FAV Lenormands AND/OR ones on your Wishlist

[katrinka]

47 minutes ago, joy said:

Thank you so much! Right nobody wants to work at a loss, that is fully understandable!

 

Have to think about that trimming can only be done with a cutting machine which I do not have..... Where I am loads of things are limited or frigging expensive.

 
It can be done with scissors and a corner rounder if you're careful. I only ever trimmed and edged one deck - I had no practice - and it came out OK:
 

But I agree that a guillotine type paper cutter would lessen the possibility of ruining the cards and give you straight edges and uniform sized cards. They start at about $30 on amazon. For cards you only need a small one. I'd suggest heavy duty, though, since cardstock is thicker and tougher than plain paper.

https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=guillotine+paper+cutter+small&crid=1378DIEJE52QR&sprefix=guillotine+paper+cutter+s%2Caps%2C283&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_25

 

 

[katrinka]

46 minutes ago, mxlavender said:

It is disappointing — however, poker-size on quality card-stock is far better than bridge on poor quality card and bad printing.  The Brepol definitely came from the same place: Drive Thru Cards.  

 

You can get the Pam-A facsimile from them: https://www.drivethrucards.com/product/316815/The-1909-Art-Restoration-Deck-Tarot-Cards

That one is beautiful!
Funny how the big publishers can't do reproductions half so well.
I'm sorely tempted, but I have plenty of RWS decks already. It would take a pocket version of that in linen to make me hit the buy button. 😁

[katrinka]

2 hours ago, JudyReadsCards said:

 

I wonder if she could get them to off-set the image so we only have to trim one side? 🤔  Only half joking. 🙂

Less work for us, but more for her...has anyone here kissed the Blarney Stone? 🤣

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, katrinka said:

That one is beautiful!
Funny how the big publishers can't do reproductions half so well.
I'm sorely tempted, but I have plenty of RWS decks already. It would take a pocket version of that in linen to make me hit the buy button. 😁

It is. I did consider purchasing, but I do not need another Smith-Waite tarot.  But if I did, I would purchase that over the Centennial, Universal or 1909.  
 

Although I would prefer bridge over poker I can understand the decision.  I’d prefer to trim something well printed on good card to having a bridge size mess I’ve seen other printers put out.  

[katrinka]

8 minutes ago, mxlavender said:

Although I would prefer bridge over poker I can understand the decision.  I’d prefer to trim something well printed on good card to having a bridge size mess I’ve seen other printers put out.  

 

And yes...that does appear to be the best-done RWS deck of the currently available lot.

 

There was another I was eyeing that had some extra details on the sides that ended up getting lopped off. Nothing earth shattering, just a bit of a wider view. I don't remember where I saw it, though.

[Flaxen]

30 minutes ago, katrinka said:

has anyone here kissed the Blarney Stone? 🤣

I have! Don’t think it did much for me though. 😂

[joy]

2 hours ago, katrinka said:

 
It can be done with scissors and a corner rounder if you're careful. I only ever trimmed and edged one deck - I had no practice - and it came out OK:

 

 

Yes I am sure it can be done. Can I hire you 😇 Mine probably would look horrible! Cutting straight lines is one thing... round corners? Forget it! 😝

[katrinka]

56 minutes ago, joy said:

 

Yes I am sure it can be done. Can I hire you 😇 Mine probably would look horrible! Cutting straight lines is one thing... round corners? Forget it! 😝

The corners are the easy part!

https://www.amazon.com/CADY-Corner-Rounder-Paper-Punch/dp/B06Y6481W4/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=CADY&qid=1630184251&sr=8-4

 

[joy]

On 8/28/2021 at 4:58 PM, katrinka said:

The corners are the easy part!

https://www.amazon.com/CADY-Corner-Rounder-Paper-Punch/dp/B06Y6481W4/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=CADY&qid=1630184251&sr=8-4

 

That is soooo cool! Thanks!

[katrinka]

Good news: the "French Cartomancy" Dondorf repro is once again available in a usable size:

https://www.loscarabeo.com/en/products/cartomanzia-francese?pr_prod_strat=copurchase&pr_rec_pid=6617877217459&pr_ref_pid=6731506286771&pr_seq=uniform

 

So for newcomers who want a good learning deck and don't already have a Dondorf (or five...) it's a good, inexpensive option. Be careful if you order from amazon or similar. You don't want to end up with old stock the size of manhole covers.

[Guest]

Does anyone know of an art nouveau deck that is somewhat traditional? 

[Guest]

@katrinka The "French Cartomancy" you posted is very similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Lo-Scarabeo-Lenormand-Oracle/dp/886527235X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PAHL5EGHTF64&keywords=laura+tuan's+lenormand+oracle&qid=1638055160&sprefix=Laura+(laura+Tuan)+Tuan%2Caps%2C329&sr=8-1

[katrinka]

15 hours ago, SilenceOfTheMoon said:

Does anyone know of an art nouveau deck that is somewhat traditional? 

 

Not really. Art Nouveau is, by nature, busy and ornate. Lenormand is best when it's rather stark, so you can locate cards quickly in a GT.
LS did produce one at some point, but it's really bad. It's not even obvious that this card is the Cross. It looks like it should be the Lady:

 

And you can tell that it's contemporary art and not authentic Art Nouveau. I don't recall ever seeing an Art Nouveau Lenormand that was published during the actual Art Nouveau period. Even as lovely as authentic Art Nouveau is, there were good reasons for not doing that.
 

14 hours ago, SilenceOfTheMoon said:

@katrinka The "French Cartomancy" you posted is very similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Lo-Scarabeo-Lenormand-Oracle/dp/886527235X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PAHL5EGHTF64&keywords=laura+tuan's+lenormand+oracle&qid=1638055160&sprefix=Laura+(laura+Tuan)+Tuan%2Caps%2C329&sr=8-1

 

Yes, they're reproductions of the same Dondorf.

http://www.dxpo-playingcards.com/xpo/variations/pages/dondorf-ft-00.htm

 

But the version you linked to is 3.5" x 5". You're much better off getting the smaller version.

Edited November 28, 2021 by katrinka

[WizardintheWoods]

So I must admit, as much as I am trying to learn and stay in more traditional reading methods I do have one wonky deck I can’t let go of. The Enchanted Lenormand is stuck to me, I love the size and art. Yes I know a Broom is not a Whip and a Crossing not a Cross, the Clouds card is a bit cartoonish for me as well. As long as I read the cards with the meanings as they should be I feel I am due this one exception and heck there are no Lenormand Police to ticket me. Umm, I hope there are not 🤣

 

Does anyone else have that one wonky deck they can’t let go of?

[joy]

Nope I do not have a wonky deck but I only have 1 deck right now anyway 🤣 In my opinion I would suggest a beginner to learn with a proper deck before using a wonky one. As you say you know what the Whip and the Cross are so if you can distract yourself from the images it should be good.

[katrinka]

11 minutes ago, joy said:

Nope I do not have a wonky deck but I only have 1 deck right now anyway 🤣 In my opinion I would suggest a beginner to learn with a proper deck before using a wonky one.

Exactly this.
When you're learning, you're training your mind to react to the cards. It doesn't do to have brooms, tentacles, and other aberrations. Especially on a learning deck. Once the cards are second nature - and it takes some years to get there - you can safely play around with the wonky ones. But even then I wouldn't do it too much. The main reading deck should be one of the standard ones.

As for ignoring the images and reading according to what ought to be on the card - that's a no from me, too. We should be reading what's on the table. If the Ship in the Legendary Lenormand is Batman in a little boat, you're obviously losing a lot of the implied distance. I wouldn't use that one to describe anything as foreign. As for what it IS saying, that has to be worked out, which is why wonky decks are kind of a pain in the a**.

The best learning decks are the ones originally published prior to 1950: Dondorf, Brepol's, Piatnik, Owl decks, Wüst, Game of Hope, Stralsunder, Daveluy, etc.
Of the more recent decks, none really stand out but the Maybe. The Rana George is good, too.

It's a spectrum, really. The Green Glyphs is kind of OK if you don't use that Albatross card, but the Letter shouldn't have that geomantic chart on it. It should be a calling card, a superficial social nicety. And the Rider in that one appears to be plodding along slowly, and his hat makes him look like a WWI soldier. Plus there's that weird staff he's carrying. But the Green Glyphs is a much lesser evil than the Dreaming Way.
 

[Rose Lalonde]

 

I like the McLoughlin sold at gameofhope. I don't have it, but I do have a similar deck that's been colorized - the Mertz Lenormand sold as Wahrsagen mit Karten.  Having lots of white space helps me in 3x3 or GT, and when I read Lenormand, 90% of the time this is the deck I read.

 

 

 

19 hours ago, WizardintheWoods said:

...As long as I read the cards with the meanings as they should be I feel I am due this one exception and heck there are no Lenormand Police to ticket me. Umm, I hope there are not 🤣

 

Does anyone else have that one wonky deck they can’t let go of?

 

Certainly no police coming to find you! 😅  I have a modern Japanese Lenormand that's straight forward, but it shows planet and house correspondences, if that counts as wonky? It's as wonky as I get with Lenormand, anyway.  I have ignored them.

 

(I know an 1890 'Paris Primitive' deck had astrological correspondences, but those shown on this deck are not the same, and seem to match a modern deck I don't own - the Mystical. Whoever added it on, I can see it's not random.) 

 

I learned Lenormand from Andy, and have stuck with the one system for clarity. But I like the art and find it no problem to read. 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by Rose Lalonde

[joy]

Glad you are calling the Green Glyphs a lesser evil @katrinka as this is on its way to me 😅

[katrinka]

Those McLoughlin/Mertz decks are excellent, @Rose Lalonde!

I do have the Didot (Paris Primitive) and yes, I ignore the astro stuff too. I think a lot of that is window dressing to impress credulous sitters, like those sigil Lenormands. People are always trying to match the meanings up to things like the Lesser Key of Solomon, but it just doesn't wash. Sure, you'll find a few similarities, but you'll also find similarities with this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Beyond_Zebra!

 

Expectation bias, pure and simple. The Law of Fives. 😉

There is one sigil deck that I found irresistable - it's so pretty: https://gameofhopelenormand.bigcartel.com/product/ensslin-schaiblin-reutlingen-lenormand-c-1880

It's also near-fatally flawed. There is no Cross card, but there's a Cat card. You don't need a Cat card if you already have a Fox card. Jon St. Germain found a solution: he suggested reading it as nosiness and interference. Cats are very good at that. 🤣 And with no Cross, a negative interpretation is needed to balance the deck.

 

No worries, @joy. We all have our albatross cross to bear. 😁 You'll get it to work.

 

 

 

 

[joy]

24 minutes ago, katrinka said:

 

No worries, @joy. We all have our albatross cross to bear. 😁 You'll get it to work.

 

Right 

 

[katrinka]

10 minutes ago, joy said:

Right 

 

 

I didn't know they HOWLED. 🤯

 

And where is our Three Albatross Moon t shirt?

https://www.google.com/search?q=3+wolf+moon+meme&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiGivbE0b70AhWGE80KHTk8D98Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=3++moon+meme&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAgQHjoHCCMQ7wMQJ1C_CViHGGD9M2gAcAB4AIAB2QGIAfcMkgEFMC45LjGYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=VValYcaLLIantAa5-Lz4DQ&bih=605&biw=1366

[WizardintheWoods]

Well I will agree to disagree. I love my one wonky deck and as long as it’s just one and I read it in a proper Lenormand fashion I think I can live with myself. Of course I am still on the lookout for those Lenormand Police to come take me away 🤣😜😵‍💫

[Jell-OHeart]

I am searching for a deck, but I don´t remember the name. And the only thing I can say about it is that it was black/white with color splashes. Does anyone know which one I´m talking about?

[joy]

25 minutes ago, Jell-OHeart said:

I am searching for a deck, but I don´t remember the name. And the only thing I can say about it is that it was black/white with color splashes. Does anyone know which one I´m talking about?

Maybe you mean the Scrying Ink?

https://siolothompson.com/scrying-ink

 

[Jell-OHeart]

1 minute ago, joy said:

Maybe you mean the Scrying Ink?

https://siolothompson.com/scrying-ink

 

Oh, how cute! Sadly, not the one. 
I remember another thing, it´s a guy that prints it on demand. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Jell-OHeart