Ciro Marchetti

The Gilded Reverie Lenormand

Self-Published, 2012

$45.00 USD + Shipping/Handling

http://www.ciromarchetti.com

In my world Tarot eye candy and Ciro Marchetti’s work are synonymous.  I am the very happy owner of all his deck creations, including one of my all-time favorite decks by anyone, The Tarot of Dreams (self-published).  When I first decided to become serious about my 2 decade interest in Lenormand cards and I chose my first study deck as I looked through the cards I well remember thinking to myself, “wouldn’t it be fantastic if Ciro created a Lenormand deck?”  You cannot imagine my absolute delight (or maybe you easily can!) when I discovered in the Facebook group Lenormand Cards Study Group that he was planning on creating a deck at the behest of tarot expert, Mary K. Greer.  Many in that group really urged him on.  What Ciro has given us is truly the most beautiful Lenormand deck I have seen to date, and I currently have a collection of 23 Lenormand decks.

Ciro creates his art on the computer and is a true master of the craft.  The vivid bright colors he uses brings his images to life as they almost seem to dance upon the cards.  His Gilded Reverie Lenormand is no different in look from his tarot decks.  Colors are bright and vibrant.  The detail on the imagery is absolutely fantastic.  I highly recommend that you treat yourself to the app now available from iTunes for iPad, iPhone, & soon for Android & Kindle Fire if you cannot find a physical deck because the app is a fantastic creation in and of itself, plus you can enlarge all the card images and marvel over the intricate details of every image, there are several spreads you can use including the 2 versions of the Grand Tableau, & a journal is included that has email capabilities that will send your text as well as a screen capture of the actual reading.  Check out Tarot Tribes Beyond Worlds’ video tutorial & review of the app here on YouTube.

According to Ciro Marchetti, there has been only one print run of this deck and he will not reprint this edition.  He does have a few copies left for sale at his site.  I was incredibly fortunate to receive a copy from the first set of 250 trimmed and hand collated for sale of The Gilded Reverie Lenormand.  The deck came in a leatherette bag on which Ciro had inscribed by hand, “Through your voice these cards will speak.  C. M.”  I have now come to find out he inscribed different phrases on various bags.  I’d love to know what the other phrases are so if you have one, do let me know.  The cards were packaged within the bag, which is a very snug fit to the cards, but for traveling that is truly ideal because the deck will not move around within the bag, thus there is far less chance for the corners of the cards to eventually become dinged or worn since they are unable to shift within the bag.  Personally, I prefer a snug fit.  The bag came housed in a glossy black cardboard box with the title card glued to the box’s lid and the interior was lined with red tissue in which the bag and deck rested.  I’ve been using the deck so much that I’ve put the box away for safe keeping.  The Gilded Reverie Lenormand immediately became my go-to Lenormand deck.  I use it in readings for myself as well as clients.  It is lovely and it really speaks to me while not very many decks have that capability (Ciro’s Tarot of Dreams is another that speaks to me).  So this deck is always left out ever at the ready for any question that may occur to me.  However, sometimes I just get the cards out, look them over and perhaps drool a little.

Now, if you are a die-hard traditional Lenormand reader you may not appreciate The Gilded Reverie Lenormand because liberties were taken with the imagery. This deck is the result of Ciro’s own unique artistic interpretation of the Lenormand.  Hence, the Rider is not male, but female and doesn’t ride a flesh-and-blood horse, but is upon a carousel horse.   Paths/Crossroads is translated into stairways, and the imagery overall is fantastical and the cards are loaded with imagery, which is a removal from the traditional single symbol on a blank or very plain nondescript background approach that the vast majority of earlier decks have used and are now seen by many as traditional Lenormand.  If you only want the symbol itself with a blank background, perhaps muted colors, and an old-timey look and feel to your Lenormand deck, then The Gilded Reverie Lenormand is NOT the deck for you.  I just want to make this clear so that no one who reads this review then purchases the deck upon my recommendation comes away exclaiming, “this is not Lenormand!”  Well, it is, but it’s Ciro’s Lenormand, and in my book that makes it very, very special.

Other differences are the addition of extra cards.  The deck contains a signature card (not used in readings, but a convention many artists use for their self-published decks & a very nice touch), an extra Man card, an extra Woman card, an extra Birds card called Owls, as well as four brand new cards that are unique to The Gilded Reverie Lenormand.  They are:  Clock/Time (# 37), Bridge (#38), Dice (#39), & Mask (#40).

Yet another unique feature of this deck is that it is highly unlikely (though cannot be absolutely guaranteed) that my deck, as well as everyone else’s deck, is unique among all the other copies of The Gilded Reverie Lenormand.  The self-publishing option was chosen because it gave the artist more creative freedom.  Ciro chose to depict several of the cards in various color schemes.  The Ring, for example, is done with a red, green, or blue jewel.  I have also heard the roof on the house is different colors.  The book on The Book card depicted in the free PDF download on Ciro’s site is brown.  The book in my deck is a burnt umber or light black color.  For the Bouquet card the tulips in the PDF are red and are wrapped in purple tissue.  The tulips on my copy of the Bouquet card are yellow, wrapped in a pale lavender tissue.  My deck differs from the deck in the PDF file on the following cards:  Ship (red emblem on the sale in the PDF, green emblem on my card), Birds (PDF version: red roof & red diamond pattern on walls of the bird house; the version I own: green roof & blue diamond pattern on the walls of the bird house), Sun (PDF version has a red background while the background on my card is blue), and there are also differences on the Moon, Fish (the fish on my card swim in opposite directions to the Fish on the card depicted in the PDF & they are rainbow colored whereas the PDF fish are red & purple), Owls, Bridge, Dice, and especially the Mask in my deck are all different from those depicted in the PDF.  I have no idea how many color combinations Ciro used for these particular cards, but on his website he states there is a 1 in 8,000 mathematical probability of any two people having the same exact colored deck.  I find the uniqueness factor of this deck to be one of its most fascinating qualities.

The cards were all hand-trimmed so there may be some issues with a card or two not trimmed exactly as all the rest.  I did not find any issues with the cards in my copy.  They are all trimmed to perfection and my copy shuffles well.  The card stock is somewhat thick, but sturdy.  The laminate consists of a matte finish on the majority of the card with the card number, playing card insert and filigree surrounding each done in a high gloss finish.  Card backs are fully reversible, but for those of you who read Lenormand you will already know reverse meanings are non-traditional and are not commonly used.  There are no reverse interpretations provided in the PDF E-book at Ciro’s site.  There is also an iBook available for free download at iTunes for those of you who order the app.

SAMPLE READING:  LINE OF 5.

I am still hoping to get another cat at some point. As many of you know my cat of 17 ½ years, Dickens, passed away last February.  He and my husband never got along.  Although my husband is a cat

person he does not want another cat while I feel a strong need for one.  This is the first time since I was 12 years old that I have been without a cat in my life and it’s really bothering me.  So, my question posed to The Gilded Reverie Lenormand is, of course, “will I get a cat within the next 3 – 6 months?”

Let me point out that often the Tarot isn’t good at timing, at least not in my experience. I have not delved too heavily into timing with the Lenormand, so taking a page from my Tarot studies, I have placed a time limit within the question.  Now, if I get a “no” answer that won’t mean I won’t EVER get a cat again (gods forbid!!), it will just tell me I won’t get a cat within my specified time frame.

I chose The Child as the significator.  I removed the extra Birds card (but kept Owls) & I also removed the extra Man and Woman cards, but retained the four extra cards that are unique to this deck.  All 5 cards are drawn at random, and they are:  Woman + Ring + Lilies + Book.

 

The woman is obviously me as I’m the one who really wants another cat.  The 22^nd will be the first anniversary of Dickens’ death & I dearly miss having a feline friend around.  The first card here represents me as the only driving force behind the wish I hope to manifest, especially since my husband is against having another cat for now.

Ring represents commitment.  Dickens was with me for 17 ½ years, since he was 5 weeks old.  He was a Seal Point Tabby (half Siamese, half Tabby with all the Siamese markings & blue eyes & on top of that tabby stripes).  He chose me as his human & I was by far his favorite.  He merely tolerated Stuart all those years.  I was his mama & he was my little baby boy.  I spoiled him rotten & he was completely devoted to me & also served as my magical familiar in all my candle work.  He would stand right next to me in my sacred circle lending his energy to whatever I was working on at any given time.  He was very special and I know there will never be another cat like him and that he cannot be replaced.  Dickens will always have a very special place in my heart.

The Child is the pre-chosen significator card.  I used the method of keeping the significator card in the shuffle, then when I was done shuffling  I found The Child in the deck & chose the 2 preceding cards & the 2 cards that followed it to create the Line of 5 reading for my question.  So this card represents the future cat.

Lilies ~ now this is strange because I have used this same deck to ask how Dickens is doing.  When I do ask about him the Lilies ALWAYS appears.  So here it is again.  Dickens was my little baby, so when I see Lilies in readings pertaining to him I have always taken it to mean he was a big part of my family.   Lilies has a strong sexual meaning, but on a deeper level it can also mean family, family support, and family commitments.  So that’s how I take it here as well.  Also, in western culture people often gift lilies to the family of a recently deceased person so for me, they are associated with death and mourning.  The presence of Lilies here may indicate I’m not quite yet done mourning Dickens, although I feel like I am.

The final card is The Book.  Book represents knowledge, education, & secrets or something as of yet still unknown to me.  Now, the book is often read directionally.  Meaning, the direction the spine and pages face make a difference in how the card is interpreted.  The Woman card shows up as me to start the reading.  Looking at  The Book the spine faces the Woman card while the pages face outward away from the reading.  Now, in some decks the book is open so the difference between the spine and the pages is more obvious, but here it’s closed.  Yet, how I read this card directionally is if the spine of the book faces me or the card signifying the question, then the outcome remains a secret.  If the Child card landed to the right of the book, then the pages would have faced it, therefore knowledge would be forthcoming about the cat.  So, I take this to mean that for now it’s a secret as to whether I will be getting another cat within the next 3 – 6 months or not.  My husband is one for surprises.  I’m now left to wonder if the new cat is meant to be a surprise, perhaps for my birthday, which is in June.  It definitely would be the best present he could give me.

I did do a second Line of 5 asking if the cat would come to me as a gift from my husband, but it ended with Bouquet (Gift) and Coffin (endings, severe illness), so that alone doesn’t look promising.  However, in reviewing my notes the card combination of Bouquet + Coffin can mean allergies, according to Andy Boroveshengra (you can find his blog here .

The Lenormand often gets to the root of the issue, and the second Line of 5 is no exception to that.  The first two cards were Cross and Letter.  Cross representing burdens & grief while the Letter is communication.  The Cross can also be a card representing a spiritual person or someone who has dedicated their life to their church or religion.  Taken together, Cross + Letter for me represents Dickens coming back & hanging around, which he does from time to time.  My daughter and I will hear him meowing a greeting and we have each seen him several times and twice I have felt him rub up against my leg.  So she and I know he’s here.

The central card was again the pre-chosen significator of The Child to represent the new cat I wish to find eventually.  The last two cards are Bouquet and Coffin.  Not very promising.  I am asking about a gift and Bouquet means gift. However, Coffin brings things to an end or says the gift will be disappointing.    However, the real reason my husband doesn’t want another cat is now crystal clear to me, all thanks to the Lenormand.

According to his former blog, Andy Boroveshengra interprets the card combination of Bouquet + Coffin as possibly indicating allergies.  Now, none of us are allergic to cats. However, my mother-in-law is dangerously allergic & they send her into an asthmatic attack.  Once while visiting us she ended up in the ER.  Now, once you have a cat, the dander is in the carpet and it never comes out.  My husband knows this, yet the cards are telling me in no uncertain terms the real reason behind all of this is his mother’s allergies.  His mother doesn’t even live in the same city as we do.  She’s 2 ½ hours away.  I would hate to think it’s her allergies preventing me from ever having another cat, but it sure does look that way.

I also examine the imagery of the Lenormand cards, and depending on the deck, the imagery can also provide additional information.  For The Gilded Reverie Lenormand, Ciro Marchetti chose to depict the Egyptian god, Anubis on the Coffin card, plus an Egyptian sarcophagus as opposed to a coffin.  I love this card because I love all things Egyptian.  In looking at the imagery of the Bouquet card, half of the tulips are leaning to the right.  For me, the right of a card represents the future.  They lean toward the Coffin card.   This tells me a gift is coming.  The god Anubis is argued to have either the head of a jackel or a long-eared desert dog (personally, I think He’s a desert dog, but I digress).   Now, if he does represent a dog, what this is telling me is that sometime in the near future I may receive the gift of another dog.  Our current dog was my Mother’s Day gift 8 years ago, so there is a precedent.  Interesting.  The only problem is I would much prefer a cat over a dog, so please do keep good thoughts for me; and, while you’re at it, treat yourselves to The Gilded Reverie Lenormand. Once they’re gone, they are GONE, so order your copy soon to avoid disappointment.  They can be found at http://www.ciromarchetti.com.