Sometimes, Tarot cards won't suffice.
Neither will (____) oracle deck made my someone that purports to know more about this peculiar world we live in than you.
I'm here to tell you that you can have your own oracle deck, that speaks your own language.
That describes your life in the words you understand.
And this post will show you how to create it.
But first, let's get into the benefits of having one.
Why You Should Create Your Own Oracle Deck
1) You Deck Speaks In Your Words And Symbolism (And You Can Be As Creative As You Want It To Be)
I've used a number of oracle decks, and while they've provided 'good enough' answers, they weren't completely fulfilling.
After making my 'Practical Oracle' deck that is hundreds of cards deep, I have a way to communicate with the world on my terms.
Which includes a "Divine Intervention" card, or a "Right Direction" card. Both among the many that I can't get from any other deck.
You can have the same results.
2) You Can Continually Add To Your Deck
While I don't necessarily recommend making a several-hundred-deep card deck like I have, you do have the option to add cards in when you do a reading and wish the answer was a little more specific.
Instead of needing to wait for someone else to produce and sell you new answers, it's nice to have an ever-expansive way for the world to express itself to you.
3) It's (Relatively) Free
Since you can make your own deck with simple index cards, you can set yourself up for a few dollars, instead of paying some markup to make up for the cost of special card stock.
If simple works, it works.
4) You Can Be As Creative As You Want To Be
One example of being creative in your deck making is when I made hundreds of cards so that I had one for every song the rapper Future made (and I'm still adding to it with every release).
Since I know his songs, and the language he speaks, it's fun to get an answer like "Inside The Mattress" for my daily reading and say 'OK, I know what to look out for now'.
Besides making a deck full of your favorite artist's songs, you could also make a mental health solutions deck.
I wasn't the first to do this, as there are DBT decks around, but at one point I made an oracle deck full of all of the ways I knew to better my mental health.
And then when I was feeling 'lost', I would shuffle and pick a good idea and try it to see if my solution worked for getting me out of a rut.
While I've gone on to develop other ways to quickly fix my situation, something like this could be a good idea for someone that overthinks things.
And those are just two examples of the kinds of decks you could create.
So, allow your imagination to take you to some new places.
How To Make Your Own Oracle Deck
1) Get Some Index Cards
First, get you index cards, preferably with a lined side, and a blank side, which will make it easier for you to distinguish fronts from backs (believe me, it'll pay off).
If you have 50 cards or less, I'd recommend putting 10 blanks in there, just so you're not forcing the oracle to respond in a potentially limited way.
If you have 100 or more, or sufficient variety in card meanings, you'll probably be fine without any blanks. But let's talk more about card meanings.
2) Get Creative With Your Card Meanings
You can make several decks specific to one area of life, or one topic, but if you're making a comprehensive 'one' oracle deck, try to be broad:
Think about all of the people, places, things, verbs, and adjectives you might want to see in your readings.
Try to write out a list, or jot down your answer on your cards as you go.
The thing is: by using your oracle deck, even when its card count isn't very high, you'll get more ideas for cards that would be ideal for you to receive.
I started off relatively small with the Practical Oracle deck, and it grew with me, over time.
You don't necessarily need to show anyone your oracle deck, so create it with your personal vocabulary in mind, even if that takes you into private places.
If you're not making it for yourself, above all else, you'll likely be a bit dissatisfied with the results.
3) Allow Yourself To Be Creative With Your Readings
When I use my Practical Oracle deck (whose readings you see in my Sidereal-I Ching horoscope posts as well) I pull a primary card, and then a second card to tell me the context of that primary card.
Doing readings in this way helps me understand what the deck is trying to tell me a little better.
But you can always experiment with your own ways of doing readings, and perhaps even use spreads. I've done things like that myself, and have had some interesting results from us.
At the end of the day, if your deck is empowering to you, then you're doing it right.
If it's not, try to pause and do some re-tooling.
Wrapping It Up
I hope this post has shown you that making your own deck really isn't that hard.
If you need pieces of colored cardboard to use a deck, this process may not be for you.
But if you're fine with just getting the answer you need at the moment you're asking the deck questions, I'm confident you'll be satisfied with the effort you've put in.
And maybe, down the line, someone will seek out the language you use in your own deck to answer their pressing questions.
Good luck.