What is Oracle?

For all the history of tarot, it took a special mind to see into the tool that are tarot cards. It took a skill which required seeing beyond the obvious to give advice, predict outcomes, and help so many people with their lives. However, this requirement secluded tarot from being practiced by less experienced people, thus a want for a simpler solution arose. That solution is oracle, and oracle cards. Oracle cards are named after the practice of divination. In Ancient Greece, the gods had one who was known for Light, Harmony, and Knowledge. Apollo was known as the god the people spoke to when they needed guidance and help. The Greek anointed people with perceived special abilities to speak with Apollo, predict the future through them, and offer guidance and pass down direction through him. From these people came multiple terms: Priests, Priestesses, and Oracles. Some interpreted the term oracle as the place of worship, others interpreted it as the person divining information. Since then, the term oracle has become synonymous with divination. This is only the start, but divination in the form of cards came to be much, much later. In the early 1800s, Europe grew a stronger interest in divination, especially with the creation of the ubiquitous Rider-Waite Tarot Decks that gave people a standardized and easier to understand deck of cards. This ease was still too complicated for many amateur and beginner card readers to understand, as a need for a simpler method of divination arose. France became the epicenter for this need, and the solution, as previously mentioned, became the oracle cards. A tool used to speak with a higher force, a deeper intuition, and connect with a higher state of mind. 

Oracle card decks are a tool, similar to tarot, to receive guidance and answers to questions you may have. By picking a single card or multiple cards, an answer may present itself to issues you have. Interpreting the meaning behind the card’s intended guidance may be difficult as we can be influenced by our knowledge of a situation. A card reader whose is dedicated to working with cards will employ their intuition to help provide deeper guidance from the meaning presented from the oracle cards.

This may sound familiar, as tarot card decks serve a similar role as oracle cards. However, oracle cards are far more customizable and unique than tarot cards, as they serve different purposes. Oracle cards aren’t split into suits and or have a set number of cards. Rather, they have an indeterminate number of cards, set by the creator. They also differ in their sizes as oracle cards come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most common difference when it comes to oracle cards is that they have a much simpler form of divination and presentation. Oracle cards have illustrations on them, as well as words or phrases, which have meanings to be determined and interpreted by the card reader. Typically, oracle card decks have a theme which is represented in the artwork and phrases on the cards. Oracle card decks, much like tarot card decks, commonly include a small booklet with the meanings of each card.