From left to right: a tarot deck (Radiant Rider-Waite), a Lenormand deck (Kendra’s Vintage Petit Lenormand), and an oracle deck (Heart of the Faerie Oracle).
Some people look at divination cards and think they are all the same. Isn’t any deck of cards used for divination considered a Tarot deck? I’m here to say, decidedly not! Here is a quick rundown on the differences between tarot, oracle, Angel, and Lenormand decks.
Tarot
Tarot has a specific structure of 78 cards, with the 22 Major Arcana (The Fool through the World), and the 56 Minor Arcana cards, split into 4 suits (traditionally Pentacles [Coins], Swords, Wands, and Cups). Each of the 4 suits have cards 1 (Ace) through 10, and then their respective court cards, consisting of Pages (or Princesses), Knights (or Knaves), Queens, and Kings.
Under that structure lies the freedom of the artist. Depending on the theme of the deck or the artist’s intentions, specific cards can be renamed or switched (The Fool becomes the Seeker, for example), the elemental correspondences can be switched (some decks match Swords with Fire and Wands with Air, for example), or the suits are even named or depicted differently (I have seem some artists change Cups to Hearts).
Even if a tarot deck breaks the cookie cutter mold, if it follows the structure I listed above, I still consider it a tarot deck.
Oracle
An oracle deck, I have found, leads to more questions than answers. It can include as many or as few cards as the artist/author intends, and has its own structure. For example, psychic Sonia Choquette has a deck called the Trust Your Vibes Oracle, which has 52 cards. The Heart of the Faerie Oracle has 68 cards, with names like The Dreaming, The Queen of Bedlam, and The Temptation. While there is structure to an Oracle deck, it is a decidedly more forgiving one than tarot. You are also likely to cling to a Companion book for interpretation of the artist’s imagery and symbolism, which may not make sense if you were to just take the deck and dive right in.
Angel
I don’t know a lot about Angel decks because I’ve never used one. The most famous of which is Doreen Virtue’s angel decks. For example, the Archangel deck features 45 cards. These cards feature a different angel on each and a message of advice, hope, or comfort. To be honest, I find Angel cards to be a bit too New Age soft for me (yes, even as a professional psychic), but to each their own. If it works for you, go for it!
Lenormand
The Lenormand is my newest divination obsession since I took a class with Rana George at RS13 last year (and I am now currently devouring her first book, The Essential Lenormand). It consists of 36 cards, ranging from 1 Rider to 36 Cross. It is read differently from the tarot as it is extremely specific and literal, and is not meant to be read one card at a time but as a combination of cards (like reading a sentence). I have been adding Lenormand to client readings a bit at a time and when I feel a little pop of specificity is in order, to surprising effects! While tarot I have found to be lackadaisical and forgiving when it comes to a question (as in, sometimes you don’t even have to ASK a question for tarot to have an answer!), Lenormand ALWAYS harkens back to the question, the question, the question.
Join in the discussion: Do you read with tarot cards? A different oracle deck? Lenormand? What are the differences between these decks? Leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Much love and blessings,
~*~Hilary~*~
www.tarotbyhilary.com
hilary@tarotbyhilary.com
Book your reading here.
HILARY PARRY HAGGERTY is a tarot reader, witch, mentor, editor, and teacher. She has been reading tarot for over 21 years (13 years professionally). She was the winner of Theresa Reed’s (The Tarot Lady) Tarot Apprentice contest in 2011, and has taught classes on tarot and spell-work at The Tarot School’s annual tarot conference Readers Studio and at Brid’s Closet Beltane Festival. She writes a weekly blog on tarot at her website www.tarotbyhilary.com and has been featured in Maxim Magazine and BuzzFeed.
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© Hilary Parry Haggerty | Tarot by Hilary
This does seem to be a burning question I encounter from time to time – and being a bookseller when I’m not reading tarot means I spent A LOT of time removing oracle decks that my colleagues have shelved incorrectly in the tarot section 😉 After a while, you just give up trying to explain!
I don’t mind pulling an oracle card from time to time (I love Lynn V Andrews’ The Power Deck for meditation, and some Magical Unicorns by Doreen Virtue if I need a chuckle), but I find only traditional tarot can really give me the answers when I’m asking a serious or nuanced question. Maybe that’s just me though!
Marianne: I’m a former bookseller myself, and yes, I did run into a certain amount of trouble “fixing” the tarot section. 🙂 Tarot is definitely still my “go-to” deck for the tough questions as well, so it’s not just you. Well, at least not in this case. Thanks for reading!
[…] item of the person’s in your hand and read from that), tarot (of course), cartomancy such as Lenormand, Angel, or Oracle decks, palmistry, or even tea leaf reading. You need not have prior knowledge; just an open mind and a […]
I was not so interested in oracle cards since this year when I met a friend who use gypsy card what are in some way simmilar as Lenormand (both decks have 36 cards). I’ve used to use Thoth and RW tarot deck. What I noticed is that Gypsy cards give good and precise answer to everyday questions like “will I get some money”, “what is going on with this persone” and so, but I shouldn’t use them for more complex questions. Tarot is very good to see the energy flows, the inner state os person, for self exploring etc. It’s more deep and symbolic and could be read in many different ways. Again, I don’t have a lot of exeperience with oracle cards but I like them because they are very concrete for common situation and daily questions
Hi Milica! Yes, I’ve found that both Gypsy cards and the Lenormand answer specific questions precisely, but tarot is better to ascertain motivation and the “whys”. That’s been my experience anyway. Oracle cards are also excellent, but tend to go down a rabbithole of more questions (answering a question with another question), so I like to use them for deep introspection of my own motivations. Thanks for reading!
I bought an Oracle deck about 6 months ago, I try and practice about 4 days a week. How long did it take you to be comfortable with the deck? Maybe I’ll try gypsy cards as well. So many questions I hav, and not feeling like I’m getting any direction .
Hi Bobbie!
Great question! For me, I really need the accompanying guide with me when I read an Oracle deck. Since Oracle decks have their own specific structure that varies from deck to deck, I can’t just pick up an Oracle deck and start to work with it in the same way I would a Tarot deck that has a common structure despite the variations in theme. The Fool is still the Fool, the High Priestess the High Priestess, the Ace of Cups, etc. regardless of the tarot deck. Oracle decks are much different.
I’ve also found that Oracle decks lead to more and deepening questions rather than straight answers, so they CAN be frustrating to work with on their own. I would recommend combining your use of Oracle decks with a method of divination that you are more comfortable with. And there’s no shame in continuing to use a guidebook for an Oracle deck… that’s what it’s there for! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
I have this new found urge to learn tarot so I went to a book store 3 days back to buy the right deck. Now that was a tough task as I couldn’t make up my mind between 2 packs …finally I settled for the “Ascension Cards by Diana Cooper ” after confirming with the bookseller if this were tarot cards n not something else. I knew nothing about oracle cards n still don’t know what r they exactly for but now that I broke the seal of the ascension cards what came out were a pack of cards with no images….just some messages n affirmation on each of the 52 cards which is numbered along with the title. I kind of like the book n cards but cant understand how to interpret them relevantly. Is this decision right to buy this deck or would I need to buy some other tarot cards?
Hi Varshaa! I am not familiar with the Ascension Cards, but based on your description the bookseller unfortunately steered you wrong: these sound like Oracle or Angel cards and not Tarot cards. A tarot deck normally has no less than 78 cards. Sometimes a tarot deck will be 22 cards if it is a Majors-only deck (which is just the Major Arcana portion of the deck, not including the Minor Arcana).
If you like the messages and style of the Ascension Cards, by all means, use them! But no, they don’t sound like they are a tarot deck. If you want to read tarot, you’d have to buy a tarot deck. I’d recommend starting with the Rider-Waite-Smith. The box will look something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Rider-Tarot-Arthur-Edward-Waite/dp/091386613X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462218091&sr=1-1&keywords=rider+waite+smith+tarot+deck
I’d also recommend reading my previous post on choosing a tarot deck: http://tarotbyhilary.com/a-tarot-deck-for-everyone/
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Which do you suggest for beginners in general?
Hi Anna!
Good question! I’m biased, since I primarily am a tarot reader, and I like and understand the structure of tarot the best. I’d recommend starting with the Rider-Waite-Smith. The box will look something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Rider-Tarot-Arthur-Edward-Waite/dp/091386613X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462218091&sr=1-1&keywords=rider+waite+smith+tarot+deck
But it really depends on what you like and what resonates with you. For beginners, I’d recommend any tarot deck that tells a story in each tarot card. I’d especially avoid any tarot deck that has a minor arcana cards that depict only 3 wands on the 3 of Wands, or 7 coins on the 7 of Pentacles (for example). Humans are natural storytellers… we learn better when there is a story behind it.
Hope this helps!