Lenormand Bear card: Which way should it face?

On comparing several lenormand decks, I'm wondering how the
original images were depicted.

Would anyone know which way the bear(15) should face (left/right)?
And the same question might be asked of the Rider(1).

Any ideas?

Bee

I am on the understanding that the ones i have are replicas of the original,Mine are english instead of french apparently only difference.
(It could be wrong but this is what the booklet claims that came with it, Many many many moons ago)

I have the AGMuller edition..
In my deck the Bear faces the to the front, neither left nor right..
the Rider faces the left.

Bear & Rider cards:

Thanks for responding Dancing Bear.

Looking across several decks it would seem that a left-facing Rider outweighs a right-facing Rider. I'm inclined to go along with that.

But the Bear appears to favour no particular direction, and most of the LWBs claim to have reproduced the original images..... and I think AG Muller are a Swiss firm (I could be very wrong).

Wondering if there's a really old deck lurking somewhere in a French museum?

Bee

Decided to go dig up my Lenormands and this is what I have:

Mystic - rider and horse to my left (which means facing to their right)
Bear - to my right, to his left

Wahrsagekarten Piatnik - Rider is facing forward but his horse is heading to my left
Bear - body to my left but his head is facing to the front

a different Wahrsagekarten - Ride and horse are facing/going to my left
Bear -facing/going to my right

French Cartomancy - rider and horse to my right
Bear - sleeping, facing to my left.

So there you have it!!

*S*

the facing of a card

it is alittle hard for me to write in english. but that is why i am here and i will try. ..good thing i can't here you loughing

It depends on which deck you use. I handle it flexible. To start off with it is easier to use a deck which is good to understand. (blue owl) very few card facing the front. Sinse the mager card are spread over the big layout it is any ways difficult to see the past. For example. Lady + rider + anchor

The rider is in the past of the lady, but in the future of the achor

That meens, one reads twice. In the past she had a good opportunitie to get on with er job and for the future it will get even better.

I hope I can make my self understand *sorry I will practice my English

To study with someone online it would always be good to know witch deck is in use.

Or you make sure for you self what is to be. In the left is always the past and on the right of the card is always the future. That way it does not matter which deck one uses.

The worst what can happen is confusion. I tell them up there (my spiritual helpers) how they can show me, so I understand.

Yust like – no one drives into a one way street if the sign point into the other way

A stumbling Rosali

Lenormand images:

Hi Skydancer, thanks for your input! Especially the French cartomancy one, I don't
have that deck.

Rosali, I believe I understand what you're saying. Yes, if a card is on the left of a major
card it would be in the 'past', but if on the right it would be in the 'future'.

However, the news that the Rider brings would be indicated by the card which the
image of the Rider is facing - is riding towards. Equally the Bear would influence the card which the bear-image faces.
If the Bear image faces to the front then it would mean that other cards (of perhaps
lesser strength/importance) whose image faces the bear, would be influencing the Bear.

Perhaps in the end it would'nt matter, one way or another the divining would probably
clarify the situation. But it would be nice to know what the original images were like

Bee.

Lenormand images

hi bee,

as far as i know are the lenormand cards Urania (blue + red owl) closest to the original. they where one of the first decks with 36 cards, on the market. rider facing left

i could ask my publisher if he has an old deck, or ask him what the oldest deck is like. lo scarabeo, i think, had no cards on the marketin the early days
it is too bad that Mlle Lenormand did not leave anything behind to know exactly with what kind of card she was working.

by the way.. if i get a question wrong ...sorry

rosali

I would like to find the first Lenormand deck, as well, lol.

There is some doubt that she even invented the deck, and a lot of people think it originated in Germany. Most of the very early decks seem to be German, I haven't seen a French one. It IS documented that Mlle. Lenormand read with playing cards, and with Etteilla Tarot. Both the small and the large (AstroMythological) Lenormands appeared some time after her death. I suspect that the card makers "borrowed" her name and reputation, most 19th century oracles seem to be attributed to either Lenormand or Gypsies, lol.

Still, they are wonderful decks! As far as which way the Bear should face, just go with whatever is on the deck you are using. Every deck has it's idiosyncrasies. There is an old thread here someplace about the beautiful Piatnik having the Clouds on the "wrong" side - there is no wrong side! If the card shows the dark clouds on the left, read it that way, if on the right, read accordingly.

Simple!

Lenormand cards.

Hi Stella,

I suspect, like you, that the 36 images we use today arn't too much like the
originals. And I have also 'gone along' with whichever way the images face -
seems the only thing to do.

However, I'm creating (yet another) lenormand deck, and would like to have
the images facing the 'rightest' direction.... if you see what I mean.
So for the Bear = gonna have it facing left.

Many thanks Rosali, as you've just read, I'm going to have my Bear looking
left. Very good of you to consider contacting your publisher, much appreciated! Does this mean that you've had something published? A book?
Card deck?

Now you've got me wondering...........

Bee

Carta Mundi Bear faces right.
ASS (not trying to be bad here, that's the deck) Bear faces left.
Gypsy Lenormand Bear faces forward
Astro Lenormand Bear faces right, stands on his hind legs and seems to point(!)
Blue Owl Bear faces forward but is inclined towards the left.
LS Bear faces right.
Mystical Lenormand Bear faces right.
Piatnik Bear same as Blue Owl - faces forward but inclined left. (From the artwork, I would guess that Blue Owl dates from the 1930's or 1940's - it reminds me of Little Golden Books. )
Lenormand Orakel Bear walks to the right but looks at the reader.
Titanias (ouch! my eyes!) Bear faces forward.
Dondorf Bear lies towards the left and gazes at the reader.

Of these, I am guessing Dondorf is the oldest. But there are older decks than Dondorf. I have a C. L. Wüst, ca. 1890:






And it was only made in the 1890's. So it is NOT the "proto-Lenormand"! I'll have to check which way the Bear faces, I obviously don't use it for everyday.