On April 21 , 1794 , during the Reign of Terror , Madame de Beauharnais was taken to Carmes Prison in Paris . Her arrest follow that of her husband , Alexandre , Vicomte de Beauharnais , a month prior . They were both charged as enemy of the French Revolution .
Madame de Beauharnais , who would become know to history as Joséphine , know it was incredibly improbable she would ever walk out of Carmes — over the course of the Terror , which hold out a little over a twelvemonth , more than 16,000 multitude were officially executed . by nature , she was beside herself . At 30 , she was the mother of two and had been trapped in a low-down , 15 - class staged spousal relationship . To face up the closure by compartment alongside her husband must have felt like a peculiarly grave injustice .
Around the same time , a 22 - class - old Parisian cartomancer appoint Marie - Anne Lenormand was jailed at La Force . Her supposed crime ? cabal to reveal Queen Marie Antoinette out of prison house . It ’s unclear whether this is true statement or myth ; though some sources name Lenormand ’s alleged conspirator , Princesse de Lamballe — the Queen ’s dearest confidante — as one of her early clients , making collusion possible , others also remark that the psychic was arrested for illegal luck - telling multiple times during her career . This may have been one of those less sensational incidents . Either path , while in custody , Lenormand was reportedly " unfrightened , " quite certain that her life history was dependable and her sentence forgetful .
Joséphine had her fortune read once as a baby , and now facing almost certain last , she was desperate to have that early anticipation of an advantageous marriage and prosperous animation confirmed . She heard about Lenormand from other prisoners and managed to send her a letter — and was not disappointed with the response .
Lenormand informed an anxious Joséphine that her hubby was not go to make it out of the prison with his head ; however , Joséphine would not only survive , but was destined for far greater glory through her 2d spousal relationship .
In July of that year , Alexandre de Beauharnais was executed . Joséphine was freed day later . She never forgot Mademoiselle Lenormand , and when Joséphine married an officeholder named Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796 , she took him to touch the clairvoyant .
Legend has itthat in 1779 , as a 7 - year - sometime charge at a Benedictine convent in Normandy , Marie - Anne Lenormand informed the Superior that she would soon be remove from her stake . She even name the adult female ’s successor . The nuns were not amused by this impertinent little female child , but presently after , to their amazement , her foretelling occur to pass .
allot tomultipleaccounts , three men arrived there one evening in 1792 to have their fortunes separate . They ’d pick up of the " sybil " and were prepared to prove her a con . Lenormand looked at their palm , understand their cards , and proclaimed they were all intend for violent deaths . They scoff .
One of those men was Maximilien Robespierre , the architect of the Reign of Terror . His carrying out by closure by compartment in July 1794 is what ultimately free Joséphine de Beauharnais from prison house shortly before her own scheduled execution . The other two were spectacular revolutionaries Jean - Paul Marat and Louis Antoine de Saint - Just , both of whom also met grisly last .
These tales , and others like them , spread quickly through Gallic society circle during and after the Revolution . It was a fourth dimension of chaos and uncertainty — someone with the force to call the future tense could give people from all walks of biography a lot of comfort , even those who would never have attempt out such service before . Wealthy charwoman , blue blood , laypeople , and even clergy rushed to Lenormand ’s Paris salon , where she ’d hung a custom wooden sign over the door : Mademoiselle Le Normand , Bookseller . They were willing to wait many time of day and pay top dollar for a glimpse of their fate . odd onlookers reported that there were carriages parked in front of her threshold every daylight of the workweek . At time the crew outside grew so orotund that the localpolicewould come up to break it up .
Napoleon , however , did n’t like or hope her . Lenormand had too much influence over his newfangled wife , for one thing . On top of that , the brazen mystic had gone from predicting his astonishing hike to foreseeing his exile . He did n’t needs believe in her otherworldly abilities , but the versed access code she had to so many influential people also made him uncomfortable — she certainly had the means to be a spy .
But the Empress protected her friend . Joséphine trusted Mlle Lenormand implicitly , whether told she would marry , divorce ( as she and Bonaparte would in 1810 ) , or anything between . The two had a Julian Bond , and the Empress became so reliant on her cartomancer that she was unable to make the simplest decisions without consulting the cards first . Lenormand would later call back that Joséphine often said to her : " [ I ] profess that it is a pocket-size foolery to believe you . And yet it would be an even great one to doubt what you say . "
When the Empress died short in 1814 , Lenormand was devastated — somehow she had missed this one major prediction . In purity of Joséphine ’s passing , she published a heartfelt ode title " day of remembrance of the Death of Empress Joséphine " in 1815 . Of her friend , Lenormand read , " Oh Joséphine ! Your praise has been in my heart for a long meter . It is a true and deeply palpate admiration which brings me , not at the foot of your statue ( for you do n’t have one yet ) , but at your tomb , where I dare to bring to your ash the homage that another hand should maybe be presenting to you . "
This was followed by a more detailed biography in two Brobdingnagian mass : diachronic and Secret Memoirs of the Empress Joséphine , first put out by Lenormand in 1818 . Joséphine ’s girl , Hortense , Queen consort of Holland , shout out the tomes " absurd . "
Mademoiselle Lenormand fit on writing and purge fortunesuntil she left the earthly plane for the astral one in June 1843 , which , at age 71 , fell rather forgetful of the 108 years she had envisioned for herself . Still , she managed an impressive lifespan ( and even more impressive liveliness ) for her time .
Within a few years , multiple Lenormand luck - state decks were give rise in an attempt to capitalise on her renown . Unlike tarot bill , which rely more on personal rendering of image and are read in sexual relation to the wit around them ( in tarot , for illustration , a card like the Moon may refer to nighttime , dreaming , the unconscious , or even the actual moon ) , Lenormand decks have concrete symbol like " key , " " dog , " or " theater . " Many decks also admit traditional playacting card suit on them : hearts , baseball field , spades , and clubs . Each card has a aboveboard meaning that does n’t modify , whereas in tarot , a bill can be read differently calculate on the question asked and in some cases even the specific pack of cards .
The Lenormand identity card and others like them grow in mainstream popularity as the nineteenth century progressed and the Spiritualist movement exploded . Through her relationships with some of the most powerful political figures of her metre , Mlle Lenormand go through taboos ( and laws ) against fortune - tattle and made the pastime fashionable .
Her tomb at Paris ’s renowned Père Lachaise Cemetery is still tend with flowers and tributes to this day . But if not for a serendipitous prison balance with the next Empress of France , it ’s probably Marie - Anne Lenormand ’s name would have long ago spend into oblivion .
