The Birds: meaning of Lenormand card 12

The card at a glance

The image on the card

In the Sol da Alma Lenormand, two small birds with blue backs and heads, orange breasts and white bellies sit facing each other on a branch covered in pink blossom. They look at one another, beak to beak, as if in conversation. Behind them, a hazy blue sky opens onto a bright sun wrapped in a golden halo, with white clouds and patches of light. In the corner, the number 12 and the seven of diamonds.

In the Engraved Lenormand, the picture is that of a natural-history illustration: two brown birds with pale orange breasts, white bellies and a small crest, perched side by side on a dry, bare branch against a pale green background. They do not look at each other — both turn to the left, towards the same side. The difference between the two cards is a lovely and useful one: in the Sol da Alma, the Birds are dialogue, two sides talking to each other; in the engraving, they are the pair who live and look out together, and the leafless branch gives them a more sober tone, almost one of waiting.

The symbolism, detail by detail

Two birds

The number matters: there are two, and the card speaks of pairs — two people, two sides, a conversation, a couple. Where one bird would be a message, two are an exchange.

The chirping

The spoken word, quick and light. The Birds stand for speech — conversation, the call, what is said out loud — unlike the Letter, which is what is written.

Beak to beak

In the Sol da Alma, the birds face each other: dialogue, intimacy, the understanding that comes through conversation.

The blossoming branch and the bare branch

The Sol da Alma paints spring, the season of pairing and song; the engraving, a bare branch. Conversation can be cheerful or nervous, and the two images show the two tones of the card.

The restlessness

Small birds are always on the alert, ready to take flight at the faintest sound. This is the nervous side of the card: anxiety, agitation, nerves before an important conversation.

The seven of diamonds

A seven, the number of what one does on one’s own account, from the suit of practical things: it gives the Birds their everyday tone — work conversations, business, small concrete worries.

The history of the Birds

The Birds were already card 12 in ‘Das Spiel der Hoffnung’, the Game of Hope published by Johann Kaspar Hechtel in Nuremberg around 1799, with the seven of diamonds in the corner. It was a board game of thirty-six cards, played with dice, and the miniature playing cards meant it could also be used to tell fortunes.

The deck began to be sold under the name of Marie Anne Lenormand after her death in 1843 — she was the most famous fortune-teller in Paris — although there is no evidence that she ever used it. In Portugal and Brazil it became known as the ‘Baralho Cigano’ (‘Gypsy deck’), a popular name that does not reflect any historical Romani origin.

The birds on the card vary a great deal from deck to deck: sparrows, swallows, songbirds, and in some decks owls — which is why, in English, the card is also known as ‘Owls’. The meaning stays the same: two birds, and the conversation, the restlessness and the pair they represent.

The meaning of the Birds

The Birds are the card of spoken communication: conversations, phone calls, meetings, interviews, negotiations, heart-to-hearts. They say that the matter in question will be resolved — or complicated — through words. Often they simply announce a call or a conversation that is about to happen.

They are also the card of the number two: a couple, a partnership, two people involved in the same matter, two paths or two options set side by side. And, by extension, the card of nervousness: the anxiety before a difficult conversation, the bustle of a busy week, the mind that will not stop talking to itself.

The less positive side is noise: rumours, idle chatter, gossip, people who talk too much and say too little. Next to clear cards, the Birds bring clarity; next to confused cards, they spread the confusion. The card itself is neutral and light — it is the quality of the conversation that decides.

The Birds in love

In love, the Birds are the couple who talk: dialogue, messages exchanged, the closeness of two people who understand each other through words. For someone who is single, they announce a conversation with someone interesting, a first date, exchanges of messages that start to mean something. Traditionally, they also speak of courtship — the time of getting to know each other.

In a relationship in crisis, they ask you to talk rather than guess: the solution lies in an honest conversation. The warning is about nerves and gossip — jealousy fed by talk, third parties with too many opinions. Next to the Heart, it is a conversation about love; next to the Whip, an argument; next to the Fox, insincere talk.

The Birds in work and money

At work, the Birds announce meetings, interviews, phone calls, negotiations and contact with clients. They favour every profession that lives by the spoken word — sales, customer service, teaching, communication, telephone work — and working in pairs. They also warn of a nervous atmosphere or of corridor gossip.

In money matters, they speak of negotiating: discussing a price, asking for a pay rise, agreeing on terms. With the Fish, a negotiation that pays off; with the Mice, anxiety about money or a conversation about a loss.

The Birds in health and wellbeing

In questions about wellbeing, the Birds speak of nerves, of restlessness, of a mind that is too busy, and they call for breaks and quiet. They are also a reminder of the value of talking to someone about what is worrying you. As always in the Lenormand, the reading shows tendencies and attitudes, and it does not replace any medical consultation or care.

The Birds as a person

As a person, the Birds describe someone communicative, chatty, sociable and quick to speak — and sometimes nervous, restless or given to gossip. They can also represent two people at once, and in the traditional reading a couple, sometimes an older couple. In a reading, it is worth asking whose voice the card is speaking of.

The Birds as advice

As advice, the Birds say: talk. Call, ask, clear things up, negotiate. What is at stake is better settled face to face than in silence or through assumptions. And they also say: calm down — not everything you hear deserves attention, and not every worry has good reason behind it.

The timing of the Birds

The Birds are quick, but not as quick as the Rider: they speak of days, of a busy week, of the time it takes to exchange a few messages. Because there are two of them, some read them as two units of time — two days, two weeks — but that depends on the cards around them.

In the Grand Tableau: house 12

In the Grand Tableau — the thirty-six cards laid out in rows — the twelfth position is the house of the Birds. The card that falls there shows what is going to be talked about, or what is causing nerves, in the life of the person asking. And the Birds themselves, wherever they fall, bring conversation and restlessness to the theme of that house: in the house of the Ring, the negotiation of a commitment; in that of the House, family conversations.

Combinations with other cards

• Heart — A conversation about love, a declaration made in person.
• Letter — Messages exchanged, written and spoken conversation at the same time.
• Rider — A call that comes quickly; news told in person.
• Whip — An argument, harsh words, a conversation that keeps repeating itself.
• Fox — Insincere conversations; a job interview.
• Ring — The negotiation of an agreement; a couple talking about commitment.
• Clouds — Misunderstandings, rumours, muddled conversations.
• Key — The conversation that settles things; the right word at the right moment.
• Garden — A meeting, a conference, conversations in a public place.
• Book — A secret shared; a conversation about studies or about something still hidden.
• House — Family conversations; a phone call home.
• Moon — A conversation about feelings; anxiety that makes itself felt at night.