Notes Before We Begin

A Note for Absolute Beginners

This book was written to introduce you quickly and easily to a wonderful way of reading Lenormand cards for fortune-telling and divination. We have tested the methods in this book with hundreds of students to ensure that you will soon be reading the cards confidently. You do not need to have used tarot cards or any other divination method previously. In fact, if this is your first experience of card reading, you will be starting your journey in one of its most traditional and elegant courtyards.

A Note to Tarot Readers

You will discover that the Lenormand cards are not the same as the tarot in structure nor in their method of reading. In fact, we tend to refer to two different spaces when discussing the two systems: “T-space” and “L-space.” They both have different landscapes and require different navigation. The Lenormand cards make excellent companions to tarot readings and are suited to direct readings for practical matters.

If you are a tarot reader already, you may like to consider jumping ahead first to our afterword, which sets out the significant differences in the decks and methods between Lenormand and tarot.

A Note to Lenormand Readers

For those who have been reading Lenormand cards for some time, we have endeavoured to ensure this book introduces newcomers easily to the cards in general and encourages them to discover more about traditional methods beyond this work. We hope it serves as a springboard for students to encounter Lenormand decks, perhaps for the first time, and then jump off into deeper pools or trace original sources. Where possible, we have made clear our own unique tweaks to the methods from our practice, which occur increasingly as the book progresses.

A Note on Lenormand Cards

You will need a Lenormand deck to accompany this book, or alternatively you can create a simple set of thirty-six playing cards numbered 1 through 36, or use collage, magazine clips, photography, or your own artwork to create the cards. We would recommend you purchase the Original Lenormand (Game of Hope) cards, which are a reproduction of the first images that became the Lenormand deck. These are available at www.originallenormand.com. A list of many other decks is given in the resources section of this book.

A Note on Research

Tali would like to say that all research is only as valid as the day it was written and stands to be corrected, overturned, and refined. Please check her website at www.newlenormand.com and her Tarot Speakeasy blog at www.tarotspeakeasy.com for revisions and updates.