from Tarot to Oracle

Hi all!

My apologies if I posted this in the wrong forum.

I bought the Fallen Angels oracle and love the cards and images enough that I would like to start using this deck. I've been reading RWS-based Tarot decks for years now but I've never used an oracle deck before, so now I'm finding myself at a bit of a loss as to how to approach this kind of deck. The companion book to the deck is rather on the thin side for my taste - not much information besides the very basics.

So how exactly does one go about using an oracle deck? Is this the kind of deck that is pretty much used only for advice? I'm sorry if I sound like a total ignoramus, but I really have no idea how to approach oracle decks. The companion book to the Fallen Angels Oracle gives several divinatory spreads, including the Celtic Cross, but I just can't wrap my head around the notion of using an oracle deck for spreads that I've always associated with Tarot cards.

In other words: help.

Thanks a bunch!

Tarot is a specific type of oracle deck so if you've been reading tarot, then you've already been reading oracle decks.

How do you read with your tarot (oracle) decks? Strictly by book meanings, intuitively, a mixture of both? Only for advice? Predictively? You can read with any oracle deck in the same manner as you do tarot. I think you may be stuck in the idea that tarot decks are somehow different from oracle decks. When you realize this is not the case, you will find oracle decks easier to read.

Just as you may find you "click" more with certain tarot decks with regards to reading with them, you may find the same is true with oracle decks.

What I usually do with a new deck is just start with one card draws. See what on the card draws my eye and look at any LWB meanings to see what jumps out at me. In other words, just practice.

Canadian Girl said:

Hi all!

My apologies if I posted this in the wrong forum.

I bought the Fallen Angels oracle and love the cards and images enough that I would like to start using this deck. I've been reading RWS-based Tarot decks for years now but I've never used an oracle deck before, so now I'm finding myself at a bit of a loss as to how to approach this kind of deck. The companion book to the deck is rather on the thin side for my taste - not much information besides the very basics.

So how exactly does one go about using an oracle deck? Is this the kind of deck that is pretty much used only for advice? I'm sorry if I sound like a total ignoramus, but I really have no idea how to approach oracle decks. The companion book to the Fallen Angels Oracle gives several divinatory spreads, including the Celtic Cross, but I just can't wrap my head around the notion of using an oracle deck for spreads that I've always associated with Tarot cards.

In other words: help.

Thanks a bunch!

Click to expand...

Hi there!

I am a huge, HUGE oracle lover! I actually use Oracle decks more often than the tarot! Lets see if I can give you any useful ideas!

Although there are some oracle decks with a long-term tradition like the Tarot (ie. Lenormand, Playing Cards, etc.), most of the oracles kind of reinvent the wheel, and that's why their books tend to be rather basic. You have a whole new deck, with symbolism chosen according to its creator whim and nothing else, with a whole new structure... and it must work for beginners and experienced readers alike. That usually results in a very basic guide.

So, switching from a long-stabilized divination tool, like the Tarot, to one that has no real 'roots' can be challenging, specially if you are looking for something solid to work with. Of course, some oracle have really substantial and comprehensive guides - you can see that the creator put a lot of thought in what they were making - but they are admittedly a minority.

What do you do with a deck like that? You enjoy it in the most open-minded way possible. Just because it doesn't have a solid base it doesn't mean that it is shallow - give it a chance to speak to you in its own language.

It's hard to say that an oracle deck is only for advice or only for prediction, because it's really in the reader. I have decks that only work for me when I pull one card for advice and that's it. If I try to do more complex readings, it makes no sense. And yet I see other readers doing Triple Celtic Crosses with them without any problem!

The only way to know how the deck will work for you is trying. If you liked the art then you already have good chances of succeeding, because you'll be more open to the message of the deck, and that can help you to go beyond what the booklet offers.

I advise you to try do a small spread with this deck on an easy topic. Three cards. You don't have the use the spreads taught in the book if you don't like them. See if the cards give you a coherent message, if the cards don't seem completely off the wall to the situation etc. If it doesn't go well, you may try then to pull one card for advice and see if it really helps you.

You can also try to interview the deck. HERE you can find a very good 'interview' spread. I have used it many times successfully.

If nothing works, see if the deck is good for you. Sometimes we love the art, but the structure of the deck is shoddy and doesn't really suit our style, so try as we may we cannot work with it. It has happened to me many times.

There is not real rule when working with oracles, because there are so many and they are so different. Each oracle can be a whole new universe, with new 'laws' to learn, and new creatures to meet. The best way to learn them is to experience them, and see if you can connect to them. They may never replace the tarot for you, but they can always offer you a different point of view, or be a nice complement to your tarot readings.

Above all, have fun.

Marina, zannamarie, thank you both so much for your replies and words of wisdom, I really appreciate the time you took to light my candle, as it were.

Zannamarie, you made me realize that I do indeed tend to view the Tarot as different from oracle decks. You're right, of course, in saying that the Tarot is an oracle. I guess in my mind, I've always viewed the Tarot as more or less (and I really mean more or less) loosely structured. All wild and crazy deck variations aside, it is relatively safe to say that, generally speaking, Tarot decks tend to be built around a certain structure. A non-Tarot oracle deck, in my mind, I've always thought of as being its own self-contained universe, with its own rules, laws and layers of meanings. To me, I guess they are two entirely different beasts. I know what to expect with the first beast, even if I hate the artwork, the card names or the meaning ascribed by the deck creator. I have no idea what to expect of non-Tarot oracles.

Marina, I like your idea of starting small. And the deck interview sounds like a good plan as well.

Thanks again for your advice. Now getting acquainted with this non-Tarot oracle doesnt' feel like such a daunting task.