**New upated!** GENERAL INFO:

This is an obscure deck that is not known by many outside those who are familiar with tarot. This cartomancy system cropped up after the death of a
french woman named Mme Lenormand, who became so renowned for her skills that she read for the elite of Paris - Napoleon, Josephine, Robespierre, etc. For more background on her, visit Trionfi's biography link on her. The deck as it is most commonly known today (petit lenormand) contains 36 cards, each of which displays an image and a title- in some cases alos, a verse. For historical examples and images of this system, visit Trionfi's divination deck link, and look amongst the 36 card decks labeled Lenormand. I have taken the ideas in this deck and moved

it a step further by collaging the images with some additional symbols from Tarot, alchemy, and the subconscious, as well as enriched the traditional meanings.

The great thing about this deck is it's size and symbols are not nearly as daunting as traditional tarot decks, making it perfect for a beginner or someone
who feels overwhelmed by tarot symbolism. The deck is also a very intuitive tool, lending itself well to various interpretations based on individual insight.

NEWS:

Final Tweeks and Big News!

Updated 12/8/2011

The plan has changed since I last wrote some news here, but I believe it's changed in a good way. After a suggestion, some research, and some price comparisons, I've decided to try a print on demand option through a site that creates games and cards. I was contacting playing card printers and getting samples and quotes, when this option was suggested to me. After some side by side comparison, I find that this option will not only be more cost effective, but it will get the sets to everyone far faster than I expected. PLus, I will be able to provide tuck boxes, maybe even pouches, and printed instructions instead of having to do a pdf version. It will also take a lot of the work of shipping out of it for me, as I will be able to sell the sets directly from the site once I proof and publish the cards. I also will be able to purchase sets to sell on my own site and at fairs as well, so the flexibility of this plan seems optimal for my purposes.

As of now, I am making sure my cards are the proper size and doing some tweaking. In some cases, the design is changing ever so slightly. I still haven't heard back from Dover about my font, so I've chosen another one that I like and I'm going to run with it. I still have to rewrite the booklet before I upload the card set and proof it. My plan from here is to get the process started, and assuming the card quality is good and turns out how I want, I'm going to go with this- and get my registration for copyright started up. It takes about 3 months to get notice that I am registered, and I don't want to make you folks wait any longer than necessary, so getting it started will do just fine. I'm basically going through that in case some publisher decides to pick me up down the road. I want to keep my copyright.

If all goes as planned, I forsee sets being available for sale in January! YAY!!! I will keep everyone updated. Please feel free to spread the word!

I will be making more regular progress updates on twitter, and this page. I was on Facebook, but as they want my phone number as verification to get into my account, and I don't feel that I should be providing them with such private information, I'm not going to bother with it at present.

I'm very excited to see this project FINALLY moving forward. Again, I thank everyone who has shown interest in my art, who has been patient and supportive through this long process thus far. It's not easy to get your own deck self published, but it becomes a more accessible goal every day.

Stay tuned folks!

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I'm exhausted, but done with the design for the new deck! To be honest, I have an image to replace, and I'm rethinking the font, but the cards themselves are basically done. I'm going to finish documenting my image sources, and send them off to be properly copywritten, which will take about a month. In the meantime, I'm working on rewriting the booklet, which I will be making into a pdf file for those who purchase the new sets. The booklet will expand on the keywords and interpretations some, and explain my symbolism. The card set itself will have extra cards with major keywords on extra cards in the deck, as well as acknowledgements and attributions. I will put a full list of image attributions specific to this deck somewhere on this site.

From here, the plan is to get my project on Kickstarter, to be able to fund the printing. If for whatever reason that doesn't work out, then I will do a preorder option on the deck to get the ball rolling. I decided against going to actual Tarot publishing companies because their layout guidelines were too stringent, and there's no guarantee that my cards would ever see the light of day since they receive so many submissions. Plus, some companies take the copyright from the artist, which is crappy in my opinion. Self publishing via a professional card printer seemed the way to go, there's just the issue of funding the printing, so thusly I am going to try Kickstarter first.

I know that for some, the appeal of my decks might be lost, as the handmade element will no longer be there. Let me tell you though, that making a set of cards by hand is no small task, even if you have a computer and printer that you can work with. Every set I made I had to cut and laminate myself, as well as design and make containers whether they were pouches or collaged tins. This takes up a lot of time, and when you put that together with the fact that most of my interested customers appear to be overseas (I'm in the US.) then you have to add in travel time to and from the post office and waiting in line because you need to send out a customs form with the package. As I have other projects and responsibilities, I found the workload of doing the deck myself to be more than I wanted, and there seemed to be enough demand to take it a step forward and get it professionally printed- thusly taking a large portion of the work off my back and allowing for larger more durable cards with better designs.

I honestly didn't expect to be doing this. I designed my original deck purely for fun, to fit exclusively into an altoid tin, and to see if anyone on Etsy was interested. I thought maybe I'd sell a deck here or there. I ended up having a hard time keeping up with demand and being able to do fairs and other art. I was never able to make sets long enough to have any backstock, which I know disappoints some still looking for the original deck. The Lenormand deck was more about the challenge of doing a card deck smaller than tarot, using public domain images. I really didn't expect people to be seeking it out. I am grateful, of course. :)

I will continue to post news of the deck here as things unfold. I'm druming up ideas for extra incentives to throw in if my Kickstarter plan works. Again, I thank anyone who has enjoyed my artwork, and I hope that this deck will please you. More info coming soon.

Let's look at some new samples, shall we? These three at the top are from the new redesigned deck, with three from the old deck for comparison.

CARD DESIGNS DONE!!!

book	lilies	keys
cavalier	ring	moon
child	roads	snake
clover	ship	tree
coffin	stars	whip
fish	stork	scythe
flowers	sun	birds
garden	tower	cross
gentleman	mountain	dog
heart	house	fox
lady	bear	mice
letter	clouds	anchor

I have been and am currently taking names to put on an email waiting list, as I still hear from folks who are interested in the decks. If you would like to be put on the list, contact me. When the cards are ready, it will run first come first serve, so those whose names I have had longest will be the first to get the sets.

I will not be making anymore handmade sets. I have too busy a life to be a slave to my paper cutter. :P Those who have handmade sets, you are very lucky, and have a one of a kind handmade piece. :)

I will continue to post news on this page about my progress so you can either check back here or follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lesvieuxjours