Although I'm a newly-minted traditionalist in the Lenormand system of divination, having been involved only since 2012, it strikes me that the tradition has been undergoing a gradual degenerative decline (or maybe an insidious "dilution" is a more apt word for it) that probably isn't entirely reversible. Converts from the more fluid/squishy realm of tarot wander in and set about rearranging … Continue reading When “Bad Is Bad”
Lenormand Material
Lost Book: A Lenormand Lost & Found Reading
This example reading for my Lenormand lost & found approach is instructive for what it doesn't show me. I lost a book in our recent move. It wasn't a valuable book, just part of a two-volume set that leaves its partner orphaned on the bookshelf. We have been through all our shipping boxes now, and no book. … Continue reading Lost Book: A Lenormand Lost & Found Reading
A Harmony of Parts
Near the end of his epic performance of "Alice's Restaurant," folk singer Arlo Guthrie exhorts the audience to sing "with four part harmony and feeling." That sense of harmony is part-and-parcel of what it takes to read the Lenormand Grand Tableau with sensitivity and precision. Unlike the tarot cards, the Lenormand cards don't carry an … Continue reading A Harmony of Parts
A Tight Rein and a Short Leash
In the Lenormand system of cartomancy, traditional meanings are concise and pragmatic, the epitome of "what you see is what you get." Lenormand cards have been popular in Europe for a couple of centuries but have only recently gained prominence and wider use in the United States. Understandably, its emergence has lured a large number of people … Continue reading A Tight Rein and a Short Leash
Lenormand Ramblings
I realized yesterday that I've been remiss in not venturing into anything other than tarot lately, so this will bring me up to date at least on the subject of Lenormand cartomancy. I'm writing mainly for those tarot enthusiasts who have yet to explore its alternate reality but are intrigued by a new challenge. A … Continue reading Lenormand Ramblings
Lenormand Recidivism
When it comes to reading the Petit Lenromand, I'm an unabashed throwback to an earlier era. The traditional decks with their simple, spare images are, as a rule, more immediately readable than many of the modern decks and their symbolic revisionism, however skillfully executed. As a trained graphic artist, I do appreciate a visually sumptuous … Continue reading Lenormand Recidivism
The Perfect Lenormand
This isn't a recommendation, it's a lament: I have yet to find my ideal Lenormand deck. When I first started reading the Lenormand cards in 2011, I bought the Piatnik and then Laura Tuan's very large Lenormand Oracle (which I still use primarily to lay out a "foundation" of houses to spread the reading cards … Continue reading The Perfect Lenormand
Lenormand Notes from French-Language Sources
The attached document is not my own work. One of the delightful people from Montreal who was an Aeclectic Tarot forum mate of mine translated it and offered it freely to the community. So I'm offering it freely here. With the forum population dispersed, I can no longer ask her if it's OK. Maybe she … Continue reading Lenormand Notes from French-Language Sources
The Grand Tableau – Lenormand “Multi-Tool”
Most of us are familiar with the “multi-tools” used by craftsmen and handymen; Leatherman makes one and the ubiquitous “Swiss Army Knife” is another. They allow the wielder to perform a variety of dissimilar tasks without relying on an arsenal of task-specific implements. The 36-card Grand Tableau – one of the oldest card arrangements in … Continue reading The Grand Tableau – Lenormand “Multi-Tool”
