Incorporating Oracle Cards into Your Tarot Practice


What's an Oracle Card?

Simply stated, an Oracle Card is a divination tool in card form that provides insight or guidance regarding one's actions and/or future direction. They can be used within Tarot readings to provide additional information and insight, but they are truly their own entity and their purpose and role is not always well understood by beginning Tarot students.

"Sounds cool," I hear you saying, "but what makes an Oracle deck different from a Tarot deck?" Well, the primary difference is that a Tarot deck is built around a known system of reading (with slight variations) and an Oracle deck has its own built-in method of reading. Remember that a standard Tarot deck has 78 cards (through some decks will differ) and have the same general format - Major Arcana, Aces through 10s, Court cards, etc. An Oracle deck can have an many or as few cards as the creator desires. I own Oracle decks that range from over 200 cards to 21 (and everything in between). An Oracle deck will almost always be accompanied by a guidebook that will describe to the reader how the cards should be interpreted and often some specific spreads. Oracle decks, like Tarot decks, are varied and it's relatively easy to find a deck that will resonate with you. Which brings us to the next question I often get:

Why Use Oracle Cards?

Let's use a clothing analogy. Consider how just the right accessory can move an outfit from attractive to amazing. That lovely red scarf and those red shoes can optimize the smaller red highlights in a dress in a way that your normal choice of black accessories just won't do. Both choices are nice; there's no right or wrong here. Oracle cards can be used to add some "extra" to your Tarot reading because they can expand upon the Tarot cards you pull and provide additional information that the Tarot cards can't.

I have recently purchased a few Oracle decks because, though I'm most comfortable with Tarot, I can appreciate what Oracle cards can bring to my Tarot table. I am a reader who will always focus my craft and study on Tarot but I will happily incorporate Oracle cards into those readings when it makes sense to do so. Some readers only use Oracle decks and that is perfectly wonderful, too. 

What About Other Card Systems?

In addition to Tarot and Oracle decks, there are entirely other systems, such as Lenormand and Kipper. There is rich history in these systems and I won't get into them here (they're really outside the scope of my knowledge as well as this blog post). They're definitely worth exploring if you are interested. Just know that they are not what I would consider Oracle decks. They are much more closely aligned with Tarot in that they operate through established divination systems. If you are interested in learning more, you can visit Labyrinthos's pages covering Lenormand and the U.S. Games website to learn more about Kipper.

Happy exploring! As always, questions can go in the comments.



















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