Marie Anne Lenormand
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand (1772–1843), also known as Marie Anne Le Normand, was a French bookseller, necromancer, fortune-teller and cartomancer of considerable fame during the Napoleonic era. Lenormand was highly influential on the wave of French cartomancy that began in the late 18th century.
Early life
Lenormand was born on 27 May 1772 in Alençon, Normandy, to Jean Louis Antoine Lenormand, a draper, and Marie Anne Lenormand (née Gilbert). Lenormand was orphaned at the age of five and educated in a convent school. Lenormand left Alençon for Paris in 1786.
Career
Lenormand claimed to have given divinatory advice to many famous persons, among them leaders of the French Revolution (Marat, Robespierre, and St-Just), Empress Josephine and Tsar Alexander I.
She claimed to have been imprisoned during the Revolution with the future Empress Josephine and it was during their time in prison that they became friends and she started her service as a fortune-teller.
In 1814 Lenormand started a second literary career and published many texts, causing many public controversies, and was active as an author for more than 40 years.
Death
Lenormand died in Paris on 25 June 1843 at the age of 71 and was buried in Division 3 of Père Lachaise Cemetery.
She left behind a fortune of 500,000 Francs, and left no heirs other than a nephew who, at the time of her death, was in the army. A devout Catholic, her nephew burned all of her occult paraphernalia, taking only the monetary fortune that she left behind.
Legacy
After Lenormand's death, her name was used on several cartomancy decks. This included a deck of 36 illustrated cards known as the Petit Lenormand, or simply "Lenormand cards," still used extensively today. It is commonly used for divination in France, the Low Countries, Central Europe, the Balkans, and Russia. It eventually spread to Brazil, probably through European and Russian emigres.
In his book, The Key to the Tarot, author A.E. Waite compared Lenormand to The High Priestess card in the tarot, saying that she was "full of intuitions and revelations."
The Magicians, Martyrs, and Madmen Tarot by Travis McHenry, depicts Lenormand as the Queen of Wands.