EDIT 2: What about Under the Roses Lenormand? The one available at
Bookdepository has or has not keywords on the lower part of the cards? I don't like keywords being printed on cards. I find it immersion breaking, for a lack of better words.
I'm actually just beginning to learn Lenormand myself. I've felt drawn to Lenormand for a long time, but I decided to spend a couple years focusing just on Tarot (and some oracles) because I didn't want to juggle too much at one time. But recently, I finally jumped into Lenormand by purchasing the Under the Roses Lenormand on a whim. And so this is what I can share with you about my own process so far, and subsequently, give you my opinion on potentially learning with this deck...
First, in reading through the little white book, there are multiple key words provided for each card, but I noticed that some of these key words provided were either contradictory or there were multiple cards with similar meanings. I then realized that this is not at all in part due to any kind of sloppiness in execution, rather, it's explained that the LWB features
some key words taken from multiple different traditions, and if you're a beginner, to "select 1 to 3 keywords" for each card... So this is very important to do; to choose your keywords, decide on them, and then to be absolutely consistent with them in practice in order to have clarity and consistency in your readings (of course, expanding those keywords may come naturally, but it might be better to focus on keeping it simple at first, to just have a jumping-off point to start with). I didn't want to rely on the LWB to choose my keywords though, for to pick and choose myself seemed to feel incomplete (like picking letters out of the alphabet, how could I be sure those letters would be enough to really speak a full language when in combination?) and I wanted to follow more of a tried-and-true structure to start with, something that was demonstrated as functional by a fellow human being... So I watched DonnaLeigh's youtube channel (starting with her
1-card meanings video) and I think that her channel is just phenomenal for getting started. So I do second that recommendation, she's very helpful!
So as for the Under the Roses deck, I think it's a really lovely deck artistically and not a bad choice to learn with per se. But I personally have come to feel drawn to getting a more classical deck to continue my learning with (such as French Cartomancy or the Blue Owl). This is due to personal preference of course, but that preference has reasoning: there are some slight changes in the Under the Roses deck. They are not necessarily difficult to adjust to, and I thought I wouldn't mind them, but I ended up wanting to continue learning with a deck that doesn't have those changes. (For example, I would rather it be "The Book" rather than "The Journal," and "Broom & Whip" rather than "The Whip," I would rather "The Crossroads" show two paths rather than three, I would rather have the ring in "The Ring" be larger and have a more prominent focus.. same thing with "The Snake," I would rather it be just a picture of a snake rather than a snake off to the side on someone's shoulder.) So it's little things like that. It really doesn't veer too far away as some other decks apparently can, but I find that, as a beginner, it ended up not being what I was looking for personally. A lot of reviews says it's a good option for a beginner, and I don't think I would have known how I felt about it before buying it (unless I actually took the time to study one-card meaning
before buying a deck, which I wish I had done... but like Tarot, I guess I thought it wouldn't matter too much, that I could just grab a deck and go).
The Under The Roses deck on BookDepository is the mass-market edition printed by US Games and so it's the same one as shown in this
review ...So it doesn't have the keywords on the bottom as seen in some of the earlier self-published versions, but it does have some faint keywords in the background of the actual images. They're faint enough to ignore, but they are there if you look closely, and it's easier to see on some of the cards more than others, especially with adequate lighting. But I don't particularly like when the keywords don't match what I'm working with (like I can clearly see the word "mind" on "The Tree" card, and that's not a word I'm using for it. same thing with "cycles" on "The Moon" card, it's not relevant for me).
Anyway, I've really gone into what I perceive as the cons of this deck, and I probably sound like I hate it - I don't! It just ended up being not exactly what I prefer. I think later on I will use it more when I (hopefully) get more used to Lenormand, but right now, it's not my favorite. Most of the images are super clear, it's just some of them that aren't the best for actual reading, at least in my experience. I'm sure there are others for whom it works wonderfully. Everyone's different.
I've yet to decide on a book, although I think I'm leaning toward getting, "The Essential Lenormand" by Rana George.
