the Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook (1114643)

More than 200 years old, the 36 Lenormand cards are an oracle that combines standard playing cards with images from everyday life, such as keys, books, animals, and flowers. Their simple, predictive, and non-esoteric nature opens the realm of fortune-telling to all, offering a traditional cartomantic divination in which card combinations fuse to give clear answers.

In this complete guide to Lenormand card reading, Caitlín Matthews explains the multiple meanings of each card, providing keywords so readers can quickly build an interpretive vocabulary for Lenormand fortune-telling. She details how to lay spreads, starting with 3 or 5 cards and building to the Grand Tableau spread, which uses all 36 cards. She explores the significance of the pips and suits on each card, and how cards combine to create a variety of meanings. Matthews enables readers to learn the Lenormand card keywords so they can both read for themselves and express their interpretations to clients. Providing real case histories for readers to interpret, she also includes self-tests and practice exercises with answers to check at the end of the book.

In addition to her comprehensive practical introduction to the Lenormand oracle, Matthews delves deeply into the history of cartomancy to reveal the mythic blueprint that underlies this simple deck, the key to which lies not in their imagery but in their connection to playing cards.