Styles of Lenormands you prefer

greatdane

More traditional small with playing card insert at top? More modern? Smaller, larger? Abstract? Vintage looking? Themed (like Halloween, a culture or country)? If you could instantly just have one made, what would you want it to include?
 

kalliope

I have always liked pocket-sized decks and find them most comfortable to handle and shuffle, so I really enjoy the smaller standard size of decks like the Blue Owl, Piatnik, or Mystical. I prefer this size to "poker" (which are wider) or larger, because they fit better into a manageable grand tableau. The minis are great because they fit on my narrow coffee table even better!

Although one of the most beautiful Lenormands I own is the Melissa, I find it hard to read in a spread of more than 3-5 cards. Their design is too busy for my eyes to quickly tell the cards apart when many are laid next to each other. For this very practical reason, I tend to prefer plainer, simpler images where the main symbol is immediately recognizable on first glance. (Shaheen's Tattered Nomad looks gorgeous, but I fear I'd have the same problem with it.)

I'm always on the lookout for decks that hit that sweet spot between clarity and aesthetic appeal, but I like modern and vintage both. I do have a soft spot for some of the historical reproductions just because they evoke such an old-world feel when all laid out. :) As for playing card inserts, I like at least a small notation to remind me of the corresponding PC. Some on my current wishlist are the Neues Neupert (more here), the Lenormand Revolution Mini, and the Purple Dragon. I also have the A.S.S. deck on the way (very modern), and I'm curiously intrigued by the mod comicbook style of the Gitano.

I can't think of any themes I'd like done. But if I could have any deck printed right at this moment, without a doubt it would be the MiniLen (aka Minimalist Lenormand) by Melissa Hill/Haney, in both standard/bridge and mini size!! :heart: I just love those silhouettes.
 

Richard

More traditional small with playing card insert at top? More modern? Smaller, larger? Abstract? Vintage looking? Themed (like Halloween, a culture or country)? If you could instantly just have one made, what would you want it to include?
More traditional small with playing card insert at top? Yes. Playing card inset not an absolute must.
More modern? Not too modern, please. Conventional modern is acceptable. Lenormand is about everyday life.
Smaller, larger? No particular objection.
Abstract? No.
Vintage looking? Certainly okay, as long as it is not ridiculously excessive and distracting. Carried to the extreme, it is disgustingly gimmicky.
Themed (like Halloween, a culture or country)? References to certain cultures or countries would be hard to avoid. Halloween? Yuck!
If you could instantly just have one made, what would you want it to include? Any in which I might be interested have already been made.
 

Lee

I prefer no playing card insets. I like the designs to be as simple and direct as possible (I like tarot decks like that too.) Right now the Dutch deck hits the sweet spot for me. Britta's deck is pretty but not visually direct enough for my tastes. Lenormand de Marseille is another recent one that I like.

Like kalliope, I would love to have a printed version of Melissa's Minimalist deck. That deck would probably keep me happy for years.

All we really need on the cards are images that simply remind us of what card it is, so the illustration style is really only a matter of individual taste.
 

greatdane

interesting reading your choices!

lol well, by now, you all know, I am really new at lenormands! I really wanted to read about ones others use, so in case I haven't seen them, I would have even more to check out and also to find out why some prefer some over others.

I was thinking what appeals to me as I have been looking at scans. Kalliope, you've mentioned some I haven't heard of, so of course I'm GOING TO CHECK THEM OUT ASAP! OK there is really a lenormand called A.S.S.? No judgement, just ok, I admit it, I did GRIN reading that. :) OK JUST CHECKED OUT Melissa's minimalist deck. THAT would be great in a mini for me! I can easily see the symbol, that's for sure.

In SOME ways, aesthetically what appeals to me in a tarot deck does in lenormands as well, but not totally.
For lenormands, I DO like the corresponding card but done more subtly, like a small heart and a 7 at maybe a lower corner. Having a playing card inset take up about 1/2 or even a 1/4 of a small lenormand, at the top, I find distracting. I want to see the images on the lenormand card. I also really like a clear, not too cluttered meaning.

It's ok to have an interesting scene for me, doesn't have to be overly minimal, but if I have to search for the key or the fox (like where's waldo?), not my deck. Same with really abstract, I would find it distracting. I have seen some beautiful lenormand decks, but so much going on, even if I were a seasoned reader, too busy for me personally.

I do like the vintage look, I also agree, LRichard, I don't want too gimmicky, but with that said, I really like the Mysteries of the Old Castle. I didn't find it too gimmicky, perhaps you would. I think a lot of the pictures are old reproductions, but maybe not. I don't find it gloomy, I find it atmospheric.

I am not a big fan of actual photographed faces, so I think oh that looks like my next door neighbor and not a big fan of the digital photographed decks, in general. Although I see some things that look like photos in this deck (Mysteries of the Old Castle) and I'm ok with that (one of the hands in the ring for example)
.
If a deck is a mix of actual photos (like a photo of a house) and others that look like paintings, I just don't find it is as cohesive as I would like. I like it to feel it all somehow matches for ME. I like it fairly simple and to feel cohesive and clear whatever scene it's in.

Themed, would depend. You're not going to see me with a Zombie, Animal, Vegetable or Mineral themed lenormand. Not saying anything at all wrong with others liking those or any other decks I've listed not my style, just saying, not my style.

Size is kind of important. I like small for shuffling, but a bit larger for seeing them. Since I am starting off with very small readings of likely at most five cards, I'm not worried about having enough room. A size definitely smaller than say the Bohemian Gothic, more like a more standard tarot card, but bigger than a mini (for seeing), would generally be optimal for me (part of that depends on the card though, if a quite small card just basically has the symbol so I don't have to search for it and I can see it well, small is fine).

I know, I'm pretty opinionated about deck images for someone who has just started :). But I do know styles I like, even if I am still a beginner at reading combinations!
 

ana luisa

I don't care for the inserts and would rather not have them. The images have to be clearly related to what they are. It's like putting a dog running in a park carrying a letter in his mouth and the meaning of the card being LETTER. No distractions for me. And the absence or quasi absence of borders is a plus. More space for the card itself. Presently, I have my eyes on the new edition of the gilded Reverie. It is not photographic , so I would not see my "next door neighbor" in the man's card but it is super clear as to he meanings of each car. Besides, I'm Ciro's fan anyway. Just worried about the price of this reprint...
http://www.ciromarchetti.com/Lenormand.html
 

greatdane

Ana Luisa

I saw the Gilded Reverie used in a youtube video by Donna Leigh. It looks lovely. I know US GAMES is printing it, so that would mean it should be available on Amazon soon for pre order. Right now, I see it available as an app on Amazon.
As far as photographs, if they are really old old photos, it doesn't seem as distracting to me, it's just when they LOOK like someone just took a modern photo of someone, like a professional photographer has hanging in their studio, where their face is really clear and visible, if that makes any sense.
 

ana luisa

I saw the Gilded Reverie used in a youtube video by Donna Leigh. It looks lovely. I know US GAMES is printing it, I THINK in October of this year, so that would mean it should be available on Amazon. Right now, I see it available as an app on Amazon.
As far as photographs, if they are really old old photos, it doesn't seem as distracting to me, it's just when they LOOK like someone just took a modern photo of someone where there face is really clear and visible, if that makes any sense.

I am still living in the middle ages. No apps for me. I'll wait for the "paper"version :D
 

greatdane

lol Ana Luisa!

Same here! Just thought I would mention. I still read ACTUAL books :)
 

greatdane

Love that Dutch deck, Lee!

It's simple, but unique.