The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God

Psalm 83:4, The Grail Translation

Two turtle doves will show thee
Where my cold ashes lie
And sadly murmuring tell thee
How in tears I did die

Nikolai Gogol

Birds signifies troubles that we will have to endure, but only for a short time. Far from the person this card is a sign of a happy journey

Original Instructions

Card No. 12 in the Petit Lenormand, the Birds or Seven of Diamonds, is sometimes dismissed as one of the less interesting cards in the deck. After all, does it not simply signify meetings and telephone calls? Yet why do some practitioners associate it with social media, whilst others see pregnancy or a pair of elderly ladies? Such diversity of interpretation raises an important question: what does the Birds card actually represent?

The Essence and Function of the Birds

The essence of the Birds is noise and its function is disturbance.

The most common eikōn for the Birds depicts a pair of nesting pigeons. Depending upon the deck, the birds may be shown building a nest, incubating eggs, or tending their young. The Dondorf portrays nest-building, the Brepols shows one bird incubating whilst the other stands guard, and the Wüst includes a nest of fledglings. The celebrated Blaue Eule famously substitutes two owls, whilst other decks, such as the Piatnik, depict birds in flight.

Birds possess a rich place within folklore, mythology, and divination. The concept of the language of birds has appeared throughout mystical and esoteric traditions as a metaphor for hidden knowledge, communication, and revelation.

Unlike the other animal eikōns within the Petit Lenormand, the deck contains two avian cards: the Birds and the Stork. Consequently, it is necessary to distinguish between them by considering the nature and behaviour of the creatures depicted. Such an approach may seem unfashionable to those accustomed to derivative keyword lists, yet much of traditional divination arises from careful observation of the natural world. One need only consider the Serpent to appreciate how many traditional meanings derive directly from the characteristics of the animal itself. The card’s associations with danger and malice become readily apparent once one considers the effects of a viper’s venom.

If we return to the Birds card, what do we actually see? Typically, we are presented with two birds, usually pigeons or members of the passerine family.

The most striking characteristic of such birds is their vocal behaviour. Birds communicate incessantly. They announce their presence, establish territory, identify companions, warn of dangers, and co-operate in responding to threats. The familiar dawn chorus is not merely bird-song; it is a continual proclamation of ownership, identity, and status. Pairs engage in duets, flocks respond collectively to alarm calls, and groups of birds often join together in a cacophony when danger is perceived.

This communication is seldom quiet or static. It is active, restless, and in constant flux. Noise accumulates, calls overlap, and attention is drawn simultaneously in several directions. When alarm spreads through a flock, the volume increases, behaviour becomes agitated, and the birds either scatter or gather together to mob a perceived threat.

Interpreting the Birds

The symbolism of the card thus becomes immediately apparent. The Birds introduces noise into a situation. Opinions multiply. Conversations overlap. People chatter, speculate, discuss, complain, and react to one another. One’s attention is pulled in several directions at once. Feathers become ruffled. What begins as a single voice soon becomes many voices. The result is an atmosphere of bustle, distraction, and nervous activity. The Birds therefore speaks not so much of a meeting itself as of the social commotion that surrounds it.

For this reason, the Birds often signifies chatter, gossip, rumours, discussion, excitement, nervousness, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It describes those periods when several demands are made upon our attention simultaneously and the resulting noise becomes difficult to ignore. Whether the disturbance arises from family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, or society at large is determined by the surrounding cards, but the underlying principle remains the same: many voices competing to be heard.

At the same time, the card possesses a fleeting quality. Birds settle only briefly before taking flight once more. Their chatter may dominate the moment, yet it rarely endures. Consequently, the disturbances represented by the Birds are often temporary, passing as quickly as they arise. In matters of proximity, birds heard at a distance are less immediate and less influential than those perched directly beside us. The farther away the Birds lies from the significator, the less directly the querent is affected by the noise and commotion it represents. Eventually, the flock moves on—and perhaps the querent does as well (hence the traditional “far” meaning of a happy trip).

Coda:

In divination, the Birds signifies noise, disturbance, agitation, and social commotion. It describes those periods when life becomes hectic, attention is divided, and numerous voices compete to be heard. Whether manifesting as gossip, worry, excitement, nervousness, or simple hustle and bustle, the card rarely indicates stillness; rather, it reflects a situation characterised by activity, chatter, and restless movement.

Bird Calls and Socials:

Before moving on, it is worth addressing several common interpretations omitted in my practice.

My second Lenormand teacher associated the Birds very strongly with telephone calls and news, to the point that there was relatively little differentiation between the Birds and the Letter. Whilst I made a sincere effort to incorporate this approach into my own practice, I found that telephone calls were consistently foretold by the Letter card rather than the Birds. This distinction seems entirely logical when one considers the nature of the Letter. Its function is to facilitate communication between two people who are not face-to-face. The same can be said of a telephone call. Whether one writes a letter, sends an e-mail, or speaks over the telephone, the underlying principle remains identical: private communication between individuals separated by distance. For this reason, I have always found the Letter a more natural significator for telephone calls than the Birds.

From time to time, readers justify the association through the historical use of pigeons as message carriers. Whilst I can appreciate the rationale, it is important to remember that the pigeon serves merely as a courier. The deck already possesses a card whose function is to deliver messages and announcements: the Cavalier. Consequently, I have never found the image sufficiently persuasive to displace the established symbolism of either the Letter or the Cavalier. For these reasons, I do not associate the Birds specifically with telephone calls. I fully respect those practitioners who do, but the card has simply never manifested in that manner throughout my own thirty-odd years of reading the cards.

Similarly, I associate both social media and meetings with the Park card rather than the Birds. The Park represents the public sphere: places where people gather, interact, exchange ideas, and participate in collective activities. That description applies equally well to modern social media platforms and organised meetings. The Birds may certainly describe the chatter, discussion, gossip, excitement, and occasional uproar that occur within such environments, but it does not signify the environments themselves. Thus, the combination of Park and Birds may aptly describe a platform such as Twitter, characterised by a constant stream of conversation and commentary, just as Park and Book may signify Goodreads, a book club, or some other public literary community. In such combinations, the Birds and the Book function descriptively, refining the nature of the Park, rather than acting as significators in their own right.

Person and Description

Person

The Birds is one of only a handful of Petit Lenormand cards capable of signifying a person despite not being a court card.

When functioning as a person card, the Birds most naturally signifies two people. Depending upon the context, this may indicate a couple, whether married or courting, two siblings, an aunt and uncle, two aunts, two uncles, grandparents, or any other noteworthy pair. The essential idea is not the precise relationship, but the fact that we are dealing with a pair whose affairs are linked. Naturally, this assumes the card depicts two birds, as is the case in the overwhelming majority of Lenormand decks.

One frequently encounters the assertion that the Birds signifies either two elderly women or a young couple. It is further claimed that the former belongs to the so-called German school and the latter to the French. Such distinctions should be treated with caution. Whilst certain conventions may be more prevalent in particular countries or among particular authors, it is a considerable exaggeration to speak of rigid national schools of interpretation. In practice, the historical tradition is far more fluid and diverse than such labels suggest.

For my own part, I have found the Birds to signify a couple or pair of people. Whether that pair manifests as elderly ladies exchanging gossip, young lovers, siblings, friends, or relatives can only be determined by the context of the question and the surrounding cards. The card itself merely establishes that two closely connected individuals are involved.

Physical Description

In matters of physical appearance, the Birds generally describes a person of slight build. The shoulders are often narrow, the bone structure fine, and the musculature relatively light. There is usually something delicate, quick, or bird-like about the individual’s overall appearance.

The eyes are frequently large, prominent, or otherwise distinctive. The voice may be high-pitched, rapid, animated, or even somewhat squeaky, particularly when the card is reinforced by other active or nervous cards.

Hair colour varies according to the species of bird depicted within the deck. In practice, however, I have found the card most commonly associated with shades ranging from chestnut and brown through to ash blonde.

Temperament

When describing character, the Birds often points towards an individual of a nervous and highly sensitive disposition. Such a person is easily startled, readily unsettled, and often acutely aware of their surroundings. Crowds, excessive stimulation, and highly charged situations may prove uncomfortable or draining.

In some cases, this nervousness appears to stem from past experiences. One occasionally encounters individuals represented by the Birds who have endured difficult circumstances, leaving them prone to anxiety or a heightened sense of vigilance.

When supported by more positive cards, however, the Birds can describe a far more sociable expression of the same energy. Here we find the conversationalist, the raconteur, the individual who delights in discussion, gossip, and the exchange of news and opinions. Such people are often lively, animated, easily excited, and rarely lost for words. Beneath both manifestations lies the same essential principle: a mind in constant motion and a life filled with noise, activity, and interaction.

Special Features

Doubling

Most cartomantes are familiar with the concept of doubling cards. Typically, these are identified as card nos. 11 (the Birch Rod), 22 (the Roads), and 33 (the Key). It is often assumed that their doubling quality derives from their numerical associations. In my view, this is mistaken. The doubling principle arises from the card’s iconography, whilst the numbering merely serves as a convenient aide-mémoire.

The Birch Rod generally depicts two scourges or switches bound together. The Roads reaches a point where one path becomes two. The Key possesses a dual function: it may be used to lock as well as to unlock. In each instance, the image itself conveys a notion of duplication, division, or duality. The number merely reinforces what the eye already sees.

Understanding this principle helps us to understand the Birds and its own capacity for doubling.

In reality, doubling is nothing more than a card acting descriptively. When a card falls beside a person card, it describes appearance and temperament. If the Park appears with the High Tower, we may infer a historical site, a distant location, or a place near a border because the High Tower is describing the Park. Age, distance and borders all come from the High Tower’s essence.

The same principle operates throughout the deck. Cards do not merely signify; they also qualify and describe.

The Birds functions according to precisely the same principle. On most Lenormand decks the card depicts two birds. Consequently, it can introduce a sense of twoness or plurality into whatever it touches. Thus, Cloverleaf and Birds may indicate doubled luck, two opportunities, two charms, two coins, two banknotes, or some other paired manifestation of the Cloverleaf’s essence

The important point is that the Birds is not creating an abstract numerical value. Rather, it is describing something as occurring in pairs. The image itself supplies the symbolism.

Not all Lenormand decks, however, depict only two birds. Some examples show three or even more. In such cases, the descriptive principle remains unchanged, but the quantity suggested by the image should be adjusted accordingly. As ever in the Petit Lenormand, careful attention to the eikōn often reveals nuances that would otherwise be overlooked.

Pregnancy

One of the questions I have been asked most frequently over the last fifteen years is why I associate conception and pregnancy with the Birds rather than the Stork. Surely, one might argue, pregnancy ought to belong to the Stork.

The reasoning is understandable, but it does not arise naturally from the Petit Lenormand itself. The traditional eikōn of the Stork depicts a bird wading in water, often hunting a frog or newt. The emphasis is upon movement, migration, arrival, and departure. The Stork has landed only briefly and will soon take flight once more. Its symbolism therefore pertains to change, transition, relocation, and movement from one state of affairs to another.
The familiar folklore of storks delivering babies is undeniably well known, but it is not explicitly represented within the card’s imagery. Unlike the Kipperkarten, which includes Ein kleines Kind as a dedicated card, the Petit Lenormand contains no image of an infant. Indeed, even the Child card depicts a young child rather than a baby.

By contrast, the Birds frequently depicts a nesting pair engaged in reproduction itself. Depending upon the deck, the birds may be building a nest, incubating eggs, or tending their young. The imagery is inherently concerned with pairing, fertility, nesting, and the creation of new life. If one were seeking a card whose eikōn naturally evokes conception and pregnancy, the Birds presents a much stronger case than the Stork.

A distinction should also be drawn between conception and birth. The former concerns the generation of new life and is aptly reflected in the nesting and reproductive imagery of the Birds; the latter concerns the arrival of the child itself, a symbolism more naturally associated with the Child card.

For this reason, many readers, myself included, have found the Birds to be one of the most reliable indicators of pregnancy within the Petit Lenormand. Particularly noteworthy is its combination with the Child. The Birds supplies the image of reproduction and nesting, whilst the Child signifies the offspring that results. Together, they frequently herald a pregnancy or impending birth long before it becomes otherwise apparent.

Birds

Finally, one should not overlook the fact that the Birds can, on occasion, signify actual birds. In my experience, this most commonly refers to garden birds and other familiar species rather than birds of prey. Owls, however, are a notable exception, not least because they appear on certain traditional Lenormand decks such as the Blaue Eule. As always, context is paramount, but with the Hound card a person might keep budgerigars or be a pigeon fancier.

Timing

In matters of timing, the Birds is a fast-moving card that imbues a situation with urgency, excitement, and haste. Events represented by the Birds rarely remain static for long and tend to unfold quickly once matters are set in motion. As a general guide, the card most often indicates a period ranging from a few days to just under a fortnight.

When combined with slower cards, the timing may be extended somewhat. In such instances, I have occasionally found the Birds to indicate a period of one to two months, although this is comparatively uncommon and should be regarded as an exception rather than the rule.

Over time, I have also noticed a recurring association between the Birds and Eastertide, the liturgical season extending from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. This is not a traditional attribution, but one that has appeared with sufficient regularity in my own practice to merit mention.

Health

In matters of health, the Birds is associated anatomically with the eyes and hearing, both of which serve as organs of perception and heightened awareness.

More commonly, however, the card concerns conditions arising from anxiety, nervous tension, stress, and excessive mental stimulation. Given the card’s emphasis upon noise, agitation, and heightened responsiveness, it frequently appears in questions relating to emotional strain and disorders of the nervous system. Thus, Birds and Heart may indicate palpitations or anxiety affecting the cardiovascular system; Birds and Park can point towards social anxiety; Birds and Mountain may suggest mutism, withdrawal, or an inability to communicate freely.

Particular attention should be paid to the Birds in pregnancy-related readings. Owing to its strong association with conception, nesting, and unborn children, the card can sometimes draw attention to complications affecting pregnancy itself. Birds and Coffin may point towards serious complications affecting the unborn child; Birds and Serpent may suggest exposure to harmful substances, toxins, or drugs during pregnancy; whilst Birds and Heart may draw attention to circulatory concerns, including gestational hypertension.

As always, such combinations should never be regarded as a diagnosis. Rather, they indicate areas requiring attention and are best understood as symbolic warnings that encourage appropriate medical advice where necessary.

Whether appearing in questions of health, timing, relationships, or daily affairs, the Birds invariably brings noise, activity, and disturbance. It is a card of excitement and agitation, of chatter and distraction, and of those fleeting moments when life becomes just a little too busy for comfort.

The Birds in Action

Let us examine the Birds in a reading. Below is an extract from a Grand Tableau cast for Fabien, a married doctor.

When performing a Grand Tableau, I generally favour the older, traditional method, which does not divide the layout into past, present, and future. Instead, the entire tableau is viewed as describing the present situation together with developments likely to manifest in the near future. When working in this manner, the cards towards which the significator faces often represent events or circumstances on the horizon that are likely to emerge over the coming days or weeks.

Here we see the Roads, the Lord, the Letter, the Stars, the Birds, and the Bear. Directly above the Bear lay the Lady.

The Lord had fallen in the house of the Birds, whilst the Clouds occupied the house of the Key using the traditional 8 × 4 + 4 method. We need not concern ourselves with the houses here. I mention them only because the Roads appears to the left of the Lord. When the Roads is nearby, it frequently brings a degree of anxiety, as decisions must be made or a course of action determined. Free from the influence of the Clouds, however, it also suggests that any such difficulties can be overcome and that matters will eventually be resolved.

Returning to the line itself, a useful rule of thumb is that when the Letter falls to the right of the significator—or concludes a line—the seeker is generally the recipient of the message. When the Letter precedes the significator, the seeker usually sends the message or initiates the contact. We can therefore see immediately that Fabien is likely to receive an important telephone call or communication.

The call itself would bring considerable concern and agitation, as shown by the Birds and Bear. Here, the Bear strengthens the Birds, suggesting that the worries are significant rather than trivial (the Bear is a big, strong animal). Fabien would find himself engaged in several important conversations, attempting to discover precisely what had happened. The combination of Stars and Birds reinforces this search for clarity through discussion and the exchange of information.

Next comes the Stars. The combination of Letter and Stars can be read as a clear line of communication (or even a clear telephone line!), favourable news, or hearing from someone after a period of absence. In shorter time-frame readings, however, it frequently indicates that the communication arrives at night.

More importantly, the Birds demonstrates its function of disturbance. Prior to the call, the evening had been entirely ordinary. The unexpected communication disrupted plans, created anxiety, demanded immediate attention, and generated a flurry of conversations and enquiries. This is a good example of the card’s essence and function working in tandem. The noise of the Birds lay not merely in the telephone call itself (the Letter), but in the confusion, agitation, and constant exchange of information that followed. Like a flock suddenly taking flight, a single event disturbed the peace and set numerous people in motion.

What was the source of the concern? My immediate impression was that it involved an older relative.

The Lady appeared directly above the Bear, suggesting a family member connected to Fabien’s wife.

This proved to be correct. Fabien’s mother-in-law suffered a fall at her home. A telephone call was received shortly before bedtime, and because she lived abroad, it took some time to establish exactly what had occurred. Fabien’s wife ultimately travelled to Canada in order to assist her mother (Roads = Fabien and his wife decided she should go).

Next we will look at the Ship, then the Cross followed by the Key.

§

Images:

Featured Image:

Pigeons kissing on the monument Ponte dei Trepponti in Comacchio, Italy. Terragio67
Terragio67, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pigeons_kissing_-_Ponte_dei_Trepponti_-_Comacchio_(Italy)_-_GT_2024.jpg

Cards:

Lenormand Cards: Jeu Lenormand © Cartamundi, WanderWüst © Jorge/Wandering Oracle, Lenormand Fortune-Telling Cards © Zao-Gelli, The Lenormand Oracle © Verlag für die Frau, Leipzig, Nieuwe Lenormand © Amber Studio/Erna Droesbeke, Lenormand 36 Orakelspielkarten © Königsfurt-Urania

References:

Boroveshengra, A., 2013. Cartomantes’ Cabinet: The Petit Lenormand Course.
Boroveshengra, A., 2015. Lenormand Thirty Six cards. 2nd ed. Create Space.
Rob Hume et al. (2021) Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press.
Marco, M. and Goffinet, J., 1989. Petit Lenormand. Bruxelles: Servranx.
Matthews, C. (2014) The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook: Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.
Silvestre, C., 2003. Le Petit Lenormand. [Montpellier]: Gange éd.
Svensson, L. et al. (2023) Collins bird guide. London: William Collins.