Oracle lovers Versus Tarot lovers

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

SongDeva	27 Feb 2004
I've been perusing the Tarot Decks and Oracle Decks Forums for quite some time. I thought I'd advance a hypothesis and see what people think. Remember, the oracle deck forum is much smaller in terms of volume. It seems to me that those who are into primarily tarot are most interested in the cards and the symbolism and the different ways all the gazillion decks say some of the same things, etc. in the common language of tarot. Conversely, in terms of the oracle deck lovers, it seems the oracle types are more interested in the readings themselves, and perhaps in how accurate the decks help them to be when doing a reading. Obviously, most oracle decks don't have a common language (structure) like tarot does. Any thoughts? I could go into more detail, but I'd like to see what y'all have to say on your own! Lara

contrascarpe	27 Feb 2004
Well, considering I didn't even know what an oracle deck was until I met you ....... I have fallen in love with both. Even though Tarot has the structure, I am finding more and more decks are straying away from the conventional "book" meanings (in my collection the Bruegel, Bosch and Medieval Scapini come to mind first). The only true Oracle I own is the Froud Faiery and I haven't spent much time with that. The Soul Cards I see as more of an oracle than a straight Tarot as well. As I have posted elsewhere, I hope as I get serious with my readings that I will do readings with a combination of both - a standard Tarot reading with a couple of Oracles thrown in for clarification purposes. I just picked up the Osho Zen Tarot and I find this deck to be a nice combination of the two. I found the accompanying book at a Borders (it expounds on the book that comes with the deck) and it has a chart in the back comparing the Osho cards to standard RWS and Thoth designations. However, I see the deck as less Tarot and more Oracle. I plan on using it as an Oracle - again, to clarify a standard Tarot reading. Hmm, probably didn't answer your question. Dan

lark	27 Feb 2004
For me it's that I know my tarot cards will give me an indepth reading. So that's what I look for in an oracle deck. If it's light and fluffy and very surface beginner stuff just to sell a novelty item. It's out.... Or if it has a ton af complicated "dodads" that go with it. That's not my cup of tea. Give me a beautiful, artistic, well thought out Oracle and thats the one I will use. Unfortunatly I have 22 decks that I consider Oracles and few fall into that catagory. My favorites have been~ Faerie's Oracle by Froud ***** Fairy and Angel Oracles by Wulfling **** Angel Blessing Cards *** Fairy Pack *** Universe Cards **** Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards ***** I have recently bought or traded for~ Sacred Geometry by Hart Soul cards 2 Crop Circle Cards **** Rune cards by Partridge and Linsell ***** Triple Goddess Tarot I'm still working with these so the jury is still out, but most of them show alot of promise. As far as what do I love more. I would have to say my tarot cards but I would find it very hard to do without my Faerie Oracle decks. I guess I'm a little strict with my Oracle decks. I do focus more on the quality of the reading they give. And since so much depends on the book that comes with it. Because they are all different and have no common ground like Tarot. If the book stinks it ruins the deck for me. Like in the case of Soul Cards or the Wulfling Oracles I like to make up my own interpretations. I find this is very satisfying, and almost better.

miss_apples	27 Feb 2004
I only have one Oracle Deck and thats "Healing With The Angels" by Doreen Virtue. I found that where as tarot cards talk about whats going on and what not...my oracle deck is better for giving more simple and straight forward advice and emotional support.

Moongold	27 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by SongDeva It seems to me that those who are into primarily tarot are most interested in the cards and the symbolism and the different ways all the gazillion decks say some of the same things, etc. in the common language of tarot. Conversely, in terms of the oracle deck lovers, it seems the oracle types are more interested in the readings themselves, and perhaps in how accurate the decks help them to be when doing a reading. Obviously, most oracle decks don't have a common language (structure) like tarot does. I am more interested in tarot readings and what they reveal to us. That interest drew me to tarot and keeps me here. The tarot is one way of finding knowledge and understanding that would be inaccessible otherwise. I've tended to concentrate on tarot because there is so much to learn and the various decks and approaches are so beautiful. And this is primarily a tarot site, after all. :). The various tarot decks do give information in different ways, and spreads can also yield particular perspectives to questions. That is not to say there is not beauty and wisdom in oracles as well. I own the Faeries, the I Ching and Greer's Sacred Geometry but I have not really had the time to study these. I suspect there is just as much wisdom and understanding to be found in oracles. I don't have enough experience of them yet. One thing I love about the tarot is that it lends itself to many creative approaches. Some people illustrate the answers with stories. Others give you simple sentences, to the point, but explanatory. Some simply give you answers and that's it. :) Some people on this site are very interested in the history and symbolism of the tarot, but to others the art work is more important. I tend to agree with you, Lara, that you don't often see oracle lovers expounding for hours on the significance of three-legged chairs or old men with particular symbols on their cloaks! Moongold

Logiatrix	28 Feb 2004
I don't differentiate between my oracles and my tarots. I choose whichever deck alligns with my mood at the moment. Tarot or oracle, the right one always calls to me.

Cerulean	29 Feb 2004
In general: I sometimes browse through a book called Tarot and other Meditation Decks. It actually classifies many different twentieth century decks in how they approach tarot. For instance, Egyptian-style tarot decks are very different in approaches. Some might take their observations of Egyptian myth. One modern one might take an allegorical sequence from the the Book of the Dead and Ra's passing through the various gates of the night. I see it as an allegorical symbol to equate it with a tarot trump, which agrees with your first view. They call themselves a tarot, and the focus is self-knowledge and learning snapshots of Egyptian thought. But I also see the deck like this can function more as an self-growth oracle if the reader gains self-knowledge with their learning and associations. Then there's the Book of Thoth, that is also a significantly different tarot with a passing nod to Egyptian art, but more twentieth century in it's many creative and even psychological uses--there's that heavy emphasis on symbolism. But there are colors and moods in the patterns, and so like an oracle, I find it suggests a mood. This to me is helpful in pinpointing individual issues and presents options or insights for self-knowledge. What I find interesting, is the book also divided some 'Celtic theme' tarots into specific types. Some assist people build insights to encourage creative thinking or self-knowledge. Some functions in a way to suggests relationships to community and family. The book also classified some celtic theme tarot oracles the same way. My own opinion: Specifically, I found that the Book of Doors, a 65-card tarot deck, as a great oracle that teaches about Egyptian mythology and suggests insights for self-knowledge. It complements my work with my now-favorite Egyptian tarot deck by Sylvana Alasia. I like for it's combination of Milanese tarot structure with Egyptian design motifs and some 19th century tarot history. I can read for others with this tarot, which I think more as a sharing and relational use--especially as other people's questions are usually geared to their relational fit or views. I also like my Thoth deck and how many authors are doing good writings about it. I'm learning to use it for myself more than for reading with others, but I soon will try to practise readings for others. I also have a hard time differentiating between oracle decks that I like and tarots that work for me...the symbols are equally important in how I read... Mari H.

Pagan X	29 Feb 2004
Most of the Oracle decks seem artificial to me--produced by one or two minds and not time-tested, too limited in focus. I'm interested in I Ching decks because the I Ching, like Tarot, started out as images in its place in the development of Chinese writing. It developed into a textually focussed oracle, as if Tarot cardsthemselves had been replaced by one of the better LWB's! It also incorporated Chinese numerology and elemental correspondences, just as the Minor Arcana were developed using Golden Dawn numerology and elemental correspondences. There's even a book out now by Ray Buckland on how to select Tarot cards by tossing coins...some of us who have memorized our cards could use pocket change to do a reading in an emergency. To a non-Tarotist, it would look quite impressive and mystical.

BlueLotus	29 Feb 2004
For me, I started with oracle decks rather than tarot decks and for a long time prior to my taking tarot , mainly because I thought them easier to read into. I was wary of Tarot in general, because I thought I needed to be psychic, or something along this line, or to have some prior and arduous knowledge to just start reading with them. How wrong I was. When I found out that I can get into Tarot right away, and start learning alongside reading, my journey into divination took a different turn. With the huge number of tarot decks on the market today, I am finding that this process is quite exciting and interesting and there is an ever challenging taste to it, not to mention the ability to learn at my own pace. The fun is in the journey itself, rather than the destination.

jmd	01 Mar 2004
I suppose that Tarot can be considered a particular example amongst oracle decks. In addition, however, it can also be considered a particular instance amongst card games. It can also be considered a particular instance amongst remnants of traditional mediaeval iconography and symbology. It can also be considered a particularly central tool used in the Western esoteric tradition. And it can be considered a particular instance of a spiritual manifestation of a book which may lead one to deeper insights of the world around and within us. I do not know of any other deck which does all of this... even if we may at various times only use or be interested in only some of those aspects.

Nevada	08 Mar 2004
I started with Tarot, albeit a slightly non-traditional one (Voyager). I only have two Oracle decks, the Celtic Tree Oracle and the Froud Faeries Oracle. I like them all, but one thing makes Tarot more attractive to me overall: there's an established pattern to it. I can pick up a Tarot deck that I've never seen before, and if it even loosely follows the established pattern, I can read with it almost at once. I find the Faeries to be a highly intuitive deck, the imagery alive with meaning for me, but it was still much more difficult to simply pick up and read with. That took a few days of playing with the cards and getting to know them, and I still find myself falling back on the book, and wondering at times what the creator was up to, why he did this or that, and whether it has significance. The Celtic Tree Oracle doesn't resonate with my intuition at all. The images are beautiful and attractive, but I have yet to get anything from them without picking up the book. The pattern of Tarot seems to cover so many of life's possibilities, that I find it to be a more complete reading tool. The variety of structure in Oracle decks makes them more elusive. Nevada

tarotlova	06 Dec 2004
If I want to ask a particular question I go to the Tarot, if I want a general reading or can't form the right question to what I want to know, I use Titanias Fortune Cards, and until I joined AT I only read for other people with Titanias cards as I found them to be better than the Tarot, as they are always spot on in answering the querents questions, as they don't have to ask, a question, I tell them I don't want to know what your question is, just let the cards speak and they do , all the time, but I love both the Tarot & Oracle cards as well as Runes they all answer your questions if you listen. I have a few Decks and I pick them out if they feel right to me, especialy if my hands ache when I hold them, then I know they will give me good advice. Blessings PS I have the Celtic Tree Oracle too, but can't get anything out of it which I have heard is very common with this deck!

tatsi	06 Dec 2004
I think both Tarot and Oracles are equally important. It depends on your intuition, when deciding which deck to use would be best suited to answer the question being posed. You don't have to choose between Tarot or Oracles. Many times they complement each other when you use both in a reading session. tatsi

Elektra	04 May 2005
Digging up a veeeery old thread - for me, it's just what I can read with. I was initially far more attracted to oracle decks. However, I now have three (Dreaming in Color, Magical Mermaids and Dolphins, and the TAO Oracle), and although they're all beautiful I can't read worth a damn from any of them. I think I'm going to try meditating with them or something. I was mildly interested in tarot but never saw a deck that I really liked. Then I saw the Gilded Tarot scans, bought it, fell head-over-heels for tarot as a system that I could actually READ (though I needed quite a bit of book help). Then I found the Bright Ideas deck, which I first wanted as a study deck to help me understand my Gilded better...and suddenly I was doing absolutely mindblowing intuitive readings. So now I'm a Tarotholic and have three or four more decks waiting for me at the post office :).

The Oracle lovers Versus Tarot lovers thread was originally posted on 27 Feb 2004 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.