I don't create many new spreads for the Lenormand cards. The traditional layouts (the 3, 5, 7 and 9-card lines, the 9-card square, the Petit Tableau and the Grand Tableau), are sufficient for almost any purpose. However, that doesn't stop me from occasionally experimenting. This spread uses all 36 cards and applies the concept of … Continue reading The “Serpentine Fire” 36-Card Lenormand Tableau
Lenormand
Cheap Shots #20: Sliding Scale or Slippery Slope?
This topic has reared it's hoary old head once again on the tarot forums: why are the Lenormand cards considered to be totally literal (as opposed to more psychological) in their focus on events, and when did that start? Since it was aimed at Lenormand reading, my reply was slanted that way, but it really … Continue reading Cheap Shots #20: Sliding Scale or Slippery Slope?
The “Water Under the Bridge” Relationship Dynamics Spread
This spread is modeled on a spread created by Odete Lopez Mazza, as shown in the book Baralho Petite Lenormard-Metodo Alemao, and my own Troll Under the Bridge spread. I was struck by how much Mazza's layout resembles a suspension bridge with towers and an arched span, complete with water running underneath. I renamed and … Continue reading The “Water Under the Bridge” Relationship Dynamics Spread
Which Deck to Buy?
In casting around for a question to test my "simple choice" spread with, I decided to ask which of two Lenormand decks I've had my eye on should be my next purchase: the Wanderwust or the Ur-Lenormand. To keep the playing field level, both decks are around the same price and both are based on … Continue reading Which Deck to Buy?
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
“Cheap Shots” #11: Prescriptive vs. Improvisational
In considering the limited role of intuition in reading the Lenormand cards, I hit upon the term "improvisational" as the best way to describe my method of putting together card combinations. Taken one at a time, Lenormand cards are quite literal in meaning. They are descriptive, not suggestive in the way tarot cards can often … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #11: Prescriptive vs. Improvisational
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
5×5 Tableau Sample Reading
I performed a sample reading to test the usefulness of the previously-posted Lenormand 5x5 spread. I used two decks, one for the foundational "moving houses," and another for the reading layout. 5x5 Tableau Practice Reading
The “Up Close and Personal” 5×5 Tableau
This is a Lenormand version of the 5x5 spread I created for use with the Voyager Tarot; I stripped out the tarot annotation and plugged in Andy Boroveshengra's "near/far" designations, as well as adopting suitable color coding for rows, columns, diagonals and knighting locations. Note that every card in this spread can be linked to … Continue reading The “Up Close and Personal” 5×5 Tableau
The Lenormand 36-Card “Cube”
This is likely to be the most complicated cartomantic construct (don't you love gratuitous alliteration?) you'll ever see. I was thinking that the Lenormand 9-card square is extremely limited in knighting opportunities (only eight, and the center card originates none). The obvious solution (at least to me) was to go "3-D!" I created a four-tier … Continue reading The Lenormand 36-Card “Cube”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 