What’s the Difference?
SoulCollage® decks are different from Tarot Decks in many ways:
A tarot deck has 78 cards, each featuring a different symbolic image. Of the 78 cards, 22 of them are specific characters (ie: Death, The Lovers). This set is called the Major Arcana. There are also four suits of 14 cards each in every deck. These are called the Minor Arcana cards. The cards are initially created by an artist and then published for purchase.
A SoulCollage® deck doesn’t have a set number of cards. This is totally up to the creator- you! Some decks have over 100 cards, and some have 20. Others have any amount in between. There are four suggested suits . Each card is handmade by the artist using collage. SoulCollage® decks are never duplicated because we make them for our individual use, and because of the copyright issues involved.
Tarot cards originated in the 15th century in the royal courts of Northern Italy.
SoulCollage® cards originated in the 1980s in the United States. The first cards were created by Seena Frost , M.Div., M.A.
Tarot cards are used as a means of divination, or foretelling the future.
SoulCollage® cards are used as a way for the owner to go more deeply within their own Life story rather than as an oracle which divines the future.
A psychic or fortuneteller uses a Tarot Deck to do readings for every person who comes to them.
A SoulCollage® deck is primarily used for individual readings for the person who created it.
What Are the Similarities?
There are many oracular forms available in our world right now, just as there were in ancient times. There are Runes, I Ching, astrology, and others. Some people take a book of holy scripture, open to a page, point at random to a line, and find words of direction and help. Is this a return to superstition and magic? Is it some sort of devil worship? Not at all. It is a return to the valuing of intuition, and also a return to a more mystical understanding of reality. —- Seena Frost, from the book SoulCollage Evolving
This quote says it all. Your SoulCollage® deck can be used to do readings, just as other cards are used: in the spirit of intuition, mystery and truth.
However, your deck will usually only be used by you for your own personal readings. Remember, each card has its own voice and will speak to you about a specific part of your life in a way that it cannot speak to anyone else’s because you are the one who created it.
Another similarity is that both kinds of decks are considered art. The designs on both kinds of decks follow a certain theme, and are created by an artist. Your SoulCollage® deck is created by an artist – YOU! – and the general theme is your life’s journey.