We often talk about the importance of context when reading Lenormand, and how that affects the meanings of the cards. (Take a look at the post Why Context Is Important in Lenormand Readings for more detail on this.). In different contexts and situations, whether it be love, career, money, family, school, the world at large, you should find you are able to apply the fundamental meanings, the essences, of the cards to those different situations to reveal meanings that make sense in that situation.
What you also tend to find as a reader is that common cards and combinations come up again and again in certain situations. As in all readings, it’s your job as a reader to piece together the clues.
In this post, I’m looking at what specific cards and combinations to look out for in your Love readings, and what messages they tend to convey. Unsurprisingly, love is one of the MAIN topics people have when they use the cards.
Think about what you’re looking or hoping to see (or not see!) and what clues the cards may be giving you.
Love Meanings In General
Love & Love Relationships and one’s Love Life are nearly always represented by the Heart. You may want to use the Heart as the keycard in your reading if you are asking a question about love.
Marriage and commitment, though, is specifically indicated by the Ring. Note that this is a different concept than just “Love.” It implies promises, vows and agreements. You can also find a loyal, long-term partner indicated by the Dog.
Emotions and Romantic Feelings specifically can be represented by the Moon. Some readers use the Moon to represent “A romance” but I tend not to and to solely use the Heart for that. The Moon is more the emotions and expression of them.
Weddings Here you’d be looking, as well as for the Ring card, possibly the Bouquet combined with it, and often the Garden as well, to represent a public event.
Sex There are some disputes among Lenormand readers as to which cards to use for sex. I personally use the Whip when it’s associated with the Heart in a standard deck, but with some indications of positivity, especially the Bouquet, for pleasure. Be aware though that the Whip really represents ‘vigour’ and ‘clash’. Some use the Lily for sex, but I never have, personally. If you have the Rana George deck, she gets around this issue by having a separate Bed card, that represents all thing sexual.
People In Love Readings
Here are some of the most common “people” who tend to show up in Love Readings.
A Couple. Obviously, the Man and the Woman cards are the key people here. If you have both a Man and a Woman appearing in a love reading, it’ll give you a good idea that this represents the couple concerned. The Birds have also been known to represent a couple in the sense of ‘lovebirds.’ Consider the question you have asked and the context to work out if this may be the case.
Faithful partner. As well as the Man and Woman cards, the Dog often represents a lifelong companion or long-term partner. Sometimes, the Dog can be a sign of an existing partner, useful if you want to know if someone’s available.
A New Lover . The Rider is often the best indication that a new lover will be sweeping into your life
A Soulmate or “The One”. Want to know if someone’s your soulmate? Look here for the Man or Woman card combing with the Key in particular (eg Woman-Key, Man-Key) The Key means Fate, or the Answer. Another related combination to look out for is the Dog and Tree (Dog-Tree), literally translated as “spiritual or karmic companion”. Just a warning though – you may want to be a bit careful with these people. When Dog-Tree people appear, their presence may well seem to have a karmic quality. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are the “one”, but more that they could have an important or repeat lesson to impart to you. That spiritual quality of the Tree here is key.
The Ideal or Dream Man or Woman. Look for the Man or Woman combined with the Stars (Man-Stars, Woman-Stars). It will be up to you to decide from the context, though, whether or not this combination in a reading means the person will actually fulfil those dreams… or if they are just a fantasy version.
Love Rats & Players. Generally I would beware of both the Snake (betrayal) and Fox (a player) in the love context. Keep your wits about you if either of these show up in a love reading.
Singleness, Dating And Availability (Or Not!)
The world of dating and working out whether people you meet or are interested in are good prospects or not often comes up in Love readings. Here are some of the relevant cards and combinations that may appear in readings.
The Dating World Here, what often shows up is the Garden alongside the Heart or sometimes the Fish (to represent ‘free’ people), so Garden-Heart, Garden-Fish. The Garden itself is a sign of socialising and networks. Look for Letter and Birds, too, if this is online dating, to represent communications, messages, chat.
Happy Singleness, Free Spirit, Liberation, Independence . This type of singleness , the free agent, would most often be represented by the Fish or Heart-Fish when you’re asking about a person in a love reading. Obviously it depends on the question you ask as to whether you’d see this as a positive or not. If you’re after a long term prospect and something serious and this is a Fish person, they may not be ready to settle down yet. But keeping your options open, especially when you’re newly single isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It has quite a light hearted feel.
Unhappy Singleness, Isolation, Loneliness . A different take on singleness would appear with the Mountain card. This has more rigidity and ‘coldness’ than the Fish, who is just flitting about, and a sense of loneliness, isolation, separateness comes with the Mountain (eg Man-Mountain, Woman-Mountain) That said the Mountain can also represent necessary boundaries being put in, which depending on your context, could be a good thing.
Unavailability As well as those who don’t wish to commit or aren’t ready for a relationship, watch here too for people who are already taken. The Ring coming right after a Man or Woman card is obviously a sign that they may have commitments elsewhere. Also watch for a Dog appearing, as this may indicate your romantic interest already has a long-term companion in the picture. Finally, those associated with the Crossroads card may well have more than one option or prospect on the horizon and it can be a sign of inability to commit
Good Romantic Prospects
So what sorts of things should you be looking for for good romantic prospects?
Obviously it will depend on what you want particularly, and what the overall spread of cards is telling you. But some good signs are:
The Heart appearing randomly in a love reading if you haven’t already chosen it as a keycard, and no negative cards around it.
The Bouquet or Sun in particular associated with the Heart card. The Stars is usually good too, but just be careful it’s not just representing a ‘dream person’ or ‘fantasy’.
The Dog or Ring as long as it’s associated with you and not the possibility of someone else or already taken. These indicate faithfulness, loyalty and commitment.
The Anchor with the Heart, representing stability, security, something long-lasting
Signs of Trouble In Love
Breakups are indicated by the Scythe, usually, often coupled with the Heart (Heart-Scythe) or the Ring (Ring-Scythe). A relationship ending can be indicated by the Coffin – literally, the life draining out of it.
The Heart-Cross is a sign of burdens, of strings, a relationship being loaded and heavy, traumatic in some way
Conflict, Arguments. These are usually represented by Heart-Whip – either very sexual or very argumentative. You’d tend to see this combination in relationships that are quite tempestuous or even abusive.
Unsettling or Unclear Relationships . Here, the Heart-Clouds would represent the kind of relationship where you never know where you stand
Neurotic or Obsessive Relationships. The Mice in the context of a relationship can indicate this, a kind of anxious clinginess or insecurity.
Betrayals, Affairs, Secrets Obviously, the Snake is the biggest sign of a betrayal in a reading. But also watch out for the Book, as this can indicate secrets, especially if the Clouds are anywhere around also.
Want More On Love & Relationship Readings?
Click to get the downloadable PDF workbook with detailed focus on love and relationship card meanings, card meaning exercises to check your understanding and 14 3-Card, 5-Card & 9-Card practice readings! With Answers. Also available as an ebook from Amazon and other e-readers including Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Scribd.
Next time, we’ll be looking at some more specific love readings you can do, with examples so you can check your interpretations!
Do You Need More Guidance?
Go to my Lenormand Tips page for more tips about common issues and problems.
For a FREE card combinations PDF E-Book, sign up to my mailing list for weekly newsletters and other freebies (be sure to check ALL your mailboxes to pick it up! And mark me as a safe sender if you don’t want to miss out on stuff.) If you don’t want to sign up, it’s also available in both paperback and ebook format from Amazon as well as other ebook platforms.
Also, my Complete Guide to Lenormand e-book as well as my Love and Careers workbooks are now available from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books & other ebook platforms and are all also available as downloadable/printable PDFs here in the SHOP!
Want A Lenormand Reading?
As well as doing personal readings, I can also help you interpret your very own readings: your own layouts you’ve done with your own cards. If you’d like some help, please see my service pages here for how to order. You can check out samples of some reports here:
SAMPLE ONE QUESTION 9-CARD READING