It's been some time since I talked about the oracle deck. I've had a lot of time to practice with it these last several months and formulate some pros and cons. Aside from the German stock holding up well, this entry is going to be focusing on problems I've run into and haven't had an answer for until now.
About two months into reading with this deck, it became difficult for me to interpret the messages. This being an oracle deck, I'm more familiar with the tarot. About two years ago, I started to rely more on pictorial scenes and the human figure, and I've had some really accurate results from doing this. However, I'm afraid a little too much. The Plutonian oracle doesn't leave much in the way for this kind of interpretation. Finding this more of a drawback, I'd wondered how I might go about resolving this issue.
Because the deck is minimalist, I designed "positions" into it in order to specify information. However, I feel it's not enough, especially for the reader with a visual appetite. I also wondered: Is packing "positions" just a way to squeeze more cards into a 54 card deck? Nevermind rotating the card once (which is how to specify information), it can become a daunting task just after one try. I'd wondered if making the cards a bit more specific in their basic meanings might help, but something told me to just keep the meanings as is. Most of my sitters have already become familiar with them, anyway.
For those of you who rely on figures and gender to tell a story in the reading process, I have come up with an idea to get around this figureless, non-person problem. I am going to assign gender to each card, and perhaps, a tarot card. This will be added to the "Optional Correspondence" list that will be made available with the deck. This kind of reminds me of the way in which gender is assigned to words in languages.
But what about those readers who rely on the more expressive elements such as facial expression, stance, etc..? This can be a huge part of the reading, and this deck may just not end up being for those who want more. This entry is beyond the scope of how to build a deck that can be both tarot and oracle, minimalist and not, and so I will allow the limits I'm facing along these lines to be drawn here. It is, after all, an oracle deck, not a tarot.
As for the artwork, I need to get a move on. I have had feelings once again of changing the look of the art; however, I don't really want to prolong this phase any more. As for the card stock, I'm not sure if I want to stick with the German stock at MakePlayingCards.com. As mentioned in an earlier entry, it will definitely drive the cost of the deck up, and I wonder if it would all be worth it. If things go smoothly, this deck could be available after the 2017 Thanksgiving Holiday.
Thanks for reading!! :)