We are often asked about the "Line of Fate" in a Lenormand Grand Tableau in the World Lenormand Association Group on Facebook. What better way to discuss than in blog format!
If you are not familiar with the Grand Tableau we are referring to cards laid out in the 8 x 4 + 4 format and the bottom 4 cards being classed as the "Line of Fate". The questions on this line are usually:
A) Does it have a special meaning?
B) What happens if Man / Woman lands in it?
C) What happens if the theme significator lands there?
The quick response is,
it is your spread,
you can determine it!
The longer response will include some examples of ways in which you can incorporate the line into your read. The Line of Fate is actually the "left over cards" from days in which the 8 x 4 tableau was read with 32 playing cards, these days we place a particular importance on the four cards rather than dispose of them. Interestingly, when you research the 36 card GT's in the 19th century many include the 8 x 4 layout but the 4 extra cards are placed on top of "Life Themes" to provide extra information on them. For example, in a spread where a querent would want to know their love situation, they would place two extra cards on 24 Heart and two extra cards on 25 Ring!
The early Lenormand instructions pay no attention to the extra four cards and treat them like any other card in the spread, only paying attention to near cards versus far card meaning and storytelling narrative.
If you wish to add an extra layer of interest to your GT you can impose a "role" on the line of fate. Let's take the questions above as our baseline.
A) Does it have a special meaning?
If you impose a special meaning on it then yes! You can use the Line of Fate to show what the querent won't achieve in the timescale. So the 8 x 4 board shows what will be achieved in the timescale set, but the line of fate will show what happens just outside of that in the theme set.
You can also set it as an "undercurrent", that is to say a part of the story in the timescale that the querent cannot control.
... and naturally you can set it as the "line of fate" showing the querent what they cannot change in the situation, the "fated" part of the GT.
B) What happens if Man / Woman lands in it?
If you have NOT set a specific role for the line of fate, a person card falling therein shows that they are not at all in control of their situation. They are at the bottom and the spread is weighing down on them - no actions are seen - a super passive position. Looking at the GT below we have 29 sat in house of 35.
According to the Game of Hope it means she has reached her goals!
If you have set it as your line of fated-ness then she cannot change her own situation in the timescale set.
If you have set the bottom line as the next part in the story then a similar meaning - she doesn't have much of an impact in her current timescale and only afterwards will she have a chance to take control - often seen in situations that are out of your control (example coming in the next section).
C) What happens if the theme significator lands there?
This is where the great laws of fate come into play and I have the perfect example of using the Line of Fate as an extra line in the GT. At the beginning of the year we were considering selling our house and moving back to the UK. So much so that we put the house on the market and were all systems go. At the time I said a big prayer upwards and asked that "if this move should be, then let it happen easily" and "if we are supposed to stay put, do not let the house sell". I was not sure what I wanted at all - no, thats wrong, I wanted it both ways, I wanted to live with my family in the UK AND remain in Munich. I laid GT's on the possible sale of a house, not all on the same day of course, this is spread over months.
The House card was naturally the theme significator. On each occasion House fell in the line of fate (I actually have more GT's with the same message!). Every time it was clear to me that there would be no house sale or movement within the timescale set. Within a month of laying the first GT Covid struck and we were not able to show the house. So the house sale was out of our control. Frustrating as it was to lay the GT and see it land in the bottom line each time, I knew it wouldn't be our choice to make and, at best, we would have to wait it out.
This is a simple example of using the line of fate for a quick "sanity check" on "fated" situations.
There are so many ways in which you can use your Grand Tableau to your own reading advantage, using particular techniques when you really need to employ them - mix and match the best Lenormand GT techniques for you. My favourite of all techniques is the mix of Game of Hope Storytelling and early Lenormand narrative. Add to this a few choice movements or analysis and you have nailed the GT you are reading, with no card left unsaid.
If you fancy honing down your Lenormand GT skills into practical and speedy results? Then the Lenormand Pro weekend is for you. On the weekend of the 3rd and 4th October we will bust through all your misconceptions, your barriers and your own weaknesses to build a strong and confident Lenormand read. You will never wonder if you reads are right, because you will know that you have employed your own methods to predict with accuracy.
We have a two tier system with the World Divination Association, you can choose to join the workshops and blast through those issues OR you can level up and get a personalised one on one workshop to add to it. You will be assessed before the weekend then have workshops tailored to your needs AND have a one on one session with me to get your Lenormand Pro status!
Hope to see you there!
Thank you for your fast response and aclaratory. Have a good day, by the way today is MABON the autum equinox. Have a wonderful day !!!!!
Hi Raul - there is no fate line in a 9 x 4 - you could use the last four cards if you wanted as an exit to the spread but in general it applies to the 8x4+4
Hello TONI , normally i do a GT in a 4 x 9 format . So in this case that line of fate doesnt apply there ? or you can see the first 4 cards in the first row ? The 4 corners ? Could you explain this please ?
Oh, this is excellent! And if House, while not the significator, lands in House of Anchor, this is potentially a good placement (unless for other cards denying it)? Wonderful!
Wonderful blog! Join you at lennie w-end!!! 🤗