Melissa's Lenormand (in progress)

tarotmama

Hello!

I thought I would share with you my progress on creating a collage Lenormand-style oracle deck. My deck will have 36 cards, of course. Most of the traditional Lenormand cards are included -- I've changed the names of a few cards. It's a mix of some different Lenormand & cartomancy styles really. But in my head they're synthesizing nicely! ;) I'm sure some hardcore Lenormand fans will have minor heart attacks when they see how I've butchered their deck!!

The images I used are mostly from vintage advertisements and postcards. To the best of my knowledge, they're all in the public domain. If you notice an image that is not in the public domain, please let me know!

I have started a page on my website for the deck here: http://tarotbymelissa.com/oracledeck/

I have nine cards finished and some more in-progress, which I'll post when I have them finished. It's been a great way for me to get to know another form of cartomancy more intimately. Eventually I'd like to make a tarot deck too -- so this oracle has been a good way for me to get my feet wet in photoshop.

The "working title" won't be the title once it's finished (probably!). Hopefully something better will come to me. I'll post more about the individual meanings later too, once I have some of those thoughts more purified. In the meanwhile, I'll put a few cards here for you to view! You can see all the cards I have finished on my website in the above link.

I'd love to get some feedback! This is the first time I've ever tried anything like this and I'm really nervous to post it!

xox!
TarotMama (Melissa)
 

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Nina*

They are............

........................


BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Can't wait to see the rest!
 

rif

They are truly stylish.
 

thorhammer

They are lovely, Melissa, thankyou for showing us! I try not to be a Lenormand collector, but some are so beautiful, and if you ever bring it to being I think I'll need to have one!

Just one small request/suggestion - that Lily card is lovely, but when I looked at it I thought "Lady" because the woman stands out a lot more than the lily. Is there any way that you could bring the lily more to the foreground?

I adore your Bear card - it is simply wonderful.

\m/ Kat
 

Chronata

Those absolutely ROCK!

Beautifully layered (I love the vintage romantic scripty background!)
and really great imagery!

I am so glad you shared these with us. It's a brilliant beginning!
 

MoonGypsy

(((Melissa)))!!! Wowee! You are somethin'!What a fantastic start, hon! i love what you are doing! And...a new Mommy, to boot! Wow! You're Creative Juices are really flowing this year, T.Mama!:thumbsup:

(((Hugs))),
MoonGypsyxxx
 

rif

thorhammer said:
Just one small request/suggestion - that Lily card is lovely, but when I looked at it I thought "Lady" because the woman stands out a lot more than the lily. Is there any way that you could bring the lily more to the foreground?

I think that's a good suggestion. That's one of the things that throws me with the Art Nouveau deck from LS -- so many of the cards emphasize a woman who shares the scene, rather than the symbol. I find it jarring, from online pics, so I've never picked up the deck.

I've noticed the same thing with the Ring in the Mystical Lenormand -- the birds (magpies?) overwhelm the ring. :)

So I do like the looks of this deck, but if I were to use it, I'd want clearly defined symbols. Maybe Miss Lily could hold some gigantic lillies. :D
 

tarotmama

thorhammer said:
Just one small request/suggestion - that Lily card is lovely, but when I looked at it I thought "Lady" because the woman stands out a lot more than the lily. Is there any way that you could bring the lily more to the foreground?

Thanks Kat! These cards are definitely "rough drafts". I hadn't considered that it would be confusing with the Lady card (because I made it, duh, I'm used to staring at them). I have got the images picked for the Woman card, but I haven't started it yet. I'll think on it some more! I have so many great pics of vintage ladies, it's very tempting to use a lot of them.

Oh and thanks for the compliments everyone :) I think the project is going well so I was eager to share!
 

thorhammer

@ rif - yes, I agree about the Mystical Lenormand Ring card, v. confusing.

Melissa (do people call you Mel? My best friend's name is Melissa) - I suggested it mostly because I have (and adore) the Les Vieux Jours Lenormand, and a few of the cards in that have similar and confusing imagery. I'm pretty well used to it now, but it still jarrs at me sometimes. Her Garden and Flowers are similar, as well as the Book and Keys cards, and I think a couple of others. It was just a little detail, please know that I think your cards are gorgeous. And like Robyn, I love the script in the background as well!

\m/ Kat
 

tarotmama

thorhammer said:
Melissa (do people call you Mel? My best friend's name is Melissa) - I suggested it mostly because I have (and adore) the Les Vieux Jours Lenormand, and a few of the cards in that have similar and confusing imagery.

No it's great feedback! I agree. When I started making the deck, I found the Ship card too similar to the Anchor card, so I changed the Anchor to "Roots" -- but then the card became very similar to the Tree card!

I'm limited by what kinds of source images I can find too because I'm not a real artist at all -- and I can only use images I find to be in the public domain.

I really appreciate all feedback I can get. I've only been doing Lenormand for a few years and it's different from tarot -- less symbology incorporated into the cards, I think. In my mind, a tarot would be more difficult because the RWS system is so ingrained in my brain. But cartomancy is more fluid in my head still, so I can allow myself to play with it.

And yep, everyone calls me Mel actually. :)