When working with lines of cards in the lenormand deck, one should know the pairing formula or the AB set- where B the card on the left is modifier to card A which is the card to the right and the dominant card in an AB pair. This left to right interpretation applies to touching card pairs in any line. In the Grand Tableau, pairs work a bit differently, the house is the dominant A of a pair and the card seated in the house is its modifier or B.
Card B as modifier sheds its core meaning and cast only a shadow, i.e. uses its descriptive qualities and attributes on card A in the pair. These are secondary associations which add details to fine tune the meaning of the dominant card in the pair.
The “Shade”
Here are some B card or modifier basics: Clover is temporary; Bouquet is beautiful; Child is a small quantity or what is short; Tower means tall; while the Bear is heavy set brunette and the Fox is thin and ginger.
The folklore of the Lenormand deck says the Birds card indicates a doubling, but this is only when the card in the deck shows two birds. So 13-12 can be two children. The Moon is a pale, white or silvery object. So 04- 32 would describe a white or pearl grey house. The Sun is a spotlight and makes its A card certain to be seen by all. 01-31 can be a well known local athlete . The Letter indicates a 2D flat plane or object when appearing as a modifier. The Star like Tinkerbell’s wand adds “sparkle” or lends je ne sais quoi to its partner as a modifier.
Using card number notation and the imagery and directions of my new Wanderwust mini, wii looked at a few. (Forgive the blurred photo). As directions are important your own practice must be with your “reading deck”.
(A) 02- (B) 01 : Going out after a brief rest.
(A) 04- (B) 03: relocating across or out of the country
(A) 06-(B) 05: long-term troubles
(A) 08-(B) 07: a grieving widow
(A) 10-(B) 09: cosmetic surgery
and so on…
In practice the interpretation of cards in a layout is not by rote but approached according to query (the core) and modified by the skill set of the Reader.