tarot vs. oracle decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Jun 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

faunabay	10 Jun 2002
I didn't know exactly where I should put this thread - tarot or divination??? oh well! It's here now! LOL Has anyone else moved from using mostly tarot type decks to being more comfortable with oracles? I seem to get next to nothing from my tarot decks right now and my oracles speak volumes. I'm using my Healing with the Angels and Fairies decks and the Faery's Oracle mostly. They're just practically yelling at me to use them. Where as my tarot decks just kind of sit there when I try to read with them. It's actually kind of frustrating because I want to use some of the tarot decks but get nothing from them. ??? Just wanted to see if anyone else had run into this before and if so, did your tarot decks ever start talking again?

Phoenix	10 Jun 2002
If I actually sit down with a deck and ask it a question, and really concentrate on it, I can't get my tarot decks to shut up!! LOL!!! I have a few oracles, and don't use them as often as I should.

Kellinator	10 Jun 2002
This doesn't really answer your question, but have you tried using the two together? Doreen Virtue has a pretty nifty system for using decks together, where you lay out a row of each cards as you would for a past-present-future reading and then read down the columns. Or maybe you could lay down one oracle or tarot card to comment on a full reading with the other. I haven't tried mixing my oracles and tarot yet, but I keep thinking it would be a good idea :) Kellinator

Butterfly	10 Jun 2002
Same, Faunabay. Since I got my faery oracles I have hardly touched my tarot. They don't have the personality and charm they used to.

Violet Gargoyle	10 Jun 2002
My two current ones are the Medicine cards (an oracle that I have been using for years) and the Victoria Regina Tarot, although the Tarot deck will rotate according (usually) to season. I always seem to use the medicine cards as a back up, because I have nothing better to gage people and their feelings toward each other. (Ever hear of animals being a good judge of people?) The tarots I have are better at gaging events.

catlin	11 Jun 2002
I stick more to tarot although I used to use Kipper and Lenormand oracle cards quite a lot years ago. The Mah Jongg cards are also very interesting but I am still learning to use them (hey, that's 155 complete different cards to learn!). I tried to use the Symbolon deck but it didn't click with me.

rostie	11 Jun 2002
it's already from the beginning that oracles work better for me, my first set of cards was an oracledeck (goddess oracle, hrana janto and marashinky). now i'm buying new tarotdecks that are more intuitive to let them work better for me. i just find oraclecards much easier to read, they are more straight, i know immediatly what goes wrong or good,... that's why i also love the osho zen, it's so straight, so clear. i also find oracles 'warmer', more personal like they are almost real and i love my faeries! and my goddesses! and my druid animals!, lol... , i can visualize them easier, they speak more to my imagination, to my thoughts... and honestly?: i'm a lazy person, i don't have to do so much effort for the same result, lol (=joke)... but eventuelly i love them both... with me it's always a matter of the moment: there's a time i'm more attracted to my oracles and there's a time i'm more attracted by my tarotdeck, i think it's the same by you, there will come a day that you're again attracted to your tarotcards again...

aeonx	11 Jun 2002
faunabay: Maybe you just need this break away from the tarot cards? But if it's an ongoing thing, I would cleanse the decks properly, maybe lay them in the Sun a while or like. Then ask the deck for guidance, and consentrate on this. Maybe you could try a three-card spread (make one up that seems appropriate) to clarify your problems. Just a few thoughts. :) Good luck! ~aeonx~

Starfish	11 Jun 2002
Aeonx - (not the original poster here but)I love the idea of laying them out in the Sun to cleanse them! I am learning so much from the Aeclectic forums... Starfish

Umbrae	11 Jun 2002
Last night I stepped into the Aeclectic Chat room, and Phirefly was talking about the “Soul Deck” for more intuitive readings. By golly, my curiosity was perked (I have always been a Tarot person). So I jumped out of the chat room, looked up “Soul Cards” here on Aeclectic, used the ‘buy the deck’ button to take me to Amazon…when they arrive, perhaps I will talk about how they speak.

Faerie Lin	11 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by rostie it's already from the beginning that oracles work better for me, my first set of cards was an oracledeck (goddess oracle, hrana janto and marashinky). now i'm buying new tarotdecks that are more intuitive to let them work better for me. i just find oraclecards much easier to read, they are more straight, i know immediatly what goes wrong or good,... that's why i also love the osho zen, it's so straight, so clear. i also find oracles 'warmer', more personal like they are almost real and i love my faeries! and my goddesses! and my druid animals!, lol... , i can visualize them easier, they speak more to my imagination, to my thoughts... and honestly?: i'm a lazy person, i don't have to do so much effort for the same result, lol (=joke)... but eventuelly i love them both... with me it's always a matter of the moment: there's a time i'm more attracted to my oracles and there's a time i'm more attracted by my tarotdeck, i think it's the same by you, there will come a day that you're again attracted to your tarotcards again... Same goes for me, I use both equally, but I get more straight and VERY detailed results with my Faeries' Oracle. Oracles really get very "specific" with things, its so amazing. Lin

truthsayer	11 Jun 2002
i get something different from both. tarot is more likely to tell me some kind of archetypal story that i take and translate into more mundane language. i don't have to check the book for meanings. the interps i get tend to get me to think long and hard. w/ oracles i have to read the book and figure out the system for that deck. i go thru oracle and tarot phases. often the book definitions seem more straightforward from oracle decks. it's hard to argue w/ an oracle b/c usually that system doesn't have the long history of tarot and lacks the ambiguity that tarot often has. i think tarot edges out oracles but i still enjoy my oracles. i think everyone has periods of being unable to read oracles or tarot. go w/ the flow!

mooncat2	11 Jun 2002
I'm using my Faeries and Druid animals more and more - I feel closer to them than to the tarot cards but only for my own readings - and thats because of having to look up the book for the oracles and I don't like doing that when reading for others. Maybe one day I'll be able to remember all the oracle info (doubtful) ! The Faeries and animals, I think, appeal to the child within - we can play with them, share their magic and open up our hearts to their message. Blessings

faunabay	11 Jun 2002
Thanks everyone! I was feeling kind of strange because the tarot decks weren't working the same (any of them). I'll just go with the flow and see what happens in the future. Besides it's not as if I don't like my oracles!!! LOL

Jewel	12 Jun 2002
Hi Faunabay! you know I am much more a tarot person than oracle person, the only oracle I really work with is the Faeries Oracle, other than that is pretty much tarot all the way. One idea for you is to try doing some different kind of work with your tarot decks instead of reading (i.e. pathworking of some kind). Just a thought ...

aeonx	13 Jun 2002
I'm also much more of a tarot-person, although I collect other types of decks as well. I got the 'Healing with the Angles' by Doreen Virtue, but after studying them a bit closer, I got all disappointed. At first I loved them, but then I noticed how different the cards are in both style and colors. So now I don't use them at all. :( ~aeonx~

Rhiannon	13 Jun 2002
I like both oracles and tarot. I only have 2 oracle decks right now.. but if I ever see another one I can't live without I'll get it with no hesitation because my experience with both the Goddess Oracle and the Faerie's Oracle has been so positive. I've found that the Faerie's Oracle is just pure fun to work with. And I love the way the answers from the Goddess Oracle just sort of flow now that I've gotten used to the "language". I have a more difficult time with tarot because I feel like I should "know" all the cards without having to look them up. I don't feel the same compunction about my oracles. I just look up the meaning and take what I feel is right. I always feel guilty looking up a tarot meaning. :) Like I'm cheating on a test! LOL Rhiannon :)

rostie	14 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Rhiannon I have a more difficult time with tarot because I feel like I should "know" all the cards without having to look them up. I don't feel the same compunction about my oracles. I just look up the meaning and take what I feel is right. I always feel guilty looking up a tarot meaning. :) Like I'm cheating on a test! LOL Rhiannon :) i feel the same as you! a dummie when i don't know the meanings and i do not know a lot of them, lol. i just started with tarot 7 months ago and had a hard year with school so didn't had much time to spend to tarot... but maybe now with the holidays...

The tarot vs. oracle decks thread was originally posted on 10 Jun 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.