Oracle cards are a card-based divination tool similar in spirit to tarot, but without a fixed structure. Unlike tarot's standardized 78 cards and established meanings, an oracle deck can have any number of cards, follow any theme, angels, animals, affirmations, and countless others, with meanings defined entirely by its creator.

This flexibility makes oracle cards more approachable for beginners, since there's no traditional card system to memorize, though it also means meanings can vary significantly from deck to deck. A reader will often draw one or a few cards and interpret the imagery and message intuitively, rather than following a fixed spread the way a tarot reading typically does.