Similarities & Differences of Reading With Oracle Decks

[EminemsAngelBaby]

I've never read with an Oracle deck but lately they've been catching my eye here and there......winking at me.

What are the biggest differences and similarities between reading with an oracle deck versus a tarot?

Anything else you feel like sharing about your decks I'd love to hear too. Bring it! EAB

[purple_scorp]

Hi EAB,

I started reading with an Oracle deck - Titania's Fortune Cards. I had an instant rapport with them and used them solely for about a year. I read through the LWB (which is actually a beautiful gold book - Titania's merchandise is always beautifully presented) and I made a spreadsheet of the intersecting cards. You see with this deck, there was no such thing as positions, but you read the cards according to the other cards in the spread.

Then, I added a Tarot deck - The Fairy Tarot. Unfortunately that deck came with a tiny LWB and it was pretty much useless so I bought some other Tarot books that were Rider/Waite based and then I found it difficult to connect to the deck because they were so dissimilar to R/W. Thankfully, Lo Scarabeo have released a supporting book for this deck (but I haven't purchased it yet).

I have since bought more of each type of deck, preferring to read with the Oracle decks because I found they were easier to read intuitively. I was on the elusive search for ages for the Tarot deck that would speak to me and I finally found the Osho Zen. To me, this deck is more like an Oracle than a Tarot deck and I think that is why I relate to it. The same artist also has an Oracle deck that I am very keen to get my hands on.

A little while ago, I participated as the querent in an Oracle reading here at AT using Soul Cards. I hadn't seen them before but the person that laid the spread posted the images. I found them really easy to read too.

Hmm, I don't know that I've answered your question but I do have a strong personal preference to Oracle rather than Tarot cards.

Cheers

purple_scorp

[EminemsAngelBaby]

Hi Purple_Scorp,

Thanks for sharing your story of decks with me. I think the Fairy Ring Oracle deck is just beautiful. I was starting to go in that direction but The World Spirit deck got to me first....hehe.....It's been calling to me for a while. So for now I'll be delving into that deck. Sometime I will have to experience an oracle deck for myself to see howI feel the connection. I love the inituitive approach to readings too. A toast to your Osho Zen!!
EAB

[Chronata]

For me, reading with a tarot is like opening one kind of book...it has it's own system, is well represented, studied, debated over, referenced, and accepted by a hugecommunity of people who have read them for years...

And oracle decks...they each have thier own story...thier very own system.A lot of them have not been around for very long...and there are hundreds of different kinds of oracles. Some are like tarot, and some are very very different!

What I love about my vast oracle collection is that each one has it's own voice. Some are full of only positive cards and thoughts, (virtue decks) meant for encouragement readings...some are designed to be more rounded...to offer you advise when there is a block.(Celestial Wisdom, Froud's Faerie Oracle) or tell you directly what is going on.(Answer Deck)

Some are very esoteric and bizarre and are only for reading intuitively...(Morgan's tarot, Soul Cards) others have all the words written directly on the card, so you know the meaning without the need for a little white book.(Gypsy Witch)

There are even some that are perfect for daily readings(Medicine Cards for today) and others only for once in a while overview of your life. (Phoenix Cards, Symbolon)

Don't know if this helps any. If you want to know whether to get an oracle then I would say go for it! Find one that appeals to you, and play with it awhile. It may not give the same kind of answers as a tarot, but it will give a very different range of answers!

[purple_scorp]

Originally posted by Chronata
It may not give the same kind of answers as a tarot, but it will give a very different range of answers!

Hi Chronata,

yes I agree with you. Also, Oracles can give you more specific information about a certain topic. For instance, whenever I want to ask a Love question, I use Chuck Spezzanos Love Deck. And, for advice about my spiritual path - another of Chuck's decks called The Enlightenment Deck.

purple_scorp

[Umbrae]

I was in live chat back in the winter of 02 (lol), when somebody mentioned Soul Cards. I bought some.

I love them.

Later somebody else bought some, they had difficulties because there was no LWB. They were confused, as the cards have no fixed ‘meaning’.

To use them, you have to ‘open up’…

They are wonderful. Especially if you don’t like to follow directions (cuz there ain’t none).

[purple_scorp]

Originally posted by Umbrae
They are wonderful. Especially if you don’t like to follow directions (cuz there ain’t none).

Well that would be me then ;-)

[lunakasha]

Originally posted by Umbrae
I was in live chat back in the winter of 02 (lol), when somebody mentioned Soul Cards. I bought some.

I love them.

To use them, you have to ‘open up’…

They are wonderful. Especially if you donÂ’t like to follow directions (cuz there ainÂ’t none).

I have had my eye on the Soul Cards--I and II--for a long time....
I think they would be a great way to get away from the books and, as you say, just "open up" to the imagery and decide for myself what the cards mean.

Luna

[Mystic Reader]

Originally Posted by Umbrae

I was in live chat back in the winter of 02 (lol), when somebody mentioned Soul Cards. I bought some.

I love them.

Later somebody else bought some, they had difficulties because there was no LWB. They were confused, as the cards have no fixed ‘meaning’.

To use them, you have to ‘open up’…

One of my fondest memories using Oracle cards was around a long banquet table after dinner at a week-long retreat in the mountains. We played a game called "Psychic Poker" and dealt everyone at the table three cards.

Then we went around the table and did readings for each other, focusing on the three cards in front of each person.

The results were fantastic! Every single person got a spot-on reading which focused on their current issues and major life challenges. The accuracy was astonishing.

So after that, I've reviewed a few dozen Oracle decks and follow a simple procedure to see if I want to make each one a part of my collection. I shuffle the deck and pull three cards at "random" to see what comes up. If the deck speaks to me, I buy it.

Some examples of decks that never fail me are:

Ask Your Guides
Trust Your Vibes
Goddess Guidance
Archangel Oracle Cards
Self Care Cards

When I read for others, I ask them to pick their own cards.

I'm still not sure how it's possible to have a "never fail" experience when reading from these decks, because nothing of this earth can explain it to me, but I've stopped questioning it and simply enjoy the process.

Tears often flow.

And it's a good thing.