Celtic Lenormand?

Hi everyone

I was watching a review on youtube of the Celtic Lenormand by Chloe McCraken & Will Worthington, I've tried looking through the threads first to find if anything has been talked about already but with using my phone just now its proving to be abit difficult.

Anyway my question is has anyone bought this and if they have how is it to use as I do feel quite drawn too it so I may purchase it soon but like to hear how it is to use first.

Thanks.

P.s was looking in the gallery to post the link for the pictures but I can't seem to find the Celtic Lenormand in the aeclectic gallery.

I have it and have used it quite a bit, and I really like it. If you're a traditionalist, you might not be so keen on it, though.

The art is well done and appeals to me. The images are well thought out. They depict everyday life in pre-Christian Brittany, so each card shows a scene centered on the Lenormand symbol. Some are less traditional than others. For example, the Heart card shows a mollusk opened on a rock to make the heart shape (which I don't love, but can live with). The Lily is a species of lily much less recognizable than the traditional. Things like that.

There are also a couple of cards that have people when they're not people cards, which is a particular pet peeve of mine. The Star card was a bit of a challenge for me because it shows a man on a ship using a sextant to view the stars. Too confusing for my taste, but, again, I can live with it after a little adjustment.

There are several extra cards, which you can use in the deck to get a little more depth, or just choose the version you like better. There are 2 Trees (Oak and Holly), 3 Birds (songbirds, chickens, and owls), a Cat as well as a Dog, and 2 Snakes (one "fierce" and one shedding its skin). There are a male and female Rider and Child, and 2 versions each of the Man and Woman (one is the Lord and Lady, the other is an apparently lower class man and woman). I've been using it with all the cards and getting some interesting results. I even had an occasion to charge the Lady card and the Woman card in the same reading to get at a question of the client's relationship with her goddess. So that came in very handy -- and worked really well.

There is also a "pagan" theme woven into the art. Well, actually, the author calls it a "pagan" theme, but it's really a Wiccish theme. Certain cards depict specific phases of the moon, for example. The 2 Tree cards can represent the 2 aspects of the God, and the 3 Bird cards can represent the 3 aspects of the Goddess. But it just fades into the background of the art if you don't want to use it. I don't use that element of the deck and don't feel that it presents any problems at all.

The card stock is nice. The printing good -- borderless, great colors. The bridge size cards don't have titles, just the numbers in the upper left corner and a small circle with the playing card designation (not a full inset picture of the playing card) in the lower right corner.

The LWB is 188 pages, but still compact enough to carry with the deck. I think it's well written and provides very helpful insight into Lenormand in general and this specific deck, especially the extra cards and the Wiccish theme. It also gives some new ideas for spreads.

Also, the author has a blog ( http://www.celticlenormand.com/) and email newsletter that she uses to expand on those and other aspects of the deck, which gives it added value. I think she even has a method of doing a GT with the full deck, including the extra cards. I've been meaning to check that out...

Personally, I like to use this deck for spiritual questions and relationship questions.

All in all, I like this deck a lot. I don't think it's perfect, but I can live with the pieces I don't like.

I'd recommend checking out her website before you buy it, though, too get a better sense of the art. There are also several reviews on other people's blogs, easily found via Google.

I agree with Aster Breo's very thorough review of the Celtic Lenormand.

I used the Celtic Lenormand just this morning. One of my favorite decks.

As Aster says, there are a few cards that take a bit of getting used to. The Heart gave me pause as I thought it was the Clouds card when I first viewed it. I still at times mistake the Coffin for the House as the Coffin is portrayed as a burial tomb. Still, all in all, I find it to be a go-to deck as I very much like the art work. Having a lot of extra cards to choose from is a big plus also.

Thanks both for you views and help and thanks for the link, will check that out later, I agree with you both on some of the cards, I watched a review of the cards where every card was shown in detail, and I'm with you both on the star and heart card but I can get to used to that, there was another too that I would have preferred there to be no clouds in as you could mistake it for that if I remember right, I'm not a traditionalist so that's not a problem for me I like to mix things up I think the benefits out way the cons so this is looking very much like my next lenormand deck.

Thanks for the help

Celtic Lenormand is my favourite Lenormand deck at the moment. I didn't expect to, but I ended up using all the cards in my spreads - apart from GTs, but I will try that at some point. I've found having extra cards very helpful. The only confusing cards for me are garden (called the meadow, but shows a picnic) and bouquet (a flower meadow), they always throw me for a second.

The artwork is beautiful, the box is sturdy, and the booklet is useful.

I very recently received this, but I have already read the entire booklet. Unlike others, I'm not really impressed with the booklet. Perhaps if I were new to Lenormand I would've been. Also, I'm a traditionist when it comes to Lenormand. I love the artwork in this deck though. It isn't cluttered to distract me while reading larger spreads like some of the others out there. The set doesn't wow me, but I'm satisfied.

RavenLuna said:

Celtic Lenormand is my favourite Lenormand deck at the moment. I didn't expect to, but I ended up using all the cards in my spreads - apart from GTs, but I will try that at some point. I've found having extra cards very helpful. The only confusing cards for me are garden (called the meadow, but shows a picnic) and bouquet (a flower meadow), they always throw me for a second.

The artwork is beautiful, the box is sturdy, and the booklet is useful.

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Thanks, I was planning on just using 36 myself, leaning towards add the extra cards now.

Miss Divine said:

I very recently received this, but I have already read the entire booklet. Unlike others, I'm not really impressed with the booklet. Perhaps if I were new to Lenormand I would've been. Also, I'm a traditionist when it comes to Lenormand. I love the artwork in this deck though. It isn't cluttered to distract me while reading larger spreads like some of the others out there. The set doesn't wow me, but I'm satisfied.

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The booklet was kinda what interested me the most, artwork second, thanks for your view, thank I will get it today...more money I shouldn't really spend lol

To clarify my comments about the booklet: I would definitely not recommend it as a primary way to learn Lenormand.

But I also don't think it's intended as a book about *Lenormand*. I think it's meant to be a book about *this particular deck*. And I think it does a very good job of describing this deck and -- most importantly -- how it's different from traditional Lenormand decks. I think those aspects are well thought out and clearly explained.

That's what makes the book valuable to me -- its explanation of the details incorporated into *this* deck and what they can bring to a reading.

Aster Breo said:

But I also don't think it's intended as a book about *Lenormand*. I think it's meant to be a book about *this particular deck*.

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When I draw a somewhat un-traditional card in a read, I apply the nuance of that particular card to the read. My belief is that the powers-that-be lead me to that particular deck on that particular day for that particular read.