The Ultimate Guide to YES/NO spread with the Lenormand

INTRODUCTION

The Lenormand, because it is more "cash" and more immediate than the Tarot, is undoubtedly one of the most adapted divinatory systems to the YES/NO reading. Of course, the consultant lacking confidence may sometimes want a clear-cut answer. But if the consultant follows the cards a little too closely, it is good to nuance the reading and to propose a balanced interpretation. Do not forget that each person is the master of his or her own destiny, and as valuable as a card reading can be to clarify a situation, it is still only a tool and cannot replace the free will of the consultant.

To each his own method for the YES/NO spread

The YES/NO spread is in its essence so basic, that there are many methods to perform it. Below I propose 4 methods from the most clear-cut to a version that gives a nuanced and perhaps even non-definitive answer. This approach can satisfy the consultant who wants a definite answer or one that is coloured by nuance, because doubt is always allowed, isn't it ?

Are you looking for the meaning of the Little Lenormand cards ?

In this case, you can read the following article which will give you all the keywords for each card of Petit Lenormand : Lenormand Cards Meaning

Summary

Choose your YES card
Choose your card NO
Binary spread
Vote spread
3-card spread
4-card spread

Choose your YES card

To begin with, I propose that the consultant choose his YES card. Naturally, the fortune teller can choose one by default. But I always find it useful that the consultant takes ownership of the deck, by doing so he gets involved in the reading and keeps in mind that he remains master of his situation. The possible cards for the YES are :

2 - The Clover : This is the card of the game, very positive. It is therefore indicated to show the answer YES.
25 - The Ring : If the question is about a union of some kind, such as getting a job, or a successful relationship, the Ring may be the right card to represent YES.
33 - The Key : The Key is also one of my favourite cards to indicate YES as it is the solution to all problems.

But beyond these 3 cards usually used, the consultant can also prefer one of the following cards :

24 - The Heart : the Heart can make a very good YES card if the consultant asks a question about his love life.
28 - The Man : If the consultant has a romantic relationship with a man in mind, then the Man card may represent a positive relationship with him.
29 - The Woman : Similarly, if the consultant is asking a question about a particular woman, the Woman card is also indicated to evoke a favourable outcome.
15 - The Bear : If the question is about money, the Bear Card may be the ideal card for this theme.
14 - The Fox : If the question is about work, the Fox Card may also be relevant to represent YES.

Choose your card NO

When the consultant has chosen his YES card, he must decide on the NO card. The choice may be easier because there are probably fewer cards indicated for this role in the Lenormand system. You can use :

10 - The Scythe : The card speaks of rupture and detachment, it is relevant to say NO.
19 - The Tower : Similarly, if the question is about a process involving a body or institution, or about a response from its hierarchy, the Tower may represent the NO.
36 - The cross : The Cross can mean an outright rejection.
21 - The Mountain : The Mountain can show that the issue raises problems and difficulties that cannot be overcome.

Binary spread

The first spread I propose is probably the most direct and immediate, but also the most clear-cut and binary. All you have to do is ask the consultant to shuffle the cards while thinking about the question. Then, when he/she feels ready, he/she cuts the cards and puts the two piles together to form a single deck. At this point, he/she turns the top cards of the deck face up one by one. The answer is given by the first YES or NO card that comes out. The quicker one of the two cards comes out, the more obvious the answer. If the consultant has to draw a lot of cards to get the YES or NO card, the answer is not so obvious and the consultant is invited to think about the situation.

Vote spread

The second spread is to establish a vote for each of the YES and NO options. The answer is thus like a communicating vessel between the YES and NO, either one of the cards prevails advantageously over the other, or on the contrary the vote is balanced, and the two options obtain practically the same number of votes. This weighting tells the consultant whether the answer is strong and definite if one option significantly outweighs the other. Or, on the contrary, the reading may inform that the pros and cons are balanced between the two options.

To make the spread, the consultant shuffles the cards while thinking about the question. Then when he/she feels ready, he/she cuts the deck and puts the two piles together. He/she then turns the deck face up. He/she draws the cards one by one until the first YES or NO answer card is revealed. All the cards that have been drawn must be put aside. From the remaining pack, with the first answer card on top, face up, look for the second answer card. Then separate the pack into two piles, with one of the two Answer cards on top of each pile.

The highest pile of cards wins and the Answer card on top wins. Of course you can count the number of cards in each pile for an accurate count. As you can imagine, the result can be very unbalanced with one pile much higher than the other, as well as balanced with two piles of equal height. There may even be the same number of cards in each pile.

The result can be interpreted as follows :

Firstly, the number of cards discarded in the first phase indicates whether the consultant has exhausted all the arguments in his/her thinking. The greater the number of discarded cards, the more arguments the consultant has avoided, revealing a summary and superficial reflection on the subject. Looking at the content of the discarded cards may indicate considerations that the consultant has put aside and not taken into account in his or her meditations on the issue.
The higher one of the piles, the stronger and more definitive the winning answer. On the contrary, if the two piles are of equal height, this indicates that there is not necessarily a better option or solution than another. Again, the contents of the two piles can be examined, to learn about or think about the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

3-card spread

The consultant may want a more classical reading, leaving the possibility for the fortune teller to make a real interpretation and to have a real dialogue with him/her. In this case, I propose a simple 3-card reading :

Left : The YES, the arguments or consequences of a positive response.
Focus : The consultant's situation, how he/she sees it, what is at issue.
Right : The NO, the arguments or consequences of a negative response.

Those who have read my article on the 5 best Lenormand spreads may wonder why I don't double the slots, as I advise doing. Here, for the YES/NO draw, it seems to me that the consultant expects above all a clear-cut answer, even for a classic spread. However, the more cards there are in the reading, the more complex and nuanced it will be. This is why, in the particular case of the YES/NO spread, I only draw 3 cards in order to have the simplest and most polarised answer possible. But of course you can double the cards in each slot. I give an example of this in the following spread.

4-card spread

In keeping with my advice to double the cards for each slot, to counterbalance the highly polarised cards of the Lenormand system, I offer below a final spread that takes this approach. It is a simple 4-card reading :

Left : 2 cards for YES, with one card giving the arguments in favour and the second card giving the arguments against.
Right : 2 cards for NO, with one card in favour and the second card against.

In this reading, I do not use the idea of a central slot for the consultant's situation, still with the idea of having a reading with few cards in order to keep it simple and quick to interpret. But of course you can add two cards in the centre representing the consultant's situation.

CONCLUSION

I hope that through this article you have found a way to make a YES/NO spread that matches your expectations. Of course, you can use another form of YES/NO spread. Feel free to share your own version in the comments.

In another article, I expand on other forms of Lenormand spreads, in a compilation of the 5 best Lenormand spreads that I usually use. All the articles will be compiled into an ebook soon. Feel free to leave your email address below to get it as soon as it is released.

To go further, continue your reading with ...

Lenormand vs Tarot

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At 49 years old, passionate about tarot for more than 20 years, I opened this blog in order to share my knowledge on the subject. I practice and teach 'psychological tarot', even if I remain a 'tarot student' because I don't think you can ever 'master the tarot'. Learning tarot is learning to live, learning never ends... To know more about it ...