After 78 Tarot cards, 64 I-Ching cards, 52-54 Sibilla cards, 32-36 Lenormand cards
in old-fashioned and modern sets are bright enticements to card fans here.
From what I've seen historically, the late 1700s through 1890s had a rich heritage of oracular decks, playing card decks, learning games for children and calling cards for ladies, gents and tradesmen in European regions. Engraved and woodcut cards included pretty, decorative and symbolic tarot sets as playing cards, tarot as an esoteric hermetic symbol sets, different playing cards, lottery and parlour fortune-telling games for adults in Continental regions such as France, Germany and Italy and other areas. While there are some Eastern-based decks--say Hana Fuda or Mah Joong cards--they aren't quite as close in heritage to the European games that most folks here study.
LeNormand and cartomancy decks (for instance sybilla or salon cards) are a historical subset of fortune-telling cards that share the time frame of tarot development--and the sets of 32-36 or 52-54 cards can include playing card structures, pretty decorative touches as in transformation cards and even suggestive rhymes on how to read the cards.
Fans here, including myself, have slowly discovered over time and enjoyment of cartomancy history and exploration that we can sometimes see similarities among the different families of cards (tarots, sybil/fortune cards, Lenormand) that there are some really interesting 'shared' touches--I might find a meaning and association that the Queen of Spades and Queen of Swords in a sibilla/parlor fortune deck/tarot/LeNormand has a similar meaning of a 'widow'...and that might be an attribution from a deck that is historically from the early 19th century or 21st century...but that's only a glimpse among certain subsets of cards that might be playing card/tarot from an author called Etteilla in the 18th and 19th century or Papus of the 19th century or Waite of the 20th century...and I may find the LeNormand deck or a cartomancy deck that mirrors or has similar meaning.
My fascination is that LeNormand herself and the associated deck has this rich and curious folklore. Sometimes that there is a more fantastic spin of colorful threads and fascinating foggy tapestry than the actual history...she was one of the few fortune-tellers of her time that writes...but her hints of cartomancy is very scarce and short on actual details.
Anyway, fans here like decks and comparing symbols and history in card sets. Me included!
A recurrent 'craze' for tracing different heritage and modern LeNormand style decks by those here might be because of those connections to a joyful rediscovery of old-fashioned sibyl or parlour games for cartomancy fans. It is another way to have and hold European regional cards.
That a bit of a glimpse...if I think of anything more and others can give words to their fascination, I'm certain people will reply. It took me a bit of time to reflect and I might have to edit the ideas noted here or simplify my points later. I did my best to give some ideas a bit of air! Hopefully I didn't puff up or express them a little too obscurely on a later hour than usual...
Cerulean
