07. Snake- Lenormand Meanings and Combinations

The Snake – Meaning

• Unexpected setback 
• Malicious/deceitful person 
• A snake in the grass 
• Hidden agenda 
• Being blind-sided
• Temptation that probably is not good for us
• Jealousy
• Manipulation
• Lying to yourself
• Non-evil meanings (lol): transformation – a snake shedding it’s skin; flexibility – snakes are all spine, a super strong and flexible spine!

[I have a complex relationship with this card… It’s original meaning had some super racist associations! So, I initially changed the meaning to be more comfortable for me. That’s why I adopted the ‘flexibility’ and ‘transformation’ meanings. However! With time, I’ve seen the need for the Snake to have its less savoury associations. These are a part of life and so at times are necessary.]

 

At times, people can feel jealous or spiteful. At times we ourselves can need to hide our plans from those around us. So…a card for this is really helpful. It can help us plan ahead and identify our points of vulnerability for risk management. Who are we relying on for honest feedback or support with our social standing, obligations or goals? Who have we trusted our heart with? These are the questions the Snake card asks you to identify so you can have a Plan B. 

With the snake card it ends up working out that another person is prioritising their agenda or needs above yours and not letting you know. Or! They could be letting you know! And you could be blindly missing very obvious signs and just be unable to accept that someone so near and dear to you might not have your best interests at heart. This can happen with love at first sight, we’re so besotted that we cannot for the life of us see the red flags. It can also happen with close friends and family, where years of association and assumption have desensitised us to that which we don’t already expect. 

The cards pairing with and around Snake are an excellent way to find blind spots. The hidden that has, is or will hurt us…

If the card is being used in a reading to identify a person, I use the hair colour associated with it, black, OR the negative connotations. I never use them together. You can always clarify with another deck if you want to get more information that could be associated with the same card. I never use them together.

For me that’s the racist part, putting those two meanings together, as an early/original meaning went something like, ‘an Asiatic woman you cannot trust’. See what I mean? There’s no way that’s okay that you ALWAYS can’t trust ‘Asiatic’ women. Thumbs down from me.  

The Snake also represented the serpent from the Garden of Eden in earlier meanings, and because of the sexism in that Judeo-Christian story, I found that meaning difficult to touch my mind with also!

The cool thing about this journey of meanings for me is, I now have greater flexibility and range in my use and interpretation of the card. Feel free to use both the negative or non-negative meanings, the choice is yours.

Remember, Snake doesn’t have to mean complete betrayal, sometimes family and friends who love us can be hurt or scared, fear makes us do horrid things sometimes (like throwing others under the bus to save our own neck). Do remember that this card can have a LIGHT negative meaning as well.

Body Part: the large intestine, but originally I associated this with the Spine and often still do. If a querant has health issues directly pertaining to the spine, I absolutely use it in this way. 

Timing, the Snake is the number 7, so we can use this to mean 7 days, weeks or months from the reading (or years) or in July. If there is a time of the year you associate with snakes, feel free to use that! Or, if the image of the deck you are using shows a particular time of the day or has a seasonal feel, you can also choose to use that.

If you’re just starting out with divination cards, and want to do a timing reading, it’s best to have a solid decision before laying the cards as to how you will interpret them.

This can be called “charging the card”, you hold the card and declare it’s meaning, and the card only means that. Do this before you shuffle. (You need to do this with the people cards too, identify who the “female” and “male” people cards are. If it’s a work reading, it will be your business partner or someone you’re working with closely. If it’s a love reading, it would be your primary partner. For the polyamorous or those dating around, associate another card together with a specific person card, so you know who the cards want to point out or talk about).

As an example, an old flatmate was Asian, so often we had the Snake card in a reading mean her. For those readings, I never used the negative associations of the Snake.

Associated playing card: Queen of Clubs

Remember: The cards around the Snake will help figure out where a solution can come from or at which angle you might be blind-sided. With larger spreads you can have multiple directions you read in, for clarification, and use different meanings for each direction. Diagonals going up (from left to right in an upwards direction) can be a different topic to diagonals going down (that is, from left to right in a downwards direction). Say if you’ve got three rows of cards, and three columns. Diagonal down would be: top left card, middle central card, and bottom right card.

If you want me to do a Lenormand Grand Tableau reading for you, pop over to the “Services” page on this website, thebookandthekey.com, choose a time duration, 30 mins or 1 hour, and then schedule it in with payment. I hope to work with you soon!

The Snake Combinations

Primary	Secondary	Combined Meanings
7 Snake	1 Rider	News of an unexpected setback. Someone you don’t trust visits or sends you a package. Highly athletic yoga. A winding journey. Your package is taking a winding route to get to you!
7 Snake	2 Clover	A fun bit of fantasy. Being flexible allows good fortune or joy. An untruth meant as fun.
7 Snake	3 Ship	An Asian person from overseas. A trip overseas changes unexpectedly. Going on a trip away to do a yoga course.
7 Snake	4 House	Someone you live with lies to you. Someone has a hidden agenda about something in your home.
7 Snake	5 Tree	Spinal/digestive health. Unexpected setback caused by a family member.
7 Snake	6 Clouds (light)	Being flexible brings clarity to a situation. Doing yoga brings mental clarity.
7 Snake	6 Clouds (dark)	A hidden agenda creates confusion. A malicious person who isn’t very clear-headed.
7 Snake	7 Snake (non-negative)	A very flexible yoga instructor! Your digestive system requires you to be adaptable or flexible to its new needs.
7 Snake	7 Snake (Negative)	A person who doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Someone is really trying to manipulate you. Stay flexible around a person you shouldn’t trust.
7 Snake	8 Coffin	Spine or digestive system illness. The end of lies or temptation.
7 Snake	9 Bouquet	A pretty person who is a snake at heart. Graduation certificate of your yoga teacher course. Good looking young person (usually Male) who is jealous or manipulative.
7 Snake	10 Scythe	Cancellation of a stretch class. Lies and deceit change things irrevocably. Cutting up an eel.
7 Snake	11 Whip (and the Broom)	Heavy labour/highly physical activity by a yoga practitioner. Painful news of lies and manipulation. Lying to yourself brings painful consequences. Transformation by a lot of exercise.
7 Snake	12 Birds	A chatty fork-tongued gossip. Lies or jealousy told to you by mouth/over the phone (with the voice rather than written).
7 Snake	13 Child	A small lie. A manipulative or jealous young/short person. A new flexibility around something.
7 Snake	14 Fox	Unexpected bad news about work. Someone whose work is to do with yoga/the spine/the digestive system/flexibility/lies and manipulation. Flexibility at work.
7 Snake	15 Bear	Lies about your long-term finances. Being tempted to use funds intended for your superannuation. An unexpected attack by a parent/guardian.
7 Snake	16 Stars	An unexpected setback about your hopes and dreams. Something destined is hidden. Manipulation or deceit from someone that is ultimately for your greater good.
7 Snake	17 Stork	A baby with black hair is being delivered. An unexpected setback about a trip overseas.
7 Snake	18 Dog	Surprise attack by a friend. Dog yoga. A friend you cannot trust. Your friend who does yoga.
7 Snake	19 Tower	Unexpected setback in your business. Manipulation from/lying to yourself about a business or organisation. Hurt from a deceitful friend makes you isolate.
7 Snake	20 Garden	Lies and gossip about someone’s reputation. Doing yoga/stretching in nature. Lies or unkindness delivered via social media.
7 Snake	21 Mountain	Delay caused by a manipulative person. A yoga guru. Big lies. A yoga regimen becomes difficult to continue. Someone with a hidden agenda causes obstacles.
7 Snake	22 Crossroads	Multiple untrustworthy people. A snake in the grass steers you in the wrong direction. A choice between temptation and a different path.
7 Snake	23 Mice	A wiry flexible person. Someone arrives late due to an unexpected setback. Being blind-sided brings anxiety.
7 Snake	24 Heart	You love doing yoga! Yoga as a passion or hobby. Someone you love is lying to you [sorry about that :(]
7 Snake	25 Ring	Someone wiggling out of an agreement. A flexible agreement. Mistrust leads to a commitment. Engagement to a flexible person.
7 Snake	26 Book	A secret that could have hurt you is revealed! A book about yoga. A yogic/spinal health educational course or institution. Information about your enemy.
7 Snake	27 Letter	An official document tells of an unexpected setback. A medical certificate about your spine or digestive system. Lies via written correspondence. You are given a list by a person you do not trust.
7 Snake	28 Man	A male yoga instructor. A male  blind-sides you. A male friend isn’t really a friend. A flexible man. Lies from a male. A male you cannot trust.
7 Snake	29 Woman	A female yoga instructor. A female  blind-sides you. A female friend isn’t really a friend. A flexible woman. Lies from a female.
7 Snake	30 Lilies	A mature gentleman who has a hidden agenda. An unexpected setback restores harmony. An unexpected retrenchment.
7 Snake	31 Sun	A deceitful braggart. A happy flexible person. An extrovert unexpectedly appears in your life. Exposure of a malicious person. Lies are brought to light.
7 Snake	32 Moon	Jealousy (or other Snake meanings) in the evening. Lying to yourself about psychic experiences. A black-haired psychic person. Emotions brought on by transformation (or a lying person).
7 Snake	33 Key	Flexibility with the meaning of success. A deceitful or manipulative person is revealed. An unexpected setback which solves a puzzle. A wish is granted in a round about way.
7 Snake	34 Fish	Flexibility with your finances. Unexpectedly needing cash for something. An expensive yoga course/class. Spending money on caring for your digestive systeme or spine.
7 Snake	35 Anchor	A stabilisation of flexibility. Daily interaction with someone you shouldn’t trust. Someone you thought was reliable is manipulative or deceitful. You can trust that you can’t trust this person! Hahaha. Stretching or yoga as part of your daily routine.
7 Snake	36 The Cross	A back-stabber causes a burden. Flexibility with the rules/regulations. Transformation in regards to the deeper principles that run your life or an organisation.