Should you start with Lenormand cards or tarot cards?

Hello again~!

As you may have guessed already by reading the title, we are talking about which sort of card deck you should start with, based on the comparison of tarot vs. Lenormand. From my own experience, it depends on what types of information you want to "draw" from your readings, but also on what kind of deck "asks you to be used" for said reading. There were times when I focused solely on one medium to get information from. I found that, while tarot in the beginning was easier for my intuition to take the steering wheel, much information on how to read Lenormand online and in books focuses on learning the single meanings of the cards, and how each combination of cards could be interpreted. However, intuition plays a huge role in both processes, no matter what you do.

A Lenormand card spread (Grand Tableau), using the Blaue Eule Lenormand deck. (Sorry for the flashlight I used :\...)

Let's start with Lenormand: Here, the size of the decks I have worked with is solely 36 cards. I think some decks tend to have more cards, but 36 is all you need. While some combinations tend to have a "bad reputation", there aren't really symbols within my deck that tend to freak me out, a problem I had a lot when I started working with tarot. Each card can be interpreted in a positive way, that is. The card of "The Fox" (14th card in the Lenormand) may stand for deception of some sort, but it can also mean, based on where it lands especially, intelligence, and for me, it can also represent a feline animal (I know foxes are not felines, but bear (haha) with me for a sec.) you may take care of, if it lands in a certain position. So it depends on the question how you could, but also should, interpret the Lenormand cards. Lenormand is also easier to use for questions of timing ("When will I find a new job?"), of "What character traits does (insert person of interest here) have?", etc. While there are also timing cards in tarot (8 of Wands comes to mind...), it also largely depends on the steps to be taken prior to the ultimate results card.

Tarot, however, is easier to interpret for many people, because the images already tell the story. While symbolism plays a huge role in both decks, with tarot, I find it the easiest to look out for the symbol in one or multiple tarot card(s) and what it means to me personally. The Lenormand cards are very minimalistic oftentimes, in my version the card of "The Flowers" (9th card of the Lenormand) simply shows a bouquet, so you focus more on what this means in combination with the surrounding cards, the house cards, or the ones it corresponds, mirrors, or knights to. I will talk more about these methods in another entry, but with Lenormand cards, there are ways to "pair up" cards that don't even lie close together, at least in the Grand Tableau spread... Tarot, however, works more with your intuitive mind, or so I feel. Of course, you should know a bit about what tarot card means what, don't get me wrong, but still, it very much depends on how the imagery of the cards make you feel. Some decks may have more "negativistic" imagery than others, so if you feel scared by one deck, you probably should NOT start with this. Also, tarot has 78 cards (I saw some decks that added an additional card, though, but USUALLY, it is 78...), consisting of the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards, while the remaining 56 are spread up into four different suits - Wands (representing fire energy), Pentacles (earth), Swords (air), and Cups (water).

So, both have pros and cons to them. Ultimately both can be worked with, but if you had to choose one, just go with what you'd feel more comfortable learning about as of now. There is no right or wrong, it largely depends on your own personal style of learning. What may work for me might not work for others, so just ask yourself.