A Lenormand “Whodunnit” Tableau & Example Reading

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Those who have been following this blog know that I have an abiding interest in criminal “cold-case” readings. I normally use horary astrology and tarot for this purpose, but here I’m exploring an interesting way to apply the Lenormand cards.

The first thing I did was locate all of the cards that could conceivably be pertinent to a prospective case, specifically regarding the back-story, the potential “perpetrators” and the investigative process. I came up with the following definitions, then pulled these 18 cards from a large-format deck, shuffled the cards and dealt them into a 6×3 tableau as a “base” template flowing from upper left to lower right.* Not all of the cards in the template will factor into the reading, only those that are highlighted by rolling one to three dice, along with the “riddle” card (Book) and the “solution” card (Key). Note that I included very few of the fortunate or “lucky” cards since these situations rely more on painstaking legwork and forensic effort than on “lucky breaks.”

*To make this work properly, it is necessary to hold the Book (the hidden answer) and the Key (its subsequent revelation) aside and place them in positions #17 and #18, respectively, as the “focus” cards that will provide an outcome of sorts. They also require special consideration during the dice roll as described below.

Rider (1) — A verbal tip received or a reliable informant**
Clouds (6) — Confusing evidence or testimony; an unreliable witness**
Snake (7) — A devious and slippery character; a potential “perp”**
Coffin (8) — An ominous outlook; a “cold” trail with no leads
Scythe (10) — A high-risk scenario; threat to investigators or witnesses
Whip (11) — An uncooperative or “hostile” witness**
Fox (14) — A dishonest and manipulative character; a potential “perp”**
Bear (15) — A powerful individual** (could also be the tough “bad cop” persona)
Dog (18) — A cooperative individual; an honest witness** (the easygoing “good cop”)
Tower (19) — An entrenched organization, criminal or legal (aka police and judicial)
Mountain (21) — An obstacle to discovery
Mice (23) — Compromised evidence or testimony (“tampering”)
Book (26) — The riddle to be solved
Letter (27) — A written tip received or documentary evidence discovered
Man (28) A potential male “perp” or investigator
Woman (29) — A potential female “perp” or investigator
Key (33) — The answer to the riddle, or at least a way to approach it
Cross (36) — The “burden of proof” and where it falls

These can also be considered in “themed” groups, such as the Rider, the Letter and the Book all having to do with information, while the Clouds, the Whip and the Mice cast doubt on the veracity of that information.

**A card (other than the Man or Woman) that stands out as an informant, witness, perpetrator or investigator may in fact only reveal a characteristic or quality of the matter itself and not a person. For example, Fox with Letter could mean “planted information” (although the Fox could be the one planting it) or “deliberate misinformation” such as fraudulent tax filings, while Snake with Book would suggest a very complicated “riddle.”

The next step was to shuffle a smaller-sized deck of 36 and lay 18 cards on top of the “base” cards, from top-to-bottom and left-to-right.

Then I rolled dice in three ways, first a single die (1 through 6), then two dice (2 through 12), and finally three dice (3 through 18) to identify the three cards that form the introductory narrative; ideally you will get one card from each row, but that doesn’t always work out due to the possibility of overlap in the series. In this example, I rolled a “5,” a “6” and an “11” and turned over the cards in those positions. (If I roll repeat numbers I just roll again; here I received two “five-spot” rolls — one with a single die and one with two dice — so I kept rolling with two dice and got a “6”).

*If either the Book or the Key “base” card turns up during the initial toss by rolling 17 or 18, roll again with three dice to exclude it since these cards have a fixed role as the “end of the matter.”

After revealing the three random cards, I turned over the cards on top of the Book and the Key to show the nature of the undiscovered knowledge and the likely answer to the puzzle, or a recommended way to go at it.

Finally, I removed the five selected cards and their “base” cards from the tableau and created a line spread with them (in the order rolled, not necessarily in numerical sequence although you could do it that way too). The pairs I came up with were Bear/Man; Coffin/Moon; Rider/Stork; Book/Mountain; and Key/Crossroads.

The Bear suggests a potential abuse of power, and the Man could be the wielder of that power, thus a formidable adversary who must be approached with caution because he has intimidating associates. The Moon riding on the Coffin indicates that he has a “public persona” and reputation that hide his less savory activities (especially if it’s an apparent murder case). The Rider beneath the Stork implies an informant’s tip advising that the focus of the investigation needs to change and perhaps go farther afield. The Mountain over the Book shows that getting to the crux of the matter — especially in older cases — will be a very slow, tedious undertaking; possibly the foregoing “tip” could reveal a shortcut or way around the obstacle. The Crossroads on top of the Key states this very thing: choosing a different path to the solution. There is no unequivocal “outcome” card here, just guidance on how to proceed to the objective.

As an alternate take, let’s suppose that the Man represents the lead investigator or detective. Bear with Man could reflect his formidable investigative prowess (more “Dirty Harry” than “Columbo”) and his capable allies, while Coffin with Moon indicates that he has built his reputation on solving “cold” cases; Rider with Stork may mean that he has received a reliable tip that takes his perspective on this case in a different direction; Book with Mountain still shows that he faces an uphill battle to get at the truth, just as Crossroads points to the choice he must make in pursuing it. In short, this version offers a contrasting viewpoint but reaches a similar conclusion.

Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on September 20, 2023.