Tarot Cards vs. Oracle Cards - What's The Difference?
tarot cards oracle cards
I remember years ago being intrigued by tarot cards and oracle cards. They were calling to me, but I also had the nagging voice of religion telling me to walk away. The cards were evil and that once I became involved in learning more about these cards that I would be dabbling into the world of el diablo. 👀That was the last thing I wanted to invite into my life.
But my Rising ♍Virgo would not let it go.
I had to do a deep dive and figure out what the truth was, what the myths are, where was the reality that made sense. So, if this is you right now, I'm going to share my thoughts with you. You can choose to take what resonates and discard what doesn't as I am not here to convince you of anything.
Tarot Cards
The history of Tarot cards isn't well documented, and the best that I can discern is that sometime in the 15th century as playing cards to play a game of "Triumph." Triumph was a game similar to bridge, and people began to refer to it as 'tarocchi.'
In the late 18th century, the cards were being used more by mystics and occultists for divinatory purposes. In the early 1900s, tarot spread across America and began using the Rider-Waite deck created in 1909. Rider-Waite is the deck that most start with when learning.
Rider-Waite tarot deck cards were drawn by Pamela Colman Smith going along with the instructions from academic and mystic A. E. Waite. The Rider Company then published them.
The images on the cards are filled with symbols, colors, animals, and people that represent life lessons and situations that we will experience in our lives. The Major Arcana (22 Cards) speaks to the significant life events i.e., your soul's growth. The Minor Arcana speaks to your human development.
Within the Minor Arcana (56 Cards), there are also four elements i.e., suits: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water represented by Pentacles, Swords, Wands and Cups that pertain to a specific aspect of life.
Earth/Pentacles: Practical needs and the material world
Air/Swords: Thoughts, communication, and beliefs
Fire/Wands: Passion and energy
Water/Cups: Emotions
The critical thing to remember is that tarot cards do not tell the future. You always have free will.
Tarot cards can help you get a new perspective on the choices you have in life. If you believe in synchronicity, then you would see what happens in your life is not merely coincidences but guiding forces of the universe to help you makes decisions. With that belief, you would see that the cards that come up in a reading for you are possibilities that you could look out for or help to reinforce what you've already intuitively thought about a situation.
This then takes us to your subconscious mind, and tarot cards can help you to tap into the answers you already have within but found it difficult to express or latch onto. Tarot helps you to get in touch with your inner guide or the divine within.
Are All Tarot Cards The Same?
Nope.
There are tarot card decks that will resonate with you and those that will not. Some decks are easier to learn than others.
You will find that some people illustrate cards, and while they may be beautiful, the meanings are difficult to interpret. Other decks will have words and definitions printed on them that don't resonate with you.
I once bought a deck with cats on it and a deck with skeletons on it when I was brand new to tarot. I didn't like the all of the illustrations on the cat deck. As for the skeleton deck, the traditional tarot meanings were not consistent. The point being is that you need to find a deck that you love, but you should probably start with the Rider-Waite deck to get a solid foundation of the basic meanings.
How Tarot Cards Work
Tarot cards aren't anything other than 78 pieces of paper with imagery on it. But they are magical in the ways that they help you to access your intuition.
Within the Major Arcana, you're going on a journey with the Fool. The Fool card is the 0 card, and this is where their journey begins. The Fool is unaware of what will unfold on the trip and could not be happier.
Along the way, he meets people. The first person he meets is the Magician. The Magician reminds the Fool that they have all the magic and tools at their disposal to make anything a reality.
Then the journey continues, and you'll discover everyone else the Fool will meet on his journey. That is where you'll start to understand the soul's journey.
When you then incorporate the Minor Arcana, you will be able to add more detail to the story of the journey that you can fill in based upon the suit or number of the cards you pull.
That past has been written, and the future is being written in your life, so look at the cards as the visual representation of where you've been and a mirror of your soul to illuminate the more profound wisdom within.
What To Know Before You Start Reading Tarot Cards
Tarot is about your intuition. You can spend hours reading and researching tarot card meanings, but you will find that everyone has different meanings and keywords that they associate with each card. And they may not resonate with you, and that is okay. There is not one person that knows everything that there is to know about tarot, so you are allowed to assign your meanings to the cards.
When you get your first tarot card deck, go through each card (without the guidebook) and see what you feel and intuitively feel about the card. You may even want to jot down what comes to mind.
For instance, every time I see the "Wheel of Fortune" card, I hear the TV game show, and it carries that meaning for me. It's silly, it's fun, and it is how I connect with the card.
There is a lot of information that you will naturally get by just looking at the card, tuning in to what you see and feel, and figure out what the meaning is and that will genuinely help you before you dig into any research that will probably confuse you.
Oracle Cards
Oracle card decks can have any number of cards, unlike standard tarot decks, have 78 cards. No two oracle decks will be the same, and they all have a different theme to them. Some are cards of affirmations, some are related to a deity, and some are related to angels.
Oracle cards aren't structured in their meanings, and there aren't any rules (usually) to how you use them. Know why that's cool? You can pick up a deck and tap into your intuition without knowing a thing! However, you can count on the fact that most oracle card decks do come with a booklet from the author, where they will give you a bit of insight if you want more clarification.
How Do Oracle Cards Work
Oracle cards work in a way to give you clarity or guidance or even a new perspective. There is no symbolism, numbers, elements, or suits to memorize. Simply pick a card and interpret the meaning as you'd like. Easy peasy!
Should You Use Tarot Cards or Oracle Cards? Which one is easier to read?
I think everyone would agree that oracle cards are easier to use, by far, as tarot cards will take a bit of time to learn tarot cards.
If you're looking for quick clarification or a gut check, pulling a few cards from an oracle deck could be all that you need. They are the friendliest types of cards to use.
If you're looking to go deeper and pull more out of your subconscious, then I'd recommend for you to learn tarot.
What To Know Before You Start Reading Tarot Cards
If you're an overachiever and want to understand everything there is to know about tarot in one day, you will quickly find yourself frustrated. You need to be gentle with yourself and know that learning tarot is a lifelong journey. The more you practice tarot, the more you'll learn.
Cleanse your deck before you use it. You can either smudge it or use selenite to clear it.
Lastly, do not close yourself off and only see what you want to see. Sometimes you need tough love, so be open to that.
How To Choose A Deck
Check out the visuals of the deck and see what your initial reaction to it is. You'll most likely fall in love with the visuals and want to learn everything about them, however, if there isn't a good guidebook, you might struggle to understand the author's meaning behind the cards.
Watch an unboxing video of the tarot deck you're interested in or do a google image search to see what a majority of the cards look like.
If you're buying cards that you can physically touch before you buy, see how easy the cards shuffle. Thicker and larger tarot cards are difficult to shuffle. If you can't touch them, read the reviews to see what others have to say about shuffling them. Ideally, you'll want cards that aren't too thin or too thick.
If it's your first deck, get a classic like the Rider-Waite deck.
Easy Steps To Get Started With Oracle Or Tarot Cards
Shuffle your cards and think of an open-ended question. For instance, don't ask, "will I win the lottery?" but do ask, "What can I do to better my financial situation?" As you remember, tarot cards do not tell the future, you're looking for a new way to look at your situation.
How To Use Oracle Cards With Tarot
Anyway, you want to. There are no rules. You can buy a tarot card and oracle deck by the same author, so they match visually and energetically. Or not.
You can choose your own method for this where you can pick three or five tarot cards and use oracle cards to give more perspective. Or you can pick an oracle card, focus on it, and then draw tarot cards to clarify and get more insight.
And if you like to go deeper, you can keep on picking cards!
Myths About Tarot Cards
You must be gifted your first deck. Contrary to old-timey beliefs that you must be gifted a tarot deck, which could you leave you waiting forever to get your first deck, you may buy yourself your first tarot deck.
No one can touch your cards. Ever!! Okay, so you don't want everyone touching your cards because not everyone has good energy. Here's my rule. If you're going to do a reading for a bunch of people at a party, bring a deck that you're okay with knowing will need a good substantial cleansing later. And also, keep a deck that you reserve for your personal use, and no one else touches. But know, that any of your decks will require cleansing initially and over time.
You have to memorize all the meanings before you start reading. That's a no. You can start reading today. You may not be very accurate at first, but it's a practice. And practice makes perfect.
Tarot cards are evil. No, they aren't, and you're not a follower of el diablo if you use them. They are pieces of paper with images on it, and it's what you make of them. And if you're wondering if it's "against your religion" do your homework and don't rely on your local church lady to be your fact-checker.
Tarot tells the future. Nope, they don't. As I said before, you have free will, and the only thing tarot can help you with when it comes to the future is awakening the ideas within the possibilities that maybe you didn't think about. Short story? You control your destiny.
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My Favorite Tarot + Oracle Card Decks
Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck
I like to think of tarot cards and oracle cards as visual messages from God and Spirit that I can easily understand.
We're spirits lugging around these dense human bodies. And sometimes, we find it tough to hear God in this busy world because sometimes our vibration isn't high enough. Going tactile has been helpful for me.
For me, tarot cards and oracle cards make for a more natural way to communicate with God and a great tool to develop my intuition. Because you know what happens when you start to develop your intuition? You begin to trust your gut and make better decisions. AND you can tap into that intuition to help others 😇