Used to think Lenormand was Tarot’s boring cousin until I actually tried it.
Been reading Tarot for years, picked up a Lenormand deck on impulse and it’s like… switching from poetry to straight talk. No mystical journeys or deep symbolism, just “here’s what’s happening with your job/love life/money.” The 36 cards have pretty fixed meanings, so you’re not sitting there wondering if the Tower means transformation or disaster today.
Now I grab Lenormand for practical stuff (“Will I get the promotion?”) and save Tarot for the soul-searching questions. Learning curve was way easier than I expected because each card means what it means, period. Still love my Tarot decks, but Lenormand has become my daily driver.
Does anyone else use both systems? How do you decide which deck to reach for?
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I get that Lenormand meanings are supposed to be fixed, but doesn’t context matter at all? Like if you’re reading about someone’s job vs their relationship, the same card has to mean something a bit different.
Made the switch to Lenormand too, and it’s been… different from what I expected.
You need a minimum of 3 cards since the whole system runs on combinations, can’t just grab one card like with Tarot. I keep wanting to read the images intuitively, but that’s not how Lenormand works.
You use the set meanings and piece them together. Reminds me of doing crossword puzzles in a way. Been doing it for my morning readings, and while it takes more time, I find myself actually focusing on the cards instead of going through the motions.
Not sure if I’ll stick with it long term, but it’s been interesting to try something new.
I’ve been trying out Lenormand, and it’s really different from Tarot. Yeah… very different.
You read the cards by stringing them together like words, each one acts like a different part of speech to make sentences. It’s all about divination. The symbols link up to create stories between the cards.
I gave it a real shot and practiced with it for a bit. During my practice sessions, the cards themselves showed me that the system was too limited for what I wanted. While reading things literally works for some people, I found myself missing the space for deeper reflection that I get with other systems.
There just weren’t enough layers of meaning to work with.
Before you start with Lenormand cards, make sure you’ve learned the traditional meanings.
It’s a bit different from tarot, where you can rely on intuition. It’s better to begin with 3-card spreads. Trying a Grand Tableau right away can be overwhelming. I’ve seen it happen.
Lenormand was spot on with my house sale. I pulled House + Stork + Ring back in March and it showed changes and commitment coming in about 3 months. 11 weeks later I was signing the contract. Pretty impressive timing.
Pattern recognition helps a lot with card reading, regardless of the system you use.
In Tarot, I find myself looking for common themes between the cards, like how they relate to each other symbolically. With Lenormand, it’s different. You’re trying to see how the cards create a narrative when they’re next to each other. Less about deep symbolism and more about practical combinations.
Memorization exercises might help develop this skill. Regular practice does improve how quickly I can spot patterns, though it takes time to really get comfortable with either system.
Hey, so heads up, traditional Lenormand is 36 cards. Not sure what deck you’ve got there with 44.
Lenormand’s pretty different from tarot. You don’t just pull a few cards per question. The main spread uses the entire deck laid out in rows; it’s called a Grand Tableau. There are specific techniques, too. Like how close cards are to each other matters, which direction they’re facing, plus these things called crowning and knighting.
Takes some practice to get the hang of it. The symbols are really straightforward, though, house, letter, key, that kind of thing. None of the deep mystical stuff from tarot. I use it mostly for everyday questions because of. You could definitely just use them as oracle cards and make up your own meanings.
But if you want to learn the actual system, there are plenty of resources out there.
After a lot of struggle, I finally started to get the hang of Lenormand.
Like how algebra and music are different, Lenormand relies on clear rules and formulas, whereas Tarot is more about intuition and feeling. This shift in understanding helped me use Lenormand for clear yes/no questions and Tarot for exploring deeper insights.
They both offer ways to explore divination, just in their own distinct ways.
Yeah, Lenormand looked boring to me too at first.
Put it off forever because 36 cards felt like nothing compared to my other decks. When I finally tried it though, turns out the simple system works well for daily questions. Kind of annoyed I waited so long, it’s been way more straightforward than trying to interpret complex Tarot spreads.
Oh man, quick answers from Lenormand can be scary accurate sometimes. I pulled cards about a flight once, and they showed a disruption. A storm hit that exact day, and I was stuck waiting forever.
When you dive into the Grand Tableau, it’s like hitting the advanced stage of Lenormand.
You spread out all 36 cards and read them as a whole. The significator card, often the Lady or Gent, indicates your place, and the nearby cards give insight into your current situation.
I’ve switched to using it monthly instead of the lengthy Celtic Cross readings.
Something that helps me get better readings is thinking about what I want to know before I shuffle. Just taking a sec to get clear on the question makes the whole thing work better. Works for both Lenormand and Tarot.
Look, sometimes I just need a simple answer about texting my ex back. But tarot goes into this whole thing about childhood wounds, karmic cycles, the collective unconscious. I just wanted a yes or no!
Started using Lenormand for the day-to, day questions now. It’s nice to pull cards and get ‘Letter + Snake = deceptive message’ instead of an hour-long session about whether the Queen of Cups reversed means I have boundary issues or if it’s about how my mother affected my dating patterns.
Lenormand vs Tarot is like comparing a text message to a novel.
With Lenormand, you get direct answers - should I take this job? Yes. Will this relationship work out? No. Simple and practical for everyday stuff.
Tarot goes deep into the psychology behind everything. Ask about texting an ex and you’ll get cards about personal growth, past patterns, inner work. when maybe you just wanted to know if it’s a good idea or not. I use both depending on what I need.
Sometimes I want the quick answer, sometimes I’m ready for the deeper dive.
So I picked up Lenormand thinking it would just be another deck system, but it ended up helping my tarot readings a lot.
Lenormand is super direct, you have to read card pairs and clusters without much wiggle room. When I went back to tarot after practicing with Lenormand for a while, I started seeing connections between cards way easier. Started noticing things like knighting patterns and conscious/unconscious card positions that I used to miss.
If you already know tarot, maybe try a basic 3-card Lenormand line tomorrow about something small. Lenormand’s bluntness is also helpful when you’re too close to a situation and tarot feels too vague.
I get why people like Lenormand’s directness, but I still prefer Tarot when clients are dealing with big life decisions.
I had someone come in recently who was thinking about changing careers (something I went through myself). Using Tarot helped them see the emotional stuff going on underneath, things they hadn’t even realized were affecting their decision.
Lenormand is good for what it is, but it doesn’t really dig into those deeper layers that matter when you’re trying to figure out what’s really going on.
I’ve been reading Lenormand for a while now and see it differently.
Most traditional decks do have 36 cards, but single-card pulls work fine for me. They’re like getting the day’s theme in one concentrated symbol. Sure, combinations give you more to work with, but one card can say plenty on its own. I’m also someone who uses intuition with Lenormand.
Yes, there are traditional meanings, but I let my gut guide how those apply to each situation. Makes for more meaningful readings. The book meanings give you structure, intuition makes it personal. As for spreads, Lenormand has them, they’re just not like Tarot spreads. Your 3x3 practice is a spread. So is the Grand Tableau, or even a simple 3-card line.
We just read them differently, looking at how cards relate to each other instead of what position they’re in. Grand Tableau is something to try eventually. It shows you everything at once. But for daily readings, I usually stick with smaller layouts anyway.