The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook - Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards by Caitlin Matthews (UK edition, paperback) - 9781620553251

More than 200 years old, the 36 Lenormand cards are an oracle combining standard playing cards with images from the everyday world, such as key, book, animals, and flowers. Their simple, predictive, and non-esoteric nature opens the realm of fortune-telling to all, offering a traditional cartomantic divination where card combinations fuse together to give clear answers. In this complete guide to Lenormand card reading, Caitlín Matthews explains the multiple meanings for each card, providing keywords so the reader can quickly build an interpretive vocabulary for Lenormand fortune-telling. She details how to lay spreads, starting with 3 or 5 cards and building to the Grand Tableau spread, which uses all 36 cards. She explores the significance of the playing card pips and suits on each card and how cards combine to create a variety of meanings. Matthews enables readers to learn the Lenormand card keywords so they can both read for themselves and express their interpretations to clients. Providing real case histories for readers to interpret, she also includes self-tests and practice exercises with answers to check at the end of the book. In addition to her comprehensive practical introduction to the Lenormand oracle, Matthews delves deeply into the history of cartomancy to reveal the mythic blueprint that underlies this simple deck, the key to which lies not in their imagery but in their connection to playing cards.Biographical NoteCaitlín Matthews is the creator of 4 tarot decks and 5 oracles, including The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle, and the author of more than 60 books, including Walkers Between the Worlds. An influential teacher of divination methods, she is a cofounder of the Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies. She teaches internationally and lives in Oxford, England.Table of ContentAcknowledgments Introduction The Return of the Traditional Oracle Part OneLearning the Craft of Lenormand1 Learning the Language of Lenormand 2 Lenormand Lexicon 3 Creating Sentences with Pairs and Triplets 4 Storyboard 5 Taking the Portrait Part TwoThe Playing Card Insets6 Waking the Pips 7 The Art of Cartomancy 8 Secrets of the Lenormand Universe Part ThreeThe Art of the Grand Tableau9 The Piquet Tableau 10 The Grand Tableau of Nines 11 Near and Far Method Part FourLenormand in Practice12 Expanding Fluency 13 Becoming the Storyteller Appendix I Key to the Practices, Spreads, and Studies Appendix II Order of Practices, Spreads, and Studies Appendix III Quick Reference Notes Bibliography Resources Index About the Author Review Quote“Anyone interested in Lenormand--beginner or seasoned reader--will find this book essential reading. It is wise, wonderfully structured, and written in a voice that makes one feel as t