The Difference Between Tarot Cards and Oracle Cards

A few months back, a friend messaged me and asked what the difference between tarot cards and oracle cards were. Having no previous experience with oracle cards, I bought some for myself and played with them for months before writing this post. And I’ve got to tell you, I absolutely love them!

Tarot Vs Oracle

So, the first noticeable difference between tarot and oracle cards is that the oracle cards are non-traditional, while obviously the tarot cards are traditional. Tarot decks have 78 cards, but oracle decks can have as many cards as the artist wishes. While some oracle decks have as few as thirty cards, others may have a hundred or more.

Oracle decks vary widely. There’s no set of rules that they generally follow. They’re intuitively created, but straightforward when reading them.

Although there isn’t necessarily a set of rules for traditional tarot decks either, there does seem to be a guideline that creators follow. Again, tarot decks have 78 cards, with 22 of them being in the Major Arcana and 56 in the Minor. A few examples are The Hermit, King of Wands, Ace of Swords, and Justice.

There are many, many ranges of oracle cards; from animals to abstract art to highly spiritual symbols to complex, sacred geometry. Some focus on relationships, while others may contain quotes. You name it, there’s probably an oracle deck regarding it!

The Purpose of Oracle Cards

At this point, you may be wondering what the point of oracle cards even are. Many people use the oracle cards, including myself, as tools to reiterate the message of the cards pulled in a reading. Oftentimes, they seemingly help deliver whatever it is the cards are communicating more clearly.

For example, if the person got The Fool as their ‘current state of being’ card, it likely means they are at a new point in life, as The Fool is the very first card of the tarot deck. They’re not afraid to take a few risks, and they’re moving forward without much fear standing in the way. They’ve perhaps had little experience in regard to the path ahead and may be a bit naive.

Well, let’s say as their oracle card, they got a baby. A baby is something new, at the beginning of life. It is obviously without any type of experience and is extraordinarily naive and vulnerable.

Don’t forget that tarot and oracle cards are not usually meant to be taken very literally. The language they speak is symbolism. With that being said, can you see the similarities between the cards?

Although it may sound harsh, isn’t a baby a kind of fool? Obviously it is to no fault of their own. We are all fools at whatever we have no experience in.

And THAT is why I LOVE oracle cards!