Divination is an important part of witchcraft, and divination through the use of cards, especially, given that it’s one of the most popular methods of divination in modern witchcraft. The problem is that there are so many different types of cards that can be used. There are traditional tarot cards, and a variety of traditional tarot cards at that, as well as thousands of different types of oracle cards, and even an everyday playing deck of cards can be used for divination.
This can lead to quite a bit of confusion for someone who’s new to the craft. Today, we’re going to take a look at the two most common types of cartomancy, tarot and oracle cards, the differences between them, and when you should use each type for divination.
What’s The Difference Between Tarot & Oracle Cards?
In order to get a deeper understanding of whether you should use tarot cards or oracle cards, we first need to understand the major differences between the two. While they might seem quite similar on the surface, there are a few key differences that make using tarot cards and oracle cards a very different experience.
First is the structure of the deck. Tarot decks have a very specific structure. You have four suits, cups, wands, swords, and pentacles. And within each suit, you have ten numbered cards and four court cards. These are the minor arcana cards. Then you have 22 major arcana cards like The Sun, The High Priestess, and The Emperor. These are pretty much standardized in the vast majority of tarot decks. You may find slightly different words used for some of these cards, for example the queen cards could be referred to as the mother, but in general, the structure is the same.
Oracle cards, on the other hand, have no set structure, there is no set number of cards that an Oracle deck will contain, there is no major or minor arcana, the cards may be numbered or not, and they may be related or not. In general, oracle decks have a specific theme that they hold to, and the deck creator will make as many cards as they intuitively feel is correct.
Now, the reason we care about the structure of the deck comes down to interpreting the cards and the spreads that we use. When you’re reading tarot, there is a huge amount of tradition that informs your interpretation. Each card has a specific meaning and that meaning doesn’t change between decks. There are many, many resources that you can use to learn about what each individual card means. Because of this, you can find discussions, articles, and books about the different ways to interpret cards for different purposes. For example, a single card, like the 7 of Cups, can be interpreted as what’s happening in the present moment, as advice or instruction you need to take, as a warning, or as what will happen in the future, along with many other possibilities. By having so many resources available to you, you can develop an incredibly deep intellectual understanding of each card, and this can lead to in-depth interpretations of your readings.
By contrast, with an oracle deck, there’s usually only one resource that you can use for interpreting the cards, and that is the one that came with the deck. There will usually be a guide book or a pamphlet that explains the meaning of each card. This means you have a limited amount of information for your interpretation. As a result, your interpretations have to rely on intuition significantly more. This is not a bad thing, it’s more of a matter of personal preference. Are you more of a reader who prefers to have lots of tradition to draw on in your interpretations, or do you like relying more on your intuition for your interpretation?
The next main difference is the influence of theme on your reading and on the deck as a whole. There are many themed tarot decks out there, but in general, the theme does not alter the interpretation of the cards. The Queen of Cups is still the Queen of Cups, even if you’re using a cuddly cats deck or a skeleton deck. It makes very little difference. It doesn’t matter if you’re using modern tarot decks or traditional tarot decks, the spiritual guidance of the tarot card reading will be the same as long as the specific cards being drawn are the same.
In an Oracle deck, on the other hand, the theme deeply informs the meaning of the cards. And there are a wide range of themes to choose from. Something like an angel card deck will have a very different style of reading than something like a Santa Muerte deck. A fairy themed deck will give you very different information than an animal spirit deck. The downside of this is that you have to learn each new deck from scratch as a complete beginner. When you buy different tarot decks, even if the theme is different, the meanings are the same. So you do not have to learn a significant amount of new information to be able to read with that deck. With an Oracle deck, you are starting from scratch with every single one. You will have a completely new set of cards with completely unique meanings that will give you very distinctive readings based on the personality and theme of the deck.
This can be a very good thing! Many diviners feel that an oracle deck gives them a significantly more flexible style of reading than a traditional tarot deck. Again, this comes down to your personal preference. Do you prefer having lots of structure and tradition to draw on for your interpretation, or do you prefer a more intuitive, free-form style of reading? With an Oracle deck or even multiple Oracle decks, you get a significantly more tailored selection of potential messages. Whereas with a tarot deck, the cards mean what the cards mean, and getting significantly outside of the base meanings of the cards requires quite a bit of skill.
When To Use Oracle Cards
Now that you understand a bit more about the differences between tarot cards and oracle cards, when should you use each of these? While there’s no firm rule as to whether you should use oracle cards or tarot cards and what situation would be best for either one, I can give you some general guidelines to help you think about how you use your different decks.
Oracle decks are incredibly unique, and each individual deck will be well suited to different circumstances. But in general, they tend to be more intuitive. So if you are a more intuitive reader, I would suggest you lean towards oracle readings more often than not. An oracle card reading can be done in spreads, just like tarot cards, but often they are used for single card draws. So if you like a good single card reading, then oracle decks are great for you. Oracle decks also combine well with other oracle decks, so if you like a multi-deck reading, then using multiple oracle decks can work incredibly well for getting very specific types of information that each deck is suited for.
I use both oracle decks and tarot decks. But I find that for many readings, I’m intuitively pulled to my oracle decks simply because they have a broader range of meanings that make it easier for me to communicate with the spirits and higher powers that I’m trying to communicate with. Essentially, you want to go for oracle decks when you’re attempting to develop a more intuitive reading style. If you’re someone who likes very structured, formalized meanings and methods to your divination, then oracle decks will probably feel a little loosey-goosey for you, and you may want to steer away from them.
When To Use Tarot Cards
Now let’s take a look at when you might prefer to use tarot readings. The first and biggest reason why I would suggest using a tarot card deck is if you are new to divination. I think everyone who is new to divination should start with tarot above everything else. It will give you an incredibly firm foundation for your divination practice. There is simply an abundance of tools, resources, and history to draw on to develop your divination skills. And this creates a much easier framework for you to begin learning within. It is always easier to learn a new skill within a set structure that gives you a level of stability to draw on in your practice. So if you are new, feel free to explore oracle cards, but I really suggest spending most of your time on tarot cards.
You also might prefer tarot cards if you simply like the overabundance of resources, tradition, and structured system provided by this type of divination. There are plenty of diviners out there who only use standard tarot cards for divination because if you truly apply yourself and get very proficient with tarot cards, there is simply no need to go outside of it. The more time you spend studying tarot, the more diverse and detailed your readings become. You can get very specific messages using a traditional tarot deck once you learn to read well.
Tarot is also excellent for people who like to learn the craft in a group setting. There are far more meetup groups, covens, discussion boards, and forums for tarot simply because it is so widespread and there is so much that can be discussed about tarot reading. If you are someone who craves community in your magical practice then tarot is an excellent way to begin developing that. You can attend tarot classes, join Reddit boards and online communities, and seek out covens with a focus on tarot to begin developing both your divination practice and your personal witchy community.
Should You Use Oracle Cards Or Tarot?
So should you use tarot or oracle cards? In my opinion, you should use both. There are many benefits to be had from utilizing both methods in your divination practice. This goes for not simply having multiple decks to choose from but using multiple decks within the same reading.
In my personal practice, I’ve developed an intuitive style of reading that involves using a tarot deck, multiple oracle card decks, and a pendulum for pretty much every reading. I may occasionally use only one deck in a reading if that’s what it’s called for. But more often than not, I like to have a wide variety of potential meanings and messages to draw from, and I intuitively pick and choose between my decks guided by my pendulum to create a reading. I find that this style of reading gives me significantly more accurate and diverse readings than relying on a single form of divination. It does take a little bit of extra practice to learn how to use each tool individually to be able to do this, but it’s certainly not as advanced or as difficult as you may think.
I teach about this method in both my Divination For Witchcraft class and my Precision Divination class. These two classes are both available as a part of The Coven membership, so if this style of multi-divination reading appeals to you, I’d encourage you to join The Coven Community and start learning how to use this kind of divination for yourself.
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