Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Monday, March 27
    Trending
    • This Day in History on March 27th
    • This Day in History on March 26th
    • This Day in History on March 25th
    • This Day in History on March 24th
    • History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?
    • This Day in History on March 23rd
    • R.I.P. Lance Reddick (1962-2023)
    • This Day in History on March 22nd
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Beth Michaels»June 25, 1843: Madame Lenormand, Personal Psychic to Empress Josephine
    Beth Michaels

    June 25, 1843: Madame Lenormand, Personal Psychic to Empress Josephine

    Beth MichaelsBy Beth MichaelsJune 25, 2014Updated:April 13, 202065 Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp

    A Brief History

    On June 25, 1843, Marie Anne Lenormand, France’s most famous fortune teller and cartomancer (card reader), died.

    Digging Deeper

    Born in 1772 and educated at a convent school in Alençon, she moved to Paris sometime between 1786 and 1790 and set up a type of office for clairvoyance. Early clients included the heads of the French Revolution (Marat, Robespierre and Saint-Just). She is said to have predicted their violent demise. Her imprisonment by the Committee of Public Safety which had been created by the National Convention and which formed the de facto executive government during the Reign of Terror did not hurt her career and only made her more famous. Despite her increasing popularity, she was also arrested in 1803 and 1809 and accused of treason. Then reaching her peak in the Napoleonic Era, she was active for another 40 years. Well-known clients during this time included Empress Josephine of France who made seeing a soothsayer fashionable and Tsar Alexander I of Russia whom she visited at the Congress of Aix-La-Chapelle in 1818, a meeting of the four allied powers of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia to decide the question of the withdrawal of occupying forces from France, following the defeat of Napoleon.

    Portrait of Marie Anne Lenormand from The Court of Napoleon by Frank Boott Goodrich, described as follows in the book: “The portrait of M’lle Lenormand … is taken from an engraving at the Bibliothèque Impèriale, in Paris, believed to be the only authentic likeness of her in existence.”

    In 1820, unhappy with the political changes implemented by the new King Louis XVIII, she and many other Frenchmen emigrated to Brussels, Belgium, however, there she was again arrested and accused of espionage this time. Additional charges included the practice of witchcraft. These were, however, dropped, and she was released.

    Following the July Revolution of 1830, which saw the overthrow of the French Bourbon monarch, King Charles X, his replacement with his Orleans cousin Louis-Philippe 1st  and the creation of a constitutional monarchy, Marie Anne Lenormand officially retired to enjoy the considerable fortune she had amassed. From then on, she only read for her close friends.

    Marie Anne Lenormand did not only spend her time fortune-telling but also authoring books, one of them dealing with the historical and secret memories of Empress Josephine.

    Miniature portrait of the Empress by Jean Baptiste Isabey on an 18k gold snuff box crafted by the Imperial goldsmith Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette. Circa 1810

    When she died in 1843 at the age of 71, it was not of natural causes but rather due to medical malpractice. (Observation: Did she not see it coming? Obviously not because in one of her books she predicted that she would live to be more than 100…)

    Today Marie Anne Lenormand, known as Madame Lenormand, is primarily remembered for the fortune-telling deck of cards that has been named after her, even though she never used them. The deck, comprised of 36 illustrated cards, is one of the most commonly used cartomancy media in Europe.

    In fact, the author of this article, already proficient at reading the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck, common in the United States, while living in Europe, attended a week-long workshop to learn the art of interpreting the Madame Lenormand cards.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Have you ever had someone do a tarot reading for you?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Alberts, Heath D. and Ramona McKee.  Madame Lenormand and Her Cards (The Bit of Study Series).  Ramona McKee, 2013.

    Dunn, Patrick.  Cartomancy with the Lenormand and the Tarot: Create Meaning & Gain Insight from the Cards.  Llewellyn Publications, 2013.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleJune 22, 2002: Do You Miss Ann Landers? Ask Beth Michaels!
    Next Article June 26, 1483: Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, Proclaims Himself King Richard III of England!
    Beth Michaels
    • Website
    • Facebook

    Beth Michaels attended a private college in Northeast Ohio from which she earned a Bachelor’s degree in German with a minor in French. From there she moved to Germany where she attended the University of Heidelberg for two years. Additional schooling earned her certifications as a foreign language correspondent and state-certified translator. In her professional career, Beth worked for a leading German manufacturer of ophthalmological medical instruments and devices as a quality representative, regulatory affairs manager and internal auditor.

    Related Posts

    Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and Women’s History Month 2023!

    March 17, 2023

    History Short: Popes Pick some Odd Names!

    March 10, 2023

    History Short: Whatever Happened to “Good King Wenceslas?”

    March 4, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on March 27th

    March 27, 2023

    This Day in History on March 26th

    March 26, 2023

    This Day in History on March 25th

    March 25, 2023

    This Day in History on March 24th

    March 24, 2023

    History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?

    March 24, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.