LILY: LIFE AND CAREER COMBINATIONS

[NOTES TO THE VIDEO]

The Lily has several meanings, and can seem a little confusing at times. It is one of those cards that we do not know what to make of when we first start reading Lenormand, and  that it pretty much stays that way. The Lily does not have a standout meaning like other cards, but with time and practice, we can make sense of it better.

You might like to think a little about what the Lily means, look into how different authors it, and then put together a meaning that resonates with you. Take the freedom to interpret them in the way that makes sense to you and your intuition, or in the moment when you are doing a reading. 

In my dictionary, the Lily takes on several meanings: Life path, career, achieving milestones, maturity, the long view, and even health, are ways that I interpret the Lily. It is not about the job, tasks, or smaller things in life, instead, it is about the bigger picture.

THREE ASPECTS OF THE LILY

From the Lenormand deck, I have taken three groups of cards that reflect the different aspects of the Lily. This means that when the Lily figures with any of the cards in a particular group, the theme of that group is brought out. This is my intention and the way I read combinations.

The first group is job cards and includes the Fox and Fish. The Key is in this group, and although it is not a job card, it supports it when combined with the Lily.

The second group reflects the life path aspect of the Lily, milestones, phases in life, and moving into new chapters. These include the Moon, Road, Tower, and Cross.

And the third group has the Tree and Coffin which I associate with health.

I will also discuss the Man and Woman, which are neutral cards, and how they combine with the Lily.

HEALTH

LILY + TREE

Starting with the health group, the Tree represents health. A lot of people, to my surprise, do not necessarily see the tree as good health. I have a hard time not seeing the Tree as good health because a tree is a symbol of spirit and wisdom in many traditions. It has to do with strength, having roots, and bearing fruit.

In my symbology, the archetypal landscape in my mind,  the Tree is a beautiful card of health, strength, longevity, and endurance. So when I see the Tree in the context of health, I almost always take it as good health. I would need strong negative cards around it to compromise this idea.

When the Lily and Tree come together, I read about health. The pair can also point to the idea of slowing down and taking it easy, but because the I see the Tree as positive,  it brings out positive health with the Lily.

The Lily and Tree can also point to the long term because they are both slow cards. They can also suggest things unfolding in their own time, and there is clear advice here not to rush things, and allow them to unfold on their own.  the Tree brings out a positive sense of health in the Lily, and the idea of recovery is very likely.

LILY + COFFIN

On the other hand, I do not think the Coffin is positive for health. The Coffin is by default a negative card and has to do with things not going anywhere. It is often associated with endings, and of course, it is a symbol of death.

However, I do not read it like that and most authors do not either because one card is really not enough to bring out an event that is generally exceptional. It does not happen often enough to warrant an interpretation of death from just two cards. But endings, wait times, and uneventful phases are well represented by the Coffin.

When we see the Coffin with the Lily, the negative aspects of health can come up. There is this idea of not having energy, possibly being bedridden, and needing to rest. Or the pair can represent a hospital.

The advice here is not to do anything and just rest and take time to recover. So the Coffin and Lily are more negative than the Tree and Lily.

WORK AND CAREER

LILY + FOX

Moving to the cards in the job group, the Fox is typically negative and represents someone or something deceptive, a trap, a person who tries to charm you, who is dishonest, and could be a fraudster.

But it is very good with discipline, routine work, and is often protective of family. When we see the Fox with the Lily, it brings out the job, the idea of committing ourselves to our work. Together, these cards suggest it is important to be committed to our work, do our tasks, and live up to expectations.

LILY + FISH

The Fish is a card of money and is also associated with entrepreneurship and business. When we see it with the Lily, it is not referring to a routine job, nine-to-five employment, or everyday tasks. Instead, it can suggest that our vocation, our purpose, our independence, and being more entrepreneurial with our work and work activities.

However, with the Lily, it can also point to financial matters and can even suggest things like pensions, pension funds, and retirement plans, because the Lily covers the long term and is associated with old age.

LILY + KEY

The Key is a broadly successful card and has to do with intelligence, insight, unlocking potential, achieving goals, being successful, and a lot of wonderful things. With the Lily, it brings out wonderful things, as would be the case with other positive cards, but the Key brings out success in a real way, the idea that we have achieved, or are on the path to achievement. It can also suggest a very important career or that we have landed on the right career.

The Key has a spiritual undertone and is one of the three spiritual cards in the Lenormand deck, the other two being the Tower and Cross, and sometimes the Clover for luck.

When we see a success card like the Key with the Lily, there is a sense of finding one's path, being in a very important career, and also unlocking our potential. There is a sense of alignment and purpose that comes through the Key.

You might want to think about other positive cards and see how they combine with the Lily to offer supportive insights into our life and career.

LIFE PATH

LILY + TOWER 

The Lily by itself is about the longer term, time, old age, maturing, and the idea of what happens over a lifetime. We do have a few other cards like this and the main one is the Tower. The Tower is another card for life, lifetime, and life path, and although it sometimes has to do with the past, it is generally about time. 

When these two cards show up, the theme of our life as a whole is captured, because few other cards are so specific about this idea. We are looking at the long term, retirement, pension, and the future, and the cards invite us to look at the big picture of our life.

This pair is neutral and does not tell us if it is positive or negative. It is just focusing on our life as a whole, the long-term future, or what happens in our later years. If the Tower was on its own, the idea of the past comes up better, and of course, it also depends on the question.

As mentioned earlier, the Lily on its own can take on a number of meanings, so depending on nearby cards, one aspect of the Lily can stand out better than the others.

LILY + CROSS

The Cross can be a challenging card, pointing to burdens, responsibilities, obligations, and the idea of bearing our cross. Such responsibilities can mean our family, our parents, or other obligations we have in life.

The Cross is not necessarily challenging and can be neutral or positive. With the Lily, the idea of of life purpose can come into play. The Cross is a card of destiny, deep life lessons, and the more important things in life. When it shows up with the Lily, which is the card of life and life path, the Cross can be about our destiny. This is another big combination pointing to the big things in life, as opposed to day-to-day matters like with the Fox.

As with the other spiritual cards, Key and Tower, the Cross can be about what we are meant to do and our purpose in life. This can be very interesting to get in a reading because it can guide us toward what we are meant to do. The Lily and Cross are neutral and either more cards or the context can guide the reading.

LILY + ROAD

The Road and Lily is another combination of the long term and life path because the Road is about the path ahead, choices, and travel. When we get it with something like the Lily, we could be at a crossroads and need to make decisions about the next phase of our life. 

Maybe we have completed a journey or achieved a milestone, and now we need to make a decision about where to go next.

The Ship can suggest this as well, but the Ship is better associated with physical movement and travel, so I do not feel it has the same energy as the Road, which associates better with journeys and our life path.

So this is another combination that brings out this idea of where are we heading in life, where are we going, and what are we doing next. As you can see, it is possible to get spiritual insights out of the Lenormand deck.

LILY + MOON

The Moon is soft and gentle. It has to do with honors and attraction, and it can be associated with invitations and proposals. It is also about phases and cycles, which works well with the Lily.

So together, life paths, phases, and milestones in life are highlighted. Cyclicality is also at play here. The new moon, full moon, and the beautiful cycles of life are suggested. We could be between phases, having completed one and starting a new one. And we could be a juncture where we need to decide what happens next.

The pair can also draw our attention to the patterns in our life because the Moon is cyclical and can suggest repetition. Perhaps we are making the same mistakes and need to correct them, or maybe we are doing things right and need to continue. The idea of repetition is also represented by the Ring, but the Ring and Lily better point to long-term relationships.

The Road, Cross, and Tower are not about repetition and patterns, they are just about the long term ahead and the sense of duty or commitment. However, the Moon has that cyclical implication, so it is a bit different from the other three cards in this group. This shows the nuances in the cards. 

LILY + MAN / WOMAN

In the last group, we have the Man and Woman which are neutral cards. As you know, these are the significators of the deck and represent people in Lenormand. In the Grand Tableau, either of these cards would represent the readee, and the other one would classically be their partner.

When we see the Man and Woman or either one with the Lily, it usually points to someone older. It can represent a senior, a parent, a superior, a boss, or someone who has experience and maturity, but again, the Lily remains a bit neutral, and it does not tell us if this is a positive relationship or not.

Another way we can read the Lily with people cards is as representing professional people, and again, the idea of work and career associated with the Lily can affect the characteristics of this person. So this can be someone in our professional network or our work environment.

When we have both the Man and the Woman together with the Lily, this can probably point to a long term partnership, a business partnership, a committed relationship, or a marriage because of the Lily, unless negative cards compromise the longevity that the Lily brings to the cards.

ADDITIONAL COMBINATIONS

LILY + SNAKE

Looking at a few more combinations, the Snake is a pretty challenging card and represents someone who is deceptive and dishonest. It can also point to a third party in a relationship where there is cheating and dishonesty, but with the Lily, it can take on a more neutral indication. It can mean we are not on the right track. Perhaps what we are working on and committing ourselves to right now needs adjustment and something we are doing is not meant for us or won’t lead to what we’re hoping.

So the Snake would ask us to assess the situation and be honest about whether we are truly committing ourselves to the right things. It can be a bit disappointing and a bit difficult, but we need to be honest about what we are dedicating ourselves to and assess from there.

Another way I intuitively interpret these two cards is the idea of shedding skin, which can be refreshing, especially for someone like me, who enjoys change, who is willing to let go, declutter, and refresh every so often.

When we see the Snake with a life path card like the Lily, the idea of letting go of our old state of mind or the old status quo can come through, especially with also a cyclical card like the Moon or possibly the Ring, though the Ring would be a bit tricky as it would bring up the relationship element more.

So with the Snake, this idea of shedding old skin can come through nicely when combined with the Lily, which can also be considered a more spiritual indications. There are many ideas with Lenormand’s cards that help us with our soul growth, life journey, and our purpose in all of this wonderful experience.

This is a very interesting combination that suggests letting go of the old and being willing to change, and even though it might be a difficult or not so straightforward transition, it is okay and it is time to release old skin, shed it, and move into a new self and new direction.

LILY + RING

The Ring brings up the idea of long-term commitments. Repetition and cyclicality can also come through, but I would say it demands us to commit to our promises, keep doing what we are doing and what is working. 

The Ring is a card of commitment and promises, so it asks to commit to our marriage, to our path, and other areas we dedicate ourselves to. It would certainly be the case if something like the Cross was also in the line, and here the idea of duty is emphasized. We are committed to the other person, the relationship, or the situation, and we need to live up to the expectations and fulfill our promises.

Of course, the Lily and Ring can point to long-term commitments or long-term relationships even if it is not about love and marriage.

These are my thoughts about the Lily, and again, it can seem like a bland card, but when we understand the different layers it can take on, and in different combinations, it starts to make more sense and can be a pretty insightful card.

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