​Welcome to Part One of an Ongoing Lenormand Blog

It became obvious during this last Readers Studio that my knowledge base is woefully lacking when it comes to Lenormand decks.

I’m not going to ‘run away’ and come back later and state, “Of course I’m an expert”.

Instead, I’ll let you look over my shoulder as I explore decks and books, as I change my mind, as I hunt down various opinions and facts.

And I’m going to start with decks….

First and foremost – size matters.

At first we’re tempted by full-sized pretty decks. Until we attempt to do a Grande Tableau.

The ‘Ur-Lenormand’ cards require a space of 900 square inches to lay out a Grande Tableau (hereafter GT).

‘Poker sized’ Lenormand decks require a minimum table space of 480 square inches.

Most Lenormand decks measure between 2.25 x 3.5 inches, and 2.75 x 3.5 inches. This reduces our table size requirement, so we don’t have to add leaves to our table, to about 418 square inches. Most apartment-sized kitchen tables will hold a GT.

The Mystical Lenormand, Pixie's Astounding Lenormand, Blue Bird Lenormand, Celtic Lenormand, Maybe Lenormand, Fairy Tale Lenormand, Blaue Eule, Under the Roses, House of Shadows, and the Rana George Lenormand, all fit that size requirement.

And the second thing I want to discuss narrows our field.

Insets. The playing card inset.

For me this is a huge consideration.

I like the whole card as the inset. Not just a suit and a pip or letter. I want to know at a glance where and which suits conglomerate in the spread. I want to see this before I even start looking at symbols.

Unfortunately, few decks include the full image inset. And there are some decks I really want to love, but they lack the full image inset.

Cards that have both a full inset include, Blue Bird, Blaue Eule, Rana George, and Fairy Lenormand Oracle.

There may come a time when I read Lenny cards that lack an inset – but for now, gotta have. Like I said, I love the House of Shadows…I love those Edward Gorey-styled images.

And the Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand. Such a familiar palette. I think it would be a great deck for learning Lennies when you have a WCS background. Although I suppose some may find it confusing. But dang! No insets; just a suit and designation in the bottom right corner.

And I need to get my mitts on the Ukiyo-e Lenormand.