What is the difference between Tarot Cards and Oracle Cards?

1st of May, 2017

There is a clear difference between tarot cards and oracle cards, but the end goal is the same:  they are both tools for developing your intuition.

Why do we say ‘intuition’ instead of ‘doing a reading’? Because that is what doing a reading is. It is using your intuition to ‘know’ to ‘sense’ to ‘hear’ to ‘feel’ to ‘see’, to allow the guidance to come forth. Just as your hand can reach out and pick up an apple, so can your intuition reach out and pick up a piece of information, if it has been well trained and practiced.

The Tarot all follow the same pattern. There will always be 78 cards, broken down in 22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana. There is always a king (or Pharaoh, Chief, etc), a fool, etc. The only difference is the artwork. If you have a fascination with Egypt then you might like an Egyptian style tarot. If you have an affinity to Native American Indian culture, then you might resonate well with a Native American Indian themed deck. If you are drawn to animals, cosmology, angels, the sacred feminine, etc, then you will be drawn to a deck featuring those things. However … that is not to say that you won’t pick up a completely unrelated deck and simply not be able to put it down! Nor is it to say that you won’t look at another deck and be completely captivated with the art work. That is simply how it goes.

Sometimes you pick the tarot deck, sometimes the tarot deck picks you!

Tarot follows a structure, and a variety of different layouts that can be utilised. Layouts are a bit like a GPS, there is always a map to follow.

Oracle decks, on the other hand, follow no uniform pattern. They are not bound by any rules. They can come with any number of cards, and be based around any number of themes (dragon, fairy, unicorn, mermaids, healing, rebels, earth, ascended masters). Because of their lack of structure some people find there is more scope to allow their divine guidance to shape the reading. It all comes down to you and your intuition and, of course, your interpretation. Your intuition is left to its own devices.

How long have they been around?

Some sources believe that tarot cards have been around since the 14^th or 15^th century. Oracle cards, however, may have been around since only the 19^th century. They may be the 'new kid on the block' but that does not diminish their value or popularity in any way!

It’s not a contest between the two styles, they both have merit, but you may find yourself drawn to one over the other, and that may change over time. Many people have half a dozen decks or more, tarot or oracle, or a mix of both.

The one thing both styles have in common, is they will help your intuition develop as you continue to work with them. As with all things they are a tool to work with, and the more you work with them the more you will find it easier and easier to do readings for people, and you will witness you own intuition developing. Some people do, however, use the booklet to define all meanings of the cards, and that is fine if that is their preference.

We stock an extensive range of both tarot decks and oracle cards, covering a wide array of styles and themes. And, to help the ‘tarot newbies’ on their journey, we also stock books on how to work with tarot--these books now conveniently reside along the shelf below the tarot cards display. We also stock satin bags, and tarot boxes to store your treasured cards in. 

We hope this brief overview gives you a better understanding of the difference between tarot cards and oracle cards, though, as we said, they both have their place and their own value. You may even find that, once you have several decks of your own, that one one day you feel called to use one deck over another, or perhaps the person who comes to see you will influence which deck you use.