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Tarot Lenormand

by Ernest Fitzpatrick

Tarot Lenormand
Price: $22.95

Number of cards in deck: 78

Measurements: 2.6 x 4.72 inches, or 66 x 120 mm.

Back of card: Ornate reddish-brown / brownish yellow scrollwork. Similar, but different, from the green/white borders on the front of the cards. May be inverted.

Booklet included: Yes, 64 pages, 2.6 x 4.74 inches, or 66 x 120 mm. Bound on the short side. Instructions in English, Italian, Spanish, French & German.

Publisher: Lo Scarabeo. Printed in Italy, imported by Llewellyn Worldwide.

Comments: Mme. Lenormand's claim to fame is that she once gave a card reading to Josephine, who was, or eventually became, Napoleon's wife & Empress. Knowing a bit about the world of psychics, clairvoyants, card readers, tea-leaf readers, astrologers, etc., I'd really like to know if Josephine consulted Mme Lenormand on a regular basis, and if she consulted anyone else. For those of you not familiar with French, "Lenormand" is said to be a pseudonym. As such, it would refer to the woman's husband. Her proper pseudonym would have been "La Normande". A guess would be that she was a widow.

This is the first 78 card Lenormand tarot deck that I have seen, but I have also seen two other Lenormand decks. I suspect that no one knows (or will bother to try to find out) what the original cards looked like, except that they seem to have shown common, everyday things & people. If so, such cards are suitable for use with illiterate peasants, not the aristocracy. This would imply that Josephine was herself a peasant, or, if not, was shrewd enough to choose her advisors carefully. Since there are never any biographical details with these decks, I conclude that Mme. Lenormand was a shrewd self-promoter. If she was a widow, this would be self-explanatory.

In many ways, this is a weakly-done Napoleonic deck. Trump 3 is Josephine, Trump 5 is the Pope of the day, Trump 4 is Napoleon himself.

The booklet with the cards is perfunctory. Aside from one brief paragraph, it could be used with any tarot deck.

The Astrology Center of America

207 Victory Lane, Bel Air, MD 21014
Tel: 410-638-7761; Toll-free (orders only): 800-475-2272

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Established 1993, The Astrology Center of America is owned & operated by David Roell. Except where noted, this entire site (AstroAmerica.com) & its contents are Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 by William R. Roell. All rights reserved. Tarot card images are Copyright © by the copyright holder (generally the publisher).