Tarot or Oracle - Does Your Issue Decide?

Been pondering this a bit today. I don't read often for myself, except when I'm really struggling with something - self healing, inward focus, moving on etc. etc.

And I always reach for Tarot, never Oracles. I love my Oracle cards, I have lots. And yet, and yet, well the crux is they do not give me the slap around the head that Tarot does. That's the only way I can put it.

When all is chilled out and smooth in Middy world, I'll have a play around with Oracles, admire the pictures, do a bit of study , that type of thing. But I wouldn't in a million years do an Oracle reading for myself if I was having some major personal issues.

For me, the reason is that Tarot tells me what I need to hear but generally not in a straightforward way. So it makes me think about the problem, dig deep into my psyche and get to the root of the issue - eventually. Oracle may or may not have this effect - I've just never automatically reached for an Oracle deck when I feel I need to dig a bit deeper.

Does this make sense? Anyone do the same - or different? Any reasons for your choice(s)?

Middy

This is an interesting question and your explanation of your own choice is well-thought out and useful.

I, too, rarely self-read. There is a direct correspondence between the increasing frequency of self-readings in my life of late and the increase in fraught issues for which my usual sounding boards (family, very close friends) are not appropriate sources of advice.

I only bought my first oracle quite recently, within the past month or two. And it was for precisely the opposite reason that you articulate: as the issues in my life became ever more fraught, I felt a need for a "direct voice" of solace, without the hundreds of years of archetypal "baggage" (and I don't use that word pejoratively) that tarot brings with it.

That baggage is precisely why I love tarot and why, over the course of my card-reading life, I I have spurned decks marketed as "oracles." But when life heats up, I realize I don't necessarily always want a cerebral, archetype-heavy investigation into different possibilities. Sometimes I just want one voice speaking clearly and directly to me, giving me something to hold onto.

I love little Lenormands. Just love them. But can I read with them? No. Someday, I tell myself, I'll learn to use them. I'd never, never part with them so I have them in a special carved box in my shelf. I'd love to have more---ones I don't have. They're my precious little treasures.

But----when I read, I always read with Tarot.

There's one exception, though. I have the Tea Leaf cards and I treasure those, too. Once in awhile I read with those just for myself.

If I just want a simple quick answer, I might go with a Lenormand, otherwise I do Tarot. Sometimes I'll combine oracle and Tarot, but veeeery rarely (like, only if I get a new oracle, which is also rare) will I do an Oracle deck only reading.

I don't know. It seems too freeform and vague to me. I like the structure/history of Tarot, oracles just don't pull me, unless it's to compliment a tarot reading.

I began reading Tarot when the only readily available oracle was the I Ching. I'd already been reading tarot for ten years or so before runes sets became popular and easy to obtain. So my opinion is probably colored by not having dozens or even hundreds of oracle decks that are available today when I was younger.

I have bought oracles over the years sometimes thinking they were tarot decks when they weren't (mostly before I got involved in AT and could see decks before I bought them) or because I liked the art or theme. I just don't find oracles that great for reading for myself or others. There are a very few exceptions like the Animal Medicine cards or the Celtic Shaman Pack. Since I don't use any of my oracles all that often, I either have to read them intuitively or dig through the book, which I dislike heavily relying on. Most oracle decks just don't have the layers of symbolism and meaning that better Tarot decks do. So most of my oracle end up as pretty pictures I look at now and then. Tarot is what I read with almost exclusively, use for self-growth work, meditation, and so on.

I don't have any Lenormand decks and don't plan to due to lack of space and interest.

I only read with tarot decks. I've tried various oracles in the past, but I've failed to click with any of them.

I'm tarot-centric now, regardless of the question or the issue at hand, and regardless of my purpose in reading (to predict/foresee, gain insight, etc.).

I choose a different deck each week. I cycle my entire collection and don't differentiate between oracle or tarot. If a question comes up during the week I use the deck I've chosen for that week. Oracles make me think, I like that.

That baggage is precisely why I love tarot and why, over the course of my card-reading life, I I have spurned decks marketed as "oracles." But when life heats up, I realize I don't necessarily always want a cerebral, archetype-heavy investigation into different possibilities. Sometimes I just want one voice speaking clearly and directly to me, giving me something to hold onto

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Interesting, and I understand where you're coming from. I guess with Tarot, the permutations and explanations can be innumerable and so something more direct like an Oracle deck can be helpful. Would you say some Oracle decks more than others lend themselves better when life gets a bit hectic, fraught etc.? I'm thinking for me it would be an Oracle such as the Fairy Ring (brutal) or Faeries Oracle (never fails to get straight to the point). What does not help me (and I have most of them, and like some of them) is any Doreen Virtue deck. Too nice, and never give me the slap around the head I need!

Grizabella said:

I love little Lenormands. Just love them. But can I read with them? No. Someday, I tell myself, I'll learn to use them. I'd never, never part with them so I have them in a special carved box in my shelf. I'd love to have more---ones I don't have. They're my precious little treasures.

But----when I read, I always read with Tarot.

There's one exception, though. I have the Tea Leaf cards and I treasure those, too. Once in awhile I read with those just for myself.

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Ah, yes love the Lenormands too! I have a few of these and I am so intrigued with them, but I can't quite get to grips with them. I can sit and look at a throw for hours and still don't understand what it's trying to tell me. People who are good with them really impress me - they can get all sorts from these little beauties! Are the Tea Leaf cards the ones by Rae Hepburn? Never read with them - maybe I should give it a try.

vee said:

If I just want a simple quick answer, I might go with a Lenormand, otherwise I do Tarot. Sometimes I'll combine oracle and Tarot, but veeeery rarely (like, only if I get a new oracle, which is also rare) will I do an Oracle deck only reading.

I don't know. It seems too freeform and vague to me. I like the structure/history of Tarot, oracles just don't pull me, unless it's to compliment a tarot reading.

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Any particular way you read with Tarot and Oracle and do you find certain decks compliment each other better?