I am completely new to Lenormand

This was split from: Do you find the Lenormand to be counter-intuitive?

I am completely new to Lenormand, I'm
about to start some serious studying! I am a tarot reader and oracle reader and have done both for many, many years, I love both of these divinations and have read for myself and others very accurately... Intuition is the keyword with tarot and oracle reading in my opinion so many insights can be gleaned, everything flows so beautifully and there is so much scope to enter each card and in a spread a accurate story unfolds as all the cards fit together intuitively...

Now I wish to learn lenormand, as a complete beginner I have read with much interest this thread, I have also looked online at all things lennie, I intend to immerse myself into this new divination completely, I have 4 decks and I have downloaded Rana's essential Lenormand to my kindle, I have chosen my French Cartomancy deck to learn with as that is the most basic for me..
Everyone's opinions in this thread have been enlightening and enjoyable to read..I had already decided
I will be learning the traditional way, that feels the right way for me, of all the posts in this thread Teheuti's are the ones I can resonate with, I understand completely what is being said and as a beginner just starting out I intend to learn the Lenormand language first, I think it's quite exciting to read cards in a different style to tarot or oracle, obviously as my learning progresses and I understand the traditional system better my intuition can be let loose and hopefully make my readings even better..
I really don't want to start off read ing lenormand with only my intuition.. In fact my gut feeling is telling me NOT to!
If I want to read solely intuitively I can pick up my tarot cards/oracles and get accurate guidance..

What fascinates me the most and made me so interested in Lenormand is the fact that it is different from Tarot, I know learning the traditional way is going to take quite some time but it's the right way for me, I feel there will be a place for intuition of course there will, but not in the beginning I want to learn traditionally first.

Seraphina said:

I am completely new to Lenormand, I'm
about to start some serious studying! I am a tarot reader and oracle reader and have done both for many, many years, I love both of these divinations and have read for myself and others very accurately... Intuition is the keyword with tarot and oracle reading in my opinion so many insights can be gleaned, everything flows so beautifully and there is so much scope to enter each card and in a spread a accurate story unfolds as all the cards fit together intuitively...

Now I wish to learn lenormand, as a complete beginner I have read with much interest this thread, I have also looked online at all things lennie, I intend to immerse myself into this new divination completely, I have 4 decks and I have downloaded Rana's essential Lenormand to my kindle, I have chosen my French Cartomancy deck to learn with as that is the most basic for me..
Everyone's opinions in this thread have been enlightening and enjoyable to read..I had already decided
I will be learning the traditional way, that feels the right way for me, of all the posts in this thread Teheuti's are the ones I can resonate with, I understand completely what is being said and as a beginner just starting out I intend to learn the Lenormand language first, I think it's quite exciting to read cards in a different style to tarot or oracle, obviously as my learning progresses and I understand the traditional system better my intuition can be let loose and hopefully make my readings even better..
I really don't want to start off read ing lenormand with only my intuition.. In fact my gut feeling is telling me NOT to!
If I want to read solely intuitively I can pick up my tarot cards/oracles and get accurate guidance..

What fascinates me the most and made me so interested in Lenormand is the fact that it is different from Tarot, I know learning the traditional way is going to take quite some time but it's the right way for me, I feel there will be a place for intuition of course there will, but not in the beginning I want to learn traditionally first.

Click to expand...

This is a good place for you to start. When you approach the lennie, due to you having tarot back ground, think the basics, think Marseille tradition with the pips. As in, number + suit, 2 = balance, Cups = emotions, = balanced emotions. This is the same technique applied to lennies, Letter + Stork = message/letter Moving/Changes.

A great book to help you make the transition from Tarot to Lennies is "Tarot card combinations" by Dorothy Kelly.

Here is an example

The Empress + Emperor = Mother and Father, Fruitful and stable, Efficient authority, Productive advisor

The Lennies are read in the same fashion, all you need to do is memorize keywords, from which ever keyword tradition suits you, German keyword meanings, French keyword meanings, Russian keyword meanings, Spanish keyword meanings, for the cards. So check out all the different traditional schools of keyword meanings. Then decide on the one you like, stick to them, dont mix the different traditions together when memorizing the keywords meanings. This is no different the memorizing the keywords for tarot cards, this is one of the tarot traditions with using tarot deck without illustrated pips, Marseille style decks.

Once you have memorized the keywords, your intuition will start to kick in, as in which keyword will fit the bill to the question, to form the sentence, which is the answer to the question. Note: this is why it's suggested to start with 1 or 2 keywords per card, in the beginning, as you progress you can add more keywords to each card. These new keywords will form after you experience the cards ( reading) this is called hindsight.

Again get the book I suggested, it will not only help you with using keywords to form a sentence but also with reading tarot. This book is the bridge between the two systems.

Then when you do pairing of two cards. We will use the tarot card example again, as an aid for you.

The Empress + The Emperor

What comes to your mind when you see; Efficient Authority = _______________________. (single word) ie; CEO / Boss
What comes to your mind when you see; Productive Advisor = _______________________. (single word) ie; Superviser

Remember to always relay it back to the question asked, the above example, would be for a work related question, see if you can relay it to a relationship question, or Legal question, or other, see what you get.

Thank you!

I will definitely get that book La Force!
Thankyou so much for your knowledgable words, they are a great help to me.

Your post, examples and advice on how to start is brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to explain the best way for me to begin my learning of Lenormand!

Seraphina said:

I will definitely get that book La Force!
Thankyou so much for your knowledgable words, they are a great help to me.

Your post, examples and advice on how to start is brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to explain the best way for me to begin my learning of Lenormand!

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Your welcome, you will find other posts that I have put up, that are helpful, along with others. That you will find to help you on your new jouney with the Lennies. Enjoy


ETA: I have created and use a 22 card spead / Tableau, using the Major Arcana. 5 x 4 x 2 or 7 x 3 x 1

The Magican = Man card,
The High Priestess = Woman card,
The Fool = child card,

The Emperor = Other Male, brother, Uncle, Father, etc. (same sex relationship)
The Empress = Other female, sister, aunt, mother, etc. (same sex relationship)


So dont be shy to try it to help you learn to read the Lennies. Sometimes practicing whats familiar, in a new method, helps one transition over.

You can even practice the Lennormand method, with your tarot deck, using the minor arcana cards. Take out all 6 - 10 cards, Aces, pages, queens and kings ( no knights)

Remember to Only use keywords, pick 1 -2 keywords for each card. (do not read all the symbols in the images on the card, this is the only difference between the two system)

This again will help tarot readers to transition over to lenormand, this method helps retrain the brain to look at the tarot cards without diving into its image picking and reading the details in the image. To only focus on the keyword instead and to form a sentence using those keywords to answer the question. Keep cards upright, Lenormand usually in most reading traditions don't read reversals.

Once you have that you can then read the Lennies with ease.

ETA: if you have a tarot deck you cant read, or dislike, this will be perfect for this. You can write the keywords on the cards, and not feel bad.

I did this to my Crystal vision tarot and The Dragon Tarot by Terry Donaldson, as you can see both decks have been stripped down to their most basic symbols. So these kind of decks are a good choice.

“You only get that strength--that ability to go off the path--when you know where the path is.”

You can use Lenormand just like any Oracle deck that encourages you to go with your own intuition. You can see Stork as your work card, but then you need a different card for change, say Snake (it sheds its skin), and so on in a domino effect. Or Stork can mean work one day (especially if you are a pilot or flight attendant) and babies another day, and house cleaning on yet on another occasion. Dog, as one person told me, can mean fear and getting bitten or ripped off (a bite or 'mordita' in Spanish is a bribe). You can remake your meanings each and every time you use the deck.

What I suggest is watching group readings on forums where a dozen or so people give their interpretation of a concrete question where the answer is known within a week or so. Determine which people give the most accurate and helpful responses. Check out how those people read Lenormand. Are they giving psychic or "intuitive" answers in which the relation to the cards is NOT easily apparent (it's personal to the reader). Or, are they clearly following the Lenormand system? I've spent the past three years following this very carefully. I know who I pay attention to: people whose interpretations are consistently the most accurate and to-the-point (they usually don't stray into giving general "good advice" that has nothing to do with the question asked).

Observe in several different forums and decide your own approach based on the kind of readings you most want to emulate. Follow the examples of that person and ask them how they learned to read Lenormand.

BTW, I don't suggest learning Lenormand by using Tarot as your model. But that's just my opinion. There are now plenty of Lenormand books and decks that provide excellent exercises for combining Lenormand cards so that you don't have to look to Tarot for equivalents (which really aren't the same). See Rana George's new The Essential Lenormand or Caitlín Matthews' The Enchanted Lenormand (her more in depth book will be out in the Fall).

Teheuti said:

“You only get that strength--that ability to go off the path--when you know where the path is.”

You can use Lenormand just like any Oracle deck that encourages you to go with your own intuition. You can see Stork as your work card, but then you need a different card for change, say Snake (it sheds its skin), and so on in a domino effect. Or Stork can mean work one day (especially if you are a pilot or flight attendant) and babies another day, and house cleaning on yet on another occasion. Dog, as one person told me, can mean fear and getting bitten or ripped off (a bite or 'mordita' in Spanish is a bribe). You can remake your meanings each and every time you use the deck.

What I suggest is watching group readings on forums where a dozen or so people give their interpretation of a concrete question where the answer is known within a week or so. Determine which people give the most accurate and helpful responses. Check out how those people read Lenormand. Are they giving psychic or "intuitive" answers in which the relation to the cards is NOT easily apparent (it's personal to the reader). Or, are they clearly following the Lenormand system? I've spent the past three years following this very carefully. I know who I pay attention to: people whose interpretations are consistently the most accurate and to-the-point (they usually don't stray into giving general "good advice" that has nothing to do with the question asked).

Observe in several different forums and decide your own approach based on the kind of readings you most want to emulate. Follow the examples of that person and ask them how they learned to read Lenormand.

Click to expand...

I agree,

Teheuti said:

BTW, I don't suggest learning Lenormand by using Tarot as your model. But that's just my opinion. There are now plenty of Lenormand books and decks that provide excellent exercises for combining Lenormand cards so that you don't have to look to Tarot for equivalents (which really aren't the same). See Rana George's new The Essential Lenormand or Caitlín Matthews' The Enchanted Lenormand (her more in depth book will be out in the Fall).

Click to expand...

I think you miss understood me. I didn't suggest to use or find tarot cards as equivalents. Cause they are different and there isn't similairities in their keywords, imagery, etc. and are different. What I present was to practice what you already know, using the Lenormand method of reading, using the format of creating sentences out of keywords. as shewn above in my previous posts. This helps with converting your mind, from the usual way of looking at tarot, visually to looking at them verbally. To help with grasping and transitioning over to Lenormand. Also by using the pips as mentioned above, helps get you used to reading with 36 cards and get you familiar with the (inserts) 6 of cups - 6 of hearts, Jack of hearts - page of cups, etc.

I hope this clears up any mis understanding

La Force said:

I think you miss understood me. I didn't suggest to use or find tarot cards as equivalents.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I thought you wrote the Magician = the Man card, etc. -

La Force said:

The Magican = Man card,
The High Priestess = Woman card,
The Fool = child card,

The Emperor = Other Male, brother, Uncle, Father, etc. (same sex relationship)
The Empress = Other female, sister, aunt, mother, etc. (same sex relationship)


So dont be shy to try it to help you learn to read the Lennies. Sometimes practicing whats familiar, in a new method, helps one transition over.

Click to expand...

This is part of what I meant by equivalents. The other part was where I thought you suggested getting a Tarot book to teach you how to read Lenormand combinations - that Tarot combinations can teach you how to read Lenormand ones.

La Force said:

A great book to help you make the transition from Tarot to Lennies is "Tarot card combinations" by Dorothy Kelly.

Here is an example

The Empress + Emperor = Mother and Father, Fruitful and stable, Efficient authority, Productive advisor

The Lennies are read in the same fashion, all you need to do is memorize keywords, from which ever keyword tradition suits you

Click to expand...

I prefer going straight to the Lenormand books and websites that teach very well how to read Lenormand combinations. I find that learning Lenormand via Tarot doesn't work very well for me as they operate quite differently.

I hope you can see where I got confused. IMHO, a Lenormand beginner could get even more confused by starting their Lenormand studies with Dorothy Kelly's book.

Teheuti said:

IMHO, a Lenormand beginner could get even more confused by starting their Lenormand studies with Dorothy Kelly's book.

Click to expand...

Actually, even though La Force had been very kind enough to suggest this book to me and I do appreciate ALL the help I can get as I am a newbie, I had already been thinking that I will wait for Rana's new book on Lenormand...I think that it would be best for me personally to put all things tarot to one side during my Lenormand learnings, I don't think I would be able to use tarot in that way.... I want to start from scratch, any reference to tarot will, I think, confuse and hamper my progress...
I think it's down to what works best during the learning process for each and everyone of us, I understand how that may work for some, but for me if I tried it and looked at my tarot cards, all I would see and read is tarot, wouldn't be able to help it lol, that's just me though!

Teheuti said:

Sorry, I thought you wrote the Magician = the Man card, etc. -

This is part of what I meant by equivalents. The other part was where I thought you suggested getting a Tarot book to teach you how to read Lenormand combinations - that Tarot combinations can teach you how to read Lenormand ones.

I prefer going straight to the Lenormand books and websites that teach very well how to read Lenormand combinations. I find that learning Lenormand via Tarot doesn't work very well for me as they operate quite differently.

I hope you can see where I got confused. IMHO, a Lenormand beginner could get even more confused by starting their Lenormand studies with Dorothy Kelly's book.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I can see that, confused you. I got those What you call equivalents actually out of the PKT, Waite actually used a 42 card Tableau, I broke down to 22. I even followed Paul F. Case 22 Tableau of the Major arcana. Then I created a small version of the 8 x 8 x 4, into 5 x 5 x 2 Tableau

When I presented this, and the book, it is directed at those who are tarot readers, lets be honest it is challenging to change habits, reading styles, etc. So that book mentioned is the some concept/method as the lenormand concept/method, therefore it helps those tarot readers that are having difficulty with grasping lenormand method. The Aha I get it, response, by using a system you already know, that's what it took for me to get it to click in my head "aha" lights came on.

I dont feel in any way they would get confused using Dorothy kellys book, with their tarot cards, reading in the suggested method. Cause the minute they take out their lenormand cards the very base foundation of method already laid down, yes they would need to memorize a new set of keyword according to what school/tradition of keyword meanings the choose, they would then know how to put it together much easier, due to practicing it with the tarot. I am not suggesting mixing the two systems together cause that doesnt fly, its how you put 1 + 1 together. Which I have called "the bridge", between both systems.

That book is an excellent book, IMO.

ETA: I am reading my tarot now, and loving my tarot cards even more by applying the lenormand reading method. yes my tarot cards have been converted to lenormand, please dont beat me, Once I figured out the lenormand method, its the only way I read my tarot cards now. And loving it, as well as applying my intuition, its so awesome, I dont need to read into all those symbols within symbols any more, you realize how awesome that is, it takes a huge load off you.

I enjoy 3 x 3, Grand tableau (36), lines of 5, and others.

Basicall the Lenormand method made me a better tarot card reader. As one can say " don't knock it, till you try it." and then it still comes down to read in whatever way is best for you.

ETA: I have even cut off all borders and titles off my Tarot card, I nolonger do reading exchanges in the tarot section, cause I dont read tarot cards that way anymore, does this make me a non traditional tarot reader now? I guess so I thank the many months of struggling with the lenormand, in the end it paid off in a huge beneifical way of how I read now.

Thanks to those who were supportive on my journey