockage. Hopefully, the majority of spades are clustered at the bottom, a good omen for Nick’s evolution.
Looking at the insets, we see 3 people. Nick, by his young age, can be represented by the jack of hearts. That leaves 2 adult people that could be involved in Nicks’ problems: the king of clubs and the queen of spades.
First, the king of clubs, difficult character who can create some concern, as this is a characteristic of his suit. Being directly on top of the Mountain, he can be seen as an adversary to Nick’s evolution. He is also clouding to some extent the heart and the book. He could be a man at school or home, there is no evidence at this point to define him better.
Second, the queen of spades. An experienced person who could help him. Here, as his mother is the consultant, we can safely rule her out, as she would be represented by the Lady. That leaves us with someone at school who could help him, teacher or counsellor.
Step 2.
We look at the middle card, which can be seen as a focal point; it has a special role as it touches all the other cards. We look also at the first card, which acts as a trigger.
The focal point the the heart, so Nick’s problems are rooted deeply into his feelings and the control of his emotions. The trigger being the letter, we can say that communications are a big part of what is hurting him. It might be the way he communicates with others, and also the way others communicate with him, as communications are usually bidirectional.
Step 3.
We look at the 4 corners, they show the main influences around the problem. I usually read the 2 pairs of opposite corners, trying to link them into a story.
The way things are communicated to him are too authoritative (letter - anchor), this combination does not leave any leeway for discussion, and this is causing him much unhappiness (clouds - bouquet). Or said otherwise, he’s not happy, because most people in his entourage are too deep set in their position when communicating with him, darkening his days.
Step 4.
We next look at the cross around the central card, going from top, to left, then right and finally to the bottom card. These explain what’s going on around the influences, or the consequences of these. Together with the corners, they give the core of the answer.
The problem has impacted his learning (book clouded) even to a point where there is some regression (book - mice). He feels hurt in that unhappy place (mice, heart, mountain), and that the problem is too big (mountain) to move forward (ship). He is feeling that he is facing a very difficult enemy (mountain) with that person represented by the king of clubs on top of the mountain, and that threatens his progression (ship).
Step 5.
At this point, we have learned most of what the problem could be, and we can come with a summary of what the problems are. The is too much authority around him, his feelings are hurt, he feels threatened by someone, and his learning is really impacted. He does not see how to move forward, even if someone is there to help him overcome this crisis.
Step 6.
We can look at the lines and columns. Some might be important, but information tends quickly to repeat itself.
Line 1: he does not understand clearly directions given to him.
Line 2: That breaks his heart and he feels completely trapped.
Line 3: Kindness with give him some hope to evolve. That queen can really make a difference.
Column 1: Actual interactions erode his happiness.
Column 2: He still likes learning, that will help him moving forward.
Column 3: That hurtful king seems immovable.
Conclusion.
There are mainly two root causes to his unhappiness, a too much authoritative around him, and that king of clubs that he perceives as an enemy. One that king is identified and dealt with, there is great hope that the situation can evolve favorably, especially with that teacher or counsellor helping him.
Deck: Daveluy reproduction from game of hope lenormand.
