shadowdancer
I know some find the Osho Zen to be more oracle like. I can understand why, but I get on great with it.
Tarot Decks that "feel" more like oracles
WyrdRaven
The Celestial Tarot, which feels like an astrology oracle (it's all good!)
The Celtic Wisdom Tarot, which feels like a Celtic mythology oracle (I love it passionately)
The Celtic Wisdom Tarot, which feels like a Celtic mythology oracle (I love it passionately)
magpie9
Defiantly the Osho Zen....works great as an Oracle sometimes slipping into Tarot for me. Love it. Which word to use in naming your deck seems to be getting optional, not a definition anymore.
Phoenix
I agree with those who said the Book of Shadows Tarot. Its a beautiful deck, and I love using it, but it does depart somewhat from traditional tarot decks. The Major Arcana I find fits beautifully with traditional meanings, with some new twists, as do some of the minors. But there are certainly some cards that are definately a departure, thats for sure.
Still, its one of my favorite decks to work with, oracle or tarot.
Still, its one of my favorite decks to work with, oracle or tarot.
fractalgranny
the runic tarot definitely doesn't feel very "tarot" to me (yet - maybe i need to study it some more). it feels more like celtic ideas pressed into the service of tarot.
i'm still trying to figure out the afro brazilian tarot. in the review here it says "santana envisions her deck as a synthesis between tarot’s classic archetypes and the yoruban traditions of reverence for primary spirit beings known as orixas that west african slaves brought to the western hemisphere." that's very well put. sometimes it feels like it's tarot, sometimes it feels like it's an oracle from a religion that i know very little about.
i wonder whether part of all of this is just a marketing thing. a deck that i like quite a bit is the shakespeare oracle. it's a tarot deck alright but apparently because someone else already had the name of "shakespeare tarot" they couldn't use it and had to use the term "oracle." conversely, i could imagine how someone or their publisher decided to turn an oracle deck into a tarot deck because it would be easier to market.
i'm still trying to figure out the afro brazilian tarot. in the review here it says "santana envisions her deck as a synthesis between tarot’s classic archetypes and the yoruban traditions of reverence for primary spirit beings known as orixas that west african slaves brought to the western hemisphere." that's very well put. sometimes it feels like it's tarot, sometimes it feels like it's an oracle from a religion that i know very little about.
i wonder whether part of all of this is just a marketing thing. a deck that i like quite a bit is the shakespeare oracle. it's a tarot deck alright but apparently because someone else already had the name of "shakespeare tarot" they couldn't use it and had to use the term "oracle." conversely, i could imagine how someone or their publisher decided to turn an oracle deck into a tarot deck because it would be easier to market.
greatdane
Ah Moritherapy, I really like how you mentioned "ideas pressed into the service of tarot."
That does seem how some decks are, they are just squeezed into a partial tarot semblance. Again, not that these decks are not good or readable, I just don't find readable as tarot. So many here have mentioned great decks that they really enjoy even though they may not read exactly as tarot to them. I feel the same way. There are some decks I enjoy working with, or at least trying to, that don't feel like tarot, but that doesn't mean I can't benefit from them.
That does seem how some decks are, they are just squeezed into a partial tarot semblance. Again, not that these decks are not good or readable, I just don't find readable as tarot. So many here have mentioned great decks that they really enjoy even though they may not read exactly as tarot to them. I feel the same way. There are some decks I enjoy working with, or at least trying to, that don't feel like tarot, but that doesn't mean I can't benefit from them.
rachelpaul
Book of Shadows is amazing! A departure from tradition in some places, indeed. One of my all-time favorites 
greatdane
I think it's great people enjoy decks that they may read differently than tarot even though a deck calls itself tarot. It's about the ride a deck takes us on. I think often it isn't that I can't appreciate a deck, it's that I don't appreciate it as tarot. I am sooo going through that with the Wildwood right now.
fractalgranny
love the image of the tarot taking us on a ride
Chronata
For me, a tarot becomes more of an oracle when it...
* Drastically differs in illustration (and therefor meaning) from a standard deck(like the RWS)
* Has renamed the suits or Majors in a way that makes them unrecognizable
* Has keywords or phrases written on the cards that can be read separately from the tarot archetype
So, tarot decks that became more like oracles for me include the Osho Zen, the Rock N Roll, Transformation and in some respects the Connoly.
* Drastically differs in illustration (and therefor meaning) from a standard deck(like the RWS)
* Has renamed the suits or Majors in a way that makes them unrecognizable
* Has keywords or phrases written on the cards that can be read separately from the tarot archetype
So, tarot decks that became more like oracles for me include the Osho Zen, the Rock N Roll, Transformation and in some respects the Connoly.
