How to do a 3 Card Lenormand Spread

So, you want to get started reading Lenormand but you don’t know where to begin...

I know learning Lenormand or any kind of divination seems overwhelming..but guess what? You're only three cards away from your first Lenormand reading. Once you get started with these fun, punchy cards, you won't want to stop.

My FAVORITE way to begin is to just pull 3 cards a day. I usually pull mine first thing in the morning so I can prepare for the energies I may encounter.

In this post, I’ll show you how to set up your reading for success and how to interpret your cards.

So get cozy with your coffee and grab your Lenormand deck. Let's predict. 

STEP 1

Formulate a question.

Believe it or not, this is the most important part of reading Lenormand. Lenormand responds to the context of a question. If you don’t have a question, this means you don’t have context, or an intention. Without intention, the cards are unlikely to provide a coherent message.

So, even if you are just pulling 3 cards a day, you still need to have a question. It can be as simple as: “what may I experience today?” Let's roll with this question.

STEP 2

Shuffle the cards.

Think of your question as you are shuffling. There is no right way to shuffle so make it your own! You will gradually begin to develop a ritual that helps you tune in. Go with that. 

Personally, I like to hold the cards and concentrate on centering myself. I begin repeating the question in my mind slowly. I know the cards have received this message as I receive a cell phone type buzz when they're ready! Not everyone gets a message like this but just shuffle until you're content.

STEP 3

Lay the cards out.

I personally like to deal cards face down and flip them over one by one. The cards tend to chatter at me quickly so I like to flip them over as I please to hear their messages. Others prefer to deal them face up as they are able to immediately read them. Your call.

 
 

STEP 4

Interpret.

There are many ways to interpret a 3 card spread. My favorite for a daily reading is to let the center card be the focus, and the two surrounding to augment that focus.

Each card has associated meanings/key words assigned to them. You can use these keywords and combine them with surrounding cards to interpret your spread.

Let's look at an example:

What may I experience today?

Sun + Letters + Bouquet

Sun + Letters + Bouquet

Sun = Happiness, Energy, Bring to Light

Letters = Invitation/News

Bouquet= Gift, Beauty, Happiness

With the Letters as our focus card, we know the day will revolve around some type of news or invitation. We know this news is likely to be positive as the sun and bouquet surround it.

Remember to always come back to context/question.

Question: “what am I likely to encounter today?”

Answer: I am likely to encounter some type of happy invitation or news. I think it’s likely an invitation as it also next to the bouquet which can represent gifts, something gifted.

Let’s try another example

Question: What may I experience today?

House + Garden + Snake

House + Garden + Snake

House = Home, Stability, Family

Garden = Environment, Gathering, Social Scene

Snake = Problems, Betrayal, Lies

We have the garden as our focus card so we know the day will revolve around the environment we inhabit. 

The environment is our home, as we have the house next to the garden. We also have the snake coming after the garden which means some type of trouble or disturbance at home.

Question: “what may I experience today?”

Answer: I am likely to encounter some type of disturbance at home. 

*Fun fact...the day I drew this combination, we left our gas stove on and had to air the house out for several hours. Lenormand is really accurate!*

We're in the spirit of three...so how about another!

Question: What may I experience today?

Scythe + Book + Man

Scythe + Book + Man

Scythe = Sudden Break, Divisive

Book = Secret, Hidden Information

Man = A Man (or querent if querent is a man)

The book is our focus card meaning our day will involve some kind of hidden information or secret.

Question: "what may I experience today?"

Answer: The Scythe + Book combination lets us know that the secret will be revealed, cutting through the secret. We know that the secret is likely about a man.

Some hot tips:

  • This is just one way to read a 3 card spread. From my experience, using the center card as the focus and the two surrounding tends to provide the most accuracy for daily readings. However, if the message is not making sense this way you can read it in a story format: this, than this, than this. I will have a post in the future about using this style along with others.

  • Always remember the context. I can’t say it enough. We are discussing very immediate, literal, things here as we are talking about the next day. For our last example, we had a secret revealed about a man. It’s likely not something crazy like he’s cheating on his partner. It’s probably something like: he secretly stashes bon bons in his desk. The shorter the time frame, the smaller the impact on the grand scheme of things...in most cases. So if you get a bunch of negative cards, don’t freak out - it’s probably something small for that day!

  • It's okay if the cards don't make sense at first. Just remember what you pulled or better yet, write them down in a journal. They will likely make sense later. Note the 2nd example with the issue with the house! You can also shuffle and redraw. I recommend the latter if you felt unfocused when drawing. There is no divination police so don't worry "am I doing it right?" You probably are. DO YOU.

 
 

What are some of your 3 card readings? Let me know your interpretations in the comments below!

Happy Practicing. 

Next Up: The 3 Reasons why Your Lenormand Readings aren’t Clear (with the Fixes)