The Art of Lenormand Reading: Decoding Powerful Messages
Author: Alexandre Musruck
Schiffer Publishing, 2018
Description: 240 page book
When I opened my box of goodies from Schiffer Publishing, I was delighted to see this book and its companion Lenormand Deck. My mind had been drifting to the Lenormand and this arrival jump started my interests once again.
First, let me say this book was self-published in 2016. This is a new version published by Schiffer. I'm not sure what, if anything has been changed or added from the original.
The Art of Lenormand Reading is like most books on the Lenormand, but it also has some added twists.
It begins with a standard introduction of the best way to approach the cards and techniques to help learn the system. A section on the deck anatomy goes over the many features of a card: the symbol, card number, and the playing card insert. The author then explains the Signifier Cards and other people cards. Demystifying the Cards gives an introduction to what will be covered in the Meaning of the Cards section. And, he gives a list of the Nuance cards: Action, portrait, mood, and timing.
*It's important to note that the author is using the French Lenormand system in the book.
The next section is the Meaning of the Cards, where the author covers the keywords and an overall meaning for the card. Then, he breaks it down into divisions such as what the card means in a love reading for a single person, timing of the card, what it means in an health reading and more.
I especially like the Special Power division. Here's what the Rider says:
The Rider is the bearer of news. Every card that comes before him on the same line describes the message he is bringing forward.
Other divisions include the related Archangel, Planet, and Zodiac Sign. Unfortunately, the author doesn't share anything more on these subjects. It would have been interesting to have an explanation of how and when to use these relationships.
The next section, Additional Keywords, is seven pages of more keywords for each card. A few short sections follow. Card Reversals, which lets you know the cards are never read reversed, seemed completely unnecessary. A section on the Significators covers the main Querent cards, Man and Woman, and the Money, Health, and more. The Combination Section goes over possible meanings for the combination of all the cards.
There's a section on Archangels. Here you may gain a clue to why the archangel is assigned to the card. For example, the book is Metatron, who is the scribe of God, the letter is Grabriel, the messenger of God, and Scythe is Jophiel, who you may call upon to help reduce clutter. I only looked up these three to investigate connections. As for an explanation of what to use these connections for, I'm still not sure.
There's a section which covers the physical attributes of the cards, which in my opinion, should have been added to the section of card meanings.
The playing card inserts have their own section. The meanings are given for each card, based upon the French cartomancy system. Included is a chart on the meanings of multiples in a reading. For example: two Kings show an opening, while three 8's indicate a wedding.
The next forty-four pages cover Lenormand Card Spreads. The author goes into detail on how to read a Grand Tableu. He also offers a real reading using the Tableu.
A short section on attuning your deck closes the book, covering clearing, prayer and blessing your cards.
This would be a decent book to get you started with the Lenormand. A seasoned reader may find some new insight in the pages, or at least a slightly different perspective on some of the cards.
Grab your copy from
Schiffer Publishing.
(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)
