Key 2: ‘Note where the Significator landed.’ Curiously, my habitual significator for the United States in the LeNormand deck, the Dog card, appears nowhere in this spread! Nor does the the U.S. government significator (the Tower) show up. Donald Trump’s significator (the Child, No. 13), yes. Vladimir Putin’s significator (the Older Man, No. 28b), yes. Russia’s significator (the Bear, No. 15), yes. The closest we come to a significator for the U.S. is the House card, which lands right next to Donald Trump’s significator, so that will have to suffice. Once you’ve located the significator, you’re supposed to note if the significator looks in any particular direction. That’s because everything in the direction where the significator is gazing is in the future; everything behind them is the past. If the significator looks straight at you, assume all the cards to the left are the past, all the cards to its right are the future. The cards directly above the significator are what’s on their mind, cards directly below them are what they’ve achieved. I’m not going to get into past and future, that gets too long but, I do like to note the above and below cards to the significators.
The card below the House is the Anchor, so the U.S. still feels essentially anchored and stable, but all-important in the country’s mind is the upcoming presidential election (the Key and the Split Staircase are right above the House). Donald Trump feels rooted in a clear sense of direction, but what’s on his mind is risk-taking and his own ego.
Key 3 is ‘The Four Corners.’ Think of the Grand Tableau as a poster taped to a wall. The four corners are the ‘tape’ that holds the whole poster up. They frame the situation. The four corners of the Grand Tableau spread are read, starting with the lower-left corner, going up to the upper-left corner, heading over to the upper-right corner, then finally descending to the lower-right corner. In this instance, the cards read The Ship – The Bridge – The Bear – The Mountain. The Ship is travel, journeys, foreign matters, and travel for business. The Bear is financial matters, possible legal matters, and issues of protection (also Russia, to me). The Mountain is obstacles, challenges, blockage, detours, and possibly conflict.
Travels by U.S. government officials to establish or maintain connections to other countries, with Russia in the way, are going to meet with challenges, obstacles, and the need to take detours from official policy.
Key 4 is ‘Boxing the Significator.’ The eight cards surrounding the significator are important, but I like to look at the three cards under the significator, because that represents their foundation, what the individual stands on. The three cards under the House (the U.S.’s significator) are the Compass (Direction), the Anchor (Security), and the Tree (Health and Growth). That tells me the U. S.’s long-term direction this year is fundamentally in the direction of increased strength; there is a network of support. The three cards under Donald Trump’s significator are the Older Man card (my significator for Vladimir Putin), the Compass and the Anchor. That tells me Donald Trump fundamentally receives his long-term sense of direction and security from the President of Russia.