GILDED REVERIE LENORMAND

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the channel. Thank you as always for tuning back in. If you're new here, welcome. I'm Layla, the Lenormand Reader, and I focus on the amazing Lenormand deck. So have a look at the links that I have for you so you can explore and master this amazing deck. Welcome to a new deck review. As you might have figured from the weekly readings and the monthly readings, I am exploring some new decks to add to the channel to our readings.

And the Gilded Reverie deck is a very popular deck with Lenormand Readers. I think it's a bestseller on Amazon or it's definitely up there. And so throughout the last couple of years, I had suggestions from some of you to do some deck reviews, some new ones, and also to review the Gilded Reverie.

It took me a while to get around to do this because I travel, I am nomadic, and so it's not every day that I have access to Amazon and to such marketplaces like Etsy and be in a place where I could receive the delivery easily. So it took me a while to get around this, to be in a place where I could actually receive the decks in a good condition and in a predictable way because sometimes shipping can go awry.

So today we're doing the Gilded Reverie deck, and I'm really excited about this because it's been on my list for some time. So this is a US Games production. US Games is very popular with producing decks. It's in a nice hard box, and it's in that you know A4, the upright format as opposed to some of the decks that come in a more horizontal shape, like the Maybelline and the Rana George. I've reviewed both of these as well.

And so this one is in an upright format. And I think Gilded Reverie, I think, has to do with the gold that is going to be in all of the cards. This is the expanded edition, and I think by this, they mean, or Ciro Marchetti’s, means that it includes additional cards. And we are going to go over the additional cards. So a very nice box, a solid box, and there's a magnet here on the side to open the box.

It comes with a booklet, which we're going to review. And, of course, the cards. So as you know, I like to go over the cards one by one and also to go over the guidebook. Now, I do have the cards prepared because I did open the deck and I did use it for some readings. So here we've got the 1 through 36, and we're going to go through all of them. Like I'm going to show you the pictures, the beautiful designs.

And as you can see, it's a gold, a shimmering gold here. I really like this gold, but I find that with time, they sort of wear off, which is fine. And then we have some extra cards. We have an extra card for the Birds. So this is an alternative card for the Birds. We have an alternative Man and Woman cards. These have become really popular. Like You can sort of pick whichever two you like.

You know It could be either this pair or the one in here, or you could take two men, two women. It just depends maybe on the relationship that you want to explore. And we have the extra cards. So the extra cards in the Gilded Reverie are cards number 37. So as you know, the Petit Jeu is 1 through 36, 36 cards. And the extras here are starting 37 all the way up to 44 cards.

So that's an additional eight cards. So we're going to look at these a bit later. Right now, we're going to go over the regular 1 through 36, and then we're going to also explore the guidebook.

CARD BY CARD

So let's put these aside a bit and let's just look at these cards. I'm going to zoom in a little bit so that you can see the beautiful designs. So the Gilded Reverie is I think the reason it's popular or the reason why it's known is because of the rich designs that we see on the cards.

So this is the Rider, and here it is actually a woman. There's a beautiful rainbow here. I think it's a lovely representation. This is the Clover. I like it when it's green as well. And the Titania deck, which is my favorite deck. It's actually yellow on a pink background. Here's the Clover in green. And as you can see, we've got the PIPs, right, and the card number. They stand out very clearly on the card.

I really like how they are at opposite corners. I think that's pretty creative instead of both of them being up. You know There's one at the bottom and one at the top at opposite corners. This is the Ship. It looks like a flying ship. It's flying in the air, not in the sea. Another creative twist here to the design. And it sounds like it looks like a bit of a Chinese junk kind of ship. So very creative. Here is the House. Here's another very creative kind of design.

It looks like something out of Lord of the Rings or one of these fantasy fantasy settings. So very beautiful as well. And very clear, I have to say on the cards. Even though it's kind of rich and there's a lot of colours, I think it's still you know a big design, like the house is big on the cart. So you see the whole symbol or the whole house. It's not really a symbol. Here is the Tree, and it has a representation of the Kabbalah, Tree of life. I hope you can see this.

I'm going to zoom in if I have to. But this is the Kabbalah, you know the Sephirah, the 10, right? Three, three, yes. The 11 Sephirah. And the beautiful rainbow here that goes through the Tree. Again, a very big size of the symbol on the whole card really stands out. Here is the Clouds with a very clear shadow part and sunny part. And I think the colors are lovely.

We have some birds here in the distance. We have a Tree here at the bottom. We have a bit of a thunder kind of design. It's very rich and it's very beautiful. And as you know, sometimes people read the sunny part. So the cards next to the sunny part are read as bright or it affects it in a bright way. And the cards on the gray side are affected in a more challenging way. This is one way you can use the Clouds.

I don't typically use this idea or this illustration in this way because I just think it depends on the combinations, but it could inspire sometimes. Here is the Snake. Here is a pretty aggressive-looking Snake. And you will notice that it is in a fruit Tree. So these are apples. I think they're apples. They can be peaches, but I'm pretty sure they're apples. And I think this is a reference to the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge.

I wouldn't have used such an aggressive-looking Snake with the Tree of Knowledge because I tend to look at the Tree of knowledge in a positive way. But again, a very clear representation of the Snake, big on the card. And even though it's busy and rich, it's still quite clear on the cards. And what's also nice about the deck is that they're bigger cards. So a lot of Lenormal cards tend to be small and it annoys me because I have big hands.

But I like this deck because the size is bigger, so it's more comfortable to handle. Here is the Coffin. And here we have a mummy tomb. So like an ancient Egyptian tomb with a god. I forget this guy's name, the wolf you know one. I'll pop it up on the screen. And it's represented here with the Coffin.

So an interesting edition of archetypes, shall we say, or a tradition, an ancient Egyptian tradition that's inserted into the deck through the Coffin. Here is the Bouquet or the Flowers. I like to use the word flowers, not so much a Bouquet. These are tulips, my guess is, red tulips. Again, a very clear symbol, very bright, you know aligned with the essence of the meaning of the Flowers. And there's a cute little card here with the Bouquet that says gilded reverie.

So that is quite a nice touch. Here is the Scythe. Of course, the allusion to the reaping with the wheat around here and a beautiful background, beautiful Sun. So there are a lot of shiny colors here that I think bring up a positive aspect of the size. But it does have obvious challenging aspects as well. And of course, it's going to depend on the combination. Here is the Whip, I think.

So we've got a couple of symbols together. There's the birch rod and then there's the Whip itself. And it's clear. This is a challenging card. I think this is a bit of a darker illustration here compared with the Scythe. And I think this works well with the challenging aspects of the Whip. Although a lot of readers read the Whip in a more neutral way, such as repetition and things like that. For me, the Whip is by default challenging.

And depending on other cards, it might change that or lift it off a little bit. Now here are the Birds. So this is card 12, the Birds. And here we have a bird feeder or a little bird house. And we have four birds, four little lovely birds. But the alternative card for the bird is two owls. So the two birds are more standard in Lenormand regardless of what they are because the Birds often represents the number two, so pairs and things like that.

So it looks like in the Gilded Reverie, we have a choice of the Birds. And it's interesting that the author and the artist chose to have an alternative for the Birds and not the other standard cards. So for the time being, I thought I'd go with this because I've seen a lot of owls, so I thought it would be a nice change for me to use something different, but they're both really pretty. Here is the Child. And again, a very clear picture.

A big-sized face of the child. It's obviously a child. It looks like either a boy or a girl. You know Children tend to be a bit fluid in this way. And we have some children's toys, a little castle here and a book and a beautiful rainbow. I think this is all about fairy tales and creativity and the imagination of children. And then we have some Stars in the background here. So very lovely, very rich, but still really bringing out the Child in this picture.

Here is the Fox and another nice clear design. I really like it when the main symbol takes up the most space in a card. When we do other deck reviews and probably like ones you've seen before, there are decks that won't do that. So for example, a common one is with the ring where the ring is small in the picture and it's something else like someone's hand or something that takes up most of the picture.

I find that a bit confusing and a bit distracting. I prefer it when the main symbol takes up the biggest size on the picture, on the card itself. So very clear here and also very lovely. We've got some fall colors you know with the beautiful color of the Fox. So a very nice card. Here is the Bear. This is more wintery and icy. It's like a polar bear here. There's water. There's an ice culture in the back.

So strong winter colors. And again, a strong, powerful Bear right in the center of this card. Here is the Stars. So the Stars is like the zodiac and it is very beautiful. I think this is called the Jerusalem Star. I have a similar one on my own deck except the bottom arm is longer than the others.

Maybe it's a Jerusalem star when the bottom one is longer. But it would pass for one. And I like the directions here and the compass directions. And on top of that, we have the zodiac sign. So very much an allusion to the skies, the constellations, and also the sense of guidance that comes with the Stars. Beautiful background here. So very clear reference to astrology across the board. Here is the Stork, and we have a couple of them. They're very beautiful.

Again, very clear and just, I think, lovely nest here. Maybe it's an allusion to the stroke that delivers babies, you know that myth. Lovely card. Here is the Dog. Again, a very clear representation of the Dog on the card. There's a leash here, but no one's holding it. And I think it's pretty neutral looking. I think it's, again, you know in alignment with the overall design. Here is the Tower.

So I think another very clear card, this element of elevation, seems to be taken from a bit of a distance. We're not too close to the Tower, and there are a couple of others here. Very nice. We've got a lighter and a darker side to the Tower in the skies. And we have some greenery around here. So very nice, very engaging. And a nice-looking Tower. Here is the Garden, also very pretty, quite green.

Here's a glass house, a fountain. Very nice for the concept of getting together. More traditionally, the Garden is about meetings with a lover, usually secret meetings you know back then in the 1800s. And I think this represents it really nicely. There's a couple of statues. There are some birds. I think there's a peacock, a white peacock here. Oh, and another one here. So very engaging cards, very rich and detailed. Here is the mountain.

Again, loud and clear on the card. This is a big mountain. And it reminds me of the one in Switzerland. I think it's called Sauvignon, a very beautiful mountain. This is a beautiful landscape here on the front. And just like the other cards, it's really engaging. Now, here is the Road. I think the reference to this in the booklet, we'll get to this in a bit, is choices.

So we have this fork in the road that splits in here and there's two pathways. There's two doorways. So it's not a road in this case. It's a staircase, but it's the same concept. So I might get to this in a bit. Very, very creative, very beautiful. Here are the mice looking really playful here. We've got this mouse hanging on what looks to be some kind of fabric or thread that's a bit torn.

And of course, the mice eating away at the fruit. And it's looking like it's in a kitchen or something. So very cute representations, and there's a couple of them. Or maybe this is oh, no, there's number three and four, which is more aligned with the classical representation of the mice because the mice represent multiplicity or several things or people or items in the same way that the Birds represent two. Here is the Heart, and we've got two beautiful swans around a heart.

And of course, you know swans, when they get together like this, they look like a heart. So a very creative and beautiful representation of love, I think. Here is the Ring. And yes, I appreciate having the Ring big and clear on the card. It's a pretty ring. We have a pattern of circles here on the Ring itself. And in the background, this is looking like red rubies. So lovely card, really helpful to have the big ring on the card.

Here is the Book, another lovely and elaborate design, a mysterious-looking book with a zodiac circle here, very nice. It sounds like maybe it's a secret combination to open the book. And then in the background, we have a couple of piles of books. So very beautiful as well and very clear. Here is the Letter, a very clear card as well.

Some design in the background. I think there's something written here. Mountain? Mice? Yeah. It sounds like it's the names of the cards around the House, Tree, Clouds, Snake, Ship. Yeah, it looks like it's the name of the name of the cards around it. And then we have this beautiful letter here. What does it say on the Letter? I can't make it out just yet. I'll need maybe a magnifying glass.

Very beautiful with a lovely seal, very classical you know in alignment with the overall design of the Gilded Reverie. Here is the Man and here is the Woman. I find them a little bit different. I find them a little bit different in character, whereas let me move these aside. So this is one set and this is another set. And I think these two are closer to each other in design than these two.

Both of them have a rose, though, and here both of them have the necklace with the symbol of the male and female. Very beautiful cards, I think. Very, very detailed and also very inspired and inspiring. So really nice cards. So you can choose whichever cards you insert within the deck. And I think I read in the guidebook that Marchetti himself or herself.

I think it's a man. Ciro is a man. Suggests that you can insert all of them in the deck. If you are doing a spread and you're asking about several people, then you can insert all of them. But that would mean you have to draw the whole 36 plus 2 or 38 cards because when you're drawing cards randomly, you can't guarantee that they're going to show up. But if you want them to, then that would be the point, right?

So here is the Man and here is the Woman. The roses are what they have in common mostly. Very beautiful cards. And these are the lilies. Again, a very clear and helpful distinction from the Bouquet. The Bouquet with red tulips, these are clearly white lilies and purplish. We also have them in the background and like a glass in the glass design.

So again, very beautiful cards. And I think I really like how big the illustration stands out on the card. This is helpful, especially since there's a lot going on in these cards. Here is the beautiful Sun, and this is the face of the Sun. We've got Roman numerals here. Beautiful red, yellow, gold, very engaging for the Sun. And here is the Moon, also very beautiful.

We've got the phases of the Moon and another kind of astrological or astronomical kind of tool. So very beautiful. We've got some designs here on the side of the Moon, and it's a profile phase. Lovely cards. Here is the Key. Beautiful. Nice, big, elaborate Key. In the background, we have a cage with an open door, and inside it, there's a road I'm sorry, a rose. So it's clear that the Key opens the cage and delivers freedom.

Here is the Fish. I can't say this is my favorite design. I think there are other Fish that are more elaborate, more elegant, and more flowy, like goldfish, for example, or what do you call them? These are Japanese, feng shui fish or Chinese feng shui fish. I don't think these are as engaging as other symbols in the cards.

And I think maybe something like a goldfish or something more flowy would have worked nicely in alignment with everything else. The cards are still very clear. The fish are very clear on the card. So another nice standout representation. Here is the Anchor. Beautiful, elaborate Anchor unlike most decks. Lots of work in here. There is a sea and seagulls, so clearly a reference to seafaring and the element of water.

Another beautiful card. And here is finally 36, and this is clearly a reference to Jesus. We have Jesus up here, Jesus's face up here, and we have Mary's face at the bottom and some design on the side. So a clear reference to Christianity through this Cross. So very beautiful cards, as you can see, are really nice and big.

The back doesn't tell you if it's upright or it might, actually, just through a bit of a shadowing here on the circle. So I don't know if you can see it on camera, but if it's upright, then this shadowy bit is at the bottom, and if it's reversed, then it's at the top. So as you know, we don't read Lynn in reverse. I think some people do, but I don't think it's necessary at all. So that's for this beautiful deck.

THE GUIDEBOOK

Let's now have a look at the guidebook. So the guidebook is a nice, handy guidebook. It's got everything like a lot of these little books that US Systems produces. It's a bit like the Maybe Liner Mall, and it's a bit like the Rana George deck. I think both the Maybe Liner Mall and the Rana George also publish through US systems. They publish their decks through them.

So this one is a nice little book, good binding and strong paper. So it's not, you know, flimsy, if you like. It's quite strong. And it's the usual, as you might expect, a bit of an introduction here, a bit of a history, and a bit of an overview by the author, and some guidance here, choosing and working with Lenormand Decks.

And I think then get into the card meetings. So the meetings are pretty regular. There is nothing that stood out to me as outlandish or exceptional in the treatment of the card meanings. There's a style and a format that the author follows. After the title of the card, there is a short paragraph that is as though the card itself is speaking and the card explains what it does.

So for example, the Rider, it says, "I am always bringing news. Look around me to see what it includes. I might be coming to visit or bringing you some changes. I am fast and always on the move. If you see a negative card close by, you will probably not enjoy the reply." So there's a bit of a rhyme here, which I think is really thoughtful and lovely. And as I was saying, you know it's the card speaking.

And then there's a bit of a more standard explanation with a bit more detail. So this is the format and approach for the cards, and the meanings are often as expected. I didn't think there was anything in particular that stands out. The Birds, the explanation for the Birds was I think somewhere he says that it's generally positive. Let me just double-check that.

Here we go. Gossip or the passing of information of a positive kind. So I personally don't attribute positive or negative news or quality to the news represented by the Birds. I would look at nearby cards. I would keep it as neutral in that sense, and then I would look at nearby cards. And also, the Birds is sometimes associated with nervousness and anxiety.

And then there is another one, another entry for the owls. So like we saw, you know there's the owls as an alternative or I'm not sure if the author means as an addition to the 36 card deck. But they've got both entries here. So one for the birds and one for the owls. And the owls also indicates communication.

I'm reading this, but usually of less frivolous nature. Owls may be sharing their wisdom or urging you to listen to what your elders or learned friends may have to say. So I wouldn't attribute these specifics to a card. I would attribute them to a combination. So I would take the Birds as a bit more neutral, and then I would look at other cards around it to qualify it. That's what we do in the card combination workshops. We look at how cards qualify each other and how they affect each other. And that's all the way to card 36.

ADDITIONAL CARDS

And then the author gets into the additional cards. So we're going to look at the additional cards, and I'm going to spend a bit of time to tell you why I do not use additional cards. So let's go ahead and look at this deck's additional cards. So the first one is the card of Time.

And as you can see, I love this illustration. There are all sorts of representations of time. You've got the regular clocks. I think you've got these: this is a sundial, and I think different types of sundials. You've got a rooster. And I think that's a reference to the weather vein. And then you've got the hourglass here and you've got a candle. So you've got all of these lovely symbols and an owl. I'm not sure how an owl is a teller of time, but all of these beautiful symbols about time. So this is the timing card.

This is Bridges, and so let me just back up. The timing card talks about time, which I think is obvious. And I think if I read correctly, it suggests that time is of importance here. Time may be passing. And so it's important to be attentive and things like that. So a pretty obvious interpretation. This is the card of Bridges, and we've got a couple of those across mountains. And this is a card that suggests bringing things closer or I think a passage of sorts.

Here is the card of Dice. So we've got two dice, and this is a card of chance. And I'll go over the interpretation in a little bit, and I'll tell you why. I don't think these cards are needed, although they're actually really pretty.

This is the card of Mask, and it has to do with the different roles we play and also sometimes an element of deception.

Here is the card of the Well. I think this has to do if I recall correctly, it has to do with sourcing into the depths of our soul, being resourceful, pulling out solutions, pulling out ideas. You know, there is that sense of sourcing. And actually, in the description of the card or the explanation of the card, the author says something really beautiful, I thought was really beautiful, was that the rope that carries the bucket to the bottom is centeredness. So I thought that was a beautiful metaphor about being centered and that rope you know that carries the bucket that can source the water from the bottom. Very beautiful description. There's no doubt about that.

Here is the Compass card. Compasses are obvious. They have to do with direction. Again, I don't think it's needed. And this is the card of the labyrinth, which has to do with finding one's way in the midst of, let's say, confusion or not having a clear direction.

And finally, this is the Magnifying Glass, which has to do with obviously zooming in and getting into the details and looking closely.

So they are very beautiful cards. Now, let's go over a little bit of the explanation so I can tell you why we don't really need these extra cards. And I always argue for that. And you know I get emails asking if I teach that, and I try to explain to people that you don't need them. But I guess people like you know like having these cards because they're engaging. Let me just take a second to put this back to the top. Okay. I've got them back to the top because I want to refer to some cards as we explore the extra cards.

So starting with the card of Time, I think we can do all eight because eight is not too many, so we can sort of talk through them more or less quickly. The author says, "Time to the forefront, approaching or passing, needing to be attentive," etc. The context of time in a reading can be suggested usually by playing card inserts or numerology or other methods. I don't support these methods. What the author means is that you look at this.

You look at the pip. For example, this is the nine of hearts, and the nine can represent time. Another one would be the card number as it would represent one week, one month, one day, and things like that. So I don't really support this interpretation. I find it a bit simplistic, and it hardly works. So you let me know if it ever worked for you to predict time in these ways. And the author suggests some combinations.

So for example, the card may take a long time if near slow cards like the Anchor, Tree, Lily, etc, or faster timescale with shorter cards like the Scythe, the Whip, etc. Now, in my dictionary, the card of time is the Tower. So I think the Tower is 19. So the Tower can represent a few things other than time, but it is the main card of time. And it's not just time forward, it's also in the past.

In certain combinations, I read it as a reference to the past. And the same idea applies with faster cards. It would be a shorter timescale. With longer, slower cards, it would be a longer timescale. So the Tower is there to support the idea of time. The next card is bridges. So bridges, according to the author well, obviously, it's their invention here, near or far, wide or narrow, steep or straight are some of my traits.

Again, very nice writing here that rhymes. But in whatever form, I am your connection to places, people, or points in time. I can span spaces, etc. So the card can also mean reconciliation, connection, or building bridges between people. In another sense, the bridge is a place of assignations, brief interludes, and meetings. Combined with time, it can suggest a brief meeting.

And with the Letter and Ring, it suggests a quick resolution to contractual issues. So in my dictionary, this card would be represented by the Road, which the author calls choices. And here it is. So it would be the same idea exactly. It can come, it can go, it can bring things together, it can bring changes. Now, let me just make a point here. The author refers to car 22, which is the Roads or Road as choice.

I wouldn't do that. Choice, the word choice is an interpretation. It's not the name of the symbol. Whereas in normal decks, we just refer to the name of the symbol, and then whichever way you want to interpret it, that's another level. So the word choice is the interpretation level as I see it.

Whereas if you look at the names of the other cards, Dog, Tower, Ring, Stars, dork, etc. I think all of them are a reference to the symbol itself and not an interpretation of the symbol or what the symbol means. So I prefer to distinguish those levels. You have the illustration, especially in Le Normal, because Le Normal's cards are very simple. They come from everyday life. So there's the name of the symbol. That's the name of the card.

And then what that symbol means, like choice, you know that's the next level. Anyway, that aside, no, we need this here. That aside, I would represent, like I was saying, that the bridges can be very well represented by the Road. So instead of calling it choice, you can call it just Road. And then this Road can be applied for different contexts. You can stretch the meaning of the Road into different contexts and come up with the indications that you cover under the card of the bridge or bridges.

Okay? So that's my point with these extra cards. Let's look at the next one. The next one is the card of the dice. Very nice card, very fun card, I think. And this is obviously a card of chance. Risk, gamble, feeling lucky, opportunity, possibility, and all of that. So this is what the author says. They signify randomness and a risk that one chooses to take rather than the Clover.

So again, I think these nuances, they're a bit too fine to deserve a separate card. Instead, you could use combinations to come up with these different nuances. So for example, to start off, the card that would be the card of chance is the Clover. So that's card two. Now, if this is about you taking a calculated risk or you consciously taking a risk, you can combine it with something like the Rider because the Rider is a card of proactivity.

You know It takes steps. It has motivation and enthusiasm. So that can mean taking risks out of your own will. And if it's something like another chance or something that is out of your hands, it would be the Cross. The Cross is very much a card of it's not in your hands type of thing. You have to deal with it, and sometimes you don't have a choice. That's the idea that comes through the burden.

So that would be a combination to suggest the idea that well, you know it's out of the blue. You didn't have control over it. So there are different ways. And you might not agree with these combinations of mine, and that's fine. But the point is that you can always accommodate these nuances through combinations. Make sense? So that was for the dice. Let's look at card number no, that's not the next one. Card number 40 is the next one.

And this is the mask. And the mask is about playing roles. It may indicate the need to assume different roles. It is symbolic of concealment and deception, but well, the author doesn't say but I'm saying but. The author says it is different from the Fox or Snake because its appearance indicates that it is something that it is not. The card may be a warning to not take something or someone at face value.

Well, actually, that's precisely what the Fox and Snake are. So I don't agree with this too much. You could use either the Fox or Snake to represent deception. The Snake is a bit tougher. It's a bit more toxic than the Fox, but both of these cards can represent a warning of a deception, and they can also advise you, the RED, to assume a face, you know to not be transparent.

With the Flowers, for example, I often take it to suggest someone who is false to your face. So I don't see this nuance first of all, I don't agree that they are different. But even if they were, I think it could still be accommodated with combinations, like I said. So here are some combination suggestions with the writer. The mask with the writer is deceptive news. If found close to the lady or man, the person can be fake.

Well, the same applies with either of these cards. So again, another reason why I don't find these extra cards helpful. And I find different authors give it different tries you know they try to add. But I find that every time I can find a way to accommodate them with the cards and combinations. So the next one is the well. So this one is a symbolic meaning of wishes, resources, creativity, and healing.

So that's the Stars for starters. The Stars is all around creativity, healing, and success. But we also have the Key, which is great for that sense of resourcefulness for unlocking potential. Author says, "Looking deeper into an issue, that could be the Key and Book or the Book on its own. The well can also have to do with wishes, which we mentioned.

And unlike the Clover, which brings unexpected luck, this card reminds you that you have to plan and work hard for your rewards. Sure enough, sure enough. So again, the few different meanings of the Well can be accommodated by different cards in Lenormand. The Key, the Book, maybe the Cross for that element of depth. The next one is the compass. So I think that is a pretty obvious one.

The compass has to do with direction. Let's see what the author says. I am here to help you find your way if there's a journey to be taken or a choice to be made. This is definitely the Road which the author calls choice and the Ship and possibly also the Rider. The compass is an indicator of direction, also the Ship. And in fact, the compass is always on a ship. So it's very much part of the Ship and also the Road and other sorts of travel.

The compass card represents the many things that can guide you on your path. A reminder to notice or heed the signs. This comes from the Cross and Clover. And some combinations, look to the Key and Stars for further clarity and guidance. Well, yeah. I mean, if you had the Ship or the Road with any of the Key and Stars, it would be the same idea. So another card that I don't think necessarily adds a lot to the deck.

Here is the Labyrinth. Let's see what this one is about. When you think you've done everything you can, you hit a wall and have to start again. I am the labyrinth that keeps you going through trial and error to the end. There are no shortcuts to success. This card is about making your way through a confusing stream of events. Okay. It directs you to retrace your steps. Regrouping, starting again is not a failure.

It can mean a puzzle or problem. So I would just use so first of all, we've got the Road, which I wouldn't call choice. And then we can use something like the Clouds. So the Clouds would be that difficult path where you're not sure you know where it's leading to, and it has to do with figuring things out.

So again, I think it can be accommodated by these cards, and I don't think it necessarily adds a lot. Although, obviously, these are really pretty cards. Here is the last one. This is the Magnifying Glass, and let's see what the author says about this one. I am the card that suggests to you to take a closer look or two. So that would be the Book or the Key or the Letter or even the Mouse because all of these cards are detail-oriented cards.

Focus and a perspective that is new. The Tree is very good for perspective. This card suggests you need to take a closer look at the current issue. Now is the time to focus, scrutinize, analyze, etc. All of these are well accommodated by the Mouse, Key, Book, and Letter. This card can also be a warning that not all is what it seems at first. Sure. Definitely with the Mouse or maybe the Fox. Be careful to read the fine print. Definitely Letter and Book and Mouse.

And if it appears with the Letter, Book or Ring, it can mean you have to examine a document contract, information or commitment. Well, you have to do that with the Letter anyway, regardless of what the Letter is with, whether it's with a Ring, with a Book, or something else, or maybe a Lily or the Tower for official matters. You know All of these are flexible. So again, I think all of these cards can be accommodated by the deck itself, by the patella itself, and by the combinations.

LAYOUTS

So with this said, let's next look at some of the spreads that are offered in this booklet. So first of all, the author addresses the extra cards and how you can use them with a regular spread. So the author offers some suggestions for the eight extra cards and where you would place them on a tableau. So here, I think you can see this reasonably clearly.

This is a Grand Tableau of Nines because there's nine cards and four rows. And then there's another tableau that is not represented here, which is the Piquet. So the author talks about some suggestions for how you would place the cards into a Grand Tableau. I don't really like them. I think they create an imbalance in the geometry of the tableau.

And then there's a really curious technique here that involves using these extra cards as clarifying cards. And what the author seems to suggest is that after you do your Tableau, you remove the cards that you don't want, and you keep the cards that you want to focus on, and you add clarifying cards on top of them.

So I'm not sure how helpful this is. First of all, I don't think you need to remove the whole Tableau to then add clarifying cards. And second, there are tableau techniques that you can use that don't involve additional cards, but that are clarifying. And these techniques are knighting and mirroring and opposite cards, and that's in addition to the million lines that you can read in a Grand Tableau.

I think I might have talked about them in another deck review, but maybe I'll put up maybe some illustration here that is helpful. So that's for the technique. And then there is so right. So the clarifying cards are essentially read as combinations, which makes perfect sense.

The next spread that the author covers is the nine-card portrait. And of course, if you follow my channel, the monthly reading is almost always a portrait or has been for a long time. And the next layout is called the Fortune Telling Day spread. So this is quite a nice spread. And here's what it looks like. I'll just set it up in a second. Okay. Here is sort of the setup.

Now, I have to say that what it is, is there are nine pairs of cards. So one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. They should be in one line, or according to the booklet, they are. But it goes beyond the frame of the camera. And I don't want to zoom out so much. I want us to stay focused on these cards and their illustrations. And so the idea here is that each pair tells you something about your day, and you just read them in pairs. So here's what it says.

First of all, this is called the Fortune Telling Day Spread. And I'll just take a few of these to illustrate, but not the whole thing. So for example, the first pair represents someone you will meet. What comes out of that meeting? Now, what's interesting is that this assumes that you will meet someone. I mean, I spend a lot of days on my own just reading cards and prepping material, and so there are days when I don't meet someone. So some of these suggestions about what each of the pairs mean makes assumptions about the day.

Others are more flexible. For example, pair number six is about something that will help you. Pair number seven, something that will happen which is a surprise to you. Again, maybe there aren't any surprises. I mean, some days don't have surprises. But I think what's fun about this concept is that you can design it yourself. So you can, first of all, choose how many of those pairs you want, maybe nine, maybe less.

And then you can decide what each pair suggests. This is something I do with my past, present, and future layout in the course where I have three groups of three cards, and each group represents either the past, present, or future, or it can be body, mind, soul, you know and things like that. So it's a fun concept, and I think you can take it from here and design it a little bit on your own.

The next spread that the author brings up is the chocolate bar spread by Rana George. So the author references a spread by Rana George, and this is called the chocolate bar because I think it looks like a chocolate bar. So there are six groups of three cards each. And each of the groups represents an area of life. So for example, career, health, wealth. This is what I call a life overview spread.

I have an entire workshop or masterclass on life overview spreads. And what these are is they are general spreads that cover several areas of life. Now, these areas of life have life maps, so that's what I call a life map. Life maps answer the question of what are the different areas of life? And there are different frameworks for this. So for example, the horoscopes and the zodiac signs, each of the signs is associated with the life area, the 12 houses of life.

There's also the Feng Shui Bagua that has a reference to the different life areas. So I call these life maps, and I also have a master class on life maps. And so the idea here is that for each area of life, you have three cards and you interpret them separately. So for example, let's take this career, for example, and you get three cards for career. You interpret these three cards for the area of career. And then the next three cards, they are interpreted for another life area, and so on until you have six life areas.

So again, these sorts of spreads, they're very flexible. You can decide what your life map is, what are those life areas that you're going to read about. You can also decide how many cards you have per area, okay? But keep in mind that you have only 36 cards.

So the more areas, the more your cards are going to be taken up. At that point, you might as well just do a Grand Tableau and read the portraits within the Grand Tableau.

So that's it for the Gilded Reverie Lenormand. I hope you have enjoyed this deck review. I hope you like the deck. Let me know how much you like the deck. Let me know if you want us to continue using it in our readings. Maybe this is a better background for darker cards.

And yeah, I look forward to your thoughts about this. I think a lot of people use this deck, so let me know if you're one of them. Let me know if you use the extra cards and how you've been using them and if you find they've added to your reading. So thank you so much for tuning into this deck review and I'll see you in the next one. And in the meantime, I hope you'll catch me on the weekly and monthly readings. Thanks again, and until next time, take very good care of yourself.