The Rider

Rider · No. 1 · Playing card ♥9 · News, arrival, speed

The card

A rider gallops across open country. The hooves are up, the body is leaning forward — the whole card is built around the act of arriving.

Traditional meaning

Traditionally the Rider is news and a visitor: something is on its way, and it is not travelling slowly. The card itself is neither good nor bad; the card beside it decides that.

How to read it

The Rider answers "when and how it arrives", not "will it turn out well". Do not label it before you look at what it points to — that card is the content of the news. It also stands for a young man, sport, and vehicles.

In context

Love

Someone gets in touch, asks to meet, or the relationship moves into a phase of frequent contact. For singles it usually means someone is approaching.

Work

A new commission, an interview invitation, news from outside. Also work that involves moving around and dealing with people.

Timing

Fast. Traditionally counted in days, usually within a week.

Common combinations

Lenormand meanings were first written down in the instruction sheet issued around 1846 by Philippe Lenormand, heir of Marie-Anne Lenormand, and that sheet has long been in the public domain. The "Traditional meaning" section here describes the classical reading handed down from that line, in our own words — it is not a verbatim quotation of the sheet. Card images are public-domain scans of Das Spiel der Hoffnung (1799).