Review: The Magick of Lenormand Card Reading

The Magick of Lenormand Card Reading

Author: Kalliope

Artist: Yasmeen Westwood

Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing, 2024

Description: 280-page paperback book

Book Size: 7 x 10

The creators of the Lenormand of Enchantment have created a book that goes beyond the original guide available with the deck. The Magick of Lenormand Card Reading takes you into the depths of Lenormand, covering a multitude of topics and situations.

"The system outlined in this book is my personal tried-and-true method that works and can be easily applied to any life situation. This current volume is written with the professional reader in mind, with expanded meanings and new combinations, allowing you to foster an even-deeper, more magickal relationship with the cards."

The Author covers the basics, from how to use the book to journaling and practice exercises. The Tips and Tricks section shares a multitude of information, from The Red-String Method to card order and word play combinations.  

The 36 Magickal Moments chapter supplies you with spells for each Lenormand card. How to Read the Cards offers a few pointers and delves into casting the cards from the simple yes/no method to in-depth tips on the Grand Tableau.

The bulk of the book covers the cards, both individually and in combinations. Each card presentation has number and name, a poem, and an image of the card. The illustrations are from the Lenormand of the Enchantment. The cards are described in length, along with keywords, timing, meaning, the card in aspect to love, career, wellness, finances, and modern day, and affirmation, cartomancy, Combinations, and ends with a quote.

This is a very extensive guidebook that will take you further into the Lenormand world. There's so much here, it's a little hard to share the depth. Each card has seven or more pages of information. You may get a little overwhelmed. 

It's important to remember when diving into Lenormand to take what feels right for you in the guides, and discard the rest. As said, there's a lot of information in this book, but the Lenormand is a never-ending journey. Just remember to take it slow to get the most growth from your connection with the cards. 

The Scythe pages begin with number and name. The poem begins the text.

"Sharp and dangerously slicing, cut down to my very core

Sudden and unexpected accident, left me disconnected and sore

Irrevocable divisions, splitting halves the rendering them apart

Separating quickly, leaves a wake of broken shards in my heart"

After the image, you see the first part of the description.

"As the sun sets on the year's final harvest, the Scythe emerges from the field of golden wheat, catching the last wisps of fading light glinting off its sharp edges. Shimmering flaxen shafts of wheat are swaying in the breeze …."

Further into the Scythe pages, you find the card in different aspects.

Scythe in Modern Day - "The Grim Reaper, a motorcycle club (Sons of Anarchy), symbol of death, injectables/vaccine."

Affirmation - "When things suddenly and unexpectedly leave my life, I will trust in that wisdom and let them go with compassion and love."

The Cartomancy of the card takes you to an even deeper level of the Lenormand. The Jack of Diamonds - "This Jack is preoccupied with having the need for security, both emotionally and financially, but keeps this vulnerability to himself."

The sections on Combinations dive deep and are expansive. The Scythe and Clover - "green wound (infected), very risky, temporarily detached, brief separation, wild accident, brief division, temporarily disconnected, easily broken, temporarily cut off, brief threat, very risky, brief emergency"

The most important thing to remember when reading with the Lenormand is to maintain context to the question, which should be very focused in order to receive an understandable answer.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this book to a beginner. It's so easy to get overwhelmed by information when dealing with this simple 36-card deck. You really need to begin at the beginning and slowly delve into deeper parts of this system. In my opinion, too much information will kill your intuition and confidence.

With that said, I highly recommend this book to the seasoned reader. You're bound to discover something useful within the text. 

Grab your copy at  Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing.

(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)

Review: Lenormand of Enchantment

Lenormand of Enchantment

Author: Kalliope

Artist: Yasmeen Westwood

Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing, 2022

Description: 36 cards, 204-page guidebook, box with magnetic closure lid.

Card Size: 2.5 x 3.5

“Our vision is that this deck will appeal to the masses and be in every professional’s arsenal, with updated artwork, modern meanings, and combinations that are applicable to today’s day and age, yet managing to hold on to a semblance of antiquity.”

The Lenormand of Enchantment is a beautiful deck. Printed on good card stock, the cards are easy to handle, although you will have a few gold specks on your hands in the beginning. A minor issue to have with such an amazing deck.

After a brief introduction into the Lenormand, the bulk of the guidebook covers Card Description and Combinations. Although this guidebook will not teach you how to read the cards, it will get you started in the process. The descriptions focus on the individual card and then combines it with each of the other 35 cards. So, you are basically learning pairs. 

Although more techniques are mentioned, such as reading strings, using "the pips", and timing, they are not explored in detail in this guidebook. To learn beyond the basics, you will need to seek out more resources. 

Be careful when you start building your research materials, as there are many different systems out there. Try to stick with one, or you will become confused. French and German seem to be similar. They share enough qualities that I'm not able to tell you if this is one or the other system. Once you get set keywords for your cards in place, just try not to stray too far in a different direction.

Above, you see two cards - Mountain and Clouds. Let's say your question is, "What should I focus on now?" If you look to the guidebook, you will find that Mountain is an obstacle or delay, and when adding the combination to the equation the obstacle is unknown. So, your focus should be on figuring out what this unknown obstacle is and overcoming it.

In the image above, you get an example of how the guidebook is laid out. After the card number and title, there is a short passage for the card. Beside the image, there is a long list of keywords and the card's basic meaning. The rest of the card's section is devoted to combinations with the other card.

I've included a few more combinations to give you some sample images and an idea of what can be discerned from the guidebook.

Following along with the same question, "What should I focus on now?" The Coffin represents an ending of some sort. When adding the Ring combination, it becomes the end of a marriage or contract. So, you should focus on your marriage, or possible divorce agreement.

"What should I focus on now?" The Key represents answers and the possibility of new opportunities becoming available. When adding the Anchor combination, you receive a definite answer or opportunity. So, you should focus on what is obvious to you. It seems you already have the focus. This combination clarifies that you are on the right track.  

You can get all of these answers directly from the guidebook and a little intuition. But with additional resources, you will find so much more in the Lenormand cards. If you are looking for direct answers to your questions, this is the way to go. 

I recommend this deck to new and experienced readers, along with deck collectors. The images are simply amazing. The guidebook is adequate to get you started, but if you want more, you will have to look for other resources to complete your study. 

To begin your journey further down this rabbit hole of discovery, I suggest trying Rana George: The Essential Lenormand, or Caitlin Matthews: The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook.

Grab your copy at Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing.

(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)