The Burning Serpent Oracle; a Lenormand of the Soul

Le Fanu

I have just this week received the new Robert Place & Rachel Pollock collaboration, the Burning Serpent (Lenormandish) Oracle.

I love it. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I had only seen a few cards online but the deck as a whole works beautifully well together. It's odd as I thought of myself as quite a purist with Lenorands but there is definitely a place for this. It has an intensity about it which really excites me. Of course it takes liberties and shifts the Lenormand focus somewhat, but considering the two minds involved, I think it manages to pull it off. Lesser cartomantic minds might have stumbled a little. It gives the Lenormand a sort of magical, more mystical sidestep, and yet the crispness of Robert Place's images, the sharpness of line means that it is very vividly readable in terms of the basic symbolism. There are tiny details that bother me a little (such as the fact that there is no multiplicity in the Stars, or the fact that the point of the scythe is out of the picture frame) but overall it is a very vivid and dramatic deck. It feels very cerebral. I think there is a space in the Lenormand arena now for a deck like this.

It has two male and two female cards plus two extra cards called Isis and Osiris which I shall use instead of the conventional male and female cards as they are so lovely.

The cardstock is gorgeous - lightly laminated on thick-ish cardstock; playing card size. The 38 cards, when stacked, have more or less the same hieght as a playing card deck so you can tell the cardstock is a little thicker than normal.

I'm really rather taken with it. Stunning backs too. Funny, I like my Lenormands stark and yet this still feels stark, despite the overlays.
 

daphne

Thank you for the review, I was looking for extra info about this one.
How big are the cards?

Can you please share where can we order it?
 

Le Fanu

Cards are 11 cm X 7 cm

I got mine off amazon uk (it wasn't on amazon.com when I checked) and they were shipped from Germany. I noticed on their site for the deck that the deck was going to be printed in Germany, so I wonder if they're hot off the press as it were.
 

Essjay

I've just read your full review and you've totally convinced me! Not that it takes much, I always love Place's artwork.
 

Essjay

Am sure I will :D So, how do we get hold of the book? Is it published later?
 

Le Fanu

I think it'll be out later. I'm sure we'll find it it when it's out. If amazon is distributing the deck then I'm sure they'll stock the book too.
 

Essjay

Good stuff. I always think that with Amazon they decide to get behind a product when they see people buying it.
 

Rhinemaiden

Le Fanu, I truly wanted to love this deck. Your posts here and on your blog are so eloquent and persuasive that you had me very close to pressing the buy button. Robert Place's Alchemical has been my daily go to deck for the past 3 years, I also own and like his Vampire Tarot, but I just can't get into his recent work. And I don't know why. Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery and now The Burning Serpent Oracle, both leave me wanting. They feel like parodies of his earlier excellent work.