“That Special Ingredient”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In her book, The New Lenormand Oracle, Lisa Young-Sutton talks about intuition as the “special ingredient” we add to our readings in the same way we include unique flavors in our cooking to put our personal “stamp” or “signature” on it. For me it’s Worcester sauce in any recipe that involves oil, butter, wine, lemon juice and garlic since it plays so well with them and adds salinity without having to use table salt. In divination it’s most often something that surfaces from my decades-long study and practice. I seldom use the word “intuition” myself, much preferring “inspiration, Imagination and ingenuity” as more representative of the storyteller’s art.
Those who have been following this blog for some time know that I strongly disagree with how loosely many diviners apply the term intuitive to describe any insight that has no basis in learned knowledge or practical experience, and that comes completely “out of the blue” as a seeming epiphany. I like Young-Sutton’s observation that what many people consider to be intuition is really just personal thoughts, feelings and familiarization with the art that form a bias which they pass off as “revealed wisdom.” That said, I still think she is too starry-eyed and liberal in her use of psychic or spiritual serendipity when it comes to Lenormand reading. By her own admission, Lenormand cards are more emblematic and literal than tarot cards, which in modern usage are mainly symbolic and free-form; the methods of the latter don’t serve the goals of the former in most cases, although many newly-arrived “tarot transplants” attempt to make them work that way.
I believe the Universe is more causal than accidental, and we can unconsciously “set ourselves up” for the challenging circumstances and events we encounter, or are set up for them by the intentions of other people, unconsciously or otherwise, in which case our miscue lies in letting ourselves come under the sway of such people. In my own experience, Lenormand excels at action-and-even-oriented prediction and exhibits little traction in the psychological and emotional realms (although beginners invariably try to use it for “mind-reading” exercises of the “What does he/she think or feel about me?” kind). My advice is to stick with tarot (or better yet, predictive astrology) if that’s what you want out of divination, and then don’t hold your breath waiting for impressive results. Human emotions taken at a distance are often too nebulous to be pinned down in any decisive way by the reader’s art, and we may just be fooling ourselves or indulging in wishful thinking if we believe otherwise.
Lenormand’s “special ingredient” lies in judiciously selecting the one interpretation for each card in a combination that best fits the context of the question, and then blending the two seamlessly to create meaningful inflection. It isn’t so much intuitive as it is sensitive to the nuances of the situation, and I will sometimes choose one of the alternative definitions rather than the main theme if it best supports the emerging answer. In my opinion, this thoughtful turn-of-phrase is the closest I will ever come to the application of spontaneous insights in my Lenormand work, which mostly adheres to the formal structure of the system with a bit of linguistic flair thrown in to “grease” the narrative. If I want to get truly creative, I will turn to tarot.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 19, 2023.
