If there is one crucial thing I've learned in nearly seven years of working with the Lenormand system of divination, it's that there is always more to learn. Epiphany can come from highly unlikely places, an insight that was recently delivered with considerable force. A few weeks before the suicide of her son, my sister … Continue reading The Exit Card: An Epiphany
Lenormand
A Lenormand Grand Tableau Layout Map
If you're like me, you have yet to memorize all 36 of the Grand Tableau house position titles to the point that you don't need a cheat-sheet, even after using the GT for several years. The obvious solution is to buy a pre-printed GT spread cloth, and I tried to do that. But that won't … Continue reading A Lenormand Grand Tableau Layout Map
The Lenormand 3×5 Alternative
While the Grand Tableau is deservedly the pinnacle of the Lenormand reader's art, there is a gap between it and the 9-card square in the repertoire of standard spreads. This empty niche is ably filled by the 15-card, 3x5 mini-tableau - which some call the "Petit Tableau." The thing I like best about this layout … Continue reading The Lenormand 3×5 Alternative
The “Serpentine Fire” 36-Card Lenormand Tableau
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
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 