The The Snake

The card

A snake winds across the ground, body coiled. The line of the drawing is itself the meaning: it does not go straight.

Traditional meaning

Traditionally the Snake is betrayal, deception and trouble, and often a woman causing harm.

How to read it

The heart of the Snake is "not in a straight line". It can be someone working an angle, or a matter that simply winds and has more to it than shown. Modern readings also give it desire, temptation and a complicated kind of intelligence — you need not always read a villain, but you should read "not simple".

In context

Love

A third party, something concealed, or manipulation and push-pull inside the relationship.

Work

Office politics, a competitor’s manoeuvre, the fine print in a contract.

Timing

Drawn out and repeating; hard to pin to a date.

Common combinations

Lenormand obstacles and delays combinations

• The Snake + The Heart · Betrayal or entanglement in a relationship
• The Snake + The Woman · A woman who brings trouble
• The Snake + The Key · The winding path finally leads to the solution
• The Snake + The Fish · Deception around money; the accounts do not add up
• The Snake + The Ring · A trap in the contract, or a third party in the marriage
• The Snake + The Birds · Talk behind your back, gossip being carried
• The Snake + The Fox · Calculation on both sides; the matter is far from clean
• The Snake + The Book · Something deliberately hidden
• The Snake + The House · Trouble inside the household
• The Snake + The Sun · The truth comes out; the manoeuvre is seen through