I recently decided I wanted to learn the use of the Lenormand oracle, a form of cartomacy using a deck of 36 cards popularized in 19th century Europe. Originating from Germany and used extensively by the French, the oracle takes its name from Marie Anne Lenormand a famous card reader of the Napolean era. (Ironically, as this author notes, M. Lenormand did not use the oracle in her work.)
A typical Lenormand, or Petite Lenormand, deck consists of 36 cards each tied to a pip or court card of the four traditional playing card suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades). They were originally designed by Johann Kaspar Hechtel and published in 1799 as Das Spiel der Hoffnung (The Game of Hope). In additional to the standard playing card designation, each card is embellished with a simple illustration such as birds, a key, heart, book, etc. This iconography and to some extent their meanings were drawn from instructions for reading coffee grounds circulating in the latter part of the 18th century.
After acquiring a standard deck (the Blue Owl imported from Germany), I looked around for a good handbook to start with. Luckily the popularity of the Lenormand has grown in the United States over the past few years and several books have been authored in English. Additionally numerous interpretive and artistic decks are available on Etsy once one has acquired the basic foundation of the imagery.
The book I landed upon was Caitlin Matthews’ The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook and I am glad I did. The use of the descriptive ‘handbook’ in the title very simply does not do Ms. Matthews’ work justice. This is a full textbook or college level course work (101 through post graduate) in Lenormand!
The book provides everything from introductory materials, descriptions of the cards, spreads, to the Grand Tableau (mother of all spreads) and advanced alternates vocabularies. It is extensively illustrated in color and, nicely, utilizes several different Lenormand decks.
Matthews work is very akin to a foreign language textbook. This presentation is very fitting for Lenormand as the cards read in combination to each other much as a language has sentence and syntax. Interpretive meaning of each card is situational and not individualistic as often the case with the tarot. Matthews includes numerous practice exercises and refresher “quizzes”. The work is very effective in guiding one into the richness of this particular oracle.
Highly recommended. If you’re looking for only one book on the topic, this is it.
The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook: Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards
Caitlin Matthews
Inner Traditions, 2014
416 Pages, Full Color Illustrations