Lenormand Lost & Found

I have been working with the “location” guidance in astrologer John Frawley’s Horary Textbook to come up with similar attributes for the cards of the Lenormand deck to be used in “lost object” readings. The following ideas are provisional and subject to change as I develop them further; because this is unmapped territory, in many cases I’m going with visual hints from the imagery in addition to or in place of the traditional meanings. Since the only purpose of this exercise is to pinpoint physical locations, I’m not particularly troubled by using intuitive cues, something I almost never do when reading the Lenormand cards in the usual way.

In order to obtain sufficient detail in the spread to allow for directionality and variable distance from the querent, I decided to use the 5×5, 25-card square for the layout, with South at the top, North at the bottom, East at the left and West at the right (the astrological cardinal points, not the magnetic ones), and the ordinal directions (SE, NE, NW, SW) at the four corners. The center position in the grid represents the querent’s location at the time of the reading, and the card signifying the missing object (Significator) will be pre-chosen but left in the deck for the draw. (Typical significators would be the Ring for a piece of jewelry or the Star for an electronic device.) Where it lands will suggest a possible direction and distance in which to hunt for the item. If it falls on or next to the hub, it will be in the home and close to the querent, if mid-way to the edge it will be in an outlying room in the direction indicated, and if at the perimeter of the spread it will be somewhere outside the house in the given direction. If it doesn’t appear among the cards of the draw, the item will not be found via the cards.

The cards can have different meanings when appearing in the “interior” and “exterior” areas of the spread, and composite meanings are possible. The Fish could mean both in the kitchen (abundance) and near a wet place (sink); the Ship could show a wet place (near a faucet) in the garage (vehicle storage area); the Clover could convey “easily seen” and also “near the houseplants.” A few of the cards will do double duty for more than one location, and both or all should be searched. In all cases, the broader indicators such as compass point and floor-plan should be considered first, followed by specifics such as “high, “low,” “near a wall,” etc. If there is only one generic location flag (e.g. “near a window”), target all matching locations in that direction.

To make this work properly, I would use the “movable houses” technique by first randomly laying out 25 cards from one deck in a 5×5 array, and then dealing cards from a second deck on top of those until the Significator appears, which will mark the likely “hiding place.” (If the Significator doesn’t show up in the first 25 cards pulled, keep dealing from the beginning until it does since it is only a “locator” in this reading.) Next I would look to see if there are any features described by the identified “house” card at the designated location; if not, I would advise a thorough, top-to-bottom search of that location before moving on to another spot that more closely fits the description. It’s a process of elimination that can have several layers.  The “house” cards have no special significance except to describe the local environment at their location in the event the Significator falls there; otherwise they are not read in any way. I recognize that not all domiciles contain all of the physical locations envisioned in this model, so some improvising will be necessary in the interpretation. Here are suggested movable-house meanings; most of these associations are derived from Andy Boroveshengra’s Lenormand system.

Inside the home:

In a high place, such as on a shelf or in an attic: Mountain, High Tower, Star
In a low place, such as in the basement or on the floor: Coffin, Anchor, Mice
In a wet place, such as in a bathroom, laundry room or pump room: Fish, Ship
In a soft place, such as wedged in a mattress or sofa cushions: Fish (deep, yielding), Clouds
In a tool-room or utility room: Scythe, Whip
Near the telephone or computer: Birds, Star
Near the front door or at the front of the home: House
In the master bedroom: Heart, Ring
In a child’s room: Child
In a guest room: Dog
In a man’s room: Man
In a woman’s room: Woman
In the family room: Lilies
In the game room: Garden
In the library or near a bookshelf: Book
In the kitchen: Fish
In the office: Letter, Moon
Near a source of heat: Sun
Down a drain: Snake
Near the pet food, dog bed or kennel: Dog
Near a wall: Mountain
Near a window: Garden, Sun
Near a mirror, in a cosmetic drawer: Bouquet
In a medicine cabinet: Tree
In a hallway or stairwell, or across from a doorway: Crossroads
In the garage: Rider, Storks, Ship
Concealed, such as in a closet, cabinet or pocket, or under something: Snake, Fox, Clouds, Coffin
In a hard-to-reach location: Cross
Out in the open: Key, Clover
Near the houseplants: Clover, Bouquet, Tree
In the exercise or workout room: Whip, Bear
With other items, or between two items: Mice, Birds
In a dirty or dusty location: Mice, Coffin
In a white room: Lilies, Star, Moon, Storks
In a gray room: Clouds, Mountain, Coffin, Mice, Tower
In a blue room: Fish, Ship, Anchor
In a yellow room: Sun, Ring, Cross
In a green room: Clover, Tree, Garden, Snake
In a red (or reddish) room: Fox, Heart
In a brown (or brownish) room: Bear, Dog, Crossroads

Outside the home:

In the yard: Clover, Tree, Garden
Near the road: Crossroads, Rider
Near a body of water: Fish, Ship
Near a church or cemetery: Cross, Coffin
In a shed or outbuilding: Tower
At work: Moon
At an athletic field: Whip
In a public place: Garden
At a friend’s house: Dog
Out in the open; in plain sight: Sun
On the ground or buried: Coffin, Anchor
In the car: Ship, Rider
In another town: Rider, Ship, Storks
Near the mailbox or at the post office: Letter
At a lover’s house: Heart
At another man’s house: Man
At another woman’s house: Woman
At a relative’s house: Lilies
In the neighbor’s yard: Birds
Elsewhere in the neighborhood: House
At or near a playground: Child
At or near a school or library: Book
At a shop: Ring, Bouquet, Birds
At a barber, hairdresser or salon: Scythe
At a bank: Bear, Key
On high ground: Mountain, Tower
Stolen: Snake, Fox, Whip, Mice