The 36 Lenormand Cards · Free Printable Meanings Chart
Every card, 1 to 36, with its playing-card inset, core meaning, and traditional timing · plus the most useful combinations, made to print and keep beside your deck
The Lenormand deck is a 36-card oracle read in combinations rather than single cards · a tradition that began as a Nuremberg parlour game advertised in 1799 and became one of Europe's most enduring divination systems. This is the complete reference chart for all 36 cards: each card's number, playing-card inset, core meaning, and traditional timing, free to read on this page and free to download as an illustrated printable PDF with 83 of the most useful card combinations. Every card links to its full guide.
Once the chart is beside you, the next step is practice. You can learn Lenormand online with Mary K. Greer and Caitlín Matthews, turning these 36 cards into fluent readings.
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All 36 Lenormand Cards · Complete Meanings Chart
Every card in the Petit Lenormand, in deck order. The playing-card inset appears on most traditional decks; timing follows the documented tradition. Each card links to its complete guide · meaning, combinations, love and career readings, and its place in the Grand Tableau.
| No. | Card | Playing Card | Core Meaning | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Rider | 9 of Hearts | News, messages, movement, speed | Very soon · days to one week |
| 2 | The Clover | 6 of Diamonds | Luck, chance, opportunity, small joy | Very brief · two to three days |
| 3 | The Ship | 10 of Spades | Travel, journey, commerce, foreign lands | Medium-term · weeks to months |
| 4 | The House | King of Hearts | Home, family, security, tradition | Stable and ongoing · enduring conditions |
| 5 | The Tree | 7 of Hearts | Health, growth, roots, longevity | Long-term · months to years |
| 6 | The Clouds | King of Clubs | Confusion, doubt, uncertainty, mental fog | Uncertain · timing becomes unreliable |
| 7 | The Snake | Queen of Clubs | Deception, seduction, complications, detours | Indirect · expect detours and delays |
| 8 | The Coffin | 9 of Diamonds | Ending, loss, transformation, illness | After an ending · something must conclude first |
| 9 | The Bouquet | Queen of Spades | Gift, beauty, appreciation, invitation | Spring and celebrations · a beautiful moment arriving |
| 10 | The Scythe | Jack of Diamonds | Sudden change, danger, cutting away, harvest | Sudden · without warning; harvest time |
| 11 | The Whip | Jack of Clubs | Conflict, arguments, discussions, repetition | Repetitive · patterns and cycles that recur |
| 12 | The Birds | 7 of Diamonds | Communication, conversations, gossip, nervousness | Short and quick · brief exchanges |
| 13 | The Child | Jack of Spades | New beginnings, innocence, child, play | Early stages · something just beginning |
| 14 | The Fox | 9 of Clubs | Cunning, self-interest, deception, employment | Wrong timing · verify before acting |
| 15 | The Bear | 10 of Clubs | Power, authority, strength, boss | A period requiring strength and endurance |
| 16 | The Stars | 6 of Hearts | Hope, inspiration, guidance, spirituality | Nighttime · clarity emerging |
| 17 | The Stork | Queen of Hearts | Change, transition, renewal, pregnancy | Seasonal change · transition already underway |
| 18 | The Dog | 10 of Hearts | Loyalty, friendship, trust, faithfulness | Steady and reliable · unfolds without surprises |
| 19 | The Tower | 6 of Spades | Authority, institution, isolation, loneliness | Long-term · possibly years |
| 20 | The Garden | 8 of Spades | Social life, community, public events, networking | During social events or public occasions |
| 21 | The Mountain | 8 of Clubs | Obstacles, blockages, delays, challenges | Long delays · months or more |
| 22 | The Crossroads | Queen of Diamonds | Choices, decisions, alternatives, independence | A decision point · choosing becomes unavoidable |
| 23 | The Mice | 7 of Clubs | Loss, theft, stress, anxiety | Running out of time · slow deterioration |
| 24 | The Heart | Jack of Hearts | Love, romance, passion, forgiveness | Governed by emotion and matters of the heart |
| 25 | The Ring | Ace of Clubs | Commitment, contracts, marriage, partnership | A full cycle · things coming around again |
| 26 | The Book | 10 of Diamonds | Secrets, education, hidden knowledge, study | A period of study · waiting for information to be revealed |
| 27 | The Letter | 7 of Spades | Messages, documents, communication, news | Fast · information already in transit |
| 28 | The Gentleman | Ace of Hearts | Male querent, significant man, husband, partner | No independent timing · read the surrounding cards |
| 29 | The Lady | Ace of Spades | Female querent, significant woman, wife, partner | No independent timing · read the surrounding cards |
| 30 | The Lilies | King of Spades | Maturity, wisdom, sensuality, peace | Mature, unhurried pace · winter or late autumn |
| 31 | The Sun | Ace of Diamonds | Success, happiness, vitality, clarity | Daytime · summer; unfolds in broad daylight |
| 32 | The Moon | 8 of Hearts | Emotions, intuition, romance, fame | Evening and night · about one month (lunar cycle) |
| 33 | The Key | 8 of Diamonds | Solution, destiny, certainty, discovery | Definite · what is expected will happen |
| 34 | The Fish | King of Diamonds | Finances, business, abundance, independence | Financial timelines · business cycles |
| 35 | The Anchor | 9 of Spades | Stability, perseverance, work, determination | Long-term and steady · patient effort |
| 36 | The Cross | 6 of Clubs | Burden, suffering, fate, duty | The end of a cycle · events that feel fated |
Number-based timing: each card can also indicate its own number of days, weeks, or months, or the matching day of the month; cards 1-12 correspond to January through December. The Sun and the Moon also mark Sunday and Monday.
How Lenormand Combinations Work
Lenormand cards are rarely read alone. The classic method joins two cards as noun and adjective · the first card is the subject and the second describes it · so the Ship beside the Bear reads as a journey with something weighty or official about it. Order matters: the Ring followed by the Heart makes the commitment the subject and love the quality attached to it, while the Heart followed by the Ring makes the affection the subject and describes it as formalised.
The playing-card insets add a further layer drawn from older cartomancy: hearts carry relationships and feelings, diamonds enterprise and money, clubs responsibilities and complications, and spades work, structure, and public matters. The free printable adds 83 of the most useful combinations · pairings for love, work, money, health, timing, and spiritual questions · to practise with.
Every card illustrated · 83 combinations to practise with. Keep it beside your deck.
Ready to go from single cards to full readings? Mary K. Greer teaches the complete system · card pairs, lines of five, and the full Grand Tableau · in The Complete Lenormand, five recorded classes that take you from your first pair to a confident Grand Tableau reading.
Sources & Tradition
The 36-card system descends from Das Spiel der Hoffnung (The Game of Hope), a parlour game designed by Johann Kaspar Hechtel and advertised in 1799; the surviving copies are later, about 1800. The earliest surviving instruction sheet for the 36-card deck is the 1846 "Philippe Lenormand" sheet published by Reiff of Coblenz · "Philippe" is a publisher's label rather than a documented person. The sheet appeared after the death of the celebrated Parisian cartomancer Marie-Anne Lenormand (1772-1843), whose name the deck took posthumously · she never used these cards herself. The meanings and timing presented here follow that documented tradition as taught at Global Spiritual Studies by Mary K. Greer and Caitlín Matthews.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Lenormand cards?
Lenormand cards are a 36-card oracle deck read in combinations rather than as single cards. The deck descends from The Game of Hope, a Nuremberg parlour game advertised in 1799, and was later named after the famous Parisian card reader Marie-Anne Lenormand. Each card carries a number, an everyday emblem such as the Rider or the Key, and a playing-card inset.
What are the 36 Lenormand card meanings, 1 to 36?
In brief: 1 Rider · news, 2 Clover · luck, 3 Ship · travel, 4 House · home, 5 Tree · health, 6 Clouds · confusion, 7 Snake · deception, 8 Coffin · endings, 9 Bouquet · gifts, 10 Scythe · sudden change, 11 Whip · conflict, 12 Birds · communication, 13 Child · new beginnings, 14 Fox · cunning, 15 Bear · power, 16 Stars · hope, 17 Stork · change, 18 Dog · loyalty, 19 Tower · authority, 20 Garden · social life, 21 Mountain · obstacles, 22 Crossroads · choices, 23 Mice · loss, 24 Heart · love, 25 Ring · commitment, 26 Book · secrets, 27 Letter · messages, 28 Gentleman · a significant man, 29 Lady · a significant woman, 30 Lilies · maturity, 31 Sun · success, 32 Moon · emotions, 33 Key · solutions, 34 Fish · finances, 35 Anchor · stability, 36 Cross · burdens. The full chart above adds each card's playing-card inset and traditional timing.
How do you read Lenormand cards?
Lenormand cards are read in combinations. The most common method pairs cards as noun and adjective · the first card is the subject and the second describes it · so Ship + Bear reads as a journey with something weighty or official about it. Readers begin with two- and three-card lines and progress to the Grand Tableau, the full 36-card spread in which every card is read through position, proximity, and direction.
How do Lenormand card combinations work?
Each combination joins two cards, with the first as the subject and the second describing it. The Ring followed by the Heart makes the commitment the subject and love the quality attached to it; the Heart followed by the Ring makes the affection the subject and describes it as formalised · order changes the emphasis. The playing-card insets add another layer: hearts carry relationships and feelings, diamonds enterprise and money, clubs responsibilities and complications, and spades work, structure, and public matters.
Is the Lenormand chart free to download?
Yes. The full 36-card chart is free to read on this page, and the illustrated printable PDF · every card plus 83 of the most useful combinations · is free to download. Tell us where to send it and we will email it straight to you. It is yours to print, keep, and share.
A complete reference, free to print and keep · return to it whenever you read the cards.
