Best Spread to Learn Lenormand

What is the best spread to learn Lenormand?

It's a subject of some debate in the Lenormand community.

Should you start with something simple like a 3 card spread or tackle the ultimate spread of all – the Grand Tableau (GT)?

Or maybe you shouldn't start with a spread at all. Instead, you should learn Lenormand by taking each card and learning its meaning for a month or two, then add another card (now a 2 card spread) and spend a few months with that. Slowly, slowly, building and adding cards until in a year or two, you're ready to do a full-blown GT.

Lenormand for Beginners

I learned Lenormand using the GT. It's how Lenormand has been learned traditionally.

Why the GT?

It's the backbone of Lenormand. It's the spread that has been used since the cards first came out in the 1800's.

The GT is a very comprehensive spread that covers all areas of your life. Nothing is left untouched. No detail is left out.

But does that mean it's the best spread to learn Lenormand?

Yes and no.

It's the spread you'll do at some point in your Lenormand journey. All other spreads come from it.

But it can be very challenging for a beginner.

There are many steps and techniques used to read a GT. It's a giant task for a beginner to undertake. When you barely know the card meanings, trying to tackle a spread that can take an expert hours to unravel is daunting.

Yet it is a great spread to learn Lenormand. It's filled with various line readings (3 card, 5 card and more), 3x3s, knighting, mirroring, reflection, houses, and more.

But even when you learn Lenormand by using a GT, you don't start with all of those techniques. You break it down into little mini-spreads. You take one little area and focus on it. You study the meaning of a card and the cards around it. You then combine the cards…

…it's like little building blocks where you slowly add elements as you master another.

Do I think the GT is the best spread to learn Lenormand? Absolutely! But that's because it teaches you all of the Lenormand techniques, step-by-step, when you're ready for them.

Yet, that's why the smaller, simpler spreads can also be the perfect way to learn Lenormand. They are the step-by-step elements that make up the GT.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the GT showing you all 36 cards, making you feel like you don't know where to begin…making you feel like you might be missing something…making you feel lost and overwhelmed…the smaller spreads teach you how to read a GT in a small, broken down environment where you only have to concentrate on a few cards at a time.

It's like they teach you the fundamentals of how to sound out letters to form a word before making you sit down to read Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.

That being said, here are my tips for learning Lenormand with the GT or smaller spreads.

Learning Lenormand with Any Spread

1. When you first read the cards, it's okay if the card meanings don't make any sense, or if the ones you found in a book on a website don't seem to fit. No book or website is the authority on every possible card meaning or combination. This particularly applies to the little white book that came with your cards. Feel free to throw it out!
2. Pick one system or set of meanings and stick to it. If you start using too many, you will confuse yourself. Rana George's The Essential Lenormand is one of the best places to start.
3. Practice, practice and practice some more. Don't worry if you have trouble with the meanings or combinations. Don't worry about how accurate your readings are. It's normal! It will get easier and you will get more accurate in time. For now, keep a journal of your readings. Make notes about what you think the cards mean and why. When you go back over them in a few days or a few months, you'll learn a great deal.
4. You don't need a consecrated place to read Lenormand cards or a special cloth to spread them on. You can read them anywhere – a table, your bed, the back of your lover anywhere you have room to lay them out. If you feel more comfortable using a cloth or special area to read your cards, by all means use it. Just know it isn't necessary to be a successful reader.
5. There's no rule for shuffling or cutting. I generally shuffle as long as I want and cut the cards twice. It works for me. Do what works best for you.

Ultimately, the best spread to learn Lenormand is the spread that you'll do. It's the one you like and enjoy spending hours pouring over, doing it time and time again.

Start with the spread you want to do. If it's just 3 cards, that's fine. If it's a GT, go for it. Move to other spreads when you feel ready.

In time, you'll find the spread that works best for you to learn Lenormand.

If you enjoyed this article on the best spread to learn Lenormand, you might also like:

• When to Use Which Lenormand Spread?
• Lenormand Key Meaning
• A Guide to Lenormand Positive, Negative, & Neutral Cards
• Lenormand Yes or No Spread
• How to Read Lenormand Card Combinations

* Featured image from © Lime Lane Photography