The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle - Caitlin Matthews, Art by Virginia Lee

My first Lenormand deck

This deck is my first Lenormand deck. I really like how there are 2 different Man and Woman, for individual preferences and potential sexuality differences. I also like the idea of Diviner. It reminds me of my first tarot deck -- it has an extra card called The Unknown. The book is really well made, especially since most guide books don't include coloured photos. The box is really nice as well -- very sturdy compared to the flimsy box my tarot cards came in.

But, I don't like how small the deck is. I know that the Lenormand oracle has a connection to playing cards and this deck is the size of playing cards -- or at least, it's the size of the two playing card decks I have, but haven't been used in a long time. My hands got too used to shuffling a tarot deck, so the sudden size change makes things a little awkward at first.

I'm still a little lost though. I took to tarot reading faster than I am taking to this deck. Or maybe, I'm still being influenced by my tarot deck and my oracle runes (they're not the traditional runes; they're technically oracle cards in the form of wooden tablets). Lenormand does follow a different set of rules after all.

Does anyone have any recommended sources I could look at to learn about using Lenormand decks? Preferably websites and not books. The local bookstore doesn't have much on Lenormand, and I don't want to wait for shipping.

Hi ithilgil,

It's true that Lenormand is very different from tarot. The reading methods focus much more on specific memorized meanings for each card rather than the intuitive interpretation of pictorial details, and this can be a difficult concept for beginners to grasp. The best way to think of it is that a line of cards is read like a sentence, with each card representing a word. There is still flexibility in how a card is interpreted in the context of the surrounding cards and the question, but the range of possible meanings is much narrower than in tarot.

The nice thing about Lenormand is that other than esthetic preference, there is really no particular reason to choose one deck over another -- because the basic meanings stay the same no matter how they're depicted in the art, the interpretations aren't different if you use a different deck.

There's a very good practical reason why most Lenormand decks are small: one of the most popular spreads, in fact usually considered essential to a Lenormand reader's repertoire, is the Grand Tableau, in which you lay out all 36 cards and read cards in vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines, and/or how far or near they are to your chosen subject cards. For this spread, it's really helpful to have small cards, otherwise you'll need to lay them out on your bed or your floor.

Here's a thread that lists some website resources. The beginning of the thread is a few years old, so be sure to look through all the pages, up to the most recent ones -- some of the links towards the beginning may be outdated.

Just wanted to add...

I know you said you prefer websites to books, but honestly, if I were you, I'd take a look at the chapters in the Enchanted Lernormand book on the reading process. In each example, lay out the corresponding cards from your deck, and follow along carefully and see if you can follow her reasoning as to how she arrives at her interpretations. (Each example is illustrated with the cards in color, but it's still easier to follow if you actually lay out the cards.)

Also, go to each card section, and go to the parts where she lists several combinations using that card. Again, lay out those cards from your deck, read her sample interpretations, and see if you can follow the reasoning that results in the combo meaning. You may not always be able to see how she arrives at the meaning (sometimes I don't either), but this is a great way to begin to understand how Lenormand cards are read. The combination meanings aren't meant to be memorized, they're just examples of the range of potential meanings you can get from combining cards in this manner.

I really think the book is a great resource. It would be a shame to not get some use out of it, seeing as how you have it right there with you.

I've just started working my way through the book and I think it is really good. I'm glad I got it. The cards are ok but I also use the deck (Dondorf)I got from the Book Depository. From what I understand-and as Lee said- the deck doesn't matter so much as the meanings stay the same regardless of the artwork.

Like I said, I do like the book, but some things aren't really that clear, especially the part where she gives examples of how the cards are read. I don't really understand how she came to the conclusions she did. There are just too many meanings per card.

As a beginner, I just find the book lacking in that area. The individual card interpretation is good. The spreads are good. (Though, I don't really like spread where each card is designated a specific role. e.g. past, future) But, I'm still a little overwhelmed by all the information.

It's probably because I'm used to reading with tarot and other oracles, which doesn't need as much memorization and are more intuitive.

Lenormand is kind of like Futhark runes in that aspect -- lots of memorization needed. But, I'll try my best to learn how to use it, even if it's a slow process. I find the idea of Lenormand really interesting.

As I've read somewhere -- tarot and oracles are more psychological while Lenormand is more physical. After reading the book, and of the section regarding proper questions to ask, I find that quite true. I really want to be able to read both tarot and Lenormand together to bring new meanings to my readings. I mean, I've been reading tarot and oracle in the same reading, and it's turning out great. Got some really good advice out of it.

(It's can be quite eerie how my oracle and tarot deck work together so well. For instance, today, I did my weekly reading, and in one of the sections, I got an oracle rune saying my life is getting a bit hectic and I should slow down a bit, while my tarot cards were something along the lines of having a troublesome week.)

I really want to see if I could incorporate Lenormand into my readings in the future. I've seen videos of people combining tarot and Lenormand together to get a better picture.

Thank you -- to those who read my post and gave me suggestions. Thanks for the link. Thanks for reminding me of the book the cards came with, but I've already explained my slight problem with it in this post. Regarding the bookstore, my local bookstore really doesn't much on Lenormand. It has a shelf of other oracle decks, another shelf of tarot books and decks, and other shelves of other "occult" topics.

Silly me, I only just realized that the four items pictured on the corners of each card (and on the card backs) actually represent the playing card suits:

= heart
= three-leaf clover/trefoil
= crystal
= arrowhead/spear head

ithilgil said:

Like I said, I do like the book, but some things aren't really that clear, especially the part where she gives examples of how the cards are read. I don't really understand how she came to the conclusions she did. There are just too many meanings per card.

Click to expand...

I think you will find this same problem with all Lenormand books. Too Many Meanings. This book is actually not as bad as the others I've read, that way. I think the place where intuition comes in with Lenormand is in reading the card combinations. I am just learning, too, and what is working for me is to limit the number of meanings per card, keep them basic, and let my intuition work on the combinations. I also am not doing general readings or a daily draw...only very specific questions so I don't have to fumble around trying to figure out what it's talking about.
Hope this helps.

Lee said:

Silly me, I only just realized that the four items pictured on the corners of each card (and on the card backs) actually represent the playing card suits:

= heart
= three-leaf clover/trefoil
= crystal
= arrowhead/spear head

Click to expand...

I just realised it too...~~

magpie9 said:

I think you will find this same problem with all Lenormand books. Too Many Meanings. This book is actually not as bad as the others I've read, that way. I think the place where intuition comes in with Lenormand is in reading the card combinations. I am just learning, too, and what is working for me is to limit the number of meanings per card, keep them basic, and let my intuition work on the combinations. I also am not doing general readings or a daily draw...only very specific questions so I don't have to fumble around trying to figure out what it's talking about.
Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

Thanks. That's what I'm doing as well. I've decided to approach it the way I learnt reading tarot. 2-3 cards at a time. And a few meanings per card at a time. I'm gradually reading 4-5 cards, but I'm still a bit iffy on the "making sentence" part on this. So, I go back to the basics for a bit before attempting it again, and so forth.

I don't really get the way she explained how to read lots of cards, so I might incorporate a bit of my method of reading tarot into this (i.e. reading as a whole). I find that easier than creating "sentences".

Myself I have been learning the Lenormands since last October, and I am just now beginning to understand how they function. I find over a larger and longer term spread, like the GT, the cards can be taken in the more traditional manner; however, I do find that in short questions, using two or three cards, they are more literal than anything else.

For example, today I got Birds + Storks + Scythe as a reading for how my day would work out.

I walked my two (a number often associated with the Birds card) nervy, anxious dogs (Birds= anxieties, nervousness) and then went to the gym for an hour long jog on the treadmill (Storks + Scythe = hectic movement, sudden movement.) lol! I often take my short interpretations on face value of the cards, and it works quite well.

I did find it took me a long time to bend my head out of tarot in order to accommodate these cards. They are not at all the same. But they do indeed work well with the tarot.

I used the learnlenormand site online, as well as the book "The game of Destiny" by Mario Dos Ventos to learn combos and layouts. Seems to work well, though the two sources don't always see the combos the same way. I have found with combos that you can take a book or site one, and then put your own spin on it intuitively, and then come up with good answers.

I suggest journaling and checking back on the meanings you thought, and what actually happened later. Very helpful.

I also have been doing this thing where I write down what I think the cards mean, then also checking with the book to see what the author thought it meant, and then looking back at day's end, to see what was true. Certain combos stick out, though I do find the combos may be similar, but meaning applies differently, in different situations. Very fluid in the meanings department, which does not help! lol! Do learn to take the whole reading into account as a whole, and not just parcels of pairs, that does help get a better idea, I do find...!

And now, I must absolutely rethink getting the set, even though I hate the bubble on the cards, just so I can get the book! And this after I had finally decided it was not for me! lol!