How to Buy the Best Lenormand Deck

It can be a challenge to buy the best Lenormand deck, especially if you’re just starting with Lenormand.

You see, Lenormand reads differently from Tarot. It focuses on the basic meanings of the cards and combines the cards to create sentences that tell a story.

Tarot, on the other hand, focuses on the images on the cards – the colors, the symbolism, faces, actions, and impressions – to create the story. This allows Tarot cards to tell a different story from one deck to the next.

It’s not the same with Lenormand. The Rider will always mean a message or someone coming to see you, regardless of the deck. It doesn’t matter whether the Rider looks like he’s going into battle or like a rider for the Pony Express. The meaning remains the same.

With the popularity of Lenormand on the rise, so are the number of decks. Unfortunately, many of the decks are being created by artists with little to no experience with Lenormand, hoping to create fast money from Lenormand’s popularity by charging you $30 a deck. Others are being created by people who are trying to create decks to help them learn Lenormand themselves, and then selling the decks despite many errors in the design.

That isn’t to say that none of the new decks on the market are good. It just means that you have to be really careful.

If you’re new to Lenormand, it can be hard to identify a well-designed deck. It’s easy to pick the “pretty” deck, only to realize that it’s hard to learn Lenormand with it because it wasn’t created by someone who understands Lenormand.


So which Lenormand Deck is the best to buy?

  1. It’s best to stick with a simple and clear deck, especially if you’re just starting out. You want a deck that will allow you to focus on the meaning of the cards, not on whether a ladybug sitting on a blade of grass looks happy.
  2. Pick a deck with numbers on the cards (1-36). Numbers are helpful for quickly writing down a spread (22-34 is so much faster than crossroad-fish – yes, you will learn the numbers quickly 🙂 ) and for learning advanced techniques like houses.
  3. Pick a deck with playing card inserts. The playing card inserts are like a little cheat sheet to help you remember which cards, like the Clouds, can also represent people.
  4. Most importantly, pick a deck that you like. Hopefully, you’re going to be using your Lenormand deck for many years to come, so buy a Lenormand deck you enjoy

Recommended for Beginners

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The Weiße Eule Lenormand – This is the deck was first published in 1920, and has the classic card inserts. It omits the verses sometimes found in other versions, which are often confusing/distracting to newer students. It is also one of the least expensive decks on the market today, making it an easy choice.

 


Old Style Lenormand – This deck’s vintage design artwork is very lovely, and it includes the playing card inserts, making it easier to learn various techniques set out throughout this site, like the Grand Tableau.

 


The Fairytale Lenormand – This deck offers beautifully rendered artwork, discrete playing card inserts, and includes a modern twist! It contains 38 cards instead of the classical 36! The extra gentleman and woman cards allow you to substitute the man/woman cards when you want to compensate for same-sex readings.

 


The Golden Lenormand Oracle – This is a classic rendering of the Lenormand deck that has stood the test of time.

16 Responses

  1. Stephen says:

    Thanks Chandra! I don’t favor reading the artist’s introduction to the decks because it’s completely unnecessary with Lenormand. The images in Lenormand aren’t read like they’re read in Tarot. It’s the meanings that matter, not the artwork. The information the artists provide can be interesting, but it won’t improve one’s ability to read Lenormand.

    • Andrew says:

      Hi, could I ask your opinion of the Mystical Lenormande? I bought it and I quite enjoy it but I think there are quite busy in terms of the imagery and maybe quite distracting.

      • Stephen says:

        Hi Andrew, I don’t recommend the Mystical Lenormand for beginners for that reason. I have found that simpler decks, such as the ones I listed above, are better when first learning Lenormand. While the Mystical is a beautiful deck, it can be too easy to focus on the images rather than on what the cards are saying.

  2. laurel says:

    For a long time I have wanted to learn tarot, but it’s been off and on, and I haven’t felt that “connected” to them. When I found the blue owl deck, I felt an instant connection to it! I love them, they’re beautiful and mysterious yet straight forward as well.

  3. Lucy says:

    Hi,
    Can you please tell me how would you know the right interpretation if the card has multiple or double meanings. For instance, garden and tree is spa but can also mean a hospital? Do you just start telling the person you are reading for all possibilities?

    Also, I have these cards from a gypsy deck that states the cards that you have listed here as negative are actually good. Like the cross and tree are always positive and over ride any negative cards. The meanings here seem more bleak. I’m just trying to find insight and any help is appreciate.

    Thank you!

    • Stephen says:

      Hi Lucy,

      It’s very important to stick to what your main question was about, and I’d usually recommend to simply use the basic meaning of the cards. Garden is a place where people gather, the Tree is often about health. Together, people gather in a place of healing. Looking at the cards around that might tell you if something is serious or more relaxed. A spa *could be* a place of healing, so could a hospital. It would depend on how serious the cards are within the actual spread and what the question was initially about. “What will I be doing this weekend?” Garden and Tree would probably mean a relaxing time at the sap… “How’s grandma?” Might mean she’s get some medical attention which will be beneficial for her.

      Hope this helps,
      Stephen

  4. Loretta Yeo says:

    I found your page because I just ordered Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand by Edmund Zebrowski. I’ve been a Tarot reader since the 1970’s and I like Pamela Coleman Smith’s artwork. I never picked up Lenormand so I know very little about it. The main reason I like PCS’s images is that in the world of Tarot they are universal and so it’s easier to concentrate on the meaning rather than the picture. Although I collect Tarot decks many of them are too off the mark to be effective for readings. Some do work because they follow the Rider-Waite meanings.
    BTW – I clicked on the links above and found myself at amazon.com. Nasty jolt; I thought I was going to your descriptions of the decks. You may want to consider warning your visitors that those links take them away from your site.

    • Stephen says:

      I hope you’re enjoying your Lenormand cards! Sorry about the Amazon links… it’s a way for me to cover the expenses that are attached to keeping the website up and running.

  5. Trina says:

    any books you recommend?

  6. Geneva Coats says:

    Can you please explain WHY there are playing card inserts in most Lenormand Decks, which seem to have nothing to do with the card meanings? Also, how did they come up with the numbering of the cards which also seems random? Do you need to know card numbers for some reason? If the numbering and corresponding playing cards have no function why are they included? Just for historical curiosity?

    • Stephen says:

      Hi Geneva, sorry for the delay in responding to your question..!

      The Playing Card inserts are there to help add depth to your readings. For example, I will make a reading based on the Lenormand symbols, and then go through the reading again, but with the Cartomancy definitions with the use of the playing card inserts. You have to remember that the Petit Lenormand is based on the medieval card game of Piquet, and it had only 36 cards (they omitted the use of 2–>5, sometimes six..!!

      I hope this helps!
      LE

  7. Stephen says:

    Hi Christian!

    Do you mean the Blue Owl deck? My own deck has verses on it, but I don’t tend to use them.

    Cheers,
    LE

  8. Stephen says:

    Hi Heber!

    Good question! My own experience with the Piatnik have been good, but it all depends on how much you use your cards and how well you care for them!! Perhaps others would like to share their own impressions as to which deck is the most resistant?

    LE

  9. Stephen says:

    Hi Janine,

    You’re looking for a Petit Lenormand deck. Piatnik is only one of them!

    With respect to the two books you mentioned, Treppner goes into a lot of different techniques. Meanwhile, Steinback explains her own method of reading. Both are good books, it just depends on what you want to learn.

    Regards,
    LE

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