Building the Story with Lenormand

What do you do when there is no question? While I always insist on having a question when we want to read the cards, sometimes it just does not happen. The querent just does not want to ask for one. 

Or they keep their question very vague, like “what will happen to me this week”, or “what should I know”.

Well, you see the style, no information is given, we just have to trust our cards to tell the correct information.

Of course, we could always do a general grand tableau if we have the time. We could also read a few pairs of cards, I’ll show that technique into another article.

Or we could simply throw a few cards, and do a line reading. I would start with the first cards, I would not even look at what card is the focal point, or all the cards in the line to start. I would simply go with the first card, interpret in a general way what it represents, and gradually bring more and pinpoint the reading with the additional cards, one at the time.

Let’s do an example.

We get the Star. What could we say to our client?

The Star is a card of success first, if we go by basic definitions. Of course, if we look at the function of the stars, the first thing that comes to mind is guidance.

So, our client probably has a project in mind, hopes to succeed of course, but is looking for guidance, how to reach their goal. The card might be a card of success, but it is more about reaching that success over a long period of time, looking at their aspirations, and how to be guided about reaching their goal.

So far so good. Let’s look at what is coming next.

The Clouds. Immediately, there is a feeling of deception. The dark side of the Clouds is facing the Star. There is a sense that the success the client was expecting will turn into something unsuccessful. 

At the minimum, something is not clear in their goals. The client is more than probably going to see problems happening. They will need to clarify quite a few points.

Next we get the Rider. There might be an attempt to move away from the initial goal because of the problems.

But, let’s not forget that the Rider is before all a bringer of news. Contrary to the Ship moving away, the Rider usually is bringing something to us.

If we apply all this to the context, we could say that facing these problems to reach their goal, the client is going to seek more information. It might be in the form of someone helping. But if might also be in the sense of news coming, information that was gathered by the client.

So far so good, the new information did bring the Key. Some solution was found concerning the problems that were encountered. 

There is a feeling of happiness here, problems have been overcome, a solution is found, the project can continue.

Looking at the birds to terminate the line, the previous sense of contentment is a little bit mitigated. With the Birds, there is always a notion of nervousness. 

Even if the client can talk about their accomplishment, there is still some upset about the solution that will be implemented.

Having all the elements in hand, we can revisit the whole line and refine our interpretation.

The client has an idea, a project, a goal to reach. While working towards what they want, they encounter a series of problems, there is some confusion. They seek help and more information on how to fix things. And they find a solution, probably a compromise, something partial to what was the initial goal, as there is still some upset about it at the end.

The real art of storytelling is to come back to the interpretation after each card is looked at, and complete it. It’s like a puzzle. At the end, we try to fit everything together into a nice picture.