Donnaleigh's Lessons

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."

  ~Clay P. Bedford

Above, the French Cartomancy Lenormand deck, border removed and cards glittered.

IT'S DIFFERENT THAN TAROT!

So you want to learn how to read the Lenormand Deck? If you have searched for how-to books, you may have found that it can be difficult to find resources in English.

HERE is a blog explaining some of the differences between Tarot and the Lenormand.

Below is a list to get you started on your Lenormand-learning journey. I'll update this page as resources continue to become available, and as I continue to discover them myself. Feel free to contact me with your suggestions if you've found good resources I've not listed here.

Do note that many books and resources have different card reading systems. Take what you like, leave what doesn't fit you. I tend to like to stick to the traditional system as much as possible (as I continue to learn), which is quite different than how a tarot card is read.  You need to pick what fits you.

LENORMAND STARTER TIPS:

1. Get a deck that has images that are easy for you to see. Traditional decks are great to start. I happen to like the French Cartomancy deck, and the Lo Scarabeo Lenormand deck, but several others like them are also great. Unlike tarot, the imagery itself does not alter the meaning of the card, except in a very few cards that may have directionality. Find one you feel is attractive and with clear imagery. Here is information on how to choose your first Lenormand deck.
   
2. Learn the individual card meanings, or get a sense of understanding them in singles before trying blending two cards. A great place to start is Helen Riding's blog where she posted a Lenormand Dictionary.
   
3. Learn 2-card combination blends -- it gets exciting here!
   
4. Then get on your journey as to how to read the cards deeper in spreads, and these resources will help you with the blends and the spreads.

FORUMS

• There is a Facebook Lenormand Card Study Group 
  
• AECLECTIC has Lenomand forums, both for those who want to use the stricter, traditional methods, and for those who want to learn a looser, wider oracle use for it:
• Facebook Lenormand Cards Community
  
• Tali Goodwin is teaching a free class in the Tarot-Town forum, files are accessible there. Go to Forums and look for "Lenormand." The "Files" section at top of Tarot Town holds the PDF's for each lesson. She is also releasing a book on learning the Lenormand, expected publishing release date in early 2013 (Llewellyn).
  
• The Cartomancer's Forum, Lenormand Section
• Cartomancer's Cabinet
  
• Learning Lenormand Facebook Group
• Lenormand Cards Community on Facebook
• forum.learnlenormand.com/
  

WEBSITES:

• DL's free classes: from Beginner to Advanced HERE.
  
• One-card meanings for beginners at LearnLenormand.com
• One-card meanings, my beginner video tutorial
• Helen Riding's Blog - one of the best
  
• More on card combinations, order matters (Jase on Cards)
  
• LearnLenormand.com
  
• Serena's Guide to the Cards of Mme Lenormand
• The Lenormand Oracle
• Mary K. Greer's post on Mme. Lenormand
• Jozefa Seaqueen's Learning the Lenormand Cards  
• Janna's Lenormand Card site
• Jase on Cards
• www.learnlenormand.com  (and their forum is listed above at )
• Confessions of a Freaky Fortune Teller
• Lenormand Divination (use a language translator)
• Alyna's Lenormand Oracle Journal
• Language of Lenormand

ONLINE COURSES:

• DL's free classes
  
• Britta's Courses (and deck)
• Treppner Course --  People who don't speak German will need to use Google Translate or BabelFish to read the page, because the website is entirely in German.
• Sandy Cristel's Interactive Lenormand Oracle
• 10-lesson Learning Lenormand class by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin

BOOKS on how to read The Lenormand

• The Essential Lenormand: Your Guide to Precise & Practical Fortunetellingk, the best-seller by Rana George (sold out and reprinted after its first month of publication), is published by Llewellyn Publications and is available in Paperback and Kindle).
  
• Caitlin Matthews' The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook: Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards, an excellent and well-written resource.
  
• Caitlin Matthews also wrote a mini-book that is included with her Enchanted Lenormand Deck.
  
• Learning Lenormand by Tali Goodwin
  
• Lenormand Thirty-Six Cards: An Introduction to the petit-Lenormand by Andy Boroveshengra, great for those interested in learning the near/far method. Paperback version here. Kindle version here.
  
• The Secrets of the Lenormand by Sylvie Steinbeck (some complain this is not true to the traditional system; I read it  and found it okay, but confusing conflicts are in the book if you're using other systems and add this as a resource).
  
• Tarosophist International Summer 2012 Volume 1 Issue 15 (special issue on Lenormand). Download HERE.
• Ciro Marchetti's PDF downloadable book that accompanies his Gilded Reverie Lenormand is only $5 and can be found at his website HERE. Card descriptions are written by Tali Goodwin and Rana George. Several other Lenormand readers have contributed to the rest of the book, including myself.
• THE GAME OF DESTINY - Fortune Telling with Lenormand Cards By Mario dos Ventos. This book is by no means complete, but has some basic information.

YOUTUBE:

• DL has a YouTube Channel that is loaded with VIdeos (arranged on her Lenormand Lessons Page in order of difficulty). Sample:
  

• Hexeclaire has a great YouTube channel with Lenormand tutorials. If this link does not work, go you  YouTube.com and in the search bar put "Hexeclaire Lenormand."
  

FREE LENORMAND DECKS:

If you want to give the Lenormand a go, but you don't have any cards and aren't sure about buying, here are some decks you can download and print.

• Free (gorgeous) deck for beginners with key words, by Carrie Paris (click on the images to increase resolution)
• This antique deck, the V.S.S. Stralsunder (one of my favorite decks) make a cute set as well. Just print, laminate and go! Not for resale without a license from the British Museum.
  
• Valentine's Day Lenormand by Carrie Paris
• Yorkist Lenormand by Birdgett Trejo
• Download this free Lenormand deck (with how-to's) by Wandering Oracle.
• A vintage deck, the Lenormand 1892-1931 Altenburger Spielkarten & Co deck (featured) in the public domain is linked by Tarot Taxi.
  

APPS:

• Dondorf Lenormand app, by The Fool's Dog
• Gilded Reverie Lenormand App for iPad/iPhone and Android. I demonstrate this app and its functions HERE.
  
• Under the Roses Lenormand, available for Android and Apple products
  

TAROT TRIBE/BEYOND WORLDS: FREE LENORMAND HOW-TO PODCASTS

At Tarot Tribe: Beyond Worlds, we are bringing you lessons on the Lenormand to get you on your feet and beyond. Click below to access the free audio podcasts. The first two aired on May 19 and 20, 2012. Links below:

1) Beginner's Lenormand Class with Melissa Hill  -  Handout here

2)  Advanced Lenormand Class with Rana George   -  Handout here

Follow a list of more of our Free Lenormand Podcast Classes HERE.

For more information on how to read the Lenormand Oracle, CLICK HERE.

"I am learning all the time. 

The tombstone will be my diploma."

~Eartha Kitt

Here's wishing you a magical world of Lenormand discovery!

Warmly,

Donnaleigh

www.Donnaleigh.com

Learn more about the secrets of reading tarot at our award-winning educational tarot podcast.

See a listing of all show topics HERE.