THE COMPLETE

LENORMAND
ORACLE
HANDBOOK

“An outstanding, definitive handbook for both beginners and

experienced readers that gives a ‘big picture’ view of the Lenor-
mand deck! Caitlin starts where most others leave off, exploring
the original cartomantic tradition and combining it with modern
techniques connected to those roots. As someone who appre­
ciates the classic wisdom of the Grand Tableau, I’m so happy
to see it taught this well, step by step, so anyone can use it.”
MARY K. GREER, AUTHOR OF
27 WAYS TO READ A TAROT CARD

“This book is a sublime source that will provide handy inspi­

ration for anyone interested in the Petit Lenormand cards. The
content will satisfy the novice, the journeyman, and the expert
alike. Essential for your shelf!”
BJORN MEURIS, CREATOR OF THE COURSES
LENORMAND FOR BEGINNERS,
LENORMAND GRAND TABLEAU, AND
LENORMAND METHOD OF DISTANCE
 Acknowledgments

I would like to warmly thank all those Lenormand deck creators

who gave their kind permission to reproduce their cards as exam­
ples in this book: Olaf Buettner for the Magisches Lenormand;
Willis Briggs for the Victorian Lenormand; Carrie Paris and Roz
Foster for the Lenormand Reuolution; Paris DeBono for the Lenor­
mand Vintage and the Japanese Lenormand; Betrand St. Guillain for
the Palimpsest Lenormand; to Virginia Lee for permission to share
some cards of our own Enchanted Lenormand Oracle, and to Lau­
ren Forestell for refreshing the Stralsunder Lenormand. Also thanks
to Mary Greer and Roger Winstanley for permission to use cards
from their collection of antique Lenormand decks. Thank you to
Baya Salmon-Hawk for expertly checking my French translations in
chapter n of the Daveluy Lenormand, a deck that I reprinted in
2013. To all my teachers and colleagues, I thank you for sharing
this path with me.
I cannot thank the Lenormand community enough for their
enthusiasm, especially members of the Facebook sites Lenormand
Cards Study Group and Real Lenormand and Fortune Telling. They
have both been unfailingly kind and supportive during my at­
tempts to publish this work. To cartomancers Mary Greer, Andy
Boroveshengra, Donnaleigh LaRose, Helen Riding, and many,
many others, I thank you for your wisdom and expertise. To the
clients who kindly allowed me to share their readings with altered
names and details, many thanks. Thanks to Linda Marston of
Global Spiritual Studies for the opportunity to share Lenormand
history over the airwaves. To the Tarot Guild of Australia and to
Mordreth, editor of The Magician, thank you for encouraging me to
announce my Lenormand findings. Finally to John, thank you for
reading and commenting; for scanning cards and putting up with a
settee littered with decks for several years. This is what all those lit­
tle cards were about!
This book is gratefully dedicated to Fortuna Primigenia and to the
worldwide Lenormand community.

•>tr•

Since you question me excellently, it is right that I should answer.

CORPUS HERMETICUM,
TRANSLATED BY AUTHOR
 THE COMPLETE
LENORMAND
ORACLE
HANDBOOK

“An outstanding, definitive handbook for both beginners and

experienced readers that gives a ‘big picture’ view of the Lenor-
mand deck! Caitlin starts where most others leave off, exploring
the original cartomantic tradition and combining it with modern
techniques connected to those roots. As someone who appre­
ciates the classic wisdom of the Grand Tableau, I’m so happy
to see it taught this well, step by step, so anyone can use it.”
MARY K. GREER, AUTHOR OF
27 WAYS TO READ A TAROT CARD

“This book is a sublime source that will provide handy inspi­

ration for anyone interested in the Petit Lenormand cards. The
content will satisfy the novice, the journeyman, and the expert
alike. Essential for your shelf!”
BJORN MEURIS, CREATOR OF THE COURSES
LENORMAND FOR BEGINNERS,
LENORMAND GRAND TABLEAU, AND
LENORMAND METHOD OF DISTANCE
“The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook by Caitlfn Matthews
is a wonderfully comprehensive and practical Lenormand
guide. Matthews does a thorough job of presenting the history
of the oracle to give the reader a solid sense of the deck’s devel­
opment over the centuries. Matthews has created an inspira­
tional manual for Lenormand that can be a companion to read­
ers at all stages of their cartomantic career.”
ANASTASIA HAYSLER, COFOUNDER OF
TAROT MEDIA COMPANY AND COAUTHOR OF
PAINTING THE SOUL: THE TAROT ART OF DAVID PALLADINI

“Caitlfn Matthews brings a unique perspective to this wonderful

book on Lenormand cartomancy. She is both a scholar and a
shaman/magician, and at the highest level of both. Whether
describing the symbols and techniques or the deeper levels of
cartomancy, she is warm, witty, and always clear. This book is
above all useful, especially in its exploration of the playing card
symbols in the corners of the cards and the ways the Lenor­
mand deck can open to deeper, even archetypal meanings with­
out abandoning the tradition. This is a book I will come back to
again and again.”
RACHEL POLLACK, CO-CREATOR OF THE BURNING SERPENT
ORACLE

“Wide in its scope and detailed in its depth, this is the go-to
book for the Lenormand novice and expert alike. Crammed with
knowledge and insight, examples and exercises, Matthews has
created that rare beast: a clear and well-structured manual to
navigate the paradox of simplicity and complexity that is the
Lenormand Oracle.”
ALISON CROSS, JOINT CHAIR OF THE
TAROT ASSOCIATION OF THE BRITISH ISLES (TABI)

“Caitlm’s historical insight, exceptional practical instruction,

and groundbreaking revelations of the ‘Lenormand Universe’
will ensure this book becomes a guiding light in the global
Lenormand community for readers, students, and teachers in
the twenty-first century.”
LINDA HENERY, PRESIDENT TAROT GUILD OF AUSTRALIA
 Acknowledgments

I would like to warmly thank all those Lenormand deck creators

who gave their kind permission to reproduce their cards as exam­
ples in this book: Olaf Buettner for the Magisches Lenormand;
Willis Briggs for the Victorian Lenormand; Carrie Paris and Roz
Foster for the Lenormand Revolution; Paris DeBono for the Lenor­
mand Vintage and the Japanese Lenormand; Betrand St. Guillain for
the Palimpsest Lenormand; to Virginia Lee for permission to share
some cards of our own Enchanted Lenormand Oracle, and to Lau­
ren Forestell for refreshing the Stralsunder Lenormand. Also thanks
to Mary Greer and Roger Winstanley for permission to use cards
from their collection of antique Lenormand decks. Thank you to
Baya Salmon-Hawk for expertly checking my French translations in
chapter n of the Daveluy Lenormand, a deck that I reprinted in
2013. To all my teachers and colleagues, I thank you for sharing
this path with me.
I cannot thank the Lenormand community enough for their
enthusiasm, especially members of the Facebook sites Lenormand
Cards Study Group and Real Lenormand and Fortune Telling. They
have both been unfailingly kind and supportive during my at­
tempts to publish this work. To cartomancers Mary Greer, Andy
Boroveshengra, Donnaleigh LaRose, Helen Riding, and many,
many others, I thank you for your wisdom and expertise. To the
clients who kindly allowed me to share their readings with altered
names and details, many thanks. Thanks to Linda Marston of
Global Spiritual Studies for the opportunity to share Lenormand
history over the airwaves. To the Tarot Guild of Australia and to
Mordreth, editor of The Magician, thank you for encouraging me to
announce my Lenormand findings. Finally to John, thank you for
reading and commenting; for scanning cards and putting up with a
settee littered with decks for several years. This is what all those lit­
tle cards were about!
 Contents

Cover Image

Title Page

Dedication

Epigraph

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Return of the Traditional Ora­

cle

TABLETS FROM THE LIVING EARTH

Part One: Learning the Craft ofLenormand

Chapter 1: Learning the Language ofLenormand

FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND LENORMAND

INTRODUCING THE SIGNIFICATOR
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
STUDY 1: LEARNING THE LENORMAND ALPHABET
LENORMAND PRINCIPLES!

Chapter 2: Lenormand Lexicon

1. THE LEXICON IN TRANSLATION

Chapter 3: Creating Sentences with Pairs and

Triplets

1. WORD ORDER IN LENORMAND PAIRS

2. TRIPLETS IN ORDER
3. THE ORACLE SPEAKS
4. STUDYING THE SIGNIFICATOR
5. STUDY 2: TOPIC CARDS
6. STUDY 3: THE EFFECTS OF CARDS
7. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 3

Chapter 4: Storyboard

1. STORYBOARDING
2. PREDICTION AND THE SCOPE OF THE CARDS
3. STUDY 4: GAUGING THE SCALE
4. STUDY 5: MUTE CARDS
5. LETTERS FROM THE PAST
6. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 4

Chapter 5: Taking the Portrait

1. POWER OF NINE
2. STUDY 6: KNIGHTING AND MIRRORING
3. STUDY 7: INTRODUCING HOUSES
4- LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 5

Part Two: The Playing Card Insets

Chapter 6: Waking the Pips

1. STUDY 8: APPRECIATING THE PIPS

2. SUITING THE SPREAD
3. NUMBERING THE PIPS
4. STUDY 9: SUIT, NUMBER, AND COLOR PREDOMINANCE
5. SYNTHESIZING THE CARTOMANCY
6. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 6

Chapter 7: The Art of Cartomancy

1. AMPLIFYING YOUR SKILLS

2. STUDY 10: THE QUEEN FACES LEFT
3. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 7

Chapter 8: Secrets of the Lenormand Universe

1. THE LENORMAND UNIVERSE

2. STUDY 11: COMPLEMENTARY OPPOSITES
3. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 8
 Part Three: The Art of the Grand Tableau

Chapter 9: The Piquet Tableau

1. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 9

Chapter 10: The Grand Tableau of Nines

1. HISTORICAL RETROSPECTIVES: A TABLEAU FOR MARY

MAGDALENE
2. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 10

Chapter n : Near and Far Method

1. NEAR AND FAR METHOD

2. STUDY 12: TRANSLATIONS FROM NEAR AND FAR
3. TAKING A CLOSER LOOK
4. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES n

Part Four: Lenormand in Practice

Chapter 12: Expanding Fluency

1. STUDY 13: TIMING

2. STUDY 14: THE TIMETABLE
3. WHERE IS IT? LOCATIONS FOR LOST THINGS
4. HOW DO YOU SAY THAT IN LENORMAND?
5. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 12

Chapter 13: Becoming the Storyteller

1. STUDY 15: READING FOR OTHERS

2. STUDY 16: READING FOR A CLIENT
3. STICKING WITH THE CARDS
4. READING ALOUD
5. LENORMAND PRINCIPLES 13

Appendix I: Key to the Practices, Spreads, and

Studies

Appendix II: Order of Practices, Spreads, and

Studies

1. PRACTICES
2. SPREADS
3. STUDIES

Appendix III: Quick Reference

1. LENORMAND KEY MEANINGS AT A GLANCE

2. BLENDING THE COLORS TOGETHER