Unlike Tarot, which follows a fixed card system, oracle decks vary significantly from one another. In this article, I will briefly explain the differences between tarot and oracle cards, and delve deeper into what oracle cards are and how to choose the right oracle decks for you.

Tarot

Tarot is a card system consisting of 78 cards, divided into 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. Some tarot creators take liberties by adding a card or two, changing the names of some cards, or altering the suits (in a standard deck: clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts; and in tarot: cups, coins, wands, and swords). Although the creators of tarot decks write their own guidebooks with card interpretations, where they either give the cards unique meanings or emphasize parts of the cards' meanings, the fundamental meaning of each card remains the same. Once you learn the meanings of the cards, you've learned them for good, no matter which deck you use. Of course, we can always discuss whether one can ever be fully versed in tarot, but we'll save that discussion for another time.

Oracle Decks

In contrast to tarot, there is no fixed oracle card system. The creator of each oracle deck decides entirely how many cards the deck will consist of, the theme of the deck, and what each card means. Many also provide guidance on how the cards can be used and spread.

The Druid Plant Oracle contains 36 cards with illustrations of plants that the druids might have used, and the accompanying guidebook provides interpretations inspired by druid traditions. Moonology Oracle cards consist of 44 cards, each depicting an aspect of the moon. The guidebook instructs on how to use the cards regardless of the moon phase when drawing them. The Sacred Creators Oracle contains 67 cards and is designed specifically to help creative souls bring their creativity to life and into the world. This is one of my favourite decks, and I use it almost daily, both in professional and creative contexts. These are three entirely different oracle decks, all beautiful. Each offers wonderful assistance and deep insights.

There are also several Goddess oracles, such as the Kali Oracle, Kuan Yin Oracle, and Isis Oracle. In these oracles, each card represents an aspect of the goddess, or parts of the goddess's comfort, care, power, magic, strength, and love. Among these, I have worked most with the Kali deck, and what a deck it is! I've received messages to pull myself together one day and gentle care the next, but everything has been very accurate and provided deep insight into the situation.

Which Deck is Right for You?

Because there is no fixed system for oracle decks, there is no beginner deck either. In tarot, it can be argued that it's wise to start with a deck that adheres to classic symbolism (like the Rider Waite Smith or This Might Hurt). Tarot books and courses often use decks with this well-known symbolism, making it easier to recognize the cards and symbols if they match what is being taught. We also have many visual cues and hints that help us remember each card's meaning. Or one might begin with the Thoth Tarot, which has its own visual style and symbols (and its own textbooks).

How do you choose the right deck when there is no beginner deck? It's simple! Choose with your heart. Choose with your intuition. Pick the deck you feel drawn to and can't forget – it will speak to you!

I don't recommend trying to think your way to the right deck. Instead, choose spontaneously. Choose based on the little explosion of excitement you feel inside when you see the cards (or pictures of the cards or the box they come in). Don't worry about understanding the meanings of the cards before you choose. Let that insight wait until you have the deck in your hands and can play with the cards. You can't choose wrong because whatever deck you choose will be the right deck for you at that moment.

Can I Buy My Own Deck?

Have you heard the claim that you can't buy your own tarot deck because it won't work? Well, that's pure nonsense for tarot and just as silly for oracle cards. Of course, you can buy your own deck! Both tarot and oracle decks. You can buy a whole bathtub full if you want. They will all work. Of course they will.

How Many Oracle Decks Can You Have?

As many as you want. Naturally, as someone who sells oracle decks in my shop, I say this, but I believed it long before owning a witch shop was something I desired (I've never been a minimalist). I had several decks many years before I opened my shop. It's comparable to liking many types of food, many different books, or many various movies. Each offers something unique. Food has different tastes, temperatures, and textures, and books and movies can vary (almost) endlessly in pace, plot, characters, atmosphere, etc. No one would suggest that we can only eat one type of food or watch one movie repeatedly.

Because each deck is unique, all decks have something to offer us. When you feel drawn to a deck, I believe it's because that deck contains insight or wisdom you need at that moment. The attraction you feel towards a deck (new or one you already have) might be intuition, guides, gods, or the universe telling you that answers and guidance are there for you. Answers they can't provide in any other way.

I now have quite a few oracle decks in my private collection and in the shop. Some I use often, some rarely. Some I use frequently for a period, then leave untouched for months, while others call for attention in the meantime. I notice that I need a deck (or that it wants to tell me something) when I suddenly get a deck on my mind. I might be doing something else and suddenly get images of a deck in my mind's eye. Images that don't go away. Then I know I just have to find that deck as soon as possible and see what it offers.

The decks can also give sudden impulses to be used without me visualizing them so clearly. Many of the decks live in my office, and it's not uncommon for me to grab a deck from the shelf almost unconsciously as I leave the office in the afternoon. Sometimes, I even lock up the office, then turn back a few meters down the corridor to grab a deck. It's not something I think about or decide, it just happens. The opposite can also occur. A deck I have at home might ask to come to the office.

Every time this happens – that I get a message from a deck, either by it showing itself to me or by me spontaneously grabbing it and then drawing cards from it – I get a little "aha" moment. Because all decks are different and unique, I know that no other deck could have given me exactly that message, and it almost always feels like I get exactly the message or insight I need at that moment. That, my dear, is simply magical.

Your practice with oracle cards is entirely your own, and you decide whether to have one deck or many. And when, where, and how to spread the cards. Whether to draw cards from one deck at a time or several at once (I often do). You decide which to start with and which to acquire later.