Lenormand Cross: the question, layer by layer
The Lenormand Cross puts the question in the centre and surrounds it with four cards: above, what sets the tone; below, the unseen root; on the left, what is on its way out; on the right, what is coming in. Rather than following the matter over time, it looks at it layer by layer.
Write your question, shuffle and draw: the five cards come from a thirty-six-card Lenormand deck shuffled there and then, and the reading appears written out on the spot, card by card and then the whole cross. It is free and needs no sign-up.
How the cards are laid out
What each position means
The question
The matter at its core, the card that tells you what it is about.
What governs it
What hovers above and sets the tone — an influence, a person, a state of mind.
What sustains it
The unseen root, the true cause beneath what shows on the surface.
What has passed
What is leaving the question on the left and gradually losing strength.
What is coming
What is coming in on the right, the next event.
When to use the Lenormand Cross
When you suspect that the real cause of the matter is not the one in plain sight. The card below shows what sustains the question and the one above what governs it, and very often it is these two that explain why things are not moving.
It works for questions about work, money, family and love — whenever you want to understand what lies behind, and not just what is going to happen.
How to read the Lenormand Cross
Read the vertical axis first: what governs, the question and what sustains it form a sentence from top to bottom — the influence, the matter, the root. Then the horizontal axis, which is time: what is leaving, the question, what is coming in.
The centre card links the two axes and everything is read through it. A heavy card in the centre, such as the Mountain or the Coffin, with a light card coming in, such as the Clover or the Sun, announces relief on its way.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards are there in the Lenormand Cross?
Five: one in the centre and four around it, in the shape of a cross.
What is the difference between the Lenormand Cross and the tarot Cross?
The shape is similar, but the language is different. The Lenormand Cross uses the thirty-six Lenormand cards, which speak of concrete events; the tarot Cross uses the seventy-eight tarot cards, which speak more of forces and attitudes.
Does the Lenormand Cross give yes or no answers?
It gives a good indication: look at the card coming in, on the right, and at the centre card. Cards such as the Sun, the Clover or the Key lean towards yes; the Mountain, the Cross or the Clouds towards no, or towards ‘not yet’.
See a sample report for this spread (PDF)
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