How can I integrate oracle cards in a tarot reading?

[Guest]

Hi everyone, I've been using tarot cards exclusively for a while now, and to change things a bit, I got a couple of oracle decks. However, I do not know how to properly integrate them when reading for myself and others to give a more complete overview of the situation. Can someone please give me any tips? Thank you!

Edited December 28, 2021 by tarotswithyle
Thank you so much to everyone for your help!

[stephanelli]

15 minutes ago, tarotswithyle said:

Hi everyone, I've been using tarot cards exclusively for a while now, and to change things a bit, I got a couple of oracle decks. However, I do not know how to properly integrate them when reading for myself and others to give a more complete overview of the situation. Can someone please give me any tips? Thank you!

It really depends on the oracle decks you have in my opinion.

 

If it's a really positive deck them you can draw a card at the end of the tarot reading as a positive/comforting message to help the querent with the situation.

 

If it's a more balanced deck and has both positive and negative cards, you can just use it instead of a tarot deck if you like.  I do this a lot with the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck.

 

I'm sure others will chime in with more (and better) ideas, but which oracle decks do you have?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, stephanelli said:

It really depends on the oracle decks you have in my opinion.

 

If it's a really positive deck them you can draw a card at the end of the tarot reading as a positive/comforting message to help the querent with the situation.

 

If it's a more balanced deck and has both positive and negative cards, you can just use it instead of a tarot deck if you like.  I do this a lot with the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck.

 

I'm sure others will chime in with more (and better) ideas, but which oracle decks do you have?

 I have the Oracle of the Unicorns and the Queen of the Moon Oracle. I haven't been able to use the second one yet, but the first one can definitely be used at the end of a tarot reading as a comforting message. Thank you for the idea!

[DanielJUK]

It's important to say that there are no rules integrating them, you have to work out the best method for you. I like to approach this by experimenting, try out different methods and find what works best for you and what doesn't work so well.

 

Firstly what decks to combine? I think there are two methods here, you either use similar decks or contrast them. Some people like to use decks with similar artwork or themes or card sizes. Some oracles / tarot /cartomancy have the same deck style from the same artist which is useful. This would emphasise the message of both. The other way is contrast, decks that are totally different, opposites! This is useful to get more insight in a reading, more layers, like using a fluffy tarot deck and a dark spooky oracle (just an example). I have tried combining different systems and you either get a good reading from them or not and you learn for the future, so this area needs experimenting with 🙂

 

Secondly, how to do it? The way I do it is to ask a question and deal the tarot cards. I tend to use a spread I find for the question online and so I deal a card per position. I often do freehand readings of just 3 tarot cards with no specific positions. I think it's slightly easier when mixing systems to have proper positions laid out. Then I deal one oracle card with each tarot card. Some systems (like cartomancy) work as a combined meaning and so I would use 2 or 3 cards for that, it's not recommended to deal 1 card of those systems. I give the tarot and oracle or other system equal weighting. So my reading is them both equal. You read them by comparing and contrasting the meanings. Some people give the tarot card a more importance and the oracle clarifying it, this means the tarot is the main message in the position and the oracle (or second deck) is confirming it.. Another method is to read them separately, do two different readings. Or use one deck for a overview card and the other deck the reading positions. You can also do some positions with tarot and others with an oracle, like 6 positions, odd numbers tarot, even oracle. So many ways of doing this!

 

If you are into tarot youtube videos or other video sites, there are loads of people with their ways of doing this. It's worth exploring it but my advice is to experiment with it! Work out how it works best for you and then come back here and share your ideas with the forum 🙂

 

 

[jlai1067]

On 12/22/2021 at 4:45 PM, tarotswithyle said:

Hi everyone, I've been using tarot cards exclusively for a while now, and to change things a bit, I got a couple of oracle decks. However, I do not know how to properly integrate them when reading for myself and others to give a more complete overview of the situation. Can someone please give me any tips? Thank you!

I have been using Oracle decks more often than Tarot deck as I just started couple months ago.  I also have two decks that I am doing daily draws.  

 

One of them provides more thoughtful approach.  Therefore, I need to think back on whether the "word" has any relevance to anything that took place around me (events, people, observations, etc.).  This one, in my situation, serves well in place of a tarot deck from a daily card perspective.

 

The other is in the category of Angel card, which I feel is more suitable as an affirmation guidance.  Sometimes, I use that as a quick draw for a more "how to get through a situation" type of guidance, but being that it's a more positive deck, I think it might not provide the "reality" of not everyday is sunshine with clear sky.

 

I totally agree with @stephanelli POV on the deck you are using.

 

@DanielJUK have also provided me with a tip that it might be a more balance read to use a deck that has both negative and positive cards, which is why I draw from a deck that is more balanced other than the angel cards,

 

[Guest]

thank you so much for the advice! at the moment I don't think I have any balanced decks, so for now I'll be just using them for guidance or advice.

[Guest]

On 12/24/2021 at 12:39 AM, DanielJUK said:

It's important to say that there are no rules integrating them, you have to work out the best method for you. I like to approach this by experimenting, try out different methods and find what works best for you and what doesn't work so well.

 

Firstly what decks to combine? I think there are two methods here, you either use similar decks or contrast them. Some people like to use decks with similar artwork or themes or card sizes. Some oracles / tarot /cartomancy have the same deck style from the same artist which is useful. This would emphasise the message of both. The other way is contrast, decks that are totally different, opposites! This is useful to get more insight in a reading, more layers, like using a fluffy tarot deck and a dark spooky oracle (just an example). I have tried combining different systems and you either get a good reading from them or not and you learn for the future, so this area needs experimenting with 🙂

 

Secondly, how to do it? The way I do it is to ask a question and deal the tarot cards. I tend to use a spread I find for the question online and so I deal a card per position. I often do freehand readings of just 3 tarot cards with no specific positions. I think it's slightly easier when mixing systems to have proper positions laid out. Then I deal one oracle card with each tarot card. Some systems (like cartomancy) work as a combined meaning and so I would use 2 or 3 cards for that, it's not recommended to deal 1 card of those systems. I give the tarot and oracle or other system equal weighting. So my reading is them both equal. You read them by comparing and contrasting the meanings. Some people give the tarot card a more importance and the oracle clarifying it, this means the tarot is the main message in the position and the oracle (or second deck) is confirming it.. Another method is to read them separately, do two different readings. Or use one deck for a overview card and the other deck the reading positions. You can also do some positions with tarot and others with an oracle, like 6 positions, odd numbers tarot, even oracle. So many ways of doing this!

 

If you are into tarot youtube videos or other video sites, there are loads of people with their ways of doing this. It's worth exploring it but my advice is to experiment with it! Work out how it works best for you and then come back here and share your ideas with the forum 🙂

 

 

Thank you so much, I will definitely be using this method and see if it works for me or not!

[LadyLuna]

Hello! I definitely have to agree with @stephanelli and say it really does depend on the deck you have. Personally, I tend to separate Tarot and Oracle, using my Oracle cards as a quick pull, and my Tarot decks for an elaborate reading with much more details. I use Oracle Cards for my daily clients readings that just want a quick insight that is positive and will motivate them that day. I have, however, pulled an Oracle card at the end of a few of my readings for my clients who needed an affirmation. So, again it is all about preference and what you feel you need. There is no real wrong or right answer, experiment a bit and you will find the method that works out for you 😘

[katrinka]

I can agree with the people who said it depends on the deck. If an oracle works well by itself, I use it that way. If it doesn't, it can be good to supplement a Tarot reading. It just depends.

 

First, I'd like to qualify this by saying that I have very few oracle decks, since I don't find most of them practical. I keep Kimberly Marooney's Angel Blessings on hand for much the same reason I keep tissue: distraught clients. If things are going badly and the regular reading doesn't bode well, ending it with an angel card can give them a little "invisible means of support." And what usually gets called an "oracle deck" is often like that: an affirmation deck rather than something you read.

The Literary Witches is one exception. It has cards featuring writers like Emily Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickenson, Sappho, and Mary Shelley. But it also has Lenormand-ish non-person cards, so it can lend itself well to more predictive readings and works as a stand-alone deck. which is how I tend to use it:

 

The Roar Oracle, OTOH, is ALL people. So it's one of those decks that's good as a supplementary draw with a Tarot reading, like advice - take a cue from the woman whose card you get, be like that - or, in some cases, don't be like that. Louise Hay, for instance, was a cruel AIDS profiteer, but the guidebook paints a rosy picture of her. Don't be like Louise. (That guidebook isn't adequately researched. For Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it tells how she wanted a certain position when she was young and was disappointed she didn't get it, but ended up on SCOTUS. The author makes it into a "go with the flow" card. But one does NOT get to be The Notorious RBG by going with the flow. Women in the US couldn't even have their own bank accounts until 1974. You can thank RBG for that, and some other basic human rights we enjoy these days. She fought tooth and nail for those.)

Patrick Valenza's Mildred Payne's Secret Pocket Oracle and Oracle of Black Enchantment are fun ones, if you like his work, and they work well alone. The Mildred is single images and Lenormand-y, the Black Enchantment is more scenic, like Tarot. And then there are the Sibillas, Bohemian cards, etc. Sometimes people call them oracle cards. They work beautifully all by themselves. And Baba's long-OOP Victorian Flower Oracle is a favorite. Very incisive and works well by itself. With that one, it's easier to read for myself than others because it can get so personal. But it's going for insane prices these days, more than I would be willing to pay for ANY deck. I'm just happy I got mine in 2006.

 

Long story short, if I can lay a spread and get a clear answer to a question, I do that. If not, it's a "supplementary" deck.

Edited January 5, 2022 by katrinka

[Guest]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:47 PM, katrinka said:

I can agree with the people who said it depends on the deck. If an oracle works well by itself, I use it that way. If it doesn't, it can be good to supplement a Tarot reading. It just depends.

 

First, I'd like to qualify this by saying that I have very few oracle decks, since I don't find most of them practical. I keep Kimberly Marooney's Angel Blessings on hand for much the same reason I keep tissue: distraught clients. If things are going badly and the regular reading doesn't bode well, ending it with an angel card can give them a little "invisible means of support." And what usually gets called an "oracle deck" is often like that: an affirmation deck rather than something you read.

The Literary Witches is one exception. It has cards featuring writers like Emily Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickenson, Sappho, and Mary Shelley. But it also has Lenormand-ish non-person cards, so it can lend itself well to more predictive readings and works as a stand-alone deck. which is how I tend to use it:

 

The Roar Oracle, OTOH, is ALL people. So it's one of those decks that's good as a supplementary draw with a Tarot reading, like advice - take a cue from the woman whose card you get, be like that - or, in some cases, don't be like that. Louise Hay, for instance, was a cruel AIDS profiteer, but the guidebook paints a rosy picture of her. Don't be like Louise. (That guidebook isn't adequately researched. For Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it tells how she wanted a certain position when she was young and was disappointed she didn't get it, but ended up on SCOTUS. The author makes it into a "go with the flow" card. But one does NOT get to be The Notorious RBG by going with the flow. Women in the US couldn't even have their own bank accounts until 1974. You can thank RBG for that, and some other basic human rights we enjoy these days. She fought tooth and nail for those.)

Patrick Valenza's Mildred Payne's Secret Pocket Oracle and Oracle of Black Enchantment are fun ones, if you like his work, and they work well alone. The Mildred is single images and Lenormand-y, the Black Enchantment is more scenic, like Tarot. And then there are the Sibillas, Bohemian cards, etc. Sometimes people call them oracle cards. They work beautifully all by themselves. And Baba's long-OOP Victorian Flower Oracle is a favorite. Very incisive and works well by itself. With that one, it's easier to read for myself than others because it can get so personal. But it's going for insane prices these days, more than I would be willing to pay for ANY deck. I'm just happy I got mine in 2006.

 

Long story short, if I can lay a spread and get a clear answer to a question, I do that. If not, it's a "supplementary" deck.

Thank you, this was very helpful!

[Jewel]

On 12/22/2021 at 4:24 AM, tarotswithyle said:

 I have the Oracle of the Unicorns and the Queen of the Moon Oracle. I haven't been able to use the second one yet, but the first one can definitely be used at the end of a tarot reading as a comforting message. Thank you for the idea!

I have and use the Queen of the Moon Oracle frequently this way especially for Lunar Readings.   I typically use the moon phase associated with the reading.  It combines well with a variety of tarot decks because I look for the Lunar aspects.  If it is a full moon as well as say a super moon or blue moon then I use two oracle cards.  I use them as the overall influences for the reading, so once I do my tarot interpretation I look at how the card or cards (depending on the moon) impact the interpretation and then I weave them together.  I also sometimes use them in regular readings and choose the particular QotM card that corresponds to the moon the day I did the reading.  Personally I love the QotM oracle both to use with Tarot readings or to use on its own.