Deconstructing the Grand Tableau (in Pictures)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This illustrated essay lays out my normal practice for interpretation of the Lenormand Grand Tableau, which I accomplish primarily by “deconstructing” it into smaller segments. I use the guidance in Andy Boroveshengra’s book Lenormad, Thirty-Six Cards in my practice, including the Method of Distance (MOD) or “Near/Far” technique. I try to keep it simple, so I don’t routinely use more complex measures like card-and-house correlation, chaining of houses or “counting round;” everything I need is included in these few highly-disciplined actions.
In this set of examples, I am using the “Lady” card as the Significator and central focus of the reading, with the understanding that the hypothetical seeker is a mature female. For simplicity, I decided to present the 4×9 tableau instead of the more traditional 4×8+4. Since this guideline is being offered mainly for familiarization with the sequence of steps, I am not providing an interpretation for the cards shown in each sub-section; also, to decrease visual clutter, I’m not accumulating the cards from the preceding steps but only showing those that appear in the current one. Although the Grand Tableau is most often used as a spread for comprehensive “life-reading” scenarios, in my narrative I’m approaching it as more situational.
The first three cards of the tableau at the upper left represent an abbreviated “message for the querent” describing near-term circumstances similar to a “daily draw” reading. (All images are from the Grand Tableau Lenormand, copyright of Lo Scarabeo, Torino, Italy.)
The next step is to look at the cards at the four corners of the layout, starting at the upper left and reading them clockwise. This provides a general overview of the “complexion” of the developing situation and hints at its conclusion.
Next we move to the Significator card and begin the detailed analysis. The first step is to examine the cards that are touching (or “attending”) the Lady. They represent the circumstances that are most pressing for the querent at the moment. In a general sense, those cards above the Significator represent aspects of the matter that influence the querent, while those below indicate factors that are more within his or her control; similarly, those to the left of the focus card show issues that are passing away and those to the right as influences that are entering the situation. From a developmental standpoint, these cards are read in the horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions, typically moving outward from the center although their exchange can also be treated as “incoming” with the querent as the recipient; they are described in some systems as “very near” to the focus card.
The next group of cards as we move away from the Significator is described as being “in proximity” to it since the cards are only two positions away from the hub of the pattern; the Significator is off-center in this layout, so there is an “open” side in the arrangement. These cards show continued development of the circumstances portrayed by the “attending” cards, and they are also viewed by some as being “near.”
According to Andy Boroveshengra, those cards that sit three positions away from the Significator are in an intermediate zone between “near” and “far,” and unless they are involved in “mirroring” or “intersection” with the focus card (see below), they are of less immediate impact on the querent. I have not illustrated them here, nor am I including those cards that lie more then three places out (designated “far away,” of which there are two in this pattern) and those more than four places from the center (deemed “very far away;” there are none in this example). These distant placements come into play when a card is defined as having a different nature when it is at least “far away” from the Significator. As I use this premise, cards that are not aligned horizontally, vertically or diagonally with the Significator are not “networked” with it and are not of much interest in the reading unless tied into it by other techniques.
Under these rules, depending on where the focus card card lies in the spread, there may be few positions that qualify as “far away” from it and none that are “very far away,” in which case some adjustment may be required in one’s assumptions when a card is described as being affected by distance. One alternate approach is to use only “Very Near” (touching the Significator); “Near” (in proximity); “Far” (third remove); and “Very Far” (fourth card out and beyond). This will allow for expanded use of the principle.
Once all the rows, columns and diagonals are explored, the next step is to look at “knighting” arrays. Two cards that are “knighted” mimic the chess move of the same name: two positions up, down or sideways and one position perpendicular to the first two, or alternately, one position out and two over (this is easier to show than to explain). Depending on where the Significator lies in the spread, there may not be a complete set of eight knighting events (as seen here). Cards knighting to the focus card provide clarification and additional detail about its condition, and they can be used between any pertinent cards in the “network.”
Next we will consider “mirroring” or “reflecting.” Technically, this describes two cards that are equidistant from the sides or the top and bottom of the layout; this fact implies cooperative relations between the two cards. This action can be performed between any two (or as shown here, three) cards in the spread.
We will look at intersection last. This is most significant when it involves cards that speak of the same subject. For example, let’s suppose that the Lady in this example has a romantic interest in a particular male acquaintance. In addition to the other methods described above, we would find the Gentleman card and the Heart card and look at any connection between the three by drawing imaginary horizontal and vertical lines from the Lady, the Gentleman and the Heart, and then identifying where those lines intersect in the spread. The cards at these points of intersection will describe the nature of the relationship; taken together, they can form a “cell” of relevant insights. Here, the Gentleman intersects with the Lady at the Child and the Tree, while the Heart intersects with the Lady at the Tower and the Tree. It is also noteworthy that the Gentleman mirrors the Heart, and the Lady knights to both the Gentleman and the Heart. All of this seems to draw the six cards into a tight network of influence. (I like her chances — as long as that Tree doesn’t fall on her! It would be instructive to see what card landed between the two but I’ve already put the cards away; it could serve as a new focus card for the relationship itself, bringing in the concepts of her long-established (i.e. traditional) values (High Tower) and the possibility of children (Child).
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 3, 2023.
