Oracle and Tarot reading combined...

Hello fellow readers,
I'm still a novice here, and I'm improving and practicing my Tarot skills all the time. Never thought I'd love the cards so much! I prefer the DruidCraft deck, and have just ordered the Earth Magic Oracle deck.

So, my teacher suggested to get more specific answers, we may want to try using an Oracle deck, in addition to the Tarot.
That being said, how would I make us of the Oracle deck?
Is that a deck where you might just choose one for the day and work on a topic?
--Or, would I use it during a Tarot reading by just breaking it out and adding to the Tarot card spread? -Like can I use them anytime I'm drawn to them for more answers?
And, is there anything I shouldn't use them for?

Sorry for sounding like a simpleton, LOL, but I'm still learning, and am looking for some wisdom and guidance from you lovely Aeclectic members
Thank you in advance!
Love and light,
--WC

I am also new in this world and I am eager and passionate to learn so I will follow your thread because I also want to know the answers proposed!!!

Hi, WaxingCrone. Here are some of my experiences with Tarot and Oracle cards. Hope it helps.

Tarot decks are Oracle cards that have a defined system and a set structure. So think of Oracle cards as the larger umbrella and Tarot as falling under that category. Essentially, Tarot is an Oracle card deck with a very specific structure all its own.

Unlike a typical 78 card Tarot deck, you can have Oracle decks that consist of any number of cards and any theme. Some have a system while some do not. They almost always have a theme though (goddesses, faeries, Celtic lore, nature, the works of a particular artist, mythology, etc.)

You can use Oracle cards any way you like: daily draws, using spreads, in conjunction with Tarot, or on their own.

I'm not so sure Oracle cards give you "more" information than Tarot cards would and I wouldn't say they're more specific than Tarot. For myself, I reach for them when I want to get in touch with a certain kind of energy. If I want to do spiritual work, I might pick up my Isis or Kuan Yin Oracle to connect with these goddesses. Earth Magic Oracle allows me to work with an earthy, shamanistic energy. Messenger Oracle has a mystical, dragon, and animal-spirit energy that is beautiful and dreamlike. Each Oracle deck is different. Lenormand is very blunt, dishing out information with little in way of advice, which is sometimes just what you need but other times not what you need at all. (Where did I leave my keys?) Colette Baron-Reid's oracle decks take a holsitic, psychological approach with smatterings of age-old wisdom.

You could use Oracle decks in any of the ways you described. My best advice would be to pick up one that appeals to you and try it out. Experiment. Take some time to read its accompanying guide book. Get to know the imagery. Try reading with it and see what works for you. There is no "wrong" way.

Thank you so much for this answer, I will try then to use them in inter-relationship.

Thank you!!

Hey, Michellehihi--Glad this was helpful to you, as well!

Owl Song, thank you VERY much! I get the umbrella thing, and will look further into the structure to understand more. I totally appreciate the help. Now, I can't wait to get my oracle deck LOL! Sounds like I will have yet another tool in my belt! I'm familiar with Colette Baron-Reid, and will probably get something by her also. Ah, such wonderful work! Thanks!

Glad I could help, WaxingCrone and Michellehihi.

To elaborate a little bit on using Oracle decks with Tarot, you could draw an Oracle card as a base card in your Tarot spread to get a sense of the core issue at hand. Or you could draw one at the end for advice. (I often do the latter.)

You could really use any number of Oracle cards in your Tarot spread, following your intuition and getting creative.

It can be fun to pair Oracle and Tarot decks that share a similar theme (Tarot of Vampyres with the Les Vampirs Oracle.) Or you could see what happens when you blend seemingly dis-similar decks.

Oracles can be a great change of pace, giving your intuition a new playground to discover.

Good luck!

You can try anything that comes to mind e.g. draw a Tarot card and an Oracle card for each position in a spread and see what meaning the combination suggests .

as you say, there is a lot we can do, but yesterday I did a spread and the cards told me that I am not focused enough, I have to many interests and projects at the same time (5 of wands) so I have to concentrate and STOP trying new things hahaha!

To me the interesting thing about any oracle set is that it can be (isn't always) very specific to a given area. I have a deck called Nature's Pharmacy, and it isn't even an oracle deck, per se. It is a deck of cards with various wild plants on it and their healing properties. For a while I ran a reading thread using this deck in conjunction with tarot and got some astounding results and of course in the way of these things, some not so astounding. So if you have an oracle that is sort of 'focused', I think that can genuinely add to a tarot reading, like grounding.

I also use the I Ching in conjunction with readings occasionally, mostly when (in my mind anyway) the tarot seems ambiguous. The I Ching seems to point to the right path at the fork and then I continue with the tarot reading.

Hi, WaxingCrone and welcome to AT !!! There's not much to add to the great ideas already posted so I'm sending you a link to readings done exclusively using Tarot + Oracle by one of our members. Nothing like a hands-on experience to get the feel of how it works.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD6630447A04086D2