BYO Lenormand, the Review

The BYO Lenormand (Build-Your-Own Lenormand Deck) by Jera-babylon Rootweaver is a great Lenormand “à la carte”. This is the first Lenormand ever that lets you customize your deck, using 180 different cards. Each card has 5 different variations. For this review, I got a BYO Lenormand of 75 cards! This characteristics lets you use this Lenormand in a traditional way, or also in a less-traditional way.

It has been made with Mokuhanga App. Mokuhanga (木版画) is a Japanese technique of woodblock printing. Usually, artists depicted ukiyo-e drawings, but Jera has produced a mixture of Japanese and Western feeling in her deck. This balance between West meets East, makes of this BYO Lenormand an exquisite pleasure to read with.

This artistic balance reminds you of vintage memories. While being vintage, it is so new at the same time. So you can find, easily, the yin-yan balance in the cards. Not only the colors are reminiscent of a great meeting of cultures (East and West), but also of epoques (vintage and new).

The cards have smooth colors, they are elegant, and they all fit perfectly one another. Whatever the mix of cards you might choose, all of them fit perfectly one another. So, you will get the perfect GT, or the perfect layout of your choosing with this cards. So, don’t worry at all when choosing the cards, all 180 cards match perfectly one another, creating a great vintage-new atmosphere.

They shuffle perfectly too, since they use Printer Studio card-stock. Easy to shuffle, nice to see, and comfortable to read, this deck has more than meets the eye. You can meditate while mixing these cards (literally), since linen card-stock is a pleasure to shuffle.

If you choose to have two cards of each card, or two cards of some key cards, you can play further with your Lenormand. I used all the 75 cards that I got (yes, you read correctly: all the 75 cards) and I made a reading. I got two male consultants, two female consultants, two children (a girl and a boy), two stars, two houses, etc. Having two of each of the human cards enabled me to read more than usual with a formal Lenormand deck. Thus, reading the children in the house, might be easier if you have different cards to portray the kids (to give an example). Cards can be extremely accurate when using their doubles! However, take in mind that you must decide who is who before making the reading.

A massive GT can also be made. However, take in mind that, more cards also mean more time reading. It can be a mammoth challenge, but it can also enable you with the tools needed to read a normal 36-card GT. This, however, can help you take in all the meanings of the cards, along with the Lenormand techniques to do so. You will need lots of space on your carpet, though.

This is the only deck that enables you to play with such flexibility, and with so many options, due to have so many card duplicates. And it is a pleasure to experiment with it.

You can go as far as to choose the rider: male or female, looking to the right or looking to the left. You can really be very “picky” with these cards, and use duplicates because duplicates are also different from one another (so different that they can give you extra info, when using all of the cards).

One of my favorite cards are the stars (I write “are” because I love the cards that I got!). Each of the versions triggers different emotions in me, bringing me to read them slightly differently. And this is one thing I do love a lot about this deck!

Another pair of cards that I love are the bouquets. Originally there are 5 different versions of each card, but I love these two versions. I guess it is because of the different colors depicted in them.

I cannot take a pic of all the cards here. To check the cards you can choose, please go here and take a look. This deck is perfect to be used as a regular Lenormand deck, or as a balanced challenge in which you test your Lenormand abilities.

Do not be fooled: this is a great deck for both tradition lovers and transgression lovers. For me, this deck allows me to go beyond what the traditional Lenormand is and lets me test myself using more cards than a 36-deck has. The challenge can get as difficult as I want, and in doing so, I can go deeper and deeper into the Lenormand. 3×3 layouts can easily become 9×9 layouts! You put your own limits!

This is an exquisite, challenging, loving-vintage, East meets West, gorgeous Lenormand deck that you can easily make your own. Think about it: you have 180 cards!! Each card has 5 different versions. You can choose one, or more of each card and build, not only your personalized deck, but you can also a deck that your clients might like a lot. In choosing different cards, you are also giving the opportunity to your clients to choose which cards they might like the most! And that is amazing.

In short: you need this deck in your collection (with lots of extra cards).

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