Cartomancy in Lenormand seems to be a subject not always very well understood. While I already wrote on that subject, I want to concentrate today on the court, kings, queens, and jacks.
The biggest problem we encounter when trying to interpret the Lenormand cards insets, is that there is still some unknown about the deck. Even if we know the region where it was created, south of Germany, nothing was written in the original instruction about the insets and how to interpret them.
And if we add that cartomancy is far from being standardized, we find a wide range of different interpretations. And most of the time, they contradict each other.
Considering the origin of the deck, it is more than probable that the best way to approach the interpretation would be in accordance with some general principles on how cartomancy is viewed in the country of origin, Germany.
That would make perfect sense. The big majority of the cards seem to match that particular kind of cartomancy, and follow the quality of the different suits. I do not buy that some kind of french cartomancy could be assigned, that does not seem to match at all what the cards depict. Using the same french cartomancy system is, to me, doing a disservice to Lenormand.
Let’s have a look at the court cards, kings, queens, and jacks. As I explained in the past, the best way to match these figures is to associate them with the qualities of their respective suit. Spades will get the best attributes, like happiness, pleasure. Clubs will be more problematic, etc…
Is there any other way we could see them? Something easier? A mnemonic system that would help?
We could certainly use the image. After all, if suits in Lenormand have some attributes, they will be reflected in the cards.
Let’s have a look, looking at the suits characteristics and the images together. For the suit qualities, I will repeat what I wrote in a previous article.
The Hearts are generally seen as a good omen, and especially in love, of course. They also deal with domestic lives and our surroundings.
This seems evident when looking at the king, the man of the house. We can certainly imagine easily a family patriarch, someone who loves being at home, for whom a comfortable life at home seems important.
I like the queen as the stork. She is all about positive changes, improving someone’s life, always looking at the bright side and always going in the direction of something better for all.
The jack is represented in the card of the heart. Is there more to say? A loving child, always ready to please.
The Spades are a very positive suit, contrary to the french system. They provide positivity to the future, friendship, or trust in other people. It represents happiness and what brings us pleasure.
This is perfectly reflected in the king as the lily. The lily, a flower usually associated with purity and wisdom, a flower that needs time to be cultivated. All qualities we find in this king, the wise one.
The queen is the bouquet, the pretty one. Bouquets are usually associated with joy, celebrations, invitations. All good events that this queen represents, this one is happy with what life has to offer.
We have the card of the child for the child. What better choice? A carefree, playful child is depicted.
Diamonds represent first and foremost the state of our finances, but are also a mix of day to day events, sometimes good, sometimes bad, the precarious nature of life. They reflect all the risks we take in life, and this is perfectly reflected in all 3 court cards.
The inset for the fish is the king, card of abundance, often seen as a wealthy businessman. And we all know that finances can change quickly, they always represent a risk.
The queen is in the crossroads, the precarity of choices, the unpredictable one. This one is sitting in between 2 chairs, never knowing which direction to take.
Nothing reflects more danger than a scythe. A scythe cuts, can hurt badly, using it is always associated with some risk. That’s the nature of younger people, like this jack, youth is not afraid of taking risks.
Clubs are not good in any way. They can be interpreted as illness, loss and separation, but also accidents that happen in life. They’re never pleasant, and as such, are the most negative suit of the pack, and this is perfectly represented by the court.
The king is shown as some kind of stormy weather. There’s no wonder he is usually seens as an ex or a difficult man.
What do we know about snakes? When we see one, we do everything we can to avoid them, we take a detour. They can bite and hurt. No wonder either that the queen is also usually seen as the other woman, the one that can hurt your interests. Lying, like some mystical snake. And treacherous, of course.
Even the child is a difficult one, he is here represented by the whip. And instrument that hurts, usually used to give a correction to someone, hopefully corporal punishment is going away.
All these, in my book, are perfectly valid interpretations of the court cards. Going by the qualities of the suits or the images, in the end, give the same result. But it is certainly much easier to remember these qualities when looking at the images.
You must be logged in to post a comment.