Rules of Lenormand

intothemusic said:

Even if her exact method was revealed, I do doubt it would work for others. Everybody has their own personal methods. However, aside for being quite intuitive/psychic (which plays a big part) she was extremely adept in many forms of divination (predictive astrology, palmistry, cartomancy) and if one uses all of these different methods in a reading, they will likely excel and provide astounding accuracy.

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Le Normand was not a palmist at least not in the true sense. She would look in a book to find a hand that seemed most like her client's which is attested by her clients. IN one of her books she answers a question about Tarot by quoting a palmistry text. Thortly after her death a deck, based on these books which were common at the time, appeared in France.

We also do not know if she was an astrologer. She uses the term horoscope in her own texts to refer to card readings, and she would write up her client's readings as a 'horoscope'.

andybc said:

Le Normand was not a palmist at least not in the true sense. She would look in a book to find a hand that seemed most like her client's which is attested by her clients. IN one of her books she answers a question about Tarot by quoting a palmistry text. Thortly after her death a deck, based on these books which were common at the time, appeared in France.

We also do not know if she was an astrologer. She uses the term horoscope in her own texts to refer to card readings, and she would write up her client's readings as a 'horoscope'.

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There is information about Mlle LN in the book the "Court of Napoleon" (written in 1856 by Frank B. Goodrich). The author claims the information was accurate and had been verified. He states she used chiromancy as one of her main tools, as well as astrology. But also, I've read personal accounts of her asking for birth dates and times (I would assume that would be for numerology purposes or astrology?).

intothemusic said:

There is information about Mlle LN in the book the "Court of Napoleon" (written in 1856 by Frank B. Goodrich). The author claims the information was accurate and had been verified. He states she used chiromancy as one of her main tools, as well as astrology. But also, I've read personal accounts of her asking for birth dates and times (I would assume that would be for numerology purposes or astrology?).

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I looked into the palmistry stuff because, coming from a family of palmists, it interested me. But there really is no evidence she actually read palms, at least not in the literal sense. But her writings quote a chiromancy text and several clients mention her matching their hands to this book.

We know she asked them questions such as the first letter of the month they were born, their age, as well as favourite animal and flower. Le Normand was very, very good at mathematics so I see no reason why she couldn't practice numerology. If she did practice astrology it would most likely have been horary, but we just don't know. The only methods we know beyond doubt are cards, this book, some Hellenic sticks and a mirror.

What cannot be doubted, however, was she was good at whatever she did do.

Edited to add - the deck of 'palmistry' cards that came out after Mlle. Le Normand's death was done under the direction of her 'successor' and 'student'. This deck is still in print and seems to be part of the reason Le Normand is thought of being a 'palmist'.

andybc said:

I looked into the palmistry stuff because, coming from a family of palmists, it interested me. But there really is no evidence she actually read palms, at least not in the literal sense. But her writings quote a chiromancy text and several clients mention her matching their hands to this book.

We know she asked them questions such as the first letter of the month they were born, their age, as well as favourite animal and flower. Le Normand was very, very good at mathematics so I see no reason why she couldn't practice numerology. If she did practice astrology it would most likely have been horary, but we just don't know. The only methods we know beyond doubt are cards, this book, some Hellenic sticks and a mirror.

What cannot be doubted, however, was she was good at whatever she did do.

Edited to add - the deck of 'palmistry' cards that came out after Mlle. Le Normand's death was done under the direction of her 'successor' and 'student'. This deck is still in print and seems to be part of the reason Le Normand is thought of being a 'palmist'.

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Andy, in case you're interested (any anyone else reading this thread), I just found a link to the book I was speaking of! You might find it fascinating. The mlle lenormand chapter starts on page 318.

http://books.google.co.za/books?id=aIEvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA320&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

intothemusic said:

Andy, in case you're interested (any anyone else reading this thread), I just found a link to the book I was speaking of! You might find it fascinating. The mlle lenormand chapter starts on page 318.

http://books.google.co.za/books?id=aIEvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA320&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Thank you for this. I've gone through most of it, but even in the first pages there are things we know are not true, but I will go through the rest. The picture was printed after her death and is at odds with what we know - Le Normand suffered from some form of scoliosis whichmade her one shoulder far higher than the other.

andybc said:

Thank you for this. I've gone through most of it, but even in the first pages there are things we know are not true, but I will go through the rest. The picture was printed after her death and is at odds with what we know - Le Normand suffered from some form of scoliosis whichmade her one shoulder far higher than the other.

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But andy, aren't all the "personal accounts" with her somewhat hearsay? There's recollections of Josephine's exact reading with her-- how would anyone other than Josephine and Mlle Lenormand really know those details?

I do think it is important to follow rules. Mine. I do think of myself as a traditional reader, but there are many traditions. So yes, I believe once you pick a style, a tradition you're comfortable with, you stick to it as that works for you. But if there are different traditions, we're back to WHICH rules do you follow? Which style? There are writers coming out with their own books on NEW styles. So in the end, it's what works, whichever style or rules work for you. Experience, doing a lot of readings can certainly help you find your "rules" and what works for you, because otherwise it's just theory.

greatdane said:

I do think it is important to follow rules. Mine.

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I like that!

Intothemusic:

You are right, all accounts of Mademoiselle Lenormand are hearsay, and they are fobbed off as truth. And you are also correct that if the exact method of Mademoiselle Lenormand was known, it probably would only work for her and not for those who try to implement said method. Every reader must find his/her own way, just like the Great Mademoiselle did.

andybc said:

Thank you for this. I've gone through most of it, but even in the first pages there are things we know are not true, but I will go through the rest. The picture was printed after her death and is at odds with what we know - Le Normand suffered from some form of scoliosis whichmade her one shoulder far higher than the other.

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I know that andybc is no longer a member here, but wish to comment.

Scoliosis is not always noticeable to others unless they know the person has it. I can speak personally about this as I have curvature of the spine, and have never had anyone comment to me about it (other than my doctor and radiologist), even though I do have one shoulder that sits visibly higher than the other. Also, in the picture you refer to, M. Lenormand is seated slightly side-on, so even if it should be a true picture of her, evidence of scoliosis may not necessarily be seen from that angle.

I think it's reasonable to question some of what has been written about M. Lenormand's life. That's what a good researcher does. Given the time gap that has now passed since her life/death (and the period of time in which she lived, when there was no www, PCs, ipads, or iphones for selfies etc.), it is unlikely that the 'full' extent of her 'tools' and 'practices' will ever be able to be verified satisfactorily. So, it goes without saying, whenever we come across any old literature about Lenormand (or any historical figure), that relevant minutiae might just be missing, and not always necessarily that what has been written has been liberally embellished or is completely false. Of course when something is determined to be false, the tendency is then to question everything (including that which is true).