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Marie-Anne Lenormand
Marie-Anne Adélaïde Lenormand (1772–1843) was a famous French fortune-teller and card reader, after whom the Lenormand cards known today are named. Even as a schoolgirl, she showed great interest in fortune-telling and was expelled from a convent school after one of her predictions came true.
She moved to Paris in 1790 and opened a fortune-telling practice a few years later. Despite several arrests and brief stints in prison on political charges or for alleged espionage, her reputation continued to grow. Among her most famous clients were Empress Joséphine and Tsar Alexander I of Russia.
After the July Revolution of 1830, she largely withdrew from public life and read the cards only for friends. She died in 1843 as a result of medical malpractice.
Although the Lenormand cards bear her name, she did not use them herself. She likely worked with Etteilla’s divination decks. The Lenormand cards commonly used today were not created until after her death and are based on Johann Kaspar Hechtel’s “Game of Hope,” developed around 1799.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
She moved to Paris in 1790 and opened a fortune-telling practice a few years later. Despite several arrests and brief stints in prison on political charges or for alleged espionage, her reputation continued to grow. Among her most famous clients were Empress Joséphine and Tsar Alexander I of Russia.
After the July Revolution of 1830, she largely withdrew from public life and read the cards only for friends. She died in 1843 as a result of medical malpractice.
Although the Lenormand cards bear her name, she did not use them herself. She likely worked with Etteilla’s divination decks. The Lenormand cards commonly used today were not created until after her death and are based on Johann Kaspar Hechtel’s “Game of Hope,” developed around 1799.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
