Anyone not shuffle between readings?

I had agreed to turn some cards for my husband recently, but first I drew a card for myself to guide me on the reading. Then, as I started to re-shuffle the deck for his draw, he said to me "Don´t reshuffle. I prefer the cards to just follow on from the last reading done from them." Turns out that when he used cards about 20 years ago, he picked up this habit of never shuffling the deck at all as the reader. He believes the reader should not shuffle the cards because they then put their energy into the reading which interferes with the querent´s draw. All he would do is hand the deck to the querent for them to cut and restack as they saw fit.

Now, I have never heard of anyone else using this approach and I am interested in your thoughts on it. I have always reshuffled myself and sometimes I will do a semi re-ordering first; by which I mean I will stack the cards into 5 piles according to each suite and the majors. I don´t do a full re-ordering unless it is for some specific exercise.

So what do you think? Does he have a viable approach and what are the pros and cons please?

Hi grailmaiden,

personally I have never heard about this before - but I'm willing to learn something new every day . So obviously I can't give you any pros or cons about it.

I'd say if HE believes in it let him do what he feels is right for HIM. --- And do what feels right for YOU when you're dealing the cards for YOURSELF. --- If he doesn't want YOU to shuffle the pack hand it over to HIM and let him shuffle or restack the way he likes to. (Never argue with a querent ... instead make him comfortable. )

Curious to see if other members know something about this technique and will sheed some light on it.

Astraea Aurora

Not really. Sometimes when I read for myself, I'll shuffle at the beginning and then do a bunch of readings on different topics (without shuffling in between questions). Or, since I shuffle at the end of a session, I might just take cards off the top next time. Whatever feels right to me in the moment.

Definitely not as a 'policy' when reading for others though. I shuffle a bit more in that case, and encourage them to shuffle and cut the deck as well. lol I doubt you can go wrong though, no matter what you do, tbh.

Sounds like you've got a unique fellow there.

I think that's really interesting! And whatever works for you. But I think it would drive me crazy not to reshuffle. I feel like it's a "reset" for the cards and needs to be done.

I can remember when I've had my cards read that the reader always had me shuffle and cut the deck then she would draw the cards for the spread. As for me doing my own readings I always shuffle before I do a spread and then I reshuffle after I am done the reading as a way of clearing the energy for the next time I use the cards. If I give in-person readings I have asked the querent to shuffle and cut the deck so that their energy is infused in the deck and then I lay out the spread for their reading. I guess it depends on what you prefer?

If it works for him, leave it be.

I do not always shuffle a deck mainly for convenience. & depends on the reading. With daily draws, usually just cut 3 times & then draw a card from wherever my eye lands. For a larger spread, I fan out the cards & look to see which cards 'stray' from the fan. It saves wear on the cards. & some decks I use are larger than I can comfortably shuffle without mangling them.

I rarely shuffle. If I have a lot of readings to do in one day, I'll shuffle them when I take them out of their bag and that is it for the day unless it just comes over me that I should. And it has never seemed to present a problem as the readings still flow from client to client. making sense and very accurate. I think i'm just a believe that if a card is meant to come up, it comes up.

There are several theories I have that are relevant to this issue.

Note of definition: I use the term "spiritual force" a lot throughout this discussion; by this I mean your personal deity, unconscious mind, universal collective consciousness, telepathic spectral gnomes, or whatever you feel guides the workings of divination media, be it actually divine or psychological.

1. Omniscient Spiritual "Force" (Universal Determinism)

As long as you don't know the order of the cards, it doesn't matter if you physically shuffle them, since the spiritual "force" that gives you the cards you "should" get takes all possible variables into account without respect to time. So the "force" knew when you last put your cards away that the next time you used them, you'd need the cards in the order they were left. This points to a formulaic determinism in the workings of the universe, which calls into question the concept of "free will," but that's another discussion.

2. Ominiscent Spiritual Force Sans Determinism - Schrodinger's Cat (Mechanism of Action I)

As long as no one knows the order of the cards, each card is in all 78 possible states at once. Not until you observe the card by turning it over do you know what it is. This is sort of a "quantum" view of Tarot. By this theory, as long as you don't know what the coming card is, it could be any of them...leaving room for a spiritual "force" (I prefer the "spectral gnomes" view of that force for this example) to change it to fit the reading at hand.

3. Omniscient Spiritual Force Sans Determinism (Mechanism of Action II) (Author's Pick)

Your omniscient spiritual "force" knows what cards you need and tells you which card to draw when you fan, or guides your hand in where you select to cut (or how many times to cut), such that you get the cards you should get. This would also apply when shuffling - the feeling that tells you when to stop. Or, you might suddenly feel inclined (or be hired) to read about a question for which the order in which the cards were left is appropriate. This applies by extension to multiple questions within the same reading without shuffling - the specific questions asked by the querent, and the order in which the querent asks, are guided by internal feelings on his or her part that may be inspired by a spiritual "force."

4. Energy Transfer (Author's Least Favorite)

By shuffling the cards, you impart to them some not-yet-understood aspect of your personal energy, which temporarily grants them sentience. The cards then take on a life of their own, choosing which cards to give you. By not shuffling before the reading, you are not endowing the cards with your current energy, and so you won't get an accurate reading for the question at hand. You might get nonsense if the cards have no energy, or you might get a reading relevant to the last energy they were given.

5. Intellectual Analysis Yields Positive Results Regardless

It doesn't matter what cards you get, you're going to get the right message from them regardless, since you apply your own personal intuition and mindset to the reading. Even if you get what seem to be wholly irrelevant cards, you'll find some relevance in them just by going through the exercise of analysis. "If you look hard enough, you'll find what you're looking for."

6. You're a Chicken Tarotist, Don't Worry About It!

Excuse the DuQuette-ism in the title of this one! Who cares how it works? If shuffling or not shuffling works for you, do that. Don't worry about traditions or superstitions...just do what you feel you should. If you are happy with your results, then you're doing it right. That's what matters.



I strongly favor theory 3 in my personal applications of Tarot, but many others choose 1, 2, 4, 5, or some other theory for how the cards "work." In any case, 6 is still good advice! Do what works for you!

(Apologies in advance if I wasn't as clear, concise, or complete as usual in my ideas above...I've got this horrible cold and I can't concentrate!)

I only do a little bit of Indian style shuffling between readings, but when I'm done with a reading, I will place all the cards back into the deck in separate areas. For my readings, there is a lot of importance on what the surrounding cards are, and if you never shuffle, then I guess neighboring cards would never change except by the occasional accident. It seems like a bad idea to me.

-tb

There are really good points on both sides, but personally I prefer to shuffle the deck before and after I use it.

I think it helps me clear my mind and I like the routine of doing it every time.