Deck Review: Tasmania Lenormand

The Tasmania Lenormand

Lynn Boyle

Self-published, 2013

$25 AUD + $6 AUD shipping worldwide, $2 AUD Shipping in Australia

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lenormand-Cards-by-Lynn-Boyle/376106535856381

Lynn Boyle, a native of Australia, challenged herself when she went on vacation to Tasmania. The challenge consisted of finding every symbol from the traditional Lenormand and photographing it. She then went about creating her Tasmania Lenormand.

The deck comes with an organza bag. The bag I received is yellow with gold and is color coordinated to the backs of the cards. There is a 2 ½ page fold-out list of card meanings. Spreads are not provided. The cards number 1 – 36 & are limited to the traditional 36 Lenormand cards. There is no extra Man or Woman card with this deck. Cards are borderless, which in my opinion is best for Lenormand, especially when reading the Grand Tableau (a spread that consists of all 36 cards). The cards have a very light gloss on them. They do not glare under direct light, shuffle well, and the cards are a comfortable 2 ½ x 3 ½”.

Card titles are located in such a way as to interfere as little as possible with the image on the card. As a result, card titles are either centered along the top or appear along the left or right margins across the top of each card. The playing card association is also provided along the base of the card, again the location shifts in order to intrude upon the image on the card as little as possible. The majority of card titles and playing card associations are in black with a few on the darker card titles being in white. All are easy to read.

All images are traditional with a strong Tasmanian twist. According to the artist, The Fox card is the now extinct “Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, really like a dog but also a very weird marsupial, sadly it liked to eat sheep and the new settlers shot it to extinction, the last lonely Thylacine died in a zoo in Tasmania in the1930s.”

The Bear card (featured in my sample reading below) is “the Tasmanian Devil, he he its a marsupial, related to the koala, wombat & kangaroo but it doesnt hop, it crawls and has a burrow underground, very fierce fighter & competitive, antisocial, cranky like a bear but the size of a small dog.”

Two Kookaburras are depicted on The Birds card. They are relatives of the kingfisher.

The Fish are Tasmanian Salmon.

The cards depicting locations are all well-known places “ in Hobart or Launceston. The Ship is L’Astrolabe, which is a French scientific vessel that is stationed in Hobart harbor & supplies the French Antartic division with supplies and scientists. It’s an ice breaker too, very thick hull to break up the ice on its way to South Pole.”

The Coffin is an actual Egyptian sarcophagus displayed in a “private art gallery & museum in Hobart.”

As a result of Lynn Boyle’s care and research, these cards a lovely reflection of what a person can encounter in Tasmania.

Sample Reading.

My daughter is a freshman in high school this year so it is her first experience taking real semester exams. The exams count toward 16% of the semester grade average so it’s important to do well. Unfortunately, it has become increasing apparent that my daughter has a major problem reading text off a computer screen & her most important test (Biology) is being given on the computer. All others are on paper. Her Biology class is also very demanding with 3 times more homework than any of her other classes. She’s in all Pre-AP classes as well, so a grade of D is flunking, as opposed to passing by the skin of your teeth. My husband & I had to go in to speak to the teacher because our daughter was flunking. I asked the Lenormand the following question:

How will my daughter do grade-wise on her Biology semester exam on Tuesday?

I received Mountain + Bear + Books + Garden + Stars.

I pre-selected Books as the significator since I am asking about my child’s education. When laying the reading down I shuffled first with the significator in the deck, then I looked for it and also chose the previous 2 cards and the 2 cards that followed to create the 5-card reading.

Mountain represents the tremendous struggle this SINGLE class has been for her. My child has a very high aptitude in Science with an A-/B+ average, so to have her nearly failing this class is quite bizarre. She sees Biology as her big stumbling block, so here is Mountain appearing to represent the class as a huge obstacle.

Bear is strength and perseverance. Following Mountain it indicates that obstacles can be overcome when we apply ourselves and make a real effort. She has been doing this by studying like crazy since Friday. She studied all weekend long as well taking few breaks. Bear + Books is academia strength, meaning she has the intelligence to do well; however, we are very concerned with her problem of being able to read off a computer screen without the words swimming around on her. Bear + Book says she has the intelligence and knowledge to do well, so any issues would be due to a reading issue, which we have just discovered.

Garden represents a social setting. Here, I take it to represent her school environment. My child has always been a social butterfly and I feel that at times this has caused a problem in her classes because she’s too busy talking and not paying attention to instructions. She does not talk in her Biology class, according to her teacher.

Book + Garden indicates that my child has always seen her school (Book) as a place to socialize (Garden). Very true!

Stars represents guidance, wishes, and being successful.

My conclusion is, not only will my child pass that test, but she will end up doing very well on it regarding her final grade.

Results are computerized so we should know her grade tomorrow so check back on my blog tomorrow for the results and we will also see how accurate the Lenormand cards are for predicting future outcomes.

UPDATE: Jan. 14, 2014 ~ due to the wonders of computer technology & the fact my daughter had to take her Biology exam on the computer, the grade is now posted. It is with tremendous gratitude & heartfelt thanks to all who prayed for her & with great pride in my daughter that I happily announce she passed the test – with a score of 98!!!!!!!!!!!!! At one point she was flunking the current grading period! This brings her current grading period average up to a C, which for Pre-AP is passing!! Furthermore, it brings her semester average up to an 80, which is a B! My husband & I have been doing the happy dance around here, which has caused our child great embarrassment – much to our delight! I’m so happy the Lenormand was right, as they are about everything. Their accuracy truly astounds me!

Wishing You Many Blessings,

Nefer Khepri, PhD., R. M-T.