Happy New Year!

First card pull of 2023.

If Oracle Cards are too woo-woo for you, you can skip this post. I won't be offended.

(I had a big long post on a completely different topic all set to go to your inboxes, but I pivoted to this one instead. I'll send the other one later).

What are Oracle cards? They're a deck of cards created by an artist, and the artist creates them around a particular theme: animals, nature, pop culture figures, etc. Tarot cards, on the other hand, are based on the practice of Cartomancy, and are used in divination; each deck has 78 cards that have both a Major and Minor Arcana, and each card has a very specific meaning, both right side up and inverted. Oracle cards are usually more open to the interpretation of the recipient of the reading, as well as more beholden to the sentiment infused by the artist who created the deck. 

Tarot readers are usually trained in the craft of card interpretation, while oracle card readers don't need to be. In both cases, the person drawing the card may be a channel or conduit, but the recipient of the reading is the one who usually infuses their energy (in the form of a "life question") on the card. I already know some readers may disagree with or take issue with my definitions here, but I'm merely attempting to offer the most simplified summary I can. There's lots of places online and in hard copy where you can find more in-depth explanations.

I prefer to use Oracle decks, primarily because I don't feel the need to be as qualified as a Tarot reader, and the readings themselves can be more entertainment-focused than ominous. Don't mess with what you don't know, I say.

Anyhow, I was gifted this particular deck, Art Oracles, by a friend and former neighbor who led my Reiki Level II training (she has a deck of her own creation, which is pretty cool). As an artist, I appreciate the theme, as well as the tongue-in-cheek messages on the cards and in the description booklet.

Being that we are entering a new calendar return, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask the Art Oracles what's up for 2023. Here you go (this one was a "jumper", i.e., a card that 'jumped' out of the deck while I was shuffling it):

What do you think?