I’ve been reading with regular playing cards for years before getting into tarot. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is the structure.
Tarot has that fixed 78-card system with Major and Minor Arcana. Oracle decks can have any number of cards with whatever themes the creator wants. Playing cards actually map pretty well onto the Minor Arcana (hearts=cups, diamonds=pentacles, etc.), which made learning tarot easier for me.
Oracle cards are different, though. I picked up a moonology oracle deck recently, and you can read more intuitively since you’re not bound by traditional meanings. Though sometimes I miss the depth and connected symbolism that comes with tarot’s established structure.
I guess tarot is like learning a language with grammar rules, oracle is like free-form poetry, and playing cards fall somewhere in between.
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Starting my collection of oracle decks, they focus on that major arcana energy, giving each card a strong spiritual vibe without the pip cards. This makes them useful for quick daily draws, but when I want a more complete look at life’s ups and downs, I lean towards tarot, which includes both majors and minors.
If you’re interested in this, Rachel Pollack’s ‘Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom’ explains well how the minor arcana complements the majors.
Oracle decks are cool and all, but the traditional 78-card setup has been around since the 1400s. I’ve been pulling one Minor Arcana card daily lately. Just spending some time with it and thinking about the suits and their connections to tarot history.
I used regular playing cards before tarot, so I get where you’re coming from.
Tarot’s got 78 cards in a set structure, 22 Major Arcana that playing cards don’t have, and 56 Minor Arcana that share history with our regular deck. The structure’s been around for centuries now. What’s different about tarot is that the framework stays consistent. Playing cards work fine for readings, but tarot has those archetypal meanings everyone recognizes.
The Tower is The Tower, you know? Individual readers add their own interpretations, but the core stays the same.
Oracle decks, though, each creator just makes up whatever they want. For better or for worse.
Different number of cards, different meanings, different everything. People sometimes group Lenormand with oracle cards but that’s wrong. Lenormand has 36 specific cards and traditional reading methods. Takes actual practice to get good at it. They’re all card systems but they work completely differently.
I like mixing tarot with oracle cards sometimes. Pull your tarot for the core reading, then grab an oracle card if you want another perspective on it. The oracle cards tend to be more straightforward which can help when the tarot feels too abstract.
Been using the same tarot deck for 15 years. The main difference is that tarot has a set structure - always 78 cards, always the same breakdown. 22 major arcana, 56 minor arcana in 4 suits.
Oracle decks are whatever the creator wants them to be. Could be 30 cards, could be 100, no standard system at all. Once you learn tarot, you can pick up any deck and read with it since they all follow the same template (usually based on Rider Waite Smith).
With oracle decks, you’re starting fresh each time. I prefer having one deck I know really well. Mine’s pretty beat up at this point, but that’s part of it. The cards are soft, edges worn down, and I can read them without thinking too hard about meanings. There’s nothing wrong with oracle decks if that’s your thing. Plenty of people collect them. I just found it easier to focus on one system with centuries of material to study.
Tarot cards have been around for centuries, maintaining a specific framework of 78 cards, each with traditional names and symbolism. While artists can put their own spin on the imagery, they generally follow these established patterns. Tarot readings also follow well-known methods, like the Celtic Cross spread and the meaning of reversed cards. Picking up a tarot deck connects you to a rich history of shared understanding.
Oracle doesn’t have this history or structure. That doesn’t mean it isn’t as good or that it isn’t useful… but it doesn’t have centuries of other readers who have come before you and worked with the cards.
The lack of structure in oracle decks can be a pain. You basically have to learn a whole new language every time you get a new deck. I remember switching from my first oracle deck to my second one and being completely confused. The meanings were nothing alike and I kept mixing them up for weeks.