Lenormand Line of Five and Tarot Cards

I found out about this fascinating spread over at Inner Whispers, where Chloe directed me to the Seer Pathways site and Lisa Frideborg Lloyd's "Who Am I" spread. From there I traveled over to Neopagan Priestess to see what Kerry did with it.

Now I am ready to try it myself!

I am using the French Cartomancy deck (published by Lo Scarabeo) with the Shapeshifter Tarot by D.J. Conway and Sirona Knight, with illustrations by Lisa Hunt (Llewellyn Publications). The Shapeshifter deck is one of my oldest and dearest friends, and I wanted to see what it would say about me!

In the future, I will try to develop my own "Lennie and Tarot" spread, but for now, I am going to use Lisa's "Who Am I" spread, with the five Lenormand cards representing my personality and the two Tarot cards representing "Lesson to Learn" and "Soul Card."


Personality:
COFFIN (8) ~ TOWER (19) ~ MOON (32) ~ GARDEN (20) ~ DOG (18)

All of these cards seem to have a lonely or moody tone to them. Even the typically gregarious Dog is alone on his card. I do see two people on the Garden, peering into the fountain.

Coffin suggests "death" to me, which can either mean the need to let something "die" (let it go) or perhaps the "death" of an expectation, hope, or dream. Both of these interpretations resonate with me.

Tower suggests that I need to face and accept the truth, even if it is unpleasant. Coffin plus Tower gives us "morgue, hospice, prison" according to Sylvie Steinbach (The Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle). This makes a lot of sense to me in a figurative sense. All three of these have to do with deprivation, restriction, or punishment.  I get a mental image of being confined in a coffin inside a tower. Talk about being closed off! I admit that in many ways I have a depressed or repressed personality (I was clinically diagnosed with depression 20 years ago). I tend to bottle up or suppress things. I dislike confrontation so much that I often choose not to express myself when I am hurt or disappointed.

I feel that Moon represents the importance of intuition, dreams, and illusions (for better or worse) in my life. Interestingly, Tower plus Moon can be seen as a reference to the entertainment industry -- and the fact is, I do like to entertain (maybe that doesn't make sense for a depressed personality, but then again, a positive audience response to an effort to entertain can certainly improve one's mood).  All my life I have enjoyed acting in plays and performing music (singing, guitar, piano).

Garden suggests planting and nurturing, encouraging things to grow. Moon plus Garden makes me think of a garden party in the moonlight, surrounded by flowers and trees bathed in soft light. In general, this is a joyful combination. The keyword "entertainment" comes up again here (Steinbach).

Dog is often about trusted friends, loyalty, and support. Garden plus Dog is a card of celebration, reunion, and gatherings (Steinbach). I do maintain links to my past, with people and places I care about and value. I enjoy revisiting these people and places (reunion), blending past and present into a rich tapestry of memories and emotions. I value my family and friends who have stood by me during difficult times.

Lesson to Learn:
WARRIOR OF AIR (12)

In this deck, the Warrior of Air is comparable to the Knight of Wands. He is represented by Taliesin, the Celtic Welsh bard of legend and history. The card focuses on guidance, changes, movement, and creative inspiration. Taliesin knows that all of this comes from the spiritual plane, and that is the lesson I am meant to learn. This applies whether I seek deep wisdom, magic, or growth and expansion in any area of my life.

Soul Card:
TEN OF CUPS / Happiness (10)

It's hard for me to imagine a more appropriate Soul Card for myself. In addition to representing contentment, success, and happiness, this card relates to spiritual energy and psychic talents. I am somewhat amused to see that the woman on this card is shapeshifting into a lizard. I personally don't feel particularly drawn to lizards on the physical plane, but I do feel a connection to dragons and lizards at some level, and that has come out in much of my writing.

Lots to think about here! Thank you, Chloe, for calling my attention to this spread -- and thank you, Lisa, for creating it!