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By: Carrie Paris & Tony Savory with Tina Hardt
Publisher: Red Wheel / Weiser
Number of cards: 40 Lenormand and 38 Kipper
Card size: 3.5 in x 2.25 in
Box size: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.75 in
Guidebook pages: 144
Purchased or gifted?: Review copy gifted from Red Wheel / Weiser

Favorite cards Kipper: All three marriage cards, odyssey, good outcome, high honors, occupation, hope
Favorite cards Lenormand: Birds, bouquet, clover, book, fox, letter
Season: Summer

A *look at my favorite cards from both stacks*

First Impressions: Full disclosure, I have never used Lenormand or Kipper. I’ve always said I wanted to but the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot system feels like my home, a part of my soul so while I’ve had some interested in Lenormand and Kipper, I’ve never felt compelled to act on that interest. But Red Wheel/Weiser asked me if I would be interested in this deck and I thought, why not? Here’s a gracious opportunity to try this for the first time and share my experience. They also sent me the Language of Lenormand to go along with the deck.

Trying these styles for the first time was overwhelming to say the least. Not because anything is wrong with the deck but because I really don’t know what I’m doing! Kipper and Lenormand are similar but very different and the way you interpret them is different. I’m not familiar with any of the card meanings and that really threw me off. I know tarot, like REALLY know tarot—all 78 cards! So to start over as a beginner is challenging. The silver lining is that this experience has really helped me see RWS tarot through the lens of an absolute beginner which I feel will make me a much better tarot and oracle deck author and content creator.

I started reading the guidebook from the beginning, the same way I do any tarot and oracle deck and that really helped with the overwhelm. The authors did a pretty great job explaining both systems, their origins, similarities and differences. I learned a lot about both systems just by reading the guidebook. I felt like I could at least get started without needing an additional book or resource which feels pretty beginner friendly. In fact, the whole guidebook, I would say is written with the beginner in mind. They really take the time to explain things which I appreciated because I wouldn’t have a clue otherwise.

Before I get into my full experience, let me get the packaging out of the way. Great box. I don’t have too many Red Wheel / Weiser decks but from what I have, the boxes seem pretty awesome and this one is not an exception. The box opens like a book with a nice space to house each deck, Kipper and Lenormand. The backs of the cards either have a K or an L to represent which deck it belongs to and the guidebook sits neatly on top. It’s quite similar to the Wildwood Tarot if you have that. The guidebook is full color and is divided up so that you can read with either Lenormand or Kipper. And there is information on how to read with both should you decide to.

There’s several spreads for each deck and examples of a real reading which I found especially helpful as a beginner. This is my first Kipper and Lenormand so I don’t have another deck to compare it to but ultimately, I felt as though you have everything you need to get started with either style. So while I still felt overwhelmed interpreting the cards, I do feel like I can grow and learn with just this deck alone for a long while without committing to another book or resource.

Now to my experience. My biggest takeaway is that I pretty much already read like Lenormand and Kipper. I was actually pretty surprised by that. I tend to read tarot cards in a story. I use spreads more so for myself but even that is limited to a handful of tried and true spreads, most of which I created for myself. 90% of the time, I lay out the cards and tell a story from one card to the next. From what I can tell, that is exactly how you read with these styles.

Something that I have dabbled in but only to a limited extent is the concept of “directionality” in Kipper cards. I do sometimes pay attention to that with the court cards in RWS tarot but not too often if I’m honest. But that seems to be the main component of Kipper. Having said that, I have found I am a little more comfortable with Kipper than Lenormand for that reason. It feels most familiar to how I read tarot so I’ve been working with that more than Lenormand. I have found Lenormand to be a little more out of my wheel house. It doesn’t help that I didn’t pull the most positive cards and to be honest, I kind of freaked myself out. Funny that happened just after I wrote an article about how to deal with negative cards in tarot for my membership. I found myself needing those tips when I thought I had gotten past that.

But to be honest, I’m still feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’ve done several readings with both now and I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. And I’m getting a little frustrated because I love the theme. I’m really an ocean gal—thank you parents for taking us on nearly yearly cruises when we were young!! And sea creatures are really up my alley. I also have a particular affinity for octopi which are covering every inch of this deck. I feel connected to the deck for sure but I don’t really understand it to be honest.

Purchase Siren’s Song

I think I need to work with these decks for a while more. Llewellyn also sent me Seaborn Kipper which has a similar style so I’m excited to try that one and see how they compare. I took to RWS tarot so easily so I won’t lie, I assumed I would get this too but that has not been the case. A fun challenge though and if you know any resources other than the Language of Lenormand, I’m all ears.

Speaking of the Language of Lenormand, this seems like a really great resource. I’ve only read a few chapters but I have looked through it many times and I’m impressed by what I’ve seen. In addition to the card meanings, there are exercises and spreads, and plenty of words of encouragement. The author, Erika Robinson was a teacher for decades and you can definitely sense she is used to making learning as easy and fun as possible. I only wish there had been a section on Kipper because as I shared earlier, so far, that has been what I’m most comfortable with and I would really love her perspective.

Season, Sign and Sabbat

I’m not putting too much into this because I just don’t feel like I’m qualified to “review” this type of deck. I can really only talk about my experience as a beginner but I will say, I 100% assign this deck to Summer. The water, the boats and sea creatures, and all of the elements to me scream summer and when I think of what summer means to me, these images are what come to mind.

Who is this deck for?

Same thing here, I can’t honestly tell you who this deck is for. I just wanted to give a full explanation of my experience as a beginner. I’m really glad I’ve taken on this challenge because I do believe it’s going to bring an entirely new understanding of what it means to start tarot as a new reader. I haven’t been a beginner tarot reader for many, many moons. I consider myself to be a RWS tarot expert for lack of a better word. But every master has to start somewhere and perhaps in ten years, I’ll be an expert in Lenormand and Kipper too! I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

Do you work with Kipper or Lenormand? How did you get on as a beginner and, do you have any recommendations for decks I should try? Comments really help to make sure I can continue to bring you great content through Spirit Element.