Diana
Astrea: All the Lenormand decks are very easy for me to find. So if Jeannette has problems getting you one, let me know.....
Diana said:I think I understand better now which Lenormand deck is which....
There are four Lenormand decks.
1) Grand Jeu de Mlle Lenormand. There are 54 cards. Publishers: Grimaud, France.
2) Petit Lenormand - Je de cartes divinatoires d'après la méthode admirablement simplifiée de Mlle Lenormand. There are 36 (or 37 cards, can't make it out). Publishers: Grimaud, France.
3) Jeu Lenormand: Cartes de bonne aventure d'après la méthode reconnue si exacte de Mlle Lenormand. There are 36 cards. Publishers: Carta Mundi, Belgium.
4) Mlle Lenormand - Jeu du Destin. There are 36 cards. Publishers: Piatnik, Austria.
Number one (54 cards) is apparently the exact reproduction of the one Mlle Lenormand created. It's a very complicated deck with astro-mythological figures.
Number two was also designed by Mlle Lenormand herself. It is a bit simpler (less cards), but also has astro-mythological figures.
Number three is a more modern deck. Designed at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was not created by her at all.
Number four is just an even more modern version than number three.
I personally have decided to use the number three. The Piatnik deck has the clouds the wrong way round for me.
I will keep number one and two for when I have time to study a lot. Because they are really pretty complicated and I cannot make head or tail of them, even with the help of books. I even tried to read a book which apparently was written by Mlle Lenormand herself, but I didn't understand it.
A course with an expert would be more up my sleeve..........
felicityk said:For what it's worth, I read in A Wicked Pack of Cards that Mlle. Lenormand never used a full 52-card deck for divination. She only ever used the smaller "piquet" deck (32 cards). Does the Petit Lenormand usually have 32 or 36 cards?
MM ~ Hmmm ~ John Michael Greer says in his New Encyclopedia of the Occult that the Grand Jeu appeared a couple of years after Mlle.'s death and that she had no hand in its creation. Grimaud Petit Jeu is an attempt to combine regular Petit Jeu with Grand Jeu, by the playing card correspondences, what you get is a very crowded, truncated Grand Jeu that doesn't work very well, IMHO, I can't find anyone who likes them...Now, I am not here to argue, but trying to get my facts straight - do you have a good source that says Mlle. Lenormand didn't create the system for Petit Jeu (as in Piatnik, J.M.C., Lo Scarabeo, etc.) The story is that she devised this system because she was besieged with people wanting readings, and wanted to make something simple so some of them could go and learn to read for themselves. There is a lot of conflicting information about this woman. Either Greer or Ray Buckland says she also read Tarot and her favorite deck was the Ettiella.Diana said:1) Grand Jeu de Mlle Lenormand. There are 54 cards. Publishers: Grimaud, France.
2) Petit Lenormand - Je de cartes divinatoires d'après la méthode admirablement simplifiée de Mlle Lenormand. There are 36 (or 37 cards, can't make it out). Publishers: Grimaud, France.
...Number one (54 cards) is apparently the exact reproduction of the one Mlle Lenormand created. It's a very complicated deck with astro-mythological figures.
Number two was also designed by Mlle Lenormand herself. It is a bit simpler (less cards), but also has astro-mythological figures.
Number three is a more modern deck. Designed at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was not created by her at all.
Number four is just an even more modern version than number three.