Tutorials with Pokemancy: Making Your Own TCG Oracle Deck
One of my favorite ways to practice Pokemancy is by using Pokemon cards! In this tutorial, I am going to teach you how to create your OWN oracle deck using cards from the Pokemon Trading Card Game.
Before we get started, let’s go over some definitions and recommended reading:
Pokemancy: the practice of using Pokemon in ANY form to produce messages, advice, and possible divine future events.
Pokemon TCG Cartomancy: Probably the most widespread type of Pokemancy; it is the use of Pokemon TCG cards in order to divine messages. This is comparable to tarot, oracle and lenormand. Like a tarot reading, the person interprets the cards that are pulled for the reading in order to deliver the message to the querent (person receiving the reading). TCG Cartomancy decks can be put together using any of the thousands of Pokemon cards in circulation, the sky is the limit with what you put into your deck. Energy cards, trainer cards and stadium cards can also be used!
An argument for Pokemancy & why it makes sense in the modern occult community
Introduction
Divination is most effective when you are using a tool that is comfortable for you. This is why personalized tools are become more and more popular. I have seen a rising interest for personalized divination tools such as tarot decks, oracle decks, rune sets, bone throwing sets and many, many more.
With that in mind, Pokemon cards can create a HUGE amount of variety and customization for a deck of cards used for divination! As of May 2020, there are:
Over unique 9000 cards in the English release
Over 20 billion cards in circulation
86 card set
That’s a lotta cards!
But admin! Where do I start? How do I pick my cards?! Which Pokemon do I use? Can I use energy cards? What about the trainers? Which of the 168 Pikachu cards should I pick?!
Not to worry! We are going to cover all of this in this tutorial.
The purpose of this tutorial is to show you that there is no limitation to creating a divination tool that suits you. While I will be offering some basic guidelines and structures, this tutorial is not meant to place limits onto what you can make! Some people may not resonate with my suggestions, and that’s entirely okay.
Deck Theme & Purpose
Many people who read tarot and oracle are familiar with the following phrases:
“This deck is amazing to use for love readings!”
“I’m not sure about you guys, but the imagery on these cards just BEG for shadow work readings.”
“The thing I like about this deck is that it can be used for just about anything.”
Often times, when an artist is creating a tarot or oracle deck, they are designing it around a certain theme or purpose. For example, a deck full of dark, gloomy imagery was probably made for people who want to get readings about death, shadow work or heavier topics. A deck full of inspiring, softer art probably works great for self-empowerment readings and spiritual guidance. And a deck full of couples, cutesy pictures and love symbols will probably strike the right cords with people who want relationship readings. The same goes for TCG oracle decks.
Here are some very basic ideas for some of the most popular deck themes. Remember, you can use your own meanings too:
Relationships/Love
Fairy-type Pokemon
Water-type Pokemon
Pokemon that you consider to represent love
Pokemon that know the moves ‘Attract’ or ‘Covet’
Cards with pink, red or white colors
Business/Finances/Money
Grass-type Pokemon
Ground-type Pokemon
Meowth & Persian
Trainer/Support cards that ask you to draw more cards
Trainer/Support cards that may be associated with money or business in the games, anime and manga.
Spirituality/PokePaganism/Past Life Regression
Psychic-type Pokemon
Legendary Pokemon
Pokemon that are important to you
Energy cards to represent the elements
Stadium cards to represent locations that you may want to focus on during meditation
Healing
Chansey or Audino
Pokemon Center Cards
Pokemon/Support/Stadium cards that inspire you and make you feel good
Energy cards that you associate with healing
Shadow Work
Dark-type Pokemon
Psychic-type Pokemon
Trainer/Support cards associated with villains
Legendary Pokemon associated with the dark
The lists and ideas can go on for as long as you’d like! If you want a more general deck that you can use for every day, go ahead and add in a mix of everything! You can even use the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana of the tarot as inspiration.
Balancing Your Deck
My personal Pokemancy deck takes a few things into consideration, and these things may be important to you too:
Representation of the elements. I have one of each energy card in my deck, it gives me deck a sense of balance and allows me to use the deck in many different ways. The energy cards can help clarify readings, or really REALLY bring up the energy that is surrounding my life at the moment. This also plays into the type of Pokemon I choose; I make sure to have a few of each type in my deck.
Visual aesthetics. As a professional tarot reader, I take a card’s artwork into consideration any time I am reading. The art helps me connect with the card, and really get to know it. Often times, I find more and more meaning in cards with complex art. Some readers prefer a more minimalist approach so that they do not get distracted. But, with that being said, I pick cards that appeal to me!
Pokemon that are important to me. If I have a connection with a Pokemon already, it makes it easier for me to read it from a divinatory standpoint.
Pokemon that I want to understand better. On the flip side, sometimes I add in Pokemon that I would make to make a better connection with– Pokemon that are currently “challenging me” in terms of grasping their meanings.
A good balance of “common” Pokemon and legendary Pokemon. My personal practice puts legendary Pokemon in the same seat as gods and goddesses. Common Pokemon give off more of a standard spirit energy for me. So, I have a mix of both in my deck so that I can have a good idea of whether or not this reading involves a connection to the lower realms, the middle realms or the higher realms.
A variety of trainer cards and stadium cards. I’ve got a few trainer cards in my deck in order to represent archetypes, and I have stadium cards that relate to different realms, locations or places that may be relevant during readings. For example, if I pull the Guzma trainer card, it means that I need to be strong and relentless in the face of an adversary, but I should be careful not to let my power get to my head. However, if I pull the Sabrina trainer card, I need to stop and allow myself to look at things logically and calmly.
The size of the deck. I like an average size deck, so my current Pokemancy deck is 40 cards. You, however, can choose as many as you want! As long as you aren’t overwhelmed and you feel that you can make a connection with your cards, and provide readings that make sense, then have at it.
When you put your Pokemancy deck together, you are going to want to try a few practice readings. If you find that your readings aren’t making a whole lot of sense, or if every reading is exactly the same despite changing the question, you may want to add a few cards, remove a few cards, or consider mixing up the variety of your cards. (Maybe all of your cards are TOO positive, and aren’t allowing you to see potential conflicts. Or maybe your cards are TOO negative, and you aren’t able to see the good in your situation!)
Storing Your Deck
✨Deck storage is very important!✨
❤️ Please protect your cards! ❤️
Yes. PLEASE treat your Pokemon cards kindly, ESPECIALLY since you are now using them as a tool for divination! If you ask me, you should have already been protecting those cards already, but now it is even more important to do so. Now that you are using these cards for readings, they are going to get shuffled a lot more! If you were only holding these Pokemon cards in binders and boxes, and not using them to actually play the TCG, then you may not be familiar with how much the cards can wear out and be torn up.
There are plenty of things that can damage your cards:
Rain
Humidity
Heavy shuffling
Improper storage (can cause warping and bending
Unwashed hands (and I’m not just talking COVID-19, I’ve ruined cards with sticky hands before.)
Protecting your cards from damage not only increases the lifespan and quality of them, but it also makes the deck feel better all around. Tarot readers put their decks in pouches, leather deck holds, deck wraps and so many other lovely things. We as Pokemancers have our own storage methods as well.
I recommend getting a TCG deck box and card sleeves from one of these places:
Your local game shop
The Pokemon Center Website
Walmart, Target, Amazon, Ebay, etc.
You can also get some beautiful custom boxes from Etsy.
If you want, you can then put that deck box full of your cards into a tarot/oracle pouch, tuck it away in a wrap, or place it on your shelf.
Another way that you can protect your cards is by performing your readings on a reading mat or cloth. These mats and cloths can be found on Etsy, anywhere that you can purchase witchcraft materials, or you can make your own with some fabric!
Or, if you want to stick with the spirit of Pokemancy, buy yourself a Pokemon TCG playing card mat.
Bonding with your deck
So now you’ve got your deck, what’s next? Now, you want to take some time to get to know your deck. The more you know your deck, the better your readings will be. Think of your deck as a friend. The better the connection, the easier it will be to get along.
The most practical way to understanding your deck is by reading with it. For today’s tutorial, I threw a quick deck together in order to show you guys some examples on how to read with your new divination tool. Ignore the fact that the cards are naked, I ran out of card sleeves.
Let’s break down a simple reading together:
I asked this deck: what can I do to set myself up for success?
Next, I shuffled the deck and pulled five cards. The top three cards are a classic past, present and future layout, while the bottom two give me some advice for the present.
When reading individual cards, I use everything on the card. But, let’s start simple and only focus on the three main points: the flavor text, the attacks and the card art.
Past: Duskull
The flavor text of this card reads: It doggedly pursues its prey wherever it goes. However, the chase is abandoned at sunrise.
The Pokemon has two attacks: Dark Guidance and Spooky Shot
The card art has a picture of Duskull weaving through a room, possibly abandoned due to the graffiti on the walls.
What does all of this suggest? In the past, I worked myself way too hard, often through the night until the sun rose. My form of guidance was putting me in a dark space, and it was pushing me to a point where I was abandoning a lot of things that were important to me.
Present: Morelull
The flavor text of this card reads: It scatters spores that flicker and glow. Anyone seeing these lights falls into a deep slumber.
The Pokemon has one attack: Ram
The card art has a picture of Morelull standing in the woods, illuminating the dark.
What does all of this suggest? Right now, I am pretty worn out from working too hard, to the point where all I want to do is sleep. However, I’m starting to see what I did wrong with my routine in the past, illuminating some possibilities for improvement.
Future: Noctowl
The flavor text of this card reads: Its eyes are specially adapted. They concentrate even faint light and enable it to see in the dark.
The Pokemon has two attacks: Hypnoblast and Night Raid
The card art shows Noctowl perched on a tree branch against a clear sky, head tilting like it knows something.
What does all of this suggest? In the future, I will be able to focus on the light side of things, or the good parts of life, even when I am surrounded by a lot of darkness (stress, bad mental health, etc.) Even if I am in a tough place right now, my future is bright.
Advice Card #1: Timer Ball
Trainer cards do not have any attacks or basic flavor text, it only has the card’s description. This is also an item card, which limits my ability to find meaning in the card art. However, I can relate this card back to the Timer Ball’s use in the Pokemon games.
The Timer Ball’s catch rate increases the longer you are in battle with a wild Pokemon.
What does all of this suggest? The more I work on myself now, the better my outcome will be in the future. I should not rush for my final outcome.
Advice Card #2: Pokemon Fan Club
Again, this is a trainer card, with no attacks or flavor text. Unlike the Timer Ball though, the Pokemon Fan Club has some more depth.
The Pokemon Fan Club is an organization spread throughout the Pokémon world, with at least one club house in nearly every region. The club is considered a place for people to meet and chat about their favorite Pokémon and to show off their collections to each other.
What does all of this suggest? I should look to friends and groups of like-minded people (such as my classmates or people in my different communities) for support and drive right now.
Once you finish the reading, you can shuffle the cards back into the deck, thank it for its message, and then put it into storage.
And there you have it! See how simple that was? As you get to understand your cards more, you can use the numerology of the Pokemon’s height, weight and Pokedex number, the Pokemon’s typing, whether or not it is a basic Pokemon or stage 1 or 2 Pokemon, and so on. Don’t overwhelm yourself though! Start with a few factors of the card, and then add on more once you’re confident.
Just about every tarot spread can be adapted for your Pokemancy deck. Try out a few and see how your cards respond to them!
Conclusion
Making a Pokemon TCG oracle deck can be a lot of fun! It’s accessible for those who are still in the closet with their witchcraft/paganism (you can just tell people that you’re collecting Pokemon cards), it has a nostalgic factor, and it’s exciting when you learn about the depth of these cards. There are so many combinations that you can come up with, so go out there and make the deck of your dreams.
Please share this tutorial if you found it interesting!
