Tarology, cartomancy: what is the difference between a tarot and an oracle? – She

Maps have always fascinated. More than beautiful objects to collect, tarot cards and oracles are unstoppable divination aids. Cartomancy and tarology are two arts that shed light on the future through the interpretation of a message delivered by the cards. Colourful, in black and white, traditional, committed… There is now a very wide range of tarot and oracle decks. The proof with the flourishing offer present in bookstores and esoteric stores. Some historic publishers have even recently launched ranges dedicated to these games. You are passionate about tarot or oracles, but do you really know the difference between these two divination supports? Little lighting to become a pro.

Tarology, cartomancy: what is the difference?

There are many divinatory arts. Between astrology and numerology – the two best known to the general public, there are much more discreet means of divination. Oneiromancy deciphers our dreams, encromancy allows mediums to read the future in ink stains, palmistry is based on the lines of the hand… The list is long, some clairvoyants even use as a support for divination flowers, water, pebbles or cheese. Cartomancy is therefore, as its name suggests, the reading of cards. Oracle, playing card. All games lend themselves to this practice. Tarology, divination by the tarot, could be considered as a more precise variation of cartomancy. To fully understand the nuance, we must therefore look at the difference between a tarot deck and a classic card game.

Read also >> Oracle divination: how these card games can help you with introspection

What is a tarot?

Tarot is a game with a precise structure. There are then 78 cards, called arcana, themselves divided into two: the major arcana and the minor arcana. All are numbered and classified into “families”. In the Tarot of Marseilles, the most famous game in France, these correspond to cups, deniers, sticks and swords. Long studied by Alexandre Jodorowsky, the Tarot de Marseille tells a kind of life story. Its first card being the Bateleur, an innocent young person in search of knowledge and knowledge, it ends with the World, the embodiment of personal fulfillment, followed by the Fool, the only unnumbered card, whose role is to push you to understand that you have the best assets to succeed, even if you don’t feel like it. More concretely, the tarot guides you towards your path of evolution. He accompanies you by helping you to find wisdom (Papesse), to question yourself (Death, Wheel of Fortune) and pushes you to understand that it is in chaos that the brightest ideas can be born. What to do once you have developed your potential? Start again on new bases and start a new cycle as submitted by the Mat card.

Note that the Tarot de Marseille is not the only support that exists. More confidential, because tradition has it that women pass the hand-drawn deck from generation to generation, the gypsy tarot works on the same principle. There are four emblematic families: “the Roma, the gypsies, the gypsums and the gitanos” corresponding to swords, sticks, deniers and cups. The methods of drawing, cross or three cards, are also similar. Equally ancestral, the Egyptian tarot also acts as a reference. More recently, tarots like that of fairies, angels or celestial kingdoms have emerged.

What is an oracle?

Inherited from the tradition of the Pythia, a prophetess of Ancient Greece that only men could question once a month, the oracle is a more modern support than the tarot. He defies codes, breaks chains and traditions. In this game, there are no rules. Anyone wishing to create a game is free to choose the number of cards that will make up the oracle, generally around thirty or even forty. Everyone is also free to choose the messages and interpretations. Oracle of Gé, oracle of lunology, oracle Belline… Only common point: one finds on the cards key words, a quotation or an affirmation as well as a card number. Something to make reading the print easier!

Tarot or oracle: which game to choose?

Tarot and oracle decks are not used in quite the same way. Moreover, they do not always correspond to the same requests. However, it is often advisable to choose your game by letting yourself be guided by your intuition. Feel the energy of the cards and see which will resonate with you the most! As with all divinatory arts, it is essential to always keep your free will. Only you have the answers. The following advice is therefore not to be taken literally, it is only the result of our own experience.

Which tarot or oracle to choose to start?

After several consultations, have you decided to take the plunge and treat yourself to your first game? Cheer ! To get started, it is better to turn to an oracle whose understanding is simpler, faster and often facilitated by a small guide that now accompanies all games. Are you a bit more adventurous? Dare to put your destiny in the hands of the tarot. Please note that these games are not always associated with an explanatory booklet. The tarot has a more complex interpretation. Depending on the associations, the way the card is drawn or even depending on the area you are asking about, the arcana can have different meanings. Which is not necessarily the case with an oracle. A word of advice: no matter what game you are new to, a simple exercise can help you understand the cards. Several specialists and creators of tarot or oracle suggest taking the cards one by one, observing them, then writing in a notebook what they evoke for you. Only then can you rely on existing books or guides. In this way, you will exercise your intuition.

Which game for which use?

It exists a multitude of prints. From the simple “yes, no, maybe” to the complex draw to understand your strengths and highlight your weaknesses in a situation, through the classic “past, present, future”, card games illuminate your life by helping you to know yourself better. It is advisable, however, to use an oracle for small questions or to discover the energy of the day, the week or the month. The tarot, on the other hand, lends itself perfectly to the more complex exercise of divination. Be careful all the same, the oracle like the tarot are simply tools to give you the keys to a change or an evolution. You remain the only actress capable of achieving this. If you don’t give the impetus or choose not to follow the advice of the cards, what may happen, it will be your choice. Free will is the key word in the divinatory arts, we told you!