Barleywine
I recently performed my first reading with the Gilded Reverie, with a cautious eye toward the obervation of some experienced readers here that it may be a little too complex or "busy" for a Lenormand newbie. In practice, I had no problems with this since I didn't try to read anything "extra" into the images the way tarot symbolism encourages you to do. It's possible to just focus on the core meaning and let the more elaborate details kind of slide by. I may find that more difficult to do as I gain more experience with it, but it seems to have gotten off on the right foot. I also jumped right into the GT using the PL sheet and Andy's hints as guidance and found it to be perfectly workable for someone with a strong background in large tarot spreads.
Most of the comments came from my sitter. She said things like: "Why is the Ship floating in the air?" (Hmm . . . I had some half-baked notions from Victorian-era sci-fi literature that I couldn't articulate in a way she would understand when I was put on the spot), and "Oh, look, the Dog wants to go for a walk. Maybe he has to "go." (That thought never crossed my mind!) She was certainly impressed with the beauty of the cards and the way they spoke to her.
All in all, it was a successful reading and did what Lenormand seems to do best: give a very real-world, "nuts-and-bolts," practical outlook on her current situation. Interestingly, she asked a rather vague spiritual question (she wrote it down but didn't show it to me in advance) but what emerged was some sharply-focused commentary on her day-to-day struggles with her elderly (and ailing) mother's condition, something that is consuming a large amount of her time and energy. When we went back to the original question, she did get a rather tempered "yes/no" response that showed some complications in the path she was considering taking, but no major obstacles.
ETA: I didn't put this in the Lenormand Readings area since I don't want specific input on the reading, I'm just making some general observations on my initial experience with the deck.
Most of the comments came from my sitter. She said things like: "Why is the Ship floating in the air?" (Hmm . . . I had some half-baked notions from Victorian-era sci-fi literature that I couldn't articulate in a way she would understand when I was put on the spot), and "Oh, look, the Dog wants to go for a walk. Maybe he has to "go." (That thought never crossed my mind!) She was certainly impressed with the beauty of the cards and the way they spoke to her.
All in all, it was a successful reading and did what Lenormand seems to do best: give a very real-world, "nuts-and-bolts," practical outlook on her current situation. Interestingly, she asked a rather vague spiritual question (she wrote it down but didn't show it to me in advance) but what emerged was some sharply-focused commentary on her day-to-day struggles with her elderly (and ailing) mother's condition, something that is consuming a large amount of her time and energy. When we went back to the original question, she did get a rather tempered "yes/no" response that showed some complications in the path she was considering taking, but no major obstacles.
ETA: I didn't put this in the Lenormand Readings area since I don't want specific input on the reading, I'm just making some general observations on my initial experience with the deck.
I've never done much with my Lenormand deck because it was so small and tiny compared to my big flashy tarot cards lol but the few times I've shuffled them and tried a tentative reading it's always seemed to say things pretty directly!