The Petit Jeu vs the Grand Jeu de Mlle Lenormand
There are actually TWO separate decks in circulation that take Mlle Lenormand's name. What's the difference between them?
(NB, this article is one I previously posted on my Lozzy’s Lenormand blog)
Now, you may be aware that there’s not one but two distinct sets of oracle cards in circulation that bear the name of Mlle Lenormand.
One is the Petit Jeu de Mlle Lenormand, which is what we are mostly talking about when we talk about “Lenormand” these days; the simple 36 cards I use here and elsewhere, and that originated with Johann Hechtel’s Das Spiel Der Hoffnung (Game of Hope) cards at the end of the 18th century.
The other deck you may have heard of is the Grand Jeu de Mlle Lenormand. Which, although both decks/games have been named after the famed fortune-teller herself, is a TOTALLY different set of cards which uses a completely different system and has origins elsewhere and in different traditions.
So in this post, I want to introduce you to the Grand Jeu and highlight the main differences for those of you who are curious. The deck does seem to be out of print or ridiculously expensive in many countries for some reason, especially the US, but is available at a very reasonable price (less than £20!) via Amazon in the UK, and you may well be able to find a copy elsewhere, such as eBay if you’re interested.
What Is The Grand Jeu de Mlle Lenormand?
The Grand Jeu de Mlle Lenormand is a deck of 54 oracle cards that bears absolutely no relation either in interpretations or symbolism to the 36 Petit Jeu de Lenormand cards that you’ll be familiar with. So it isn’t just a “bigger version” of the smaller deck; it’s a completely different system.
That said, it is a very interesting, if very complicated, one, and well worth checking out if you’re into oracle decks, and especially if you’re an aficionado of Greek mythology, as the deck is based on that. Other than that, it pretty much has it all, although I should warn you, it is very complex and scholarly rather than intuitive to learn.
What Are The Main Similarities and Differences Between This And A Petit Lenormand Deck?
Similarities:
Both decks have playing card references
Both involve weaving together information to make stories
The idea of the meaning of one card influencing or ‘tempering’ the meaning of another is present here in terms of the storytelling nature of the deck.
Er… that’s it for similarities, pretty much!
Differences:
The Petit Lenormand deck has 36 cards, the Grand Jeu, 54
The imagery and elements between the two are completely different
The Grand Jeu cards are considerably larger than Petit Lenormand cards. They have to be, because of the sheer amount of information they contain!
There are multiple decks produced for Le Petit Jeu Lenormand; the Grand Jeu appears to have one deck only
Petit Lenormand uses very simple imagery, a single image per card. It is likely that these were derived from other simple oracle systems of the time, as well as, for example, from coffee ground reading divination traditions.The Grand Jeu Lenormand deck is far more intellectual and contains complex scenes based on Greek mythology, several scenes per card, as well as other divination references, like astrology and alchemy
The Petit Lenormand deck can be used (and learned) far more intuitively than the Grand Jeu
Any layouts you use will be quite different because of the way you interpret the cards. Three card and five card layouts are not uncommon, however.
Is The Grand Jeu More Authentically Connected With Marie Lenormand Than The Petit Lenormand Deck?
Well, yes and no. We do know that the deck we call Lenormand today, the Petit Lenormand, is actually based primarily on that of Hechtel’s Game of Hope and rebranded using the famous fortune teller’s name in the mid-19th century and thus is unlikely to have had anything whatsoever to do with Marie Lenormand and her methods. Even the so-called “Philippe Lenormand” instructions that were long printed with the decks are likely to be a marketing ploy more than evidence of any direct connection with the lady herself.
It is similarly likely that the Grimaud Grand Jeu Lenormand deck (sample here with instruction booklet from the British Museum) was also given Marie Lenormand’s name for marketing purposes. BUT, although no writings or details of her methods remain, there are contemporaneous as well as fictionalized (and likely exaggerated) accounts of visits to the great lady herself, which suggest her methods involved analysis of multiple elements; playing cards, reference to the classics, astrology, the querent’s preferred flowers, scents and colours.
So although the Grand Jeu is highly unlikely to follow the exact methods and interpretations used by Mlle Lenormand, I’d suggest it is probably rooted more in the idea of her methods, where multiple elements are used, than the Petit Lenormand deck.
To show you what I mean, let’s take a closer look at the detail on the cards.