How accurate are you when reading Lenormand for yourself? Or when reading for others? If you read only for yourself, it might not be as important. But if you start reading for others, being able to read the cards correctly is a must.
Of course, we all make mistakes, we cannot be the best 100% of the time, we’re all humans. But there are some techniques that can help.
I am convinced that it’s possible to do good, useful readings most of the time, either for ourselves or when reading for others. There are just a few issues that we should be aware of, and some mechanisms that can help. Let’s explore the most common ones, what I would call the seven deadly sins of interpreting.
Build solid foundations.
Among new readers, and sometimes not so new, this is probably the problem I see the most. Readers new to the craft tend to rush the learning phase and start doing readings without a good understanding of what the cards mean.
I see a lot of people new to Lenormand reading book after book, collecting information from many blogs or sites, joining many facebook groups and building a huge list of meanings.
Wrong approach. When learning, keep it simple. The best advice I ever read was in Rana George’s book, pick one system and stick with it until you know it very well. It is always time later to increase your knowledge and extend what you know about the cards.
But you have to know that Lenormand is a nice ecosystem, which should be kept consistent. Mixing definitions and methods will be your biggest nightmare when trying to interpret. All it will do is make you hesitate at every reading. Should I use this or should I use that? The best recipe for a quick disaster.
Put the cards in context.
When you have built a solid foundation, the most important thing is to be flexible enough in your interpretations to put the cards in context to the question. For example, seeing the heart card in a work reading does not certainly speak about a love affair at work, but about someone liking their job.
When using Lenormand, context is king. That’s why it is important to ask a question as precisely as possible, that will determine the context of the reading.
I always advise to define a few concepts for each card that will encompass a wide range of possible interpretations. This will give you a system that with time will become much more flexible compared to relying on lists of keywords.
You’re reading Lenormand, not Tarot.
This is a problem that happens a lot to tarot readers new to Lenormand. It happens to some other people too, but usually not as often.
The problem is the tendency of looking at every detail in the cards and making conclusions from these. They tend to forget that Lenormand is by definition emblematic, not symbolic.
For instance, the dog is an emblem of loyalty, friendship. You might find on the image a brown dog, or black dog, a chihuahua or a rottweiler. Whatever is found, it will not change what the card means. It does not mean a way to cuddle when finding the chihuahua, or guarding or attacking when finding the rottweiler. Whatever the image, it will be an emblem of loyalty and friendship.
Do not look at directions, do not look at details, just try to build a good, solid foundation first.
Do not be emotional.
This is probably the number one problem when reading for ourselves. Our emotions get in the way.
Of course, when reading for ourselves, it is very difficult to get detached from the outcome. When we ask a question, we of course are most of the time very attached to the outcome. That’s human nature.
Be objective.
This one is a close cousin to the previous one. It can happen when reading for ourselves or when reading for others.
We might have some sympathy for the person we are reading for, and we wish the result of the reading will be positive for our client. And of course, this feeling can wreck the reading because of our feelings.
Even when bad cards turn up and the reading does not seem to have the best outcome for our querent, objectivity is a must. It is important to give a fair, accurate reading.
Losing objectivity and orienting the reading in the direction the client would like is not honest.
If someone pays you to perform a reading, they want to hear the truth, not what they wish to happen.
Just relax and be honest.
Use a method when interpreting.
Just stay with the script.
If you decide on a particular form of reading, like a line, a 3×3, or a grand tableau, use some method.
Especially when learning, follow the steps until you feel comfortable with all the spreads you use. The easiest way to derail a reading is to take shortcuts. What happens then is that your interpretation will not be complete.
If you skip some steps, you will lose information. If you want to add some steps, have a serious look at the reasons why these steps were not part of the initial reading.
Know your spreads, stick to the method. If the method should be changed, do not do it in the middle of a reading, reflect on it at another moment.
For instance, if you do a line reading, do you start with the focal card in the middle, or do you read left to right, linearly. Pick a method before laying the cards.
Read all the cards.
A lot of beginner readers are guilty of this one. Or more precisely, not doing this one.
All the cards should be read, following the steps defined in the definition of the spread.
I often see students, when they start, having a tendency of skipping or minimizing difficult cards, or cards they do not understand.
Well, I’ll tell you a secret. If they are on the table, there is a reason. They should be part of the interpretation. Even if they seem difficult, working with concepts should help fitting them into your interpretation.
As I traditionally terminate my articles with a reading, I asked “what advice should we receive to give better readings?”
I love seeing the lilies as the central card. They tend to emphasize the point of using your wisdom, your experience. The liles are a card of things that mature, a good advice is certainly to take the time to learn the system, to let it grow in you.
If we look at the corners we can see that traditional messages (letter, tower) will provide better opportunities (stork, clover) to give a good reading.
The diamond around the middle card says that the key to compassionate and mature interpretations goes through the beauty of our choices.
All wonderful, we get confirmation of what we were already seeing with the lilies, tradition, compassion, and maturity represent solid attributes when reading. Use your wisdom and your heart, it’s better than just repeating keywords learned by heart.
If we look at the columns, we can see that compassionate messages bring opportunities, which are key to using mature, well thought out, choices. That will improve your success over the long term. In other words, use your heart, then filter what you receive through your experience and wisdom as a reader.
Looking at the lines, keep in mind that documentation is key to improvements. This is another aspect of the letter which seems important, write down, use your notes. This will, with time, help you to see the beauty of what comes from the heart combined with experience, that’s how you mature as a reader. That will help you make better choices over time.
Deck: Polly’s Sunset Lenormand, by Tony Puhle
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