Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.

Approaching the Lenormand Cards

Finding Your Deck

Choosing the right deck is critical at the beginning stages of learning. At the moment, a plethora of Lenormand decks are available from publishers all over the world. When you are starting to learn, I recommend picking a simple deck with basic symbols in which the artwork is very clear and uncluttered. A straightforward deck works best when learning the Grand Tableau because it minimizes distractions on the cards. Symbols should be clear and obvious during a reading. When the Lenormand symbols are cluttered and obscured with other shapes or decorations, it can interfere with your perceptions. By beginning with streamlined basics, your initial readings will flow effortlessly in an uncomplicated and direct fashion. Only when you gain enough experience and practice will any deck be fine, as your brain will already be programmed to the Lenor- mand symbols. Then it will be good to let your eyes wander and your intuition soar in many directions. There are plenty of simple decks that are beautiful without seeming plain. You should connect with the deck and enjoy looking at it; the sense of enjoyment is essential in the learning process.

First Things First

When reading, it is vital to approach the cards with a clear head and a specific question to get a precise answer. I carry out the shuffling process like a ritual to get in the zone and concentrate on the question. I then formulate the question in a manner that will give me a specific answer to the situation at hand.

Next I decide between pulling the cards or spreading them, determining the number and placement of the cards pulled. Then I make sure to listen to that first instinct, that first voice I hear when I see the symbols in the cards, because nine times out of ten this is the root of my accurate predictions.

Trust yourself: doubt is your number one enemy. Do not be afraid to be wrong, for it only means you are taking the necessary risks on the path to proficiency. The cards alone cannot give you the answer. Your intuition and your insights are at work here; the cards are only a tool. Practice makes perfect. The more you work with the cards, the greater your comfort level and accuracy will be. Make sure to do whatever is necessary to clear your head: take a deep breath and assume a position where you feel secure, relaxed, and in control while performing the shuffling process and formulating the question.

Questions Lead to Answers

When interpreting the cards, it is essential to keep your question in mind and answer only the question asked. Do not deviate and go into a different subject. For example, if you are reading about someone's romantic intentions, do not get sidetracked into issues about his finances or his mother unless the finances or the mother relate to the romantic question. You must focus on answering the what, the who, the why, the when, the how, and the where of the question in practical, specific language. This is the only way to get precision in your reading without rambling or distraction.

Keep it simple: You do not need an elaborate interpretation to be accurate. Make sure your question is properly formulated in your mind; this is the most important step in your reading. It is more important than the reading itself, and your accuracy depends on it. Formulate the question in a way that produces a clear aim and a context for useful insight. The cards can only answer the exact question you ask. If the cards don't make sense, your focus or question may not have been clear. In that case, rethink the question and redo the reading. Look for questions that allow for concrete and descriptive answers.

Examples:

Is Amy interested in me or what are her thoughts about me?

How will I do on my test?

How will our dog react to the new puppy?

What is the best way to tackle this situation?

How does our financial state look in the near future?

What are Alex's intentions toward me?

Do I need to worry about my job?

Will I get this job?

Will Tanya land this contract?

How will Robert react to the news?

What am I to expect on my trip?

Is Jason's relationship stable?

What are my prospects for a love interest in the near future?

Coming up with the most direct and specific question will help you get the most clear and precise answer. Lenormand is a predictive tool. All questions are valid as long as they are simple and precise; a vague question will produce a vague answer. Be very specific in your question, and you will see how the Lenormand will answer in a very direct manner. On the other hand, when doing a general reading without a question, use the cards to determine the focus card and the issue at hand. A general rule when pulling cards for a daily reading with no question in mind is to keep the interpretation simple and grounded.

Questions dealing with time, as in "when," are a little tricky. I have found that using the seasons for a time frame works best. Try to incorporate the time in the question, like "Will Shawn land the contract by the summer?" or "How will this situation develop during the winter?" Time is elusive; we influence time frames with our actions. The cards' time is different from our material time; in one sense, we are trying to access wisdom that doesn't adhere to our linear, human time. What the cards will do is give us the sequence of events that can help us determine an estimation of time once we can determine the context. I cannot stress enough the importance of these first steps: breathe, center yourself, shuffle, think of a clear question, and then pull the cards.

Stick with Your System

At the beginning of your Lenormand journey, consistency must be your watchword. As you take the first steps, start with a set of mean- ings and stick to them, making them your foundation and base. This method will amplify your accuracy. For example, decide on the card you associate with sex and the card you associate with work and make sure to adhere to those symbolic associations. If you vacillate and mix meanings, you will disrupt your unconscious, compromise the clarity of your answer, and always have the doubt of which meaning applies, which will affect your confidence. For my part, I use the Whip as the sex card and the Fox as the job card. Eventually you will build on the traditional meanings and cultivate your own set from your own successful readings. You have to experience the cards in order to understand how they speak to you.

In the recent resurgence of Lenormand, I learned that different Lenormand systems exist with a slight variation to the meanings, de- pending on their country of origin. The array of schools can create tremendous confusion because of the debate over context and approach. However, the distinctions between them are minor and involve subtle variations in the reading of a few cards. I lean toward the French/Belgian/Dutch set of meanings. Each has value and potency, but you must stick to your set of meanings. You can always expand these associations later, but to develop a firm grip on the deck, pick one set of meanings and adhere to them. In that way you will attach those meanings to those cards within your own mind. Your intuition will flourish within the Lenormand's symbolic structure, and your predictions will grow in precision. Every card needs a specific attribution for an accurate prediction. Being consistent is a key factor and a very important step in learning how to read Lenormand. So again, I have to emphasize the fundamental need to be consistent!

Journal Your Cards

Journaling will facilitate your personal connection with the cards and produce a perfect record to revisit as you learn. The easiest way to start is to select two cards a day and document them in your journal. Every morning, pull two cards and write down what you think they mean. At the end of the day, make a note of how those symbols manifested in your day. Since each card has a single symbol, you need two or more to produce a useful prediction. These simple daily readings will allow you to track your accuracy and reactions.

Over time, you will develop your own combination reference, and the cards will sync with your mind and intuition. When you start feeling a little bit more comfortable, move on to three cards a day, and so on. You can also use your journal for all your readings, recording your predictions so you can gauge hits and misses. Even if you only pull one card for a question or a situation, write down your question and the card pulled. This activity will improve your precision and nurture a tight rapport with your cards.

Exercise Your Deck

The most important part of learning is to practice, practice, and practice. It has been said that mastery of any activity requires ten thousand repetitions; the more you can read and check the outcome, the closer you can reach that kind of proficiency. Practice on yourself, on TV shows to see who is going to win or "who done it," on the news, on elections, on the Oscars, even on the weather.

Predict, predict, predict. The more you use the cards, and the more you do these exercises, the faster the learning process will become. It is like working out: the more you work out, the more supple and muscular you become. The more you practice reading, the more accurate and swift you will grow with Lenormand, intuition, and psychic abilities. And don't forget to journal your predictions as a way of keeping yourself diligent and tracking your progress.

Using a Significator or a Focus Card

A significator or a focus card is specifically preselected from the deck to represent a situation, a problem, or a person in question. In Lenormand, the Woman and the Man cards always represent your client, or the person getting the reading, unless they are specially picked out to represent a certain person. When a card is picked to represent other topics or subjects you are reading about, activate the specific card with concerns related to the topic. Activating a card sets the intention by energizing the symbol with the question at hand and superimposing that element of the querent's situation on the card's timeless image. The same is true of the Man/Woman as the client's significator: for a female client, you need to activate the Woman card for her specifically. For a male client, you might activate the Woman as his wife, his sister, or his female boss, based on the question.

By activating a particular card for particular people, topics, or concerns, you cast that card as if it were an actor on stage so that it can play a certain role in this particular reading. For example: the Snake may serve as a missing bracelet for one reading and a two- faced friend in another. The Ship card can represent my upcoming trip; the Book can represent a just-finished project. In your mind's eye, see the issue at hand being overlaid by the relevant card while you are shuffling; keep on shuffling until the topic and the focus card are one. For example, if you want to read about a trip, you could activate the Ship card, shuffle the deck, then look for it in the deck and read it with the cards that it was sandwiched in between. If you want to read about a project you are working on, activate the Book. The more mindfully you activate the cards, the more specific details will emerge in all your readings.

This method is not mandatory. You can ask the question and just pull the cards without activating them, but I suggest that you try using both ways for a while and compare the outcomes. Focusing on the topic will be sufficient in some readings, and the deck will indicate the card requiring your focus by itself. This method works better when you pull an odd number of cards; the card showing up in the middle will be the important card for you to focus on. For example, if you are focusing on your upcoming trip and the card in the middle happens to be the Bear, then the advice would be to watch your spending or be aware of where you put your wallet and purse or pay attention to meals, since the Bear is the symbol for money and diet. Basically, the cards pulled will guide you to the focus of your reading, with the surrounding cards providing the details.

That clarity is what I like about not preselecting a significator or focus card and just pulling the cards randomly. Almost always, the cards will identify the primary issue without input from the client. When reading about a business trip, the Ship card appearing on its own, without being activated, is the cards' way of confirming your question. The reading and the reality have synchronized.

In my experience, I have found that both methods work well. I use both, allowing the cards to direct the reading and at other times selecting the main cards and reading around them.

My Story with Lenormand

Before I can tell you how to use the Lenormand deck my way, I would like to share my own first view of the cards. My experiences and how the deck fell into my life helped shape me as a person as well as taught me how to use them to their full potential.

I was born at a time when Beirut, Lebanon, was called the Paris of the Middle East. My family's maternal lineage was drenched with psychics and empaths. Much later in my life, I found out that I had two great-grandfathers on my mother's side who were very well known as mystics and psychics. Her maternal grandfather was a regular medium and a channeler, but her paternal grandfather was a pharmacist versed in the arts of everything esoteric—he was a healer, a medium, a channeler, a fortuneteller, a religious mystic, an alchemist, and much more. The local people revered him and would come to him for help; however, at the same time, they feared him. There were a few more relatives here and there that were well known for their mysticism and healings. It wasn't long before I realized that I followed in the footsteps of my ancestors. It was a gift. As a kid, though, I had no idea how to use it, control it, or embrace it.

Growing up in Beirut, I saw the start of the civil war and endured twelve years of it. During the war there was always either someone being killed or abducted. After one of these tragedies hit home directly, my family and I escaped the country. It was a tense time: my father wanted to move to France, while my mother wanted to move to America. Through much thought and consideration, the decision was made: to the great United States we went.

My story with Lenormand started when I was around ten years old and living in Beirut. Uncle Charles was a close friend and a neighbor to my parents; Beirut was his home, but he also carried a French nationality; it was the norm back then. He used to always stop by for coffee, a reading, and a chat. He was from a Lebanese-Jewish family that had been in Beirut for many generations. I have very fond memories of him, and he played a great part of my life with Lenormand. Uncle Charles was also a psychic and a great seer in the mystical Ordre de la Rose-Croix. I recall when he used to go someplace in the mountains of France where he attended psychic meetings. I would sit in the hallway when I was supposed to be sleeping and listen to the stories he told my parents of men who could move objects with their mind and other men who could make plants grow. He explained how he was able to check up remotely on his friends in France and vice versa.

Uncle Charles didn't want to leave Beirut or his home. His love for Beirut was so strong that he endured the first four years of the civil war until one evening when, late at night, there was knocking at our door; it was Uncle Charles with a suitcase. He had received a tip from the militia of a serious threat to his life. The situation was very dire in Beirut, with explosions and gunfire, total political unrest, and the airport closed temporarily. Uncle Charles had to hide in our home for a while; it was a time packed with esoteric teachings and readings. The moment the airport opened, my mom and dad hid Uncle Charles in the car and drove him under the cover of night to the airport, where he took the first flight out of Beirut. Before he left, Uncle Charles gave my mom a deck to pass on to me when she felt the time was right. This was my first and only Lenormand deck for most of my life. That was the last time I ever saw him. Since he fled the country, contact was hard and minimal until it was finally totally lost. I hope he knows what became of that lit- tle girl with the pack of thirty-six cards. For the next two years, my mom used that deck, and I watched her every day. Later I started doing little readings here and there for family and friends. Eventually the circle grew and kept on growing until it encompassed the neighbors and their friends. They used to all come with chocolate, desserts, and homemade cakes.

I remember one specific neighbor coming with a plate of homemade maamoul

(a Lebanese desert stuffed with walnuts and dates).

Her reading was a bit undesirable, but I gave her the warning.

The next morning at six a.m., I was running late for my school bus—and, of course, the electricity was out again, so I had to run five flights of stairs. By the time I reached the second floor, she had opened the door and screamed from the fourth floor: "Rana! Remember your reading last night? I fell in the tub and twisted my ankle!" All I could think to answer was "I'm sorry!" That was the first of my many "I wish I hadn't predicted that" moments. The rest of my teenage years were atypical. Life weighed heavy through those years. I experienced friends and family members get- ting tortured and shot, others getting abducted, and all the while I had to live with predicting most of these treacherous events. The last of the pain and suffering we could stand to endure before fleeing the country was the death of my grandmother and my two young aunts. These were not typical deaths; these were the most horrific and appalling murders anyone could ever bear. These events signaled the end of our life in Lebanon. Throughout all of this, my mom was my anchor, my wall, my protector, and my hero; she was the one standing strong in front of people, defending the sanity of her daughter. With our escape to the United States, I made sure to bring with me the five items I cherished the most: my Lenormand deck, my polar bear, my only Barbie (wearing an off-white lace wedding dress), my diary, and my makeup case. The move to the United States was no easy feat, and trying to live and fit in was just as hard. By then I was almost eighteen. I used to do readings to anyone who asked.

Not only did I read with Lenormand, I read palms as well. One day on a double date with my close friend Tina, I saw danger in the hand of my blind date. I didn't know the guy, and I didn't know what to say. Should I tell him or should I stay quiet? Tina suggested that I tell him, so I did, and he looked at me funny. The next day he got stabbed in an alley. I went to the hospital with Tina to visit him, and the minute I walked into the room he pointed his finger and screamed at me as loud as he could to "get that g*****n witch out of my room." I was shocked, horrified, mortified, and couldn't breathe anymore. I went home and cried for a week. After that episode, I realized that for me to fit in, I had to be very careful and minimize my readings. So I stopped all readings and only read to very close friends and family. My only Lenormand deck stayed with me through all the years of college and marriage. After years of use, the deck was breaking apart in my hands; I was losing my precious deck, and I had no idea where and if I could get another one. In 2009 I decided to go on the web and do a search for "Lenormand." Imagine my shock when I discovered I could actually buy another one. I found a plethora of information and a great community of people who shared my passion for divination. This instantly supportive tribe seemed an absolute miracle; heaven led me to a wonderful Tarot community. Through it I met the most amazing people who taught me the art of Tarot and much more, and in return I shared my Lenormand knowledge. Over the past three decades, that little Lenormand deck has changed me to the core; those cards got me through the toughest times and always showed me a path.

They grew up with me just as much as I grew up with them. From my early teenage years to my wife and mommy days, they have shaped my life. I have taught my three boys to do readings as well, and they do it beautifully. They solve many of their school problems with just a deck of cards. Reading cards empowers people; it is a transformative tool. On the next page is an image of a few cards from my faithful Lenormand deck, the deck that was given to me and stayed with me as my only reading deck for twenty-seven years. After doing a little research, I found out that this particular edition dates from the early 1900s. It is a simple deck and considered one of the classics: a red-tinted copy of the Dondorf design. This deck is a part of me, and I treasure it utterly. The constant use throughout all these years has made it fragile to the point where it is literally falling apart. It is tucked away in a special box far from any hands. It is amazing how a simple, small deck of cards has made such an impact on my life since the day it came into my little hands. It is my companion, my solace, and my guide; it molded me into the woman I am now.

My personal Lenormand oracle changed my life; I hope The Essential Lenormand can do the same for you.