 In recent years Lenormand Cards have been gaining huge popularity in the English-speaking world. Even a staggering amount of avid Tarot Card readers have been expanding their decks to include the 36 cards of Lenormand. If you are a part of the ever-growing cartomancy community you may now be asking yourself, how do these two decks compare? And what is all the fuss really about? Here are the four key differences between Lenormand and Tarot Cards.
Each of the 36 cards of the Lenormand deck come with a general symbol and are always meant to be read right side up. If one of the cards in a reading come up reversed in the draw, the reader may note this, then put it back in the spread right side up. It was not negative because of the reversal. With Tarot Cards the reversals usually represent negativity, blockages, or extremes in a reading. While Lenormand Cards are meant to hold both positive and negative connotations with a single symbol. An example of this is, the Anchor symbol which can indicate resilience and stability, while also indicating that one is stuck, unable to adapt, or holding on to something. 2. Tarot Cards Have Suits (Or Arcana) - Lenormand Do Not The history of Tarot Cards can be traced all the way back to the 15th century. This deck of cards is divided into the Major and Minor Arcana consisting of 22 symbolic images representing layers upon layers of meaning. A Lenormand deck is closer related to a deck of playing cards with four court cards and tens pip in each deck. The Lenormand Cards are smaller in size. The stunning imagery and extreme differences between decks make Lenormand cards personal, visually exciting, and expressive. Over the past millennia since its creation, Lenormand Cards have gained countless interpretations and numerous connections to astrology, numerology, hermeticism teachings, Kabbalah and ceremonial magic. 3. Tarot Has A Psychological (And Spiritual) Approach - The Lenormand Deck Has A Practical One Although originating as far back as the late 18th century, Lenormand Cards have retained their fortune-telling badge of honor. It has always been, and remains, straightforward, and an honest method to take a deeper glimpse into the world around you. In comparison to Tarot Cards, Lenormand Cards give specifics answers to questions. Tarot on the other hand, helps you up your spiritual ladder while Lenormand gives you information that you can use in the here and now to fix current issues. 4. Tarot Cards Are Read More Intuitively - Lenormand Cards Are Read Syntactically Both Tarot and Lenormand Cards stimulate your intuition and innate psychic abilities, but they trigger them in distinctly different ways. Tarot is more visual and ideal for meditation, path-working, and self-understanding. These cards will guide you through the maps of your mind and the connection to the collective unconscious. Each card is read individually based on its defined positions in the spread and more often gives new perspectives instead of usable guidance. In contrast, Lenormand is semantic. It’s symbols are simple and carry with them keywords. The keywords are meant to be connected together like a chain to paint a picture as vivid as those of the Tarot. To achieve this, Lenormand triggers the language-center of your brain to bring about messages from a higher source. The messages of Lenormand Cards are straightforward, sometimes funny, and always spot-on accurate. The use of Tarot or Lenormand Cards comes down to personal preference. They both achieve the same overall goal just in uniquely different ways. Personally, Lenormand readings are my favorite method of cartomancy. Through the use of Lenormand Cards and spirit guides, I’m able to give guidance and wisdom about real life questions and current challenges.  The concept of the “evil eye” is intriguing. It is a way of protecting oneself from negative energy, or “bad vibes,” without the need for confrontation. We have all experienced that moment where we meet someone and for some unexplainable reason, we experience this uncomfortable gut feeling that something is just off. The idea of the evil eye and other protective symbols are that they can help us gain control over just those exact types of situations and end the uneasiness and negativity, which in turn may make us feel better.. Here is a more in-depth example: Imagine you build a beautiful glass greenhouse in your back yard and you notice your neighbor looking over the fence, admiring it. They complement you on how charming the greenhouse turned out and say things like, “I wish I could afford something like that.” Being neighborly, you invite them over to the greenhouse for some tea. Now on the surface everything seems pleasant enough, but something just feels a little “off” about the whole situation. After the neighbor goes home, you may notice a headache coming on, a strong sense of foreboding, or perhaps, the next day something unexpectedly breaks inside of the greenhouse. . Although you know your neighbor isn’t a bad person, the negative energy attached to their feelings of envy has left their mark on you and your environment. Smudging and protective devices are ways you can take back control of the situation. You don’t of course want to fall into a habit of blaming others for every bad thing that happens in life. But in some situations like the one I mentioned, you can be proactive in protecting yourself, as well make peace with things and people that simply don’t feel right. Imagine if you had an evil eye pendent hanging above the entrance to your greenhouse? Your neighbors negative energy may have been left right there at the door. Records of traditional amulets of protection go all the way back to the stone age. The earliest protective amulet we know of were arrowheads made of obsidian. These still make great protective amulets. As time went on every culture came to use a protective symbol of one kind or another. Many of the symbols used included eyes, hands, and/or horns. Here are four of my favorite protective symbols found in different cultures. Hamsa The Hamsa is an ancient amulet that originated in North Africa. In Arabic, hamsa means five, referring to the five fingers of the human hand. Another name for the amulet is the Hand of Fatima, named for the daughter of the prophet Muhammad. A folklore about the origin of this name says that while Fatima was making soup for her husband he came home with a new wife. Fatima was so startled that she dropped the spoon but continued stirring the soup with her bare hand without burning it. Since God protected her hand, that hand took on the power to protect others from harm. The hamsa is also a part of Jewish tradition where it is known as the Hand of Miriam. This symbol has been used by mothers to protect their children, used by brides, and used by those hoping to conceive. The part of the hamsa represents the divine watching over us. This watchfulness protects us from both external forces and our own self-sabotaging thoughts and actions. In modern day the hamsa has been seen as a symbol of peace, hope, and of mutual understanding, not just in the Middle East but everywhere in the world because of its significance to multiple religions. Evil Eye Charm or Nazar Originally a Turkish talisman, the Nazar is now widely used as a protection against negativity or harm aka, the Evil Eye. Egg A Latin America tradition is to use the egg to remove the negative effects of the evil eye (mal de ojo). If the mal de ojo makes someone ill, a traditional doctor would pass an egg over their body to absorb the negative energy. Eye of Horus, Widget Eye, Eye of Ra These ancient Egyptian symbols ward off evil and offer other kinds of protection. This symbol was painted on boats, carved into the tombs of pharaohs, and worn as a pendant or bracelet. The widget helps to prevent outside things from effecting us internally by consisting of six parts that represent and protect the six senses. The six senses as defined by ancient Egyptians are taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing, and thought. This is the one I resonate the most with. I have the eye of Horus tattooed on my left inner wrist, it has meaning to me a personal thing. There is also the Abhaya Mudra, Italian Horn, Algiz Rune, and of course numerous crystals. Protecting and cleansing oneself from negative energy is essential to living a happy and healthy life. Choosing which protective symbol to use is a personal decision. I urge you to spend some time learning about the many different types and chose whichever symbol resonates with you. I strongly advise you to always have a barrier to the negative energies we all come in contact with throughout our lives. |
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