I had a busy weekend (I met my hero Ernie Banks yesterday, former short-stop for the Chicago Cubs, more to come about that!!!) & focused on my art so I didn’t have time to blog.  Today I am making up for a bit of lost time with Pepi’s Lenormand Challenge.  You can find her blog here.

Day 4:  Which is your favorite deck & why?

Well, I have a few, but if I had to narrow it down to just ONE, well, it would have to be The Gilded Reverie Lenormand by Ciro Marchetti.  I won’t say too much about it, other than it’s stunningly beautiful and a fine testament to the talent of the artist.  I will be reviewing the deck in an upcoming blog post later in the week, so do keep an eye out for it.  This image comes from the blog of my good friend, Den Elder.  Do check it out.  The deck can be ordered directly from the artist at http://www.ciromarchetti.com

Day 5:  How long have you been reading the Lenormand?

I began over 20 years ago, but had nothing but the 4-page pamphlet that came with my first deck, so I gave up after much struggle & frustration.  I went back to it when I joined the Lenormand Cards Study Group on Facebook.  It’s funny how sometimes your brain just isn’t ready to digest information.  When I picked it back up it all came to me so easily.  I guess for me, the time to delve into Lenormand and to really learn a system (there are different schools of Lenormand & it’s best to choose one and stick to it rather than try to learn them all as it’s just way too confusing and some of it is somewhat contradictory).  I then began reading for myself and some friends and now I offer readings to clients as well.

Day 6:  What do you like the most reading (or with which do you feel better reading): the Tarot, or the Lenormand?

Oh that’s a GOOD question!  First of all, I have been reading Tarot since 1976.  I have been reading tarot professionally since 1993 and professionally at my site since 1998.  I don’t do well with oracle decks (most of the time) so I have stuck with Tarot all those years until I thought to try my hand at Lenormand once again.

I found the simplicity and straight-forwardness of the card meanings to be a welcome change from the deeply spiritual aspects of the Tarot.  The Lenormand opened up my intuition even further, which has helped me to expand upon my reading abilities.  Thus proving, no matter how old or stuck in their ways a person becomes, there’s always room to learn new techniques that add to the already existing skill set.

As for which I prefer, both have their strong points.  I use both for myself still.  I love the deep symbolism of the Tarot and how that sparks my intuitive abilities. However, I also love the simplicity of the Lenormand.  Conversely, the uncluttered Lenormand cards also spark my intuition as sometimes I need to fill in the gaps of a reading so all of my intuitive training with the Tarot really comes in handy for my Lenormand readings.  Although many frown upon mixing intuition with the Lenormand as many rely only upon the card meanings, what the card combinations mean, and nothing else.  That’s fine for them, but that’s not me.

At this time I find both methods of divination very useful and insightful.  I really cannot choose a favorite, but if someone were to put a gun to my head and scream, “CHOOSE!”  I would have to stick with the old standard and choose Tarot.  But two seconds later I would probably change my mind, being a typical Gemini.

Let me cheat and do Day 7’s Challenge as well, which is:

Day 7:  What was the first (Lenormand) spread you learned?

I jumped in with both feet and tackled the 36-card Grand Tableau in a reading I did for myself (the image here is an example & not the reading I did for myself) . The reading spoke of a trip coming up and my family was planning at the time to go on a cruise.  The cards told me a few things to expect while on the cruise, all of it lovely.  I was amazed, actually.  When we went on the cruise the trip unfolded just as the Lenormand had predicted and we all had the time of our lives.  Now, I did not strictly learn how to read the Grand Tableau for that first reading.  There are MANY patterns to look at in a Grand Tableau spread.  What I did for that every first one was to only read the cards from right to left, all 4 rows, and the final 4 cards, known as the Destiny Cards.  A great deal more goes into reading the Grand Tableau than that, which merely scratches at the surface, but it was enough to show me that the Lenormand really knew what they were talking about.  My favorite spread is the Line of 5, though, because it’s short, to the point ,and provides you (most times) with an immediate answer to your question.   Plus, the Line of 5 is a LOT easier on the brain 🙂

So, that’s today’s four day’s worth of Pepi’s Lenormand Challenge. Day 8 will be coming up in a couple of days.  Meanwhile, I do have some other things I will be blogging about, so stay tuned.