So, the other day I got this wild idea to mess around with tarot cards, but with a techie twist. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by those mystical cards, and since I’m also knee-deep in databases and stuff, I thought, “Why not combine the two?” Thus began my “oracle tarot” experiment.
I started by grabbing my dusty old tarot deck – the classic Rider-Waite one. You know, the one with the colorful pictures of the fool, the magician, and all those other guys. I figured I needed a good way to store all the card meanings and interpretations. What is better than something I already knew? A database!
Setting Up the Database
I picked Oracle, ’cause, well, it sounded fitting, and I’m most familair with it. I created a simple table with columns for the card name, the suit, the number, keywords, upright meanings, reversed meanings, and even a spot for my own personal notes.
Then I had to load data into it!
- Card Name (like “The Fool”, “The Magician”)
- Suit (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles)
- Number(for the minor arcana)
- Keywords(short, punchy words that sum up the card)
- Upright Meaning(What it means the normal way.)
- Reversed Meaning(what the card means upside down).
- My Notes(space for making my won connections)
The tedious part was entering all the data. I spent a good chunk of an afternoon typing away, pulling meanings from the little booklet that came with the deck and some websites I found. Honestly, it felt a bit like creating my own little mystical encyclopedia.
Doing a “Reading”
Once the database was populated, the fun part began – actually using it! Instead of physically shuffling and drawing cards, I wrote a simple SQL query. I used the DBMS_RANDOM package to pick some cards from the table. It’s like the digital version of closing your eyes and picking a card.
First, I just pulled one card using something.
Then, I had to try and do the real thing. So i tired to do something like a “three-card spread,” which is super common in tarot readings. It’s supposed to represent the past, present, and future. I tweaked my query to randomly select three cards and display their meanings. It was pretty cool seeing the “digital spread” come to life on my screen.
Reflections
Honestly, the whole thing was more fun than I expected. It was a weird blend of ancient mysticism and modern tech. Sure, it’s not the same as the tactile feel of the cards and the ritual of a traditional reading, but it had its own charm.
It also made me think about how we interpret information, whether it’s from a database query or a deck of cards. Both are just tools, right? It’s our own minds that create the stories and find the meaning. I took notes in the “My notes” of how I wanted to try and interpet the meanings in future readings.
I’m not sure if I’ll keep doing “oracle tarot” readings regularly. Maybe I’ll tweak the queries, add more data, or even build a simple app around it. Who knows? It’s all just a playful experiment, a way to mix my nerdy side with my, uh, slightly less nerdy side.
