Lenormand GT Directions. What makes sense for you?

The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials, N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the clockwise direction of rotation from north and west being directly opposite east. Points between the cardinal directions form the points of the compass. The intermediate (intercardinal or ordinal) directions are northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW).

Grand Tableau spread is a matter of direction.

And is a matter of what makes sense for you.

Many studies of the GT spread had been made in the past few years. Many great authors discussed about the position of the cards 28 (man) and 29 (woman) and how it can be the significator, or the central point from which all the reading will be developed. Since we have a pre determined concept that the past is moving towards the future from left to right (so much is the books read this way), it was agreed for GT spread that all the cards on the left and in the same line of the significator are related to the past and all the cards on the right of the significator are related to the future. In the same way and for geographical issues what is above the significator is related to direct influence of the sky and what is below is related to direct influence of the earth (will versus fate / grounding issues versus desires / what holds our center versus what stretches it out).

So right and left, up and down are kind of an easy task to make almost all readers agree with. And how about diagonals and perpendicular lines? And what about using the movement of the horse in the chess game to determine the direction of the card number 1 (rider) and some other different approaches and ideas?

As the GT spread it is a matter of directions, we must follow our own direction first of all.

And observing how our own directions and our own concepts of the universe is the only way we might shed a light into our client's spread.

What I am going to share here is my own experience. What makes sense for me and my logic thinking. Of course this essay is only and overview, because to develop this idea I would have to right a book. And maybe I will do it one day... :)

Since what is below is related to earth, I consider cards below the significator as levels of grounding, what issues are more accessible and what issues are buried deeper. What issues can be recovered and what issues can't.

Above the significator is the sky. The fate. So the closest cards will show the stronger influence meanwhile the distant ones will show minor influences.

Diagonals are like strings, attached to its center - the significator, the person. The same way the diagonals above will be related to the sky meanwhile the ones below will be related to the earth.

So how an upper string in the past or in the future will affect the significator? And what about a bottom one?

How come a string related to my will or my fate might help me to change my life?

The Truth we seek is like a shoreless sea, Of which your paradise is but a drop. This ocean can be yours; why should you stop Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew? The secrets of the sun are yours, but you Content yourself with motes trapped in its beams. Turn to what truly lives, reject what seems -- Which matters more, the body or the soul? Be whole: desire and journey to the Whole.” ”

― فرید الدین عطار, The Conference of the Birds

This is the recently released Lenormand deck by Rana George. Since she has Lebanese ancestry, her deck is a tribute to the Middle East Culture. Personally, I consider this deck a mark for the Lenormand world for a few reasons. And biggest one is because the beginning of our world is there, in the Middle East. And the myth of eternal return, all the quests with the maternal uterus and the search of the man for this light from where we came and to where we will return, are the central quests of our existences. So this Lenormand symbolically is shedding a light thru this culture that represents all this. The beginning.

The semitic languages, that are among the oldest languages on the planet, appeared long before the paper. In those times the texts were carved on stones. And for right-handed, who made up almost 80% of the people, was very difficult to hold the chisel with the right hand and hit the hammer with the left, it was much easier the opposite. Therefore it was much easier to write from right to left.

Since Lenormand is also a Language, and creating a link with the deck is essential for a good reading, I thought it would be a very nice approach to respect the language origins and read it from right to left. So, when I read other Lenormand decks, the future is on right. For Rana George Lenormand, future is on left. But as I said in the beginning - what makes sense for you, in your heart, must be followed as a rule much more than what is written in books or essays.

This is my recently purchased copy of the thematic regular playing cards by Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away". Since this movie is very suggestive in terms of spiritual growth, I am using it for Fortune Telling. And to dive deep in the card's language, I am also reading it from right to left as the Japanese language is. And if the spread consists in 3, 6 or 9 cards, I would also read it in columns from top to bottom.

Other Possibilities:

Get a compass.

Built your GT spread facing North.

Observe aspects of lights and shadows.

Follow a sigil path in the spread to get hidden messages.

I will write more about this someday! I hope you all enjoy and get great insights!