"Lenormand technically an oracle?"

Alta said:

I would also divide these as to whether or not there are developed systems, often moving across similar methods. I tend to see 'oracles' as stand alone decks, generally the creation of one or two people.

However tarot, I Ching, Lenormand, runes etc have systems developed over time by many people and the systems still hold over variations in their representation.

But they are all oracular, systems or stand alone. imo anyway.

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The word "oracle' is used commercially for those decks Alta speaks about --can't define it better. And a lot of those are indeed rosy-colored and have a high sugar content, as Le Fanu rightly points out. But of course not all of them are created equal.

However, GotH points out the original meaning of the word.

GotH said:

Maybe I'm not understanding something here as there seems to be a partitioned distinction on this site about tarot and oracles. I thought an oracle was any tool or portal by which information was given by "the gods." So wouldn't tarot be considered an oracle as well?

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So there's the commercial 'oracle' designation and the original 'oracle' designation, according to which --as gregs points out Socratically-- Lenormand, Tarot, the I-Ching, the African Ifa, are structured, long-standing oracular systems, as the Pythia was. Just my two cents.

gregory said:

They all have 44 cards ? Who knew..... I have to say "that kind of deck" to me might have ANY number.

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You know I looked into this earlier today, and it was interesting how many of them do. I typed "oracle deck 44 cards" into Google search and there are lots of titles - Ascended Masters Oracle Cards, Angel Therapy, Daily Guidance from Your Angels, Past Life, Angel Answers, Angel Abundance, Messages from your Angels, etc. All DV decks and 44 cards.

And it's not just the angel cards. Here's a new one coming out soon - not related to DV at all; it looks self-published and is offered on Printer Studio.

I wonder what the deal is. Maybe it's because 44 is one of the so-called Master Numbers (depending on who's defining them, that is. I just read one website that said only 11, 22, and 33 are Master Numbers.)

Oracle: something foretold [as if] by supernatural means. Or the person, tool or place through whom the message comes.

• It suggests prophecy or prediction.
• Emphasis is on [spirit/divine] revelation rather than a system.
• It is closer to channeling or "spirit-psychic-intuition" than to systematic interpretation.

For me, any divinatory tool can be read "oracularly," in which case the "reader" is actually acting more as a conduit for information from a supernatural source than focusing on reading the signs and symbols.

When publishers started coming up with lots of decks that were called Tarot but were not, there was a huge outcry from Tarot enthusiasts and, worse than that, for publishers, these people were returning their decks. Publishers and the buying public needed a word that would intrigue potential buyers yet make it clear that the decks were not specifically Tarot.

The term "Oracle Deck" fit better than anything else, plus made it clear that even if there was a book of instructions, that a person was free and often encouraged to find their own meanings and messages in the cards - through whatever means. Many of the decks suggest that you can directly access messages or information from animals, spirit guides, angels, cultural gods and goddesses, etc.

The term "oracle deck" saved Tarot from losing its specificity. In fact for decades, I've begged deck creators and publishers who wanted to use Tarot in titles to please not do so if their decks where either not Tarot or so loosely related as to be more confusing than helpful. Most have been happy to substitute the term Oracle when I pointed out the difference and the fact that they really didn't want angrily-returned decks from Tarot collectors.

There was no such term as "oracle deck" until relatively modern times. Words are not static; they evolve, despite protests from individuals (whose protests often die when they die). The term "Oracle Deck" was never meant to be synonymous with ancient oracles (whether tools, places, persons or prophecies), although many were delighted to appropriate the word's prestige and street-cred. Remember that it is a venerable esoteric practice to steal the names and titles of famous people and things that no longer exist. The Lenormand deck is a case in point but far from the only one.

To me, cartomancy decks, while they technically could be any card-divination deck, are either playing card decks or other decks that evolved from the idea of playing card-divination or Etteilla-based non-Tarot decks. Remember, Etteilla coined the term, although he originally called it cartonomancy. Cartomany emphasizes practical fortune-telling rather than feel-good inspiration, spiritual guidance and affirmations.

Cartomany decks include playing cards, the Lenormand, Sybillas, Gypsy-cards, Petit Etteilla, Kipper cards, and many, many others inspired by these.

One can read the Lenormand deck "oracularly" with little or no knowledge of the tradition - obtaining a unique message (see my earlier post). Or one can learn and use the Lenormand language (vocabulary, syntax, 'sentence' structure, etc.) that is equally understood by other Lenormand readers. Or anything inbetween. Intuition is most likely involved in all methods of reading cards - so to call one method "intuitive" in contrast to others is a misnomer.