Deck: Under The Roses Lenormand
Publisher: US Games Systems, Inc
Writer & Artist: Kendra Hurteau & Katrina Hill
Overall Rating: 9/10
Cardstock: The cardstock is fairly standard, like what you’d expect from a similar pack of poker cards. Easy to riffle shuffle, neither too matte nor too slick.
Artwork: The artwork is a digital illustration style that evokes a Victorian or Gothic aesthetic. Additionally, the backgrounds have subtle text featuring the meanings of the cards. There are two versions of each person card, with light skin or dark skin, and there is no Querent or non-gendered person card, but I’ve been using the title card for the Querent.
Book: This deck has a fairly standard Little White Booklet, with a list of keywords for each card, and descriptions of basic spreads, as well as a spread developed specifically for this deck. The booklet also explains how Lenormand is read in combinations, unlike tarot.
Likes: I like the artwork and aesthetic, and I feel like it’s neither too simple nor too busy. The instructions are fairly good, too – this was my first Lenormand deck (years ago!) and the LWB was definitely helpful in getting my head wrapped around this system.
Dislikes: I wish there were more people cards. That’s pretty much the only drawback, in my opinion.
Overall Recommendation
This is my go-to Lenormand deck most of the time, and at this point the box is starting to disintegrate because of that! I do sometimes have to add people cards from another deck (particularly the Queer Lenormand which has amazing diversity), but it reads well, and I think the imagery of the non-people cards is pretty evocative. It worked for me as a first Lenormand deck, but it might not be the best introduction for someone who’s entirely new to cartomancy.