Creating an Oracle - systems

Zedrex

Something has been troubling me as I work on my own oracle. I'm pleased enough with it's progress and really excited about it, but something occurs to me that wouldn't apply if I were working on a tarot deck: until I have it completed, I'll have absolutely no idea whether it works, or how well.

I can imagine that making an oracle is potentially as easy as taking 40+ affirmations and making pretty pictures for them. One could possibly illustrate part of a desktop calendar that features affirmations or quotes and call that an oracle and be satisfied that it works, but I'm being a little more ambitious that that.

I am working a system that has some of the structure and symmetry and underlying inter-connectivity that I admire in tarot. I'm not making a tarot because the ideas and philosophies are square pegs for the round holes of tarot placements, and if I were cram these ideas into tarot format, it would feel very much like an uneasy/unsuited/gimmicky fit.

However, I'm not going to really know untill I have 64 completed cards, whether it'll be any good in practice, and a lot will be invested by then! The only way I'm going to complete this is by keeping 100% faith and confidence in the ideas, which isn't easy some days....
 

AJ

I love oracles even more than tarot, and I don't know why it is that my very favorites come from New Zealand and Australia, but they do.
I look forward to some 'peek see' cards soon!

Welcome to AT!

edited to add, you obviously have a long established tarot background, so you know shooting off in an opposite direction is what your heart desires.
I mean it, we LOVE images.
And we try to be honest with feedback :)
 

Vanchica

Have faith!

I suspect you are driven in part by some divine inspiration- let it speak! and read "The Book of ORdinary Oracles" to set your mind at rest. Congrats on starting such a huge project- I hope it is fun and can't wait to see (and use) your finished outcome
 

Zedrex

Cheers for the feedback... optimising some images for web right now. It's worth mentioning that I am not confident about the art, but I wasn't going to do the "I have the idea... any artist wanna make it for me?" route at this point. So forgive me if the art looks crude - I'm actually going for simple and sketchy.
 

Zedrex

Thank you. In addition to my fairly basic artistic skills, I really had intended to make these images stark, simple and spacious.

I got into tarot through the RWS and, even though the simple and gaudy imagery is derided by many readers who are constantly seeking images that are more lush, realistic, painterly, etc etc. It seems that decks lately are judged by how pretty they are, how flamboyant the artistic style, etc.

And yet, having bought over a hundred and fifty decks in my own time, none of the opulent images or luminescent illustrations were anywhere near as suggestive or mysterious as the simple line drawings of the RWS. Much of the art in modern tarot and oracles appears to me to be very attractive art to hang in one's home - where when I look at the RWS images, there is no mistaking that they are tarot. One knows that those cards are symbolic rather than illustrative.

I have been seduced by many lush and pretty cards over the years, but in truth I'm constantly seeking the mysterious and otherworldly sense of symbolism that the RWS style has.... so even if I were to commission an artist, I'd be requesting that they design the images along those lines.

I have deviated from the RSW template a lot - making them sketchier and messier, as well as aiming for more dramatic angles (going completely bird's eye or worm's eye views in some instances) to heighten the sense of drama
 

AJ

The template of the RiderWaite Tarot shouldn't have anything to do with any oracle, other than the tarot original template is descriptive of common human conditions found everywhere.

Each of your images brought an immediate word/feeling to my mind with nothing to do with tarot images. You are doing great.
 

danielnogo

What I do is create caards with just text and print and laminate them so you can shuffle them and then read them with just the text so you can get a feel for how the system works, if it reads without pictures it will read with pictures.
 

dancing_moon

Good job, Zedrex! :thumbsup:

It's only natural to have doubts like you do. It would also be a good idea to make rough sketches of all the 64 cards, say, on index cards or something like that and try them out in readings. Then you'll be able to tell if and how the oracle works. From what I've seen in the preview, though, the images are very multifaceted and meaningful so it should work just fine. :)
 
Anybody here thought to try this option? Discorporae Tarot