Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by astrologerbydefault

Lets learn something fun today. Cartomancy! Specifically how to set up your very own Lenormand card set and use it. Of all the card sets and Tarot sets that I have worked with, Lenormand is a practical and a fun way of divination. No kaballah, no esoteric stuff, no high level words, just plain simple questions and answers. And it is a way of accessing the information hidden inside your own subconscious, a good way of listening to your own self.

Now straight on to the practical stuff.

You can make this card set at home. I think for most of you this will be your first card deck. It is just so exciting to make your own stuff because the cards absorb your aura energy and really become your own.

Buy a deck of normal playing cards and separate the following 36 cards, write their card names on the playing card using a permanent marker. I have also given a few important keywords for each card. The keywords are quite logical, eg “child” may actually mean a child, innocence, inexperience, trusting person, small issue, playful person, all the things that we actually associate with a child. So remembering the keywords is quite easy.

1. 9 of hearts is “Rider” – short journey, young energetic man, speed, messages
2. 6 of diamonds is “Clover” – tiny bit of luck, gamble, small joy, spark
3. 10 of spades is is “Ship” – long journey, vehicle, departing, adventure,
4. King of hearts is “House” – family, home, physical building of the home, establishment, privacy, safety, takin care, at home
5. 7 of hearts is “Tree” – family tree, dynasty, health, spirituality, roots
6. King of clubs is “Clouds” – difficulties, problems, smoke, misunderstanding, doubt, hidden
7. Queen of clubs is “Snake” – karma, clever woman, desire, intestines, tubes, lies, knowledge
8. 9 of diamonds is “Coffin” – ending, death, sadness, sleep, rest, exhaution
9. Queen of spades of “Bouquet” – happiness, flattery, social interactions, politeness, flowers
10. Jack of diamonds is “Scythe” – accidents, cuts, danger, sharp weapon, warning, speed
11. Jack of clubs is “Whip” – exercise, sex, conflict, repetitive activity, arguments, pain, beating, action
12. 7 of diamonds is “Birds” – conversations, nervousness, gossip, excitement, lots of messages.
13. Jack of spades is “Child” – child, inexperience, innocent, playful, new starts
14. 9 of clubs is “Fox” – man of the world, just business, crafty, cunning, be cautious, not trustworthy, tricks
15. 10 of clubs is “Bear”- power, strength, food, leader, anger, influence
16. 6 of hearts is “Star” – hope, spirituality, dreams, inspiration
17. Queen of hearts is “Stork” – possibilities, changes, new beginnings, out of the box,
18. 10 of hearts is “Dog” – best friends, loyalty, followers, devotion, support
19. 6 of spades is “Tower” – institutions, big buildings, authority, being alone, ego, arrogance
20. 8 of spades is “Garden” – social networks, a function, get-together, open areas, fame, happiness,
21. 8 of clubs is “Mountain” – obstacle, heights,
22. Queen of diamonds is “Crossroads” – options, opportunities, choice, travel, confusion
23. 7 of clubs is “Mice” – theft, reducing, disease, filth, rubbish, infestation, flawed, parasites, stealing under your nose.
24. Jack of hearts is “Heart” – love, forgiveness, romance
25. Ace of clubs is “Ring” – commitment, marriage, completion, cyclic
26. 10 of diamonds is “Book” – secrets, education, information available but not yet accessed, research, prescriptions
27. 7 of spades is “Letter” – documents, communications, information
28. Ace of hearts is “Man” – any male associated with the question asked, family member, husband etc
29. Ace of spades is “Woman” – any female associated with the question asked, family member, wife etc
30. King of spades is “Lily” – maturity, sensuality, wisdom, sex, morals, older woman, serenity
31. Ace of diamonds is “Sun” – happiness, success, pride, power, heat, truth
32. 8 of Hearts is “Moon” – night, subconscious, emotions, desires, intuition
33. 8 of diamonds is “Key” – solutions, achievements, freedom, openness
34. King of diamonds is “Fish” – finances, plenty, gains, treasures,
35. 9 of spades is “Anchor” – stability, restrain, foundations, enduring
36. 6 of clubs is “Cross” – suffering, burden, religious, principles, harsh, duty, bound

In the Lenormand system, the name of the card is everything, the pictures of the cards have no divinatory meanings as such. The cards are read in pairs and sequences like a sentence. The cards have the same meaning upright or reversed. If you would like a short cut and not learn the above keywords then just read the card combination meanings given above.

Now to to play with your subconscious and your first card deck. Shuffle the cards and focus on a question, eg, “How is my day going to be today”. When you feel like it, stop shuffling and spread the cards out in a fan. And with your non-dominant hand pull out 5 cards. Lay them face down in a line as you pull them out and then turn them together.

Suppose you get this sequence “clouds scythe rider bear birds”. One interpretation of this could be “cloudy day” “cut sharply” “young man” “food” “conversations”, and it gets fulfilled as your day does not look so promising, confused, then suddenly the doubts get resolved, your boyfriend suddenly turns up and you eat food and talk together. The central card is the focus card around which the interpretation revolves.

Another example, “How is this new guy I met today for me?”, and you get “fox, tower, clover, man, mountain”, so one interpretation can be, “career/business” “office building” “small luck/gamble” “the young man in the question himself” “obstacle”. So you may think he would be a little bit lucky for your business establishment but in the end he will be a obstacle.

So you see for your first deck the Lenormand is perfect. Practical questions with practical answers. Right now you are on baby steps, trying to work around with cards. But Lenormand is definitely not a baby system, there are other spreads and ways to work with it, it is quite powerful and sometimes its answers will amaze you. As you learn the to interpret and learn to put meanings together you can use this system to its full potential.

Even later when you wish to experiment with self discovery, you should really try out Tarot, i.e. Thoth, Raider-Waite or Marseillus decks.

I do consider cartomancy as one of the easiest and safest means to start accessing you subconscious. The answers do not come by “magic” but from your internal higher self, the cards are the tools, the medium, the “magic” is you, your own self.

So as a to-do.

Ask the cards this one question everyday, “How is my day going to be”.  Note the combinations in your diary, interpret them the best you can. And at the end of the day check how accurate they were and how good was your interpretation. Do this simple beginner exercise with Cartomancy for 21 days. And then experiment with advanced spreads and stuff.

And all the best for your first step into divination.