Weekly Lenormand Outlook: From the Pips, with Love

Earlier this week, I shared the latest outlook reading using the Lenormand.

And, as I shared at the end of the post, that was the first part of the reading.

In that part of the reading, I used keywords associated with the basic image on the cards to create meaning of the line of cards. Those keywords are then strung together in combinations of pair and triplets, as is the tradition of reading Lenormand.

That’s just one of the ways to use the cards, though.

The other technique I use is looking at the pips—the playing cards inserted atop the central images—to see what they have to say about the reading.

And just what do the pips have to say about this week’s outlook? Let’s take a look…

If you checked out the reading, then you’ll recall our cards for this week, from the Piatnik Lenormand, are Scythe, Tree, Heart, Rider, and Woman.

The playing cards inserted on those cards are: Jack of Diamonds (Scythe); 7 of Hearts (Tree); Jack of Hearts (Heart); 9 of Hearts (Rider); and Ace of Spades (Woman).

The first thing that catches my eye is that 3 of the 5 cards in the line are from the suit of Hearts. In cartomancy, the suit of Hearts is said to be the one that represents domestic affairs and daily life. The suit of Hearts is also said to reflect wishes and sincerity of affection; this can be seen with the appearance of the 9 of Hearts (known as “the wish card”), as well as the 7 of Hearts; Heart, the focus card of this week’s reading, can mean affection.

Looking at these cards from a different perspective, and my own personal experience reading playing cards, Hearts point to our feelings and emotions, our relationships (in all forms) and our ability to relate to other people.

Another hint toward the relationship slant is supported by the Ace of Spades. Spades, in cartomancy, is considered the suit of relationships.

Rounding out the line, we have a card from the suit of Diamonds, which is the suit of cares and concerns.

Taking this into account, one possibility is that the pips are showing us the cares and concerns, as well as the hopes and wishes, of a particular relationship.

The particular technique I use with the pips is called looking for the Hidden Dynamics.

Starting with the pips from the outer cards and adding their numerical values together, we have 11 (Jack of Diamonds) and 1 (Ace of Spades). Adding them together gives us 12.

The Lenormand deck, having 36 numbered cards, we look for card 12, which is Birds.

Birds is a card of communication and conversation. Keeping with the idea of Heart being passion and love, Birds might emphasize passionate conversation, which can run the gamut from loving and affectionate (Heart) words, to more heated exchanges. In that vein, Birds is also a card of sorrows, of being upset and frustrated. We can also communicate from those emotional places as well.

Birds is also a card of partnerships, as there are two birds pictured on the card; Birds could suggest a situation involving two people, as was highlighted by the appearance of Rider and Woman, which I looked at as being a young man and a woman, respectively.

Looking at the inner pips next, from the cards Tree and Rider, we have 7 (7 of Hearts) and 9 (9 of Hearts). Adding them together gives us 16.

The 16th card in the deck is Stars. This is a card of wishes (it also has a card from the suit of Hearts on it) and inspiration. Stars can be about the things we aspire to and for.

The dynamic would read that the Heart is between the Birds and the Stars. If we read Heart as a relationship, the dynamic might suggest that the reality of the relationship (Birds) may fall short of the hopes and wishes of what the relationship could be (Stars).

The pair of Birds and Stars could also suggest a communication issue, perhaps a particular conversation (Birds) that might need to be cleared up (Stars being a card of clarity).

Another possibility is that there are words (Birds) someone is hoping or wishing (Stars) to hear.

Now that the dynamics have been explored, the last thing I do with the pips is add them all together, kind of as a final word from the pips on the reading. Using the pips from our weekly outlook, we have 11 + 7 + 11 + 9 + 1, which gives us 39.

Since there are only 36 cards in the deck, we take any number over 36 and add its digits together. In this case, we have 3 + 9 = 12, giving us Birds once again.

Since this card has appeared already, we could go with an alternate approach and subtract 36 from the pip total (39), which would give us 3.

The 3rd card in the deck is Ship, which is a card usually associated with travel, but I also see it as a metaphorical journey, as well as progression and advancement. So, keeping with Heart as possible love, romance, or relationship, then Ship might suggest how things are progressing and advancing with the relationship.

And, on that note, we’ve traveled to the end of our journey exploring this week’s outlook with the pips.

Until next time…