Learning to Read Oracle Cards

Jubear

Hi

I have posted a few times about not understanding the imagery in my various oracle decks. I think I have somehow missed out on a 'life class' where you learnt about symbolism. Lol. I don't read tarot cards and seeking advice on how to get started on understaning the images in your oracle decks-is this purely intuition if so nothing really comes up when I try to connect with the cards. Or is this something you have learnt from reading books? If so any recommendations? I am hoping this is the missing key in my quest to understand my oracle cards.

Thanks
Jubear
 

bonebeach

It might help to think of it as an association game first. Especially if you want to read decks intuitively, you can just approach it from the perspective of "what does this mean to ME?" and not necessarily worry about how other people interpret things.

Let's say you have an oracle deck with a picture of a spider.

What is your gut emotional reaction--are you scared of spiders? Do you think they're cool? (I think spiders are cool) But then go beyond that. Regardless of if you like them or not, what is one good thing about spiders? What is one bad thing? Challenge your first reaction and try to find good in bad and bad in good.

Or: What do spiders do? How does that maybe relate to something humans do?

Example: Spiders eat flies and are great pest control in many ways. On the other hand, they creep a lot of people out, and some are poisonous. They build webs, which is both beautiful and useful, so maybe a positive spider trait is "industrious" or "meticulous" or maybe even "artistic." Some spiders don't build webs, but they hunt by jumping on prey or stuff like that. Maybe a negative interpretation of spider is "predatory."

What do you associate with spiders? What settings? Woods? Attics? Tropical rain forests? What's your own personal experience with spiders?

Try it like that, maybe? I think it's definitely possible to read oracles (or anything really) without outside knowledge of symbolism. Spiders cunning trickster figures in some belief systems, but that doesn't mean that spiders have to mean that to YOU, in your readings.

I think it might help to have an oracle of fairly non fantastical images at first, if you're going to do it this way. Or maybe not! Just try it and see.

The other thing you might want to try is working backwards. Do a reading on something you KNOW about, see what cards come up, and see how you would assign aspects of the situation to what cards...like you have a certain person in mind. Pick a card to represent them. Whatever the card turns out to be, see how you can relate it back to the person you picked it for.

Good luck!
 

reall

imo you should benefit a lot if you have a basic knowledge of symbology, myths, especially religion, numerology and astrology?:) and of course developing your intuition and be more open to extrasensory perception would be good too?XD ;))
 

Barleywine

I think basic symbolism is probably a good place to start. There are a couple "dictionaries of symbols" out there; I have J.E. Cirlot's translation from the Spanish. Manly P. Hall's Secret Teachings of All Ages is also loaded with details linked to numerous mythological and metaphysical traditions. It's interesting and worthwhile in its own right, and is perfect for a "generalist." There is also Sir James George Frazer's The Golden Bough, but it can be a real snoozer to read; minute and tedious detail abounds, to be taken in small doses.

If, for example, you see a picture of a Dog on a card, you can look up Dog in the reference material and see what various cultures made of the concept of "dog-ness." I find this, on occasion, to be a useful "intuition-jogger."
 

MakoMoonPool

In my case, I would usually make a mindmap with the card being the central topic. At that point, I then jolt down any semantics which passes in my head related to that said card.
I can see that most of the Clow cards I'm working on have a lot of sayings/expressions both in English and French.