Difference between Tarot and Oracle

Poetic_Pirate

ive always wondered, what is the difference between tarot and oracle? i have a vague idea, however, im not sure if im right. so yes! please enlighten me ^_^

Peace,
Pirate
 

Grizabella

I'm sure you're going to get a much more precise answer than mine, but tarot is a deck of 78 cards, with 22 majors and 56 minors. Generally tarot follows one of three categories---Marseilles, Thoth or Rider Waite Smith.

Oracles, though, can have varying numbers of cards and various themes. Each follows it's own direction, I guess you could say, while tarot is more organized and the cards each have traditional meanings that are closely related to each other from deck to deck. There are exceptions, but some contend that these exceptions aren't really tarot then, but instead are oracles.For instance, the Fool card in most decks has a meaning that remains nearly the same, while in an oracle deck, a card that purports to be a Fool card may deviate so much from the tarot Fool in art work or meaning or both that it can't truly be called tarot even if it's in a deck with the 78 cards a tarot deck would have.

OK, do I have you thoroughly confused now? :p Someone else will surely come along to explain it better.
 

Papageno

I'm not sure where Marie Lenormand got her cards from back in the 1800's but it seems to me that present day oracle decks are inspired by the famous Lenormand cards.
I think we can have a big running argument about whether to use the word "descended" but contemporary fortune telling/oracle decks owe some degree of their legitiamacy to Lenormand and her cards.
the cards themselves were nothing more than run-of-the-mill stock items but she made them famous.........actually she made herself famous.
 

Poetic_Pirate

Thank you so much for the replies

so the difference is the number of cards and the name of the cards? huh...i figured but somehow i thought there would be more to it. ive seen tarot decks that i thought should be oracle vice versa...interesting...is there anymore to it, or is that about it ^_^

Peace,
Pirate
 

.traveller.

Check out some of the threads in the tarot creation forum, the subject of what tarot is/isn't is discussed from virtually every angle.
 

Papageno

Poetic_Pirate said:
Thank you so much for the replies

so the difference is the number of cards and the name of the cards? huh...i figured but somehow i thought there would be more to it. ive seen tarot decks that i thought should be oracle vice versa...interesting...is there anymore to it, or is that about it ^_^

Peace,
Pirate

I think you have to look at the evolution of playing cards and their development as divinitory devices. a specific structure and set of significances are assigned to the traditional tarot cards according to the various schools of occult thought. The images follow a strong European tradition, particularly in Italy and France where the use of highly stylized allegorical figures represent the embodiment of various deitific - cosmic virtues.
A perfect example of this is the Gioco del Passatempo or the Proverbi Figurati by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (late 17th century) wherein the cards illustrate a story of various states of the human condition and intellect, the Muses of the arts and sciences and higher/esoteric learning and so on.

The Lenormand and it's followers seem to be more earth bound, that's the best way I can describe it, there is a deliberate attempt to make the imagery and meanings more direct and acccessible in order to simplify the oracular process. the images are more common and mundane. instead of mystical archetypes with profound esoteric implications, we see everyday objects and situations that anybody can easily associate with at a glance.

and now I have to get my clothes out of the dryer. :)
 

Papageno

so there's more to this than the difference in the number of cards or the superficial difference in the names.

The names mean a great deal. they are a integral part of the language of divination.

In the Lenormand we see a card with a picture of a key .........and then we observe with profound awe the High Priestess with keys in hand in a tradtional tarot.
 

Umbrae

If you really want to know the difference...

I remember one time somebody posted that they'd purchased a deck of Soul Cards (which are Oracle Cards). They were quite miffed. It came with no LWB. There were no set meanings to the cards and the poster was lost - "How can I tell what they mean?"

The response was overwhelming..."Yessss, exactly..."
 

Papageno

I don't know what made me go on like that. but it is a good question and I've never really thought about it seriously before until today, all that stuff just came came pouring out........
I'm not even certain that really answered the question..........but I'm not comfortable with a nice neat concise Websters Dictionary type of definition that you can roll off your tongue in one sentence.

but this is the best I can do for the moment. this must be a really boring thread. nobody else wants to speak their mind :laugh: I guess nobody cares, either that or they hate oracle decks.
 

yaraluna

this is MHCO (My Humble canadian Opinion:))

an oracle is a tool for divination or guidance. i consider the tarot such a tool and thus an oracle. i don't make this distinctions unless in an environment such as this board, where there are areas specifically for tarot decks discussions, and areas for non-tarot deck discussions (called here oracles).

yaraluna