The Tree: meaning of Lenormand card 5

The card at a glance

The image on the card

In the Sol da Alma Lenormand, the Tree is a great broadleaf tree standing alone on top of a green hill. Its round, dense crown shades from dark green to golden yellow where the light strikes it; the reddish-brown trunk opens into thick roots that spread out in plain sight over the grass. Behind it, the low sun warms the horizon, and a rainbow arches above the crown in a blue and rosy sky. In the distance there are hazy mountains; in the foreground, small pink flowers in the grass. In the corner, the number 5 and the seven of hearts.

In the Engraved Lenormand, the tree is a weeping willow, painted in the manner of the illustrations of the 1800s: a thick, short trunk and a wide crown of long branches that hang down almost to the ground, in a flat meadow with other trees in the distance. The two images differ in the species and the setting — the Engraved willow is more withdrawn, the Sol da Alma tree more luminous —, but they agree on the essentials: a single tree, large and old, firmly rooted in the ground.

The symbolism, detail by detail

The solitary tree

The whole person, with their body and their history. A tree standing alone in a meadow is also an image of strength of one’s own: it does not need to lean on anything.

The roots

What holds everything up and cannot be seen: family, origins, old habits, underlying health. In the Sol da Alma painting they are on show — a reminder that everything that grows comes from a foundation.

The trunk

Endurance, structure, the backbone of a life or a project. It is what withstands the storms.

The crown

Visible growth, the fruit, the shade it gives to others. A broad crown is the sign of a well-nourished life.

The willow

In the Engraved Lenormand, the weeping willow adds a note of inwardness and flexibility to the tree: it bends, but it does not break.

The hill and the meadow

The ground in which the tree grows. A tree depends on its soil: the card always asks what ground you are planted in.

The seven of hearts

A card from the suit of hearts, the suit of affections and bonds, which links the Tree to family and to long-standing relationships as much as to the body.

The history of the Tree

The Tree already held fifth place in ‘Das Spiel der Hoffnung’, the Game of Hope published by Johann Kaspar Hechtel in Nuremberg around 1799, with the seven of hearts in the corner. It was a board game of thirty-six cards moved across with dice, which could also be used for reading the cards thanks to the miniature playing cards.

The name ‘Lenormand’ was given to it after the death in 1843 of Marie Anne Lenormand, the most famous fortune-teller in Paris — a selling name, since there is no evidence that she ever used this deck. In Portugal and Brazil it became known as the ‘Baralho Cigano’, the Gypsy Deck, a popular name with no historical Romani origin.

The tree is one of the oldest images there is for speaking of life and of family — just think of the expression ‘family tree’. In the Lenormand, the card inherited this double meaning: the life of the body and the life of the lineage. The association of the Tree with health is one of the most widespread in Lenormand reading.

The meaning of the Tree

The Tree is the card of vitality and of your general state: energy, endurance, the balance of the body and of the person. In a spread, it draws attention to the foundation — how the person asking is, inside and out — and it reminds us that nothing flourishes if the roots are not tended.

It is also the card of roots and of what comes from the past: the extended family, ancestors, traditions, old habits, ties that go back a long way. It may speak of matters of inheritance, of links to a homeland, of patterns handed down from generation to generation. And it is the card of slow, steady growth: a relationship that matures, a project that consolidates, a person who develops over time.

The Tree is essentially positive, but never quick. What it announces takes time, and in return it lasts. Its shadow is immobility: a tree cannot move to another place, and sometimes the card speaks of someone stuck in their roots, or of a situation that does not move forward because it is too deeply rooted. The neighbouring cards say whether the tree is growing or standing still.

The Tree in love

In love, the Tree speaks of relationships with roots: a long-standing love, a bond that grows slowly but firmly, a relationship in which time is on your side. For anyone who is single, it says that love will not come suddenly, but that what does come may be solid — often an old friendship that turns into something more.

It may also point to the importance of family in the relationship — the in-laws, traditions, the weight of the past — or to a bond that feels very old. The risk is stagnation: a relationship that has stopped growing and carries on out of habit. Next to the Heart, it is a deep and lasting love; next to the Anchor, stable to the point of routine.

The Tree at work and with money

At work, the Tree indicates slow but steady progress: a career built over the years, a stable job, a company with a history. It favours professions connected with care, health, nature, agriculture, education and everything that requires patience. It is not the card of rapid promotion; it is the card of accumulated experience.

With money, it speaks of long-term investments, of savings that grow slowly, of family assets. With the Fish, it is money that multiplies over time; with the Mice, a slow loss, a drain that is best stopped early.

The Tree in health and wellbeing

This is the question in which the Tree stands out most: in the Lenormand, it is the card that represents the general state of the person asking. The cards around it say whether vitality is high or whether there is tiredness, and the Tree itself invites you to look after the basics — sleep, food, movement, rest — patiently and without hurrying. As always with the Lenormand, a reading shows tendencies and attitudes, and it is no substitute for any consultation or any medical care.

The Tree as a person

When it describes someone, the Tree is a calm, patient, stable person with both feet firmly on the ground. It may be a relative, especially an older one, a long-standing friend, someone connected with health, care or nature. It is the person you can lean on. The flip side is slowness and stubbornness: someone who finds it hard to change and will not be hurried.

The Tree as advice

As advice, the Tree says: give it time. Look after your roots — your body, your family, your foundations — and the rest will grow. Do not force quick results; build slowly. And go back to your origins when you feel lost: that is where your strength lies.

The timing of the Tree

The Tree is one of the slowest cards in the deck. What it announces takes months, sometimes years, to happen — but then it stays. Next to the Rider or the Birds, the growth speeds up a little; next to the Mountain or the Anchor, the time stretches out even further. To a question about timing, the Tree answers: not now, but certainly.

In the Grand Tableau: house 5

In the Grand Tableau — the thirty-six cards laid out in four rows —, the fifth position is the house of the Tree. The card that falls there tells how the vitality of the person asking is faring, or what is going on in their roots and their family. And the Tree itself, wherever it falls, brings duration, depth and slow growth to the theme of that house.

Combinations with other cards

• Rider — Energy returning, physical activity, a boost of vitality.
• Clover — An improvement, relief in wellbeing.
• House — The family, the family home, strong roots.
• Heart — A deep and lasting love, with roots.
• Anchor — Long-term stability; something that lasts many years.
• Clouds — A phase of tiredness, or of little clarity about one’s own state.
• Mice — A slow wearing down, energy draining away little by little.
• Book — Family history, genealogy, what can be learnt from the past.
• Sun — Vitality at its height, recovery, full growth.
• Mountain — Growth held back; something that takes even longer.
• Stars — Spiritual growth, long-term personal development.
• Cross — An old burden, a family pattern that is hard to carry.