tarot vs. oracle

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Sep 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ultraviolet	08 Sep 2003
Which do you prefer to use and why? I find that it's easier for me to do readings with oracle cards. The oracle cards seem to speak directly to me, while with tarot cards I feel as if I am just making things up. I'm not sure if it's just because I am new to tarot cards, or if I just connect with the oracle cards better. Is it typical to prefer using one over the other? Also, which type of cards do most people prefer to receive readings with? Is it possible to be a successful reader only using oracle cards? ultraviolet

lillith	08 Sep 2003
I am not sure if this is a stupid question, but what exactly are oracle cards? Lillith

Umbrae	08 Sep 2003
I realize there are many different types of oracle cards. I prefer Soul Cards (1). The reason I like Soul Cards is the lack of ‘meanings’. They dare you to get on that psychic limb and read… Is it possible to be a successful reader using only oracle cards? Don’t see why not…

Little Baron	08 Sep 2003
Not a stupid question Lilleth. Oracle cards are like Tarot but they don't have the same structure - they don't always have suits or the distinction between majors and minors. An example is The Faeries Oracle. There are less cards than in a standard Tarot pack in that deck - I can't remember exactly how many - something like 56, I think. These cards all have different titles - 'Solas', 'The Faerie of initiation', 'The Dark Lady'. No Empresses, High Priestesses, Hanged Man etc, even though in some Oracle decks, you can draw comparisons. This deck is especially interesting because even though each card has a meaning, you are encouraged through the accompanying book to not even bother reading them and use your intuition to gain your own interpretations of the characters. There is no values in these cards as there are in tarot; no 3's, no courts, no suits. They are excellent for meditating on and letting the meanings flood through you without any preconceived ideas of what they mean. In the Faeries Oracle, even structures such as The Celtic Cross Spread are ignored, leaving the reader to throw the cards how they want and devise their own unstructured patterns - thats how the faeries like it. Hope that answers your question. There are many Oracle decks in the 'deck' section of this site for you to look at and get a better idea. To answer, the other part of this thread. I like using both but use my tarot cards in the same sort of open way as I would the Oracle decks. Best wishes Yaboot

The tarot vs. oracle thread was originally posted on 08 Sep 2003 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.