The Burning Serpent Oracle; a Lenormand of the Soul

Rhinemaiden said:

Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery and now The Burning Serpent Oracle, both leave me wanting. They feel like parodies of his earlier excellent work.

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That is exactly how I feel. When I first saw the early designs for the Burning Serpent Oracle I was very impressed. Although it is not a Lenormand deck, I intended to get it as Robert is such a talented person.

But when I saw the final product I thought I was looking at some designs he had left over from a previous project.

My reaction was similar. I was even going to spring for the "crowd-sourced" funding option. But something didn't seem quite right with it, so I held off. If it becomes available on Amazon.com for a reasonable price, I may still pick it up, though.

Mine arrived today. It's such a lovely deck and the cards are well thought out and beautifully done. The box was a little battered on arrival but the cards are perfect. Definitely an excellent Lenormand purchase!

Beautiful artwork as always, but

I will never see this as a Lenormand because it doesn't have the standard cards. And it isn't even called Lenormand, it's called an oracle and there's obviously a reason they did that.

I see it as a hybrid. The problem is it has too much in common with Lenormand for me to read it as an oracle and it's too different from Lenormand for me to see as a Lenormand deck to read that way.

I do think the art is just lovely and I am a fan of his. I just don't want to read with all his decks.

But kudos to those who get it and read with it. I just wish it had been less of a hybrid. Trying to be two different things often makes something neither for me. I feel the same way about tarot lenormand combos or tarot oracles (tarocles?).

I had pre-ordered this book/deck set from the deck's home page over a couple of weeks ago, but did not get a confirmation from them in this regard ; just from paypal.

So, as I am waiting for this set to be available and to ship, I've ordered the deck-only from UK amazon, and thank you Le Fanu and daphne for the information regarding its availability there, in which case I will probably have 2 copies of this deck soon.

It's here!

I have just come back from the mailbox, where I found the package containing my book and deck set! I did not get a shipping notice, so it was a wonderful surprise.

I have had reservations about the deck since I first heard about it. Would it be a readable Lenormand, or would it be more of an oracle? But given the expertise of Rachel Pollack and Robert Place (whose art work I have always admired), I decided to go ahead and order it. And, at first glance, I am glad I did!

As I knew it would be, the art of the deck is stunning. The cards are larger than traditional Lenormand cards (they are about 2.75 by 4.5 inches). At first glance, I can recognize all of the Lenormand emblems, even though some of the titles have been changed. I'm not sure how they will work for me in a Grand Tableau, however. I will have to play with them and see how they read in such a large spread. For lines of 5 or 7 cards, or a 3 x3, the cards should work very well.

The 263-page companion book is a good size, has full page illustrations of each card (although not in color), and seems very thorough in its coverage. Just glancing through the book, the deck seems strongly rooted in the Lenormand tradition. I like the book's subtitle: A Lenormand of the Soul. The section on readings covers lines of 3, 5 and 7 cards, the 3 x3 square, a few other spreads and the Grand Tableau.

Additional mythological and symbolic elements have bern incorporated into the card images. Explanations for these are covered in the book, I'm sure. Even with these additions, I would not call this a themed Lenormand.

I currently read only with historical decks such as the Dondorf, Stralsunder and Daveluy. But I am excited to begin working with the Burning Serpent and discover what wisdom it holds for me.

Asher said:

The 263-page companion book is a good size, has full page illustrations of each card (although not in color), and seems very thorough in its coverage. Just glancing through the book, the deck seems strongly rooted in the Lenormand tradition. I like the book's subtitle: A Lenormand of the Soul. The section on readings covers lines of 3, 5 and 7 cards, the 3 x3 square, a few other spreads and the Grand Tableau.

Additional mythological and symbolic elements have bern incorporated into the card images. Explanations for these are covered in the book, I'm sure. Even with these additions, I would not call this a themed Lenormand.

I currently read only with historical decks such as the Dondorf, Stralsunder and Daveluy. But I am excited to begin working with the Burning Serpent and discover what wisdom it holds for me.

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The book is already available?!
How is the book for beginners?

daphne said:

How is the book for beginners?

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Daphne,

From what I have read so far, the book is not for beginners, IMHO. It does give traditional meanings at the beginning of each entry on the cards. But the majority of each card description talks about the history of the symbol, and mythological correlations. There is virtually no mention of reading Lenormand cards in combination. Some traditional spreads for reading Lenormand are covered, but I feel that the book might confuse beginners.

nomnomnom eating up all the posts about it whilst I wait for mine to arrive.

I like the idea of Lenormand but I just haven't really been sold on the system as a whole. I love tarot's system and structure, and I like the freedom of oracles... and I think for me Lenormand sort of hits too hard in the structure department for me, so I'm glad its definitely more of an Oracle.

Cant wait for it to arrive

I ordered the deck and book from Robert Place's website. I'm looking forward to receiving it. I hope that I can read with it.