Tarot Reading What does the Madame Le Normand layout look like?
Reading Performed 10/11/2022 at 9:20 AM
Click or scroll down for the meaning of each position and the interpretation of its card.
Visual Layout
Row 1, Card 1
Queen of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Unhappiness averted. Danger escaped. Sorrow. Trouble.
Card Description
A dark woman who seems to display greatness of soul and grave intelligence contemplates her symbol, as if she sees worlds within it.
Row 1, Card 2
The Empress from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Fruitfulness, action, initiative, length of days; the unknown, clandestine; also difficulty, doubt, ignorance.
Card Description
A stately seated figure, having rich clothing and royal appearance, a daughter of heaven and earth. Her circlet holds twelve stars gathered in a cluster. The symbol of Venus is on the shield, which rests near her. A field of corn is ripening in front of her, and beyond there is a waterfall. The scepter she bears is topped by the globe of this world.
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Row 1, Card 3
Six of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
A victor triumphing; also great news, such as might be carried by the King's courier; expectation crowned with its own desire, crowned with hope—in other words, expectation that is its own reward.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Disagreeable news. Slight trouble. Bad news. Trouble for friends.
Card Description
A horseman wearing a laurel crown holds a staff adorned with another laurel crown. Footmen with more staves are at his side.
Row 1, Card 4
Seven of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Fairy favors, images of reflection, tenderness, imagination, scrying; moderate success, but nothing permanent or substantial.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Pain Slight illness. Recovery from illness. Health.
Card Description
Cups holding strange visions are presented to a figure in the foreground, as if offering a choice.
Row 1, Card 5
Page of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Authority, supervision, vigilance, spying, examination.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
A birth. A child. A sweet disposition. Affability.
Card Description
An agile, active figure holds a sword upright in both hands. He walks swiftly over rugged land, and around him the clouds are moving wildly. He is alert and watchful, looking this way and that, as if an expected enemy might appear at any moment.
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Row 1, Card 6
Two of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
This card has contradictory meanings: on the one hand, riches, fortune, magnificence; on the other, physical suffering, disease, chagrin, sadness, mortification. The design gives a suggestion to resolve the contradiction; here is a lord overlooking his dominion while contemplating a globe. He resembles the sadness and mortification of Alexander, amid the grandeur of this world's wealth.
Card Description
A tall man looks from a roof with battlements, overlooking sea and shore. He holds a globe in his right hand, and a staff in his left hand rests on the battlement. Another staff is fixed in a ring. The Rose and Cross and Lily appears on the left side.
Row 1, Card 7
King of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Judgement and its associations; power, command, authority, military intelligence, law, offices of the state.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Great happiness. A journey. A voyage on business. A happy life.
Card Description
He sits in judgement, holding the sign of his suit. He recalls the Justice card from the Major Arcana, and he may represent this virtue, but he possesses earthly power over life and death, because he is King.
Row 1, Card 8
Strength from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Power, energy, action, courage, generosity; also complete success and honors.
Card Description
A woman, over whose head is the same symbol of life seen in the Magician card, closes the jaws of a lion. Her benevolent strength has already subdued the lion, which is being led by a leash of flowers. Fortitude, in one of its most exalted aspects, is connected with the Divine Mystery of Union. It connects also with untouched innocence, and with the strength that resides in contemplation. These higher meanings are hinted at in a concealed manner by the leash of flowers, which signifies the sweet yoke and the light burden of Divine Law, when it has been taken into the heart of hearts. The card has nothing to do with ordinary self-confidence—it concerns the confidence of those whose strength is God and have found their refuge in Him. In one sense, the lion signifies the animal passions, and the lady called Strength signifies the higher nature of Man in his liberation. The higher nature of Man has walked upon the asp and the basilisk and has trodden down the lion and the dragon (see Psalm 91:13).
Row 2, Card 1
The Devil from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality; matters predestined but not necessarily evil.
Card Description
The main figure is entirely naked; he has bat-like wings, and his feet have the claws of a bird. His right hand is upraised and extended, which is the reverse of the blessing given by the Hierophant. In his left hand there is a great flaming torch, inverted toward the earth. A reversed pentagram is on his forehead. There is a ring in front of the altar, from which two chains are attached to the necks of two figures, male and female. These are analogous to The Lovers, like Adam and Eve after the Fall. They represent the chains and fatality of the material life.
Row 2, Card 2
Death from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
End, mortality, destruction, corruption; also, for a man, the loss of a benefactor; for a woman, many inconsistencies; for a maiden, failure of marriage prospects.
Card Description
Death appears here as one of the apocalyptic visions rather than a grim reaper—to show change, transformation, and a passage from lower to higher. In the background lies the whole world of ascent in the spirit. In the foreground, the mysterious horseman moves slowly, bearing a black banner emblazoned with the Mystic Rose, which signifies life. Between two pillars on the horizon shines the sun of immortality. The horseman carries no visible weapon, but king and child and maiden fall before him, while a bishop with clasped hands awaits his end. The natural transition of man to the next stage of his being is one form of his progress. While still in this life, the exotic and almost unknown entrance into the state of mystical death is a change in the form of consciousness. It is the passage into a state to which ordinary death is neither the path nor the gate.
Row 2, Card 3
Four of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Security of possessions, keeping what one has, gifts, legacy, inheritance.
Card Description
A crowned figure with a pentacle over his head clasps another pentacle with his hands and arms. Two pentacles lie beneath his feet. He holds on to what he has.
Row 2, Card 4
Wheel of Fortune from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Destiny, fortune, success, advancement, luck, delight.
Card Description
The four Living Creatures of Ezekiel occupy the corners of the card. The symbols on the disc in the center stand for the perpetual motion of an ever-changing universe and for the flux of human life. The Sphinx is equilibrium within that state of change. The letters of Taro or Rota are inscribed on the wheel, interspersed with the Hebrew letters of the Divine Name—to show that Providence is implied through all existence. However, this is the Divine intention within, and the similar intention on the surface is represented by the four Living Creatures.
Row 2, Card 5
Eight of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Work, employment, jobs, craftsmanship; skill in craft and business, perhaps at an entry level.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Invitations. A love affair. Pleasure for the beloved. A love affair in the family.
Card Description
An artist at his work in stone, which he exhibits in the form of trophies.
Row 2, Card 6
The Hanged Man from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Wisdom, prudence, discernment, trials, sacrifice, intuition, divination, prophecy.
Card Description
The figure of a man hangs head down from a gallows, to which he is attached by a rope around one of his ankles. His arms are bound behind him, and one leg is crossed over the other. The gallows from which he hangs forms a Tau cross, while the figure—from the position of the legs--forms a cross. There is a halo around the head of the apparent martyr. It should be noted (1) that the tree of sacrifice is living wood, with leaves on it; (2) that the face expresses deep entrancement, not suffering; (3) that the figure, as a whole, suggests life in suspension, not death.
Row 2, Card 7
Four of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Vigilance, retreat, solitude, isolation, exile, tomb and coffin.
Card Description
The corpse of a knight in a position of prayer, laid out upon his tomb.
Row 2, Card 8
Knight of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Arrival, approach—sometimes that of a messenger; advances, proposition, demeanor, invitation, temptation.
Card Description
A graceful but not warlike figure rides quietly. He wears a winged helmet to symbolize the imagination. He is a dreamer, and the images of sensory things haunt him in his vision.
Row 3, Card 1
Ace of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Immaculate love, joy, contentment, home, nourishment, abundance, fertility.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
The inquirer, if male.
Card Description
A hand extending from a cloud bears a cup pouring out four streams. Calm water lies beneath, and on it are waterlilies. A dove bearing in its beak a communion wafer marked with a cross descends to place the wafer in the cup. Dew falls around the cup on all sides.
Row 3, Card 2
Page of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Application, study, scholarship, reflection; also command, management.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Chagrin. Misfortune averted. Danger. Unhappiness averted.
Card Description
A youthful figure looks intently at the pentacle that hovers over his raised hands. He moves slowly, ignoring what is around him.
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Row 3, Card 3
Five of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Inheritance, patrimony, transmission of wealth, but not corresponding to expectations; marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration.
Card Description
A dark, cloaked figure looks sideways at three cups lying on the ground. Two others stand upright behind him. A bridge in the background leads to a small keep or holding. This is a card of loss, but something remains at the end; three have been taken, but two are left.
Row 3, Card 4
Nine of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Signifies strength in opposition—if attacked, the person will meet that attack boldly. Possibly delay, suspension, adjournment.
Card Description
A man leans upon his staff with an expectant look, as if awaiting an enemy. His build indicates that he may prove a formidable opponent. Behind are eight other staves—upright, in orderly arrangement, like a fence.
Row 3, Card 5
Four of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Country life, safe haven, domestic harvest; home, rest, tranquility, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfection of these.
Card Description
From four staves planted in the foreground, a great garland hangs. Two female figures hold up bouquets. To one side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old mansion.
Row 3, Card 6
Ten of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Gain, riches; family matters, archives, ancestry, the home of a family.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
News. Secret intelligence. Gossip. Scandal.
Card Description
A man and woman beneath an archway that leads to a house and domain. They are accompanied by a child, who looks curiously at two dogs greeting an old man in the foreground. The child's hand rests on one of the dogs.
Row 3, Card 7
Ace of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Triumph, the excessive degree in everything, conquest. It is a card of great force, in love as well as in hatred. The crown may carry a much higher significance than usual in fortune-telling.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
The inquirer, if male.
Card Description
A hand extends from a cloud, grasping a sword, the point of which is encircled by a crown.
Row 3, Card 8
Justice from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Fairness, rightness, integrity, accomplishment; triumph of the deserving side in law.
Card Description
This figure sits between pillars, like the High Priestess. The pillars of Justice open into one world and the pillars of the High Priestess into another. The operation of spiritual justice is like the breathing of the Spirit where it wills, and we have no way to explain it. It is like the possession of the fairy gifts, high gifts, and the gracious gifts of the poet—we either have them or we don't, and their presence is as much a mystery as their absence.
Row 4, Card 1
Two of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, consensus, sympathy, the relationship between men and women.
Card Description
A young man and woman pledge themselves to one another. Above their cups rises the Caduceus of Hermes, with a lion's head between its spread wings. It represents our desire to find a soul mate, by which desire Nature is sanctified.
Row 4, Card 2
Eight of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Activity in undertakings, the path of such activity; swiftness, as that of an express messenger; great haste, great hope, speed toward an end that promises certain happiness; generally, things on the move; also the arrows of love.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Friendship. Faithful lover. Powerful enemy. Enemy overcome.
Card Description
This card represents motion through the unmoving—a flight of wands through an open countryside. They approach the end of their path. The future they signify is at hand; it may be even on the threshold.
Row 4, Card 3
The Lovers from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome.
Card Description
The sun shines above, and beneath is a great winged figure with arms extended, pouring down mystical influences. In the foreground are two human figures, male and female. They are naked before each other, like Adam and Eve when they first occupied Paradise. Behind the man is the Tree of Life, bearing twelve fruits. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is behind the woman, with the serpent wrapped around it. The figures suggest youth, virginity, innocence, and love before it is contaminated by gross material desire. This is the card of human love; part of the Way, the Truth and the Life. In a very high sense, the card is a depiction of the Covenant and the Sabbath.
Row 4, Card 4
Three of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery: those are his ships, bearing his merchandise, at sail.
Card Description
A calm, stately figure looks from a cliff's edge at ships passing over the sea. His back is turned. Three staves are planted in the ground, and he leans slightly on one of them.
Row 4, Card 5
Eight of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Bad news, terror, crisis, rebuke, powerful obstacles, conflict, slander; also sickness.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Social position. Constant love. Unimportant position. Bad companions.
Card Description
A woman stands bound and blindfolded, with the swords of the card around her. It is a card of temporary imprisonment rather than permanent bondage.
Row 4, Card 6
Six of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Presents, gifts, gratification.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Pleasure. Good news. Annoyances overcome Good fortune.
Card Description
A merchant weighs money in a pair of scales, and distributes it to the needy and distressed. It is a testimony to his own success in life, as well as to his goodness of heart.
Row 4, Card 7
Nine of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certainty, discernment.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Illness. Sorrow. Accidents. Danger.
Card Description
A woman with a bird on her wrist stands among an abundance of grapevines in the garden of a mansion. Behind her is a wide landscape, suggesting plenty in all things. Possibly, the land is her own possession, and testifies to material well-being.
Row 4, Card 8
Nine of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Death, failure, malfunction, delay, deception, disappointment, despair.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Successful voyages. Commercial enterprises. Faithfulness. Illusions. Flirtations.
Card Description
A woman sits on her bed, sobbing, with swords on the wall above her. She grieves as if she knows of no sorrow like hers. It is a card of utter desolation.
End of Life Row, Card 1
The Tower from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Misery, distress, extreme poverty, adversity, disasters, disgrace, deception, ruin. It is a card in particular of unforeseen catastrophe.
Card Description
A Tower struck by Lightning. It is definitely a card of confusion, and the design can correspond to any well-known catastrophe. It may also depict the House of God, abandoned, and the Veil of the Temple, rent.
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End of Life Row, Card 2
Three of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Occupation, trade, skilled labor; also nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory.
Card Description
This card shows a sculptor working in a monastery. Compare with the Eight of Pentacles: the apprentice or amateur in that card has received his reward and is now at work in earnest.
End of Life Row, Card 3
Ace of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Creation, invention, enterprise, and the powers producing these; guiding principles, beginning, source; birth, family, origin, and perhaps the virility behind them; the starting point of enterprises; possibly money, fortune, inheritance.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Engagement. Happy marriage and riches. Broken engagement. Separation of lovers.
Card Description
A hand extending from a cloud grasps a stout wand or club.
End of Life Row, Card 4
The Emperor from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Stability, power, protection, realization; a great person; aid, reason, conviction; also authority and will.
Card Description
He has a form of the Crux ansata (like an Ankh) for his scepter and a globe in his left hand. He is a crowned monarch—commanding, stately, seated on a throne. The arms of his throne have rams' heads on the front. He is execution and realization, the power of this world, clothed with the highest of its natural attributes. He is the virile power to which the Empress responds, and in this sense, he is the one who seeks to remove the Veil of Isis; yet she remains a virgin.
The Meanings of these Tarot Cards
Row 1, Card 1
Queen of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Unhappiness averted. Danger escaped. Sorrow. Trouble.
Card Description
A dark woman who seems to display greatness of soul and grave intelligence contemplates her symbol, as if she sees worlds within it.
Row 1, Card 2
The Empress from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Fruitfulness, action, initiative, length of days; the unknown, clandestine; also difficulty, doubt, ignorance.
Card Description
A stately seated figure, having rich clothing and royal appearance, a daughter of heaven and earth. Her circlet holds twelve stars gathered in a cluster. The symbol of Venus is on the shield, which rests near her. A field of corn is ripening in front of her, and beyond there is a waterfall. The scepter she bears is topped by the globe of this world.
Related Posts
Row 1, Card 3
Six of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
A victor triumphing; also great news, such as might be carried by the King's courier; expectation crowned with its own desire, crowned with hope—in other words, expectation that is its own reward.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Disagreeable news. Slight trouble. Bad news. Trouble for friends.
Card Description
A horseman wearing a laurel crown holds a staff adorned with another laurel crown. Footmen with more staves are at his side.
Row 1, Card 4
Seven of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Fairy favors, images of reflection, tenderness, imagination, scrying; moderate success, but nothing permanent or substantial.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Pain Slight illness. Recovery from illness. Health.
Card Description
Cups holding strange visions are presented to a figure in the foreground, as if offering a choice.
Row 1, Card 5
Page of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Authority, supervision, vigilance, spying, examination.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
A birth. A child. A sweet disposition. Affability.
Card Description
An agile, active figure holds a sword upright in both hands. He walks swiftly over rugged land, and around him the clouds are moving wildly. He is alert and watchful, looking this way and that, as if an expected enemy might appear at any moment.
Related Posts
Row 1, Card 6
Two of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
This card has contradictory meanings: on the one hand, riches, fortune, magnificence; on the other, physical suffering, disease, chagrin, sadness, mortification. The design gives a suggestion to resolve the contradiction; here is a lord overlooking his dominion while contemplating a globe. He resembles the sadness and mortification of Alexander, amid the grandeur of this world's wealth.
Card Description
A tall man looks from a roof with battlements, overlooking sea and shore. He holds a globe in his right hand, and a staff in his left hand rests on the battlement. Another staff is fixed in a ring. The Rose and Cross and Lily appears on the left side.
Row 1, Card 7
King of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Judgement and its associations; power, command, authority, military intelligence, law, offices of the state.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Great happiness. A journey. A voyage on business. A happy life.
Card Description
He sits in judgement, holding the sign of his suit. He recalls the Justice card from the Major Arcana, and he may represent this virtue, but he possesses earthly power over life and death, because he is King.
Row 1, Card 8
Strength from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Power, energy, action, courage, generosity; also complete success and honors.
Card Description
A woman, over whose head is the same symbol of life seen in the Magician card, closes the jaws of a lion. Her benevolent strength has already subdued the lion, which is being led by a leash of flowers. Fortitude, in one of its most exalted aspects, is connected with the Divine Mystery of Union. It connects also with untouched innocence, and with the strength that resides in contemplation. These higher meanings are hinted at in a concealed manner by the leash of flowers, which signifies the sweet yoke and the light burden of Divine Law, when it has been taken into the heart of hearts. The card has nothing to do with ordinary self-confidence—it concerns the confidence of those whose strength is God and have found their refuge in Him. In one sense, the lion signifies the animal passions, and the lady called Strength signifies the higher nature of Man in his liberation. The higher nature of Man has walked upon the asp and the basilisk and has trodden down the lion and the dragon (see Psalm 91:13).
Row 2, Card 1
The Devil from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality; matters predestined but not necessarily evil.
Card Description
The main figure is entirely naked; he has bat-like wings, and his feet have the claws of a bird. His right hand is upraised and extended, which is the reverse of the blessing given by the Hierophant. In his left hand there is a great flaming torch, inverted toward the earth. A reversed pentagram is on his forehead. There is a ring in front of the altar, from which two chains are attached to the necks of two figures, male and female. These are analogous to The Lovers, like Adam and Eve after the Fall. They represent the chains and fatality of the material life.
Row 2, Card 2
Death from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
End, mortality, destruction, corruption; also, for a man, the loss of a benefactor; for a woman, many inconsistencies; for a maiden, failure of marriage prospects.
Card Description
Death appears here as one of the apocalyptic visions rather than a grim reaper—to show change, transformation, and a passage from lower to higher. In the background lies the whole world of ascent in the spirit. In the foreground, the mysterious horseman moves slowly, bearing a black banner emblazoned with the Mystic Rose, which signifies life. Between two pillars on the horizon shines the sun of immortality. The horseman carries no visible weapon, but king and child and maiden fall before him, while a bishop with clasped hands awaits his end. The natural transition of man to the next stage of his being is one form of his progress. While still in this life, the exotic and almost unknown entrance into the state of mystical death is a change in the form of consciousness. It is the passage into a state to which ordinary death is neither the path nor the gate.
Row 2, Card 3
Four of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Security of possessions, keeping what one has, gifts, legacy, inheritance.
Card Description
A crowned figure with a pentacle over his head clasps another pentacle with his hands and arms. Two pentacles lie beneath his feet. He holds on to what he has.
Row 2, Card 4
Wheel of Fortune from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Destiny, fortune, success, advancement, luck, delight.
Card Description
The four Living Creatures of Ezekiel occupy the corners of the card. The symbols on the disc in the center stand for the perpetual motion of an ever-changing universe and for the flux of human life. The Sphinx is equilibrium within that state of change. The letters of Taro or Rota are inscribed on the wheel, interspersed with the Hebrew letters of the Divine Name—to show that Providence is implied through all existence. However, this is the Divine intention within, and the similar intention on the surface is represented by the four Living Creatures.
Row 2, Card 5
Eight of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Work, employment, jobs, craftsmanship; skill in craft and business, perhaps at an entry level.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Invitations. A love affair. Pleasure for the beloved. A love affair in the family.
Card Description
An artist at his work in stone, which he exhibits in the form of trophies.
Row 2, Card 6
The Hanged Man from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Wisdom, prudence, discernment, trials, sacrifice, intuition, divination, prophecy.
Card Description
The figure of a man hangs head down from a gallows, to which he is attached by a rope around one of his ankles. His arms are bound behind him, and one leg is crossed over the other. The gallows from which he hangs forms a Tau cross, while the figure—from the position of the legs--forms a cross. There is a halo around the head of the apparent martyr. It should be noted (1) that the tree of sacrifice is living wood, with leaves on it; (2) that the face expresses deep entrancement, not suffering; (3) that the figure, as a whole, suggests life in suspension, not death.
Row 2, Card 7
Four of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Vigilance, retreat, solitude, isolation, exile, tomb and coffin.
Card Description
The corpse of a knight in a position of prayer, laid out upon his tomb.
Row 2, Card 8
Knight of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Arrival, approach—sometimes that of a messenger; advances, proposition, demeanor, invitation, temptation.
Card Description
A graceful but not warlike figure rides quietly. He wears a winged helmet to symbolize the imagination. He is a dreamer, and the images of sensory things haunt him in his vision.
Row 3, Card 1
Ace of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Immaculate love, joy, contentment, home, nourishment, abundance, fertility.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
The inquirer, if male.
Card Description
A hand extending from a cloud bears a cup pouring out four streams. Calm water lies beneath, and on it are waterlilies. A dove bearing in its beak a communion wafer marked with a cross descends to place the wafer in the cup. Dew falls around the cup on all sides.
Row 3, Card 2
Page of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Application, study, scholarship, reflection; also command, management.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Chagrin. Misfortune averted. Danger. Unhappiness averted.
Card Description
A youthful figure looks intently at the pentacle that hovers over his raised hands. He moves slowly, ignoring what is around him.
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Row 3, Card 3
Five of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Inheritance, patrimony, transmission of wealth, but not corresponding to expectations; marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration.
Card Description
A dark, cloaked figure looks sideways at three cups lying on the ground. Two others stand upright behind him. A bridge in the background leads to a small keep or holding. This is a card of loss, but something remains at the end; three have been taken, but two are left.
Row 3, Card 4
Nine of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Signifies strength in opposition—if attacked, the person will meet that attack boldly. Possibly delay, suspension, adjournment.
Card Description
A man leans upon his staff with an expectant look, as if awaiting an enemy. His build indicates that he may prove a formidable opponent. Behind are eight other staves—upright, in orderly arrangement, like a fence.
Row 3, Card 5
Four of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Country life, safe haven, domestic harvest; home, rest, tranquility, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfection of these.
Card Description
From four staves planted in the foreground, a great garland hangs. Two female figures hold up bouquets. To one side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old mansion.
Row 3, Card 6
Ten of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Gain, riches; family matters, archives, ancestry, the home of a family.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
News. Secret intelligence. Gossip. Scandal.
Card Description
A man and woman beneath an archway that leads to a house and domain. They are accompanied by a child, who looks curiously at two dogs greeting an old man in the foreground. The child's hand rests on one of the dogs.
Row 3, Card 7
Ace of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Triumph, the excessive degree in everything, conquest. It is a card of great force, in love as well as in hatred. The crown may carry a much higher significance than usual in fortune-telling.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
The inquirer, if male.
Card Description
A hand extends from a cloud, grasping a sword, the point of which is encircled by a crown.
Row 3, Card 8
Justice from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Fairness, rightness, integrity, accomplishment; triumph of the deserving side in law.
Card Description
This figure sits between pillars, like the High Priestess. The pillars of Justice open into one world and the pillars of the High Priestess into another. The operation of spiritual justice is like the breathing of the Spirit where it wills, and we have no way to explain it. It is like the possession of the fairy gifts, high gifts, and the gracious gifts of the poet—we either have them or we don't, and their presence is as much a mystery as their absence.
Row 4, Card 1
Two of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, consensus, sympathy, the relationship between men and women.
Card Description
A young man and woman pledge themselves to one another. Above their cups rises the Caduceus of Hermes, with a lion's head between its spread wings. It represents our desire to find a soul mate, by which desire Nature is sanctified.
Row 4, Card 2
Eight of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Activity in undertakings, the path of such activity; swiftness, as that of an express messenger; great haste, great hope, speed toward an end that promises certain happiness; generally, things on the move; also the arrows of love.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Friendship. Faithful lover. Powerful enemy. Enemy overcome.
Card Description
This card represents motion through the unmoving—a flight of wands through an open countryside. They approach the end of their path. The future they signify is at hand; it may be even on the threshold.
Row 4, Card 3
The Lovers from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome.
Card Description
The sun shines above, and beneath is a great winged figure with arms extended, pouring down mystical influences. In the foreground are two human figures, male and female. They are naked before each other, like Adam and Eve when they first occupied Paradise. Behind the man is the Tree of Life, bearing twelve fruits. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is behind the woman, with the serpent wrapped around it. The figures suggest youth, virginity, innocence, and love before it is contaminated by gross material desire. This is the card of human love; part of the Way, the Truth and the Life. In a very high sense, the card is a depiction of the Covenant and the Sabbath.
Row 4, Card 4
Three of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery: those are his ships, bearing his merchandise, at sail.
Card Description
A calm, stately figure looks from a cliff's edge at ships passing over the sea. His back is turned. Three staves are planted in the ground, and he leans slightly on one of them.
Row 4, Card 5
Eight of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Bad news, terror, crisis, rebuke, powerful obstacles, conflict, slander; also sickness.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Social position. Constant love. Unimportant position. Bad companions.
Card Description
A woman stands bound and blindfolded, with the swords of the card around her. It is a card of temporary imprisonment rather than permanent bondage.
Row 4, Card 6
Six of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Presents, gifts, gratification.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Pleasure. Good news. Annoyances overcome Good fortune.
Card Description
A merchant weighs money in a pair of scales, and distributes it to the needy and distressed. It is a testimony to his own success in life, as well as to his goodness of heart.
Row 4, Card 7
Nine of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certainty, discernment.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Illness. Sorrow. Accidents. Danger.
Card Description
A woman with a bird on her wrist stands among an abundance of grapevines in the garden of a mansion. Behind her is a wide landscape, suggesting plenty in all things. Possibly, the land is her own possession, and testifies to material well-being.
Row 4, Card 8
Nine of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Death, failure, malfunction, delay, deception, disappointment, despair.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Successful voyages. Commercial enterprises. Faithfulness. Illusions. Flirtations.
Card Description
A woman sits on her bed, sobbing, with swords on the wall above her. She grieves as if she knows of no sorrow like hers. It is a card of utter desolation.
End of Life Row, Card 1
The Tower from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Misery, distress, extreme poverty, adversity, disasters, disgrace, deception, ruin. It is a card in particular of unforeseen catastrophe.
Card Description
A Tower struck by Lightning. It is definitely a card of confusion, and the design can correspond to any well-known catastrophe. It may also depict the House of God, abandoned, and the Veil of the Temple, rent.
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End of Life Row, Card 2
Three of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Occupation, trade, skilled labor; also nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory.
Card Description
This card shows a sculptor working in a monastery. Compare with the Eight of Pentacles: the apprentice or amateur in that card has received his reward and is now at work in earnest.
End of Life Row, Card 3
Ace of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Creation, invention, enterprise, and the powers producing these; guiding principles, beginning, source; birth, family, origin, and perhaps the virility behind them; the starting point of enterprises; possibly money, fortune, inheritance.
Mme. Le Normand's Divinatory Meanings
Engagement. Happy marriage and riches. Broken engagement. Separation of lovers.
Card Description
A hand extending from a cloud grasps a stout wand or club.
End of Life Row, Card 4
The Emperor from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Card Meaning When Upright
Stability, power, protection, realization; a great person; aid, reason, conviction; also authority and will.
Card Description
He has a form of the Crux ansata (like an Ankh) for his scepter and a globe in his left hand. He is a crowned monarch—commanding, stately, seated on a throne. The arms of his throne have rams' heads on the front. He is execution and realization, the power of this world, clothed with the highest of its natural attributes. He is the virile power to which the Empress responds, and in this sense, he is the one who seeks to remove the Veil of Isis; yet she remains a virgin.
Comments
It seems to me that the rows proceed according to the life phases of the individual being read: as a child, as an adolescent, as an adult, as an elder, and at the end of life. I wonder what the columns could mean. The most straightforward idea I can think of would be that they tell a sequential story from beginning to end, but I suspect the first and last cards must mean something else, since they are left off of the end of life row.