Have you been in this situation?
You have a pressing question and you're ready to consult Lenormand. You've shuffled, crafted your question, and pulled your cards. You take a deep breath to read them but...
BAM a random man/woman/person card shows up. You didn't invite this person to the party....or maybe you did and you just can't tell who they are supposed to be. Are they a boss, a partner, a friend? Who is this rando and why are they in my reading?!
Although the people cards in Lenormand seem like they should be easy to read (I mean, they’re people!) they can pose a challenge when they show up unannounced, especially if they haven't properly introduced themselves.
Let’s abate this confusion in this short YouTube video with my top 3 tips for interpreting the people cards with clarity in Lenormand.
Here’s the video version. If you prefer to read then keep on reading down below! Make sure read/watch all the way to tip 3 because it’s one of my favorite tips for reading Lenormand in general!
What do we mean by People/person Cards in Lenormand?
In a petit Lenormand deck, there are traditionally 36 cards. Inside these 36 cards, people appear on multiple cards such as the Rider or the Child cards but in this post we are discussing what is traditionally the Man and the Woman cards, cards #28 and #29.
However, we are SO fortunate to live in the renaissance period of deck creation for Lenormand so there are many decks that have non-binary friendly people cards as well. Some decks will have cards that just say “person” or something along those lines. Here are examples of people cards from the Black Salt Lenormand.
So how do we simplify reading these cards and avoid confusion in our readings? Here are my top 3 tips for reading the people cards in Lenormand with ease and clarity.
Tip 1 - Take out the extra people cards when you don’t need them
Those new, trendy decks are so flashy and exciting and they can be a bit more confusing when interpreting especially as a beginner. Why? There are often bonus cards which can include extra people cards.
So this begs the question…why would deck creators add in extra people cards? How are they helpful? There are two main reasons why having more than 2 people cards is beneficial in Lenormand.
Certain scenarios and contexts can benefit from including additional people cards. For instance, if you are asking questions about a family business and there are 4 partners, it can be helpful to have a person card to represent each specific person. Another example, additional people cards can be helpful in a situation where there is more than one love interest. This frees up other cards that can often represent other people such as the Rider or Dog to portray other meanings (see Tip 3).
Also, the people cards are personal. We use these cards to represent ourselves and our clients/friends and the depiction can matter if we are using cards frequently. Representation matters in our cards just as it does on TV and in other media. If there are many options for which card we choose to be our significator (representing ourselves or client) then we can choose something that is hopefully closer to our own image, further personalizing your cartomancy journey.
The additional people cards can be wonderful but…if you have 8 extra people cards in a deck, they can gum up your reading and cause confusion. So, simply take out the people cards you do not need. I almost always leave in 2 people cards and remove the extras unless the context/question calls to add them back in.
Many decks have bonus cards added along with extra people cards. For example, the Rana George Lenormand has 4 amazing bonus cards! These can be great additions to your reading but until you know what they mean or have the space and time to experiment with them, it can get confusing fast. If in doubt, just take them out and add them back in when or if you’re ready to play with them.
Tip 2 - Make sure your question/context is specific enough
If you have spent anytime with me here then you know…context (AKA the question) is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT in Lenormand. Remember, Lenormand is lexical in nature meaning you read the cards like you’re reading a sentence. The way you phrase your question matters a lot. What also matters is the scope of your question. If you ask a very vague question or you ask a question that strays in too many directions, then it’s going to be difficult to read any card, let alone determine who each person card is.
For example if you ask a question, “what will happen in my life over the next year?” and you draw the Bear card…well what does the Bear mean in this context? The Bear can represent finances, it can represent a boss, a mother figure, diet related things, etc. Although surrounding cards may give context clues, this topic is pretty general and if a person card pops up, it may be tough to tell WHO that person is because we are dynamic beings with many facets to our lives.
However, if you were to ask the question, “What’s ahead for my love life this year,” and you’re married or dating someone, any person card who appears will either be you, your partner, or someone else who will affect your love life. It becomes easier to interpret who a rogue person could be that appears in your reading.
Tip 3 - Give your people cards a job aka charge them
What does it mean to charge a Lenormand card? When you charge a Lenormand card, you are setting the intention for certain cards to represent something specific such as a particular person. However, when you charge a Lenormand card, the card charged loses its original meaning. For instance if you charge the Woman card to represent yourself, it ONLY represents you. It will no longer represent anyone else.
For people cards, this typically isn’t a big deal because people cards are designed to represent people. But, if you charge the Fox as work, the Fox will no longer mean strategy, manipulation etc. For this reason, you don’t want to go charge crazy and charge every card you can. You want as many cards as possible freed up so they have space to convey what they need to convey to you and answer the question asked.
Here’s a scenario. You are investigating a love relationship for your client and you charge one card as her but she has 2 love interests. If you have extra people cards in the deck you can charge one card to represent love interest #1, and another person card to represent love interest #2. Super simple!
Remember, ultimately this is YOUR cartomancy practice and as my mentor/teacher Rana George says, “There are no Lenormand police!” You do you. Take what resonates leave what doesn’t and have fun!
If you are wanting to dig in deeper to your Lenormand practice or simply get started learning, my free Mini Course is here for you. Inside I take you through the basics and get you started with a quick practice to build your confidence. You can take the course here.
