Oracle vs Tarot

I wasn't sure whether to put this in Tarot or Oracles, so I compromised and put it here. I've noticed that there seems, on this forum at least, to be a strong difference between Tarot Philosophy and Oracle Philosopy.

In the Tarot camp, there is a strong voice saying "a tarot deck is just a stack of paper, and the magic comes from the Reader's ability to interpret them." True, there are those who talk about the "readability" of one deck or another, or the "personalities" of certain decks. But I get the feeling that a lot of this is metaphorical, if not outright tongue-in-cheek.

But if you move over to the realm of oracles, you see a very different philosophy. I see more people calling their oracles "talkative" rather than "readable". Some people even talk about their decks making demands, or even attracting unusual phenomena. This is especially true with fae oracles.

I'm wondering if there is such a huge difference between Tarot decks and Oracle decks? Or is it a difference in the way we think about them?

Personally I'd have to say it's absolutely the way we think about them.

Whether it's tarot or oracle, they are all just pictures on cardboard, and since they both are very visual, how each individual approaches it speaks volumes about their particular taste in the artwork more than anything else.

After all, if the cards could really "talk" or "attract unusual phenomena" I suspect that would happen regardless of who had the cards. I tend to believe this is more an individual's projection or anthropomorphism rather than something intrinsic in the cards themselves.

For example, I don't like manga/anime or cartoony-type art so naturally decks in that style wouldn't "resonate" or "talk" to me. It's not the deck, it's just me

There are plenty here who say their tarot decks have personalities and the like. I think what there IS, though, is more discussion of whether tarot is a, b or c. This doesn't happen as much with oracles, IMHO, as no-one has ever laid the kind of esoteric load on them that has been laid on tarot. So it is safer to say your deck has vibes and so on..... no one will contradict you. But saying a tarot deck has a personality and can Bring Evil Powers To Bear (which is said a lot !) is like a red rag to a bull....

I don't make a difference there.

And while I may use attributes like talkative to describe a deck, I don't mean this in an anthromorphisizing way (is that even a word...).

With the Froud's Faeries, I believe this one draws Faerie energy and Faeries to you. Not because it's an Oracle though.

The difference I do see between Oracles and Tarot is in the structure ... Tarot has one that is (with minor exceptions, like decks with extra suits) the same for all decks. Oracles can be very free-style.

Oracles allow the user to let their inhibitions down, relax a bit. Because there is no one that can say you aren't reading one correctly. Many tarot readers won't do it here or in public because they worry someone will say you've read that wrong. Never have that problem with oracles.

AJ said:

Oracles allow the user to let their inhibitions down, relax a bit. Because there is no one that can say you aren't reading one correctly. Many tarot readers won't do it here or in public because they worry someone will say you've read that wrong. Never have that problem with oracles.

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That's true too.

Thanks everyone, for your input. I find that even I think about my Oracle of the Dragonfae a little bit differently than I do my tarot decks. Maybe it's because the characters and images are unfamiliar, and therefore feel less like archetypes and more like personalities.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who uses both Tarot and Oracles.

To me there is not much difference between the two. I read them both in almost the identical way, by analysing the imagery. With the Tarot I add in a tiny bit about the suit and main meaning, but it is such a tiny tiny part of the reading that it makes very little difference.

I don't find one more talkative than the other. Both read in very much the same way for me.

Barbara

I was taught to read tarot by simply processing the images. For example, I told someone in an exchange here one time that I thought she might meet someone new in her life in a bowling alley because there was something about the two primary colors of the card that reminded me of bowling shoes. I imagine she might have thought I was a bit daft, but that was the first thought that popped into my head.

But usually, with tarot cards, since over the years I have come to be familiar with certain meanings, or energies, that are associated with each card, that meaning that I associate with the card often serves as a sort of short-hand to get more quickly to the message.

With the oracles, it's more like the bowling shoes example. I still process the images, but it will be "from scratch" so it might take a wee bit longer. And ditto what Aulruna said:

Aulruna said:

The difference I do see between Oracles and Tarot is in the structure ... Tarot has one that is (with minor exceptions, like decks with extra suits) the same for all decks. Oracles can be very free-style.

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I love them both and enjoy reading equally as well with either tarot or oracles. I really love mixing them up, too. But that is another thread that already exists elsewhere.

There hasn't been much of a difference between the two for me, as far as deck "personality" and "demands" go. Whether oracle deck, or tarot deck, I've had demands made of me, tricks played on me, and all manner of things. These behaviors (for lack of a better term) are not limited to the tarot or the oracle.

However, the difference between the two (for me, at least) is that I find Tarot to be more formal and structured, and Oracle to be more fluid.