I have been gifted a vintage Lenormand (this: http://spielkartenonline.de/product.php?id_product=3305) with cards 8 and 10 missing. The deck has a lovely energy to it and I’d like to use it. So I’ve been thinking what to do about the missing cards. My first thought was to recreate or otherwise add the two cards, but then I decided it was the ‘fate’ of the deck to be read without Scythe and Coffin. The previous owner took them out for a reason, adding the cards now would disturb the energy of the deck for me. I’m not a confident Lenormand reader and certainly not someone who would do a grand tableau, but, obviously, the deck will speak differently without those two cards. Does anyone else read with incomplete decks?

I'm not an experienced Lenormand reader ...although I own several decks and occasionally try a reading.

As you say, the previous owner seems to have removed two 'dark' cards ...Coffin and Scythe...for a reason. Maybe afraid of the idea or symbols of death? Fair enough—although they passed the deck along to a new owner, so maybe the altered deck didn't work for them very well.

I believe any deck (Tarot, Lenormand, Kipper, Oracle) takes on whatever vibe you, the reader, put into it. So, by all means, give it a try without the two cards, as you still find the deck has lovely energy. See how you get on. If you feel the deck tells you what you need to know without those two cards, then the altered deck works for you. 🙂 If you sense the deck is missing out on vital aspects of a reading, then maybe just retire it? Or see if you can replace the cards in some way? It's your deck now, and you don't need to absorb the fears of the previous owner.

As to working with incomplete decks, I have been known to occasionally remove all the court cards from a tarot deck before doing a reading. This removes the references to actual people or personal characteristics, and sometimes simplifies the reading for me. (I don't do this often at all, by the way ...but occasionally.) Cards are a tool; how you use that tool is up to you.

Edited July 25Jul 25 by Chariot

I only own and (occasionally) use one deck where one card is missing. It's the Hanged Man. As a substitute I use the cover card that was left (you know those with deck title on it). So the message of the Hanged Man could get through.

Of course one can read with an incomplete deck – but why? Because it's hard to declare a thoughtful and beautiful gift as useless? I hope this doesn't sound rude but I think that's the crux.

If you fell for the deck's charm (understandably, it's one of my favourite Lenormand decks) drop me a line and I may be able to get you a replacement.

Thank you both for your thoughts! I actually remembered the details incorrectly: it was a different deck I was gifted. This one I bought myself at a vintage fair, and I think I was aware the cards were missing before I bought it, I don’t remember exactly. The images must have appealed but I never read with it and put it away for many years because I thought it was useless incomplete. Just a silent part of my collection. I kept it in a random box (the cards were loose when I bought them) and I sort of rediscovered it by accident. And fell in love with it. My thinking now is that maybe the deck was meant to come to me with the two cards missing. That said, I have tried to source replacements. For now, I have only found complete decks for lots of money. It must be rare, and one of the reasons I like it is that I’ve never seen the images before or since.

There are decks with those images but where the images look rather poor quality - allegedly put out by ASS in 2003. I believe they are now part of Cartamundi.

http://sova38.ru/index.php/galereya/lenorman-tsyganskie/88-lenormand-ass-2003?u

but I can't see one for sale that looks "reliable"

Actually I have found you a newer version. For a very good price indeed. You have PM.

Edited July 26Jul 26 by gregory

@gregory Yes, there are copies that were published in the early 2000s, based on the 1950s deck. I suspect, after researching, that the one I have is reprint rather than a vintage version, though they look well used. Thank you for pm, much appreciated!

Well it WOULD mean you can slip in the missing cards if you want !

On 7/25/2026 at 10:02 AM, BrightEye said:

My first thought was to recreate or otherwise add the two cards, but then I decided it was the ‘fate’ of the deck to be read without Scythe and Coffin. The previous owner took them out for a reason, adding the cards now would disturb the energy of the deck for me. I’m not a confident Lenormand reader and certainly not someone who would do a grand tableau, but, obviously, the deck will speak differently without those two cards. Does anyone else read with incomplete decks?

If I were in your situation, I would have found a replacement or recreated the missing cards at least and added them in. I never have and would never read with an incomplete deck. Lenormand is already a perfect system as it is, so even one card missing would ruin the whole balance and it wouldn’t be the Lenormand you’re reading anymore. If the Coffin is missing, what card would come up instead to indicate that something is “ending”? Life is filled with different sorts of endings and they are meant to happen at some point. Imagine it on a mundane level and think you were doing a daily reading; imagine, for instance, you had a Netflix subscription and it was gonna end that day, you had forgotten and the cards wanted to let you know, lol. Moon + Ring + Coffin = subscription ended. I doubt a deck with a missing card number 8 would be able to show it to you that clearly. Same goes with the Scythe, which can act as a warning for danger, sudden mishaps, sharp tools, etc.

@Moon-Hermit I agree. I think of the various card systems (Tarot, Lenormand, Kipper etc.) as language systems, so the missing cards would be like missing words or concepts. I’m tempted to experiment with this though, to see if the deck finds a way to replace them or “speak” around them.

I’ll definitely try get a full copy of the deck though. Gregory’s source also has a little white book with it, which will be helpful for me.