Lenormand
The Lenormand is a 36-card divinatory deck illustrated with everyday scenes, distinct from the tarot. It takes its name from the French cartomancer Marie Anne Lenormand (1772-1843), even though the deck was attributed to her only after her death.
Origin and etymology
Marie Anne Lenormand, known as the sibyl of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, was a Parisian cartomancer famous under the Consulate and the Empire. She is said to have read for Josephine de Beauharnais, Robespierre and Marat. The deck that bears her name was, however, only published after her death, around 1846 in Leipzig, under the title Petit Lenormand. It is inspired by the Game of Hope, a German parlor game by Johann Kaspar Hechtel printed in 1799, which mixed the game of goose and divinatory symbols. The direct link to the cartomancer is therefore commercial and posthumous, but the deck became established under this name throughout Europe.
Evolution and tradition
Two versions coexist: the Grand Lenormand of 54 cards, rarer, and the Petit Lenormand of 36 cards, by far the most widespread. The 36 cards of the Petit Lenormand each bear an image (Rider, Clover, Ship, House, Tree, Clouds, etc.), a number and an associated playing card. The German-speaking tradition, particularly in Germany and Switzerland, kept the Lenormand alive to this day, with authors such as Iris Treppner. The English-language revival dates from the 2010s, driven by authors such as Caitlin Matthews and Sylvie Steinbach.
Practical use
The Lenormand is read very differently from the tarot: cards combine in pairs or grids, and each image has a much more concrete and fixed meaning than the tarot arcana. The Grand Tableau spread, which lays out all 36 cards in a 8 x 4 or 9 x 4 grid, gives a panoramic view of the querent's life. Short spreads (three or five cards) answer specific questions. On Tarotoui, the Lenormand is offered alongside the tarot, with its own protocols. Many practitioners find the Lenormand more direct and factual.
Going further
The attribution of the deck to Mademoiselle Lenormand is a 19th-century commercial legend. The deck actually used by the cartomancer, if such a deck even existed, is not known with certainty: she is more likely to have used ordinary playing cards and a Grand Jeu with different symbols. Note also that the Lenormand is not limited to predictive divination: more and more practitioners use it to describe internal dynamics.