THE C O M P L E T E LENORMAND ORACLE HANDBOOK Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards THE COMPLETE LENORMAND ORACLE HANDBOOK Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards CAITLfN MATTHEWS Destiny Books Rochester. Vermont • Toronto. Canada This book is gratefully dedicated to Fortuna Primigenia and to the worldwide Lenormand community. >tr • • Since you question me excellently, it is right that I should answer. CORPUS HERMETICUM, TRANSLATED BY AUTHOR THE COMPLETE LENORMAND ORACLE HANDBOOK “An outstanding, definitive handbook for both beginners and experienced readers that gives a ‘big picture’ view of the Lenor- mand deck! Caitlin starts where most others leave off, exploring the original cartomantic tradition and combining it with modern techniques connected to those roots. As someone who appre­ ciates the classic wisdom of the Grand Tableau, I’m so happy to see it taught this well, step by step, so anyone can use it.” MARY K. GREER, AUTHOR OF 27 WAYS TO READ A TAROT CARD “This book is a sublime source that will provide handy inspi­ ration for anyone interested in the Petit Lenormand cards. The content will satisfy the novice, the journeyman, and the expert alike. Essential for your shelf!” BJORN MEURIS, CREATOR OF THE COURSES LENORMAND FOR BEGINNERS, LENORMAND GRAND TABLEAU, AND LENORMAND METHOD OF DISTANCE Acknowledgments I would like to warmly thank all those Lenormand deck creators who gave their kind permission to reproduce their cards as exam­ ples in this book: Olaf Buettner for the Magisches Lenormand; Willis Briggs for the Victorian Lenormand; Carrie Paris and Roz Foster for the Lenormand Reuolution; Paris DeBono for the Lenor­ mand Vintage and the Japanese Lenormand; Betrand St. Guillain for the Palimpsest Lenormand; to Virginia Lee for permission to share some cards of our own Enchanted Lenormand Oracle, and to Lau­ ren Forestell for refreshing the Stralsunder Lenormand. Also thanks to Mary Greer and Roger Winstanley for permission to use cards from their collection of antique Lenormand decks. Thank you to Baya Salmon-Hawk for expertly checking my French translations in chapter n of the Daveluy Lenormand, a deck that I reprinted in 2013. To all my teachers and colleagues, I thank you for sharing this path with me. I cannot thank the Lenormand community enough for their enthusiasm, especially members of the Facebook sites Lenormand Cards Study Group and Real Lenormand and Fortune Telling. They have both been unfailingly kind and supportive during my at­ tempts to publish this work. To cartomancers Mary Greer, Andy Boroveshengra, Donnaleigh LaRose, Helen Riding, and many, many others, I thank you for your wisdom and expertise. To the clients who kindly allowed me to share their readings with altered names and details, many thanks. Thanks to Linda Marston of Global Spiritual Studies for the opportunity to share Lenormand history over the airwaves. To the Tarot Guild of Australia and to Mordreth, editor of The Magician, thank you for encouraging me to announce my Lenormand findings. Finally to John, thank you for reading and commenting; for scanning cards and putting up with a settee littered with decks for several years. This is what all those lit­ tle cards were about! This book is gratefully dedicated to Fortuna Primigenia and to the worldwide Lenormand community. >tr • • Since you question me excellently, it is right that I should answer. CORPUS HERMETICUM, TRANSLATED BY AUTHOR THE COMPLETE LENORMAND ORACLE HANDBOOK “An outstanding, definitive handbook for both beginners and experienced readers that gives a ‘big picture’ view of the Lenor- mand deck! Caitlin starts where most others leave off, exploring the original cartomantic tradition and combining it with modern techniques connected to those roots. As someone who appre­ ciates the classic wisdom of the Grand Tableau, I’m so happy to see it taught this well, step by step, so anyone can use it.” MARY K. GREER, AUTHOR OF 27 WAYS TO READ A TAROT CARD “This book is a sublime source that will provide handy inspi­ ration for anyone interested in the Petit Lenormand cards. The content will satisfy the novice, the journeyman, and the expert alike. Essential for your shelf!” BJORN MEURIS, CREATOR OF THE COURSES LENORMAND FOR BEGINNERS, LENORMAND GRAND TABLEAU, AND LENORMAND METHOD OF DISTANCE “The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook by Caitlfn Matthews is a wonderfully comprehensive and practical Lenormand guide. Matthews does a thorough job of presenting the history of the oracle to give the reader a solid sense of the deck’s devel­ opment over the centuries. Matthews has created an inspira­ tional manual for Lenormand that can be a companion to read­ ers at all stages of their cartomantic career.” ANASTASIA HAYSLER, COFOUNDER OF TAROT MEDIA COMPANY AND COAUTHOR OF PAINTING THE SOUL: THE TAROT ART OF DAVID PALLADINI “Caitlfn Matthews brings a unique perspective to this wonderful book on Lenormand cartomancy. She is both a scholar and a shaman/magician, and at the highest level of both. Whether describing the symbols and techniques or the deeper levels of cartomancy, she is warm, witty, and always clear. This book is above all useful, especially in its exploration of the playing card symbols in the corners of the cards and the ways the Lenor­ mand deck can open to deeper, even archetypal meanings with­ out abandoning the tradition. This is a book I will come back to again and again.” RACHEL POLLACK, CO-CREATOR OF THE BURNING SERPENT ORACLE “Wide in its scope and detailed in its depth, this is the go-to book for the Lenormand novice and expert alike. Crammed with knowledge and insight, examples and exercises, Matthews has created that rare beast: a clear and well-structured manual to navigate the paradox of simplicity and complexity that is the Lenormand Oracle.” ALISON CROSS, JOINT CHAIR OF THE TAROT ASSOCIATION OF THE BRITISH ISLES (TABI) “Caitlm’s historical insight, exceptional practical instruction, and groundbreaking revelations of the ‘Lenormand Universe’ will ensure this book becomes a guiding light in the global Lenormand community for readers, students, and teachers in the twenty-first century.” LINDA HENERY, PRESIDENT TAROT GUILD OF AUSTRALIA