Review: Tempus 85 by Marsha McLaughlin Radford

Tempus 85
Author: Marsha McLaughlin Radford
September, 2018

I am very excited to tell you about this deck.

The Tempus 85 is an expanded deck for divination and learning Lenormand. This deck was recommended to me on the basis of the accuracy of its readings. I definitely have not been disappointed.

I have selected it as my February deck. I can't wait to be using this deck every single day this month!

In a normal Lenormand deck, one card has many meanings and it's up to you to decide its intended meaning according to the context. With the Tempus 85, the guessing game is over. Everything you need to know is right there in the cards. Yes, you still have to decipher the cards, but it's much easier to do when you are dealing with this much narrower focus.

The Snake has been expanded into three cards. Snake - Lies, Envy, Competition, Jealousy./ Rival - The Other Man Or Woman, A Third Person./ Yarn - Things And Issues That Need To Be Untangled. No more guessing! Yes, I suppose the Snake could be an actual snake, and even the Yarn could actually be a ball of yarn. But, I think if that's the case, you will know.

Also, notice down the side of the first card. You will see the original card has been linked to the other variations of the card. 7a Snake (c12), 7b Rival (c13), 7c Yarn (c14) - basic translation: The Snake card in the Lenormand is the 7 card, but here it has become the 12 card, the variations of the card are listed as 7b and 7c and as card 13 and 14.

The Coffin has also been expanded into three cards. Coffin - An Ending./ Door - A Transition./ Tears - Flood of Emotions, Sickness, Grief, Aching Heart. The Links - 8a Coffin (c15), 8b Door (c16), 8c Tears (c17).

Some of the cards have not been expanded. If this is the case, you'll only see the original card number displayed down the side. 3 Ship (c5), 24 Heart (c58), and 18 Dog (c40). Ship - Travel or Transition. Heart -Who or What You Love, Romance, Passion. Dog - Loyalty, Reliability, Someone or Something You Can Depend On.

And, even after all that expanding, the author found more to add! There are a total of 12 additional, unique cards in the deck. Above, you get an idea of what you might find. Cell - A Lack Of Options or Choices. Balloon - Wanting Less of Something Negative. Calendar - Scheduling, Making Time, Perfect Timing.

And that's not all! There are 6 cards designed especially for your timing questions. The backings are different than the rest of the deck, setting them apart. It's up to you how to incorporate them into your reading.

I've chosen to leave them in the deck. When I do a reading with no timing bounds, I just don't select a clock card. If it is a timing question, I search out the one clock card that pulls me to it. And, as a side note, I do fan this deck and chose random cards for my reading. This isn't my normal procedure. I usually deal from the top, but this deck insisted on being treated differently.

I recommend this deck to everyone! It is a pick up and read deck. You really don't need any experience with Lenormand or any reading style to get some insight from this deck. It is that easy to read!

You can go over to Arcana Land for more information on the deck, additional card images, and some sample readings.

If you'd like to try them out yourself, you can purchase this deck at Amazon and Game Crafter.

Decks are also available on Etsy - in the deck creator's shop - BestOnDeck. This deck is available in both poker size and mini version.

Please share your experiences with this deck in the comments. And, of course, if you have any questions about the deck, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer or find the answer for you.

And be sure to take a look at this deck in action in the next post - Guidance for February.