Input needed from lots of you please for statistics

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Diana	15 Mar 2002
edited

Liliana	15 Mar 2002
Im American, my books are English, I flip and so does everyone else Ive everseen read, I agree with thirteens theory :) Maybe Ill try fanning tho, Im ahorrible shuffler so fanning would make that fact less obvious. Tarot.com online reading program fans hehe

Soraya	15 Mar 2002
Hi there, Here go my answers to you: 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? 1) Austria (where I live) 2) My first Tarot books were in German but unfortunately, they were all pretty basic and useless, so I switched to English language publications (such as Joan Bunning, Rachel Pollack, Mary Greer etc.) 3) I fan them out. (And by the way I hate the French. No that's just a joke. I don't really know any French so I doubt that I have been influenced by their tradition, as Thirteen may think. I fan them because a) it gives me a feeling of properly choosing the cards rather than just flipping over what happens to be on top of the stack and b) because the first and only reader who ever read for me did it that way and when I started working with cards myself I followed her example- By the way: she was American.) 4) Don't have any Tarot friends as I am not out of the closet. Hope that was helpful. Cheers Soraya

Original Destiny	15 Mar 2002
hi...I l first read English books....I'm British and I FLIP

Jewel	15 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? 1) USA 2) English 3) Flip them 4) Flip them

DeLani	15 Mar 2002
Hi all, Cultural things like this really interest me. I enjoyed reading Thirteen's explanation! Here are my answers: I'm from the US I speak and read English I flip the cards My teacher spoke English & flipped the cards Hope that helps. DeLani

Diana	15 Mar 2002
edited

Kaz	15 Mar 2002
I am from the Netherlands (or Holland , whatever you like) I learned in english I flip the cards, upside down, not turning pages as with a book Other dutchies I know flip the cards as well, some turn as pages in a book, some flip upside down as I do. Kaz

Kiama	15 Mar 2002
I am English. I learned the Tarot from English books (Although some written by American Tarot readers...). I flip the cards, like turning a page in a book. All the people I have seen do a spread in this country do the same, although some don't do it like a page in a book. Kiama

truthsayer	15 Mar 2002
i am from the u.s. and i fan my cards. sorry to bust up the statistics but i've always been a square peg trying to fit the round holes. ;D okay, i do admit to occasionally flipping but fanning is my preference. i can't remember what style anyone else i know uses for tarot. most everyone else i know plays poker with cards not tarot!

Jewel	15 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana So far, you are messing up the statistics and the theory, but you are forgiven :p :) :p Perhaps Original Destiny has some American ancestors ~giggles~

Jewel	15 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama I am English. I learned the Tarot from English books (Although some written by American Tarot readers...). I flip the cards, like turning a page in a book. All the people I have seen do a spread in this country do the same, although some don't do it like a page in a book. Kiama I am getting confused here ... seems like we have 3 techniques ~chuckles~: 1) fanning, 2) flipping, 3) turning .... just a thought

Temperance413	15 Mar 2002
I'm american, I learned from English books , I fan the cards, and my friends fan and flip, pretty much about 50/50. Hope this helps!

Bella	15 Mar 2002
I'm from the US and all my books are in English. I flip the cards, as do all the other readers that I know here. *And here I thought it was because I spent a lot of my misspent youth playing poker*

Lion-O	15 Mar 2002
Just a quick update, much easier then posting another message (bit overkill IMO): You should have considered making a poll ;) 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? My native country; The Netherlands. 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? Both, but mostly English. I studied it from the booklet with my deck. At a later stage I gained some information through a Dutch (native language) booklet and finally I studied a lot on the Net (English). Update; when getting my Rider Waite deck I also got "Learning the Tarot" (Joan Bunning) which I like very much. This is an English book. I think that if I'd buy more Tarot related books they'd be English too. 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? I fan them. 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? Can't say, it differs from person to person. But then again; I don't know that many people who also practice Tarot. I tend to say most people fan them as well.

Fern	15 Mar 2002
My answers: 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? America 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? Originally in English, as far as I know. 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? I do both. It depends. And both work well for me. Sometimes I just feel like flipping and sometimes I feel like fanning. I can't tell you why, I just follow the feeling. 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? Of the people who have read my cards in the past, I've seen it done both ways. Of the people I know who are, like me, for the most part self-taught they are all flippers. Futhermore, I don't think I would have chosen fanning if I hadn't seen others do it. So your theory may be correct about Americans and flipping. Flipping seems to come naturally. I'm trying to remember what I did with the first set of tarot cards I ever encountered. I was about 9 years old and didn't really know what they were. I think I flipped them (and made up stories about the pictures). I must have known they were for divination because I remember my mother used to read regular playing cards. I think her friend's Greek mother taught them both.

fairyhedgehog	15 Mar 2002
I learned Tarot in UK, but I have also used the learntarot site which is American, as well as coming here which is multinational :) All my books are in English. But I have a Tarot card game for the pc which is in French. Flip or fan? I suppose what I do must be flipping. I shuffle a lot, then I deal the cards into a spread like I'd deal out card for a game, only face up instead of face down. Is that flipping? Or is it turning? 'Cos they turn sideways 'like the pages of a book'. Friends and tarot don't mix in my experience. So I'm all on my little lonesome. All the best,

amyel	15 Mar 2002
I learned in Canada. Not being "officially bi-lingual" I read in English. I flip. My Tarot friends flip. I've never met anyone who fans. It would be interesting to find a Quebec Tarot reader & find out what they do!

Original Destiny	15 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel Perhaps Original Destiny has some American ancestors ~giggles~ believe it or not, Russian...does that make it worse??????

Fillanzea	15 Mar 2002
Just adding another data point here, which I posted yesterday. When I was in America, I had a friend who was into tarot, and she flipped. Right now, I'm in Japan, where the books tell you to fan. I flip anyway; it's what I'm used to seeing other people do. Besides, I don't have enough space to fan out the cards.

Geenius at Wrok	16 Mar 2002
United States, English, flip.

Kimon	16 Mar 2002
Hello, 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? Germany 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? Both in respect of the language I read. In respect of the original version most of the books were not written in English, but in German or Portuguese. 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? Flip. 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? All I know flip. Greetings, Kimon

blumoon	16 Mar 2002
1. Australia 2. English 3. fan 4. i havent met anyone yet who is interested in tarot... :)

Moose	16 Mar 2002
I'm American. Learned with books written in English. Come from a long line of poker players. I turn, flip and fan the cards. My family blamed my left-handedness for my lack of shuffling talent. They couldn't deny I was the best turner, flipper and fanner in the family. When I go for readings around here I notice more flipping than turning. I recall seeing another reader fanning 2 or 3 times. Moose

napaisti	16 Mar 2002
1) I'm american 2) My french is too rusty to read anything not in english, and I believe most of the books I've used were in their original language. 3)I flip, turn, or fan depending on my mood and the type of reading I'm doing. 4)Recently most people I know fan, but when I was first introduced to tarot in high school and college, most of my friends flipped/turned.

VGimlet	16 Mar 2002
1. US 2. English 3. Flip 4. No tarot friends, I'm the only reader I know. But, the two times I got readings (once here in Seattle, and once in New Orleans) they flipped.

kayne	17 Mar 2002
1. Anglo - Australian. 2. English 3. I learnt to flip the cards but then I gave fanning a go and I much prefer that. I am a convert of the fan method... :) 4. Most Aussies flip... I think...

Diana	17 Mar 2002
edited

Mermaid	17 Mar 2002
I'm from New Zealand, most the books I've read have been from the USA or England - and (like everyone else I've ever seen do a reading) I flip! Mermaid

catlin	18 Mar 2002
1. I learned tarot in Germany. 2. My first tarot books were in German written by German authors, later I switched to English, French and Spanish books. 3. I fan cards. Interestingly, my friends from Polska and former Jugoslavia fan them too. 4. Good question. Most of my friends fan as they are all Germans or from European countries.

sarahenglish	18 Mar 2002
I am new with almost no experience, but had to share that my son chose to cut the deck, ask 2 questions, and then purposely counted down in the stack and pulled a specific number card (i.e. the 2nd down on 1 stack and the 9th down on the second.) as for my answers: US English Fan if picking my daily and flip if doing a spread the 2 I know flip Sarahenglish

raeanne	18 Mar 2002
1.) USA 2.) English 3.) Flip 4.) Flip

Pedeka	18 Mar 2002
1) America 2)English and just to add...the best "learners" book I have ever run across is by Laura Clarson and came with my Hanson-Roberts deck.. my copy was held together with duct tape, scotch tape and rubber bands by the time I passed it on to a friend. 3) flip 4) flip

Pollux	18 Mar 2002
1) ITALY (Naples) - booooh... the only Italian on the Forums :( 2) English books originally written in English (Italian "Literature" sucks - oops can I say that? :( ) 3) Well, I'd better say that i TURN the cards (their) left-to-right. Somewhere it was said the other way around brought bad luck and up-down flipping was sort of offensive for the cards... Geez, I ddidn't think about this all, I only feel more comfortable with! :) 4) boooh... Well I do know someone who reads Tarots, but I'm not that close to know if they flip or else. But I think my way is quite spread... At least charlatans on TV do it too! :D

Kitty	18 Mar 2002
1. Learning Tarot in Australia 2. English books but mainly from my tarot classes 3. In my class we fan the cards, but when reading elsewhere I prefer to flip. 4. Most people I know fan the cards. Including tarot readers I have seen for readings in the past It will be interesting to see your results :)

Greenman	19 Mar 2002
well, i was born in England but learned tarot in the U.S (although i don't really 'read'), and i 'fan'. and most of the people i know do this too, although that's a bit skewed, because i teach basic tarot as part of my Wicca class, so most of them have been influenced by my method. for my daily one (or three) card draw, i shuffle three times, cut three times, and then fan the cards. i then close my eyes and 'feel' for the right card. this is my card for the day, regardless of direction (although i do take direction into consideration when doing the rare reading).

Persha	24 Mar 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? Answers: 1)Australia 2)English, I guess 3)flip 4)don't know anyone who does tarot, though when playing cards I think most people I know flip Bennedicte, Persha

Maan	24 Mar 2002
1)The Netherlands 2) Dutch 3)Fan 4)Fan

Diana	24 Mar 2002
edited

harleen	31 Mar 2002
I am in the US, I learned in English, I flip the cards...I have seen my friends both fan and flip, and I did start out fanning but found flipping to work better for me.... :)

jade	01 Apr 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? - canada 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? - english 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? - i let them fly out of the deck while shuffling 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? - flip

MichaelS	01 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana This makes a kind of sense. Women played delicate card games in the 19th century; and they weren't encouraged to do card tricks For the poll, I learned in America, English tradition and flip. But.... As a magician, I practiced long and hard to get the "delicate" clean fans. It's not easy. If the women were doing this, they were *SKILLED* with the cards. ---Michael

imperium	02 Apr 2002
Well I learned in the UK, with english books and I do indeed 'flip em'. Infact all the British readers I know do indeed flip them. The one friend I have who fans the cards is from Israel and was originally bought up Jewish. I had a reading done in New Orleans once and the reader sort of did both (!) fanning them and then flipping. Hope that insight helps.

Diana	02 Apr 2002
edited

MichaelS	02 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Michael: what do you mean by a "delicate" clean fan? Performing the fan should look effortless. The fan should be "perfect". By this, I mean that when fanned, the cards should appear exactly even. The same amount of each card showing all the way down the fan. If I'm fanning them in my hand, the cards should form a perfect semi-circle. If I'm fanning them on a table, they should be perfectly in a straight line. ---Michael

Zhritza	03 Apr 2002
United States, English, flip, flip. I understand the sentiment that fanning them before dealing feels more deliberate and less random, but I think I'm so accustomed to the randomness aspect of dealing this way that the other way would almost feel like cheating. I guess my method *is* descended from poker...

RedWood	03 Apr 2002
U.S.A Flipped I just flipped because I play a lot of card games. It has never crossed my mind to fan them.. I don't have any friends that do tarot so I don't know..My very few friends I have tolerate tarot..

ihcoyc	12 Oct 2002
Bump! I am in the U.S. I learned from English books, exclusively, though I can read French also. I would like to have some French tarot books, if only for comparison purposes. When I read for myself or alone, I flip all the cards. When I read for someone else in person, I deal them face down, then flip each card in order, and discuss that one before moving to the next. Everyone I have ever seen doing it flips as well.

Minderwiz	12 Oct 2002
I'm English, I learned from books written in English and I flip the cards over. I've never considered fanning them at all, until this thread. I don't know an awful lot of other readers but all I've come across flip them. This is a really interesting issue and I'll go off and think about fanning next time round. Minderwiz

WolfSpirit	12 Oct 2002
I'm from the Netherlands, I'm self-taught in tarot. I have a few books in Dutch (translations), most are in English. I flip the cards, I only heard about fanning here at Aeclectic. I tried it but it just did not feel natural for me.

Mystica	12 Oct 2002
I learned here in the US, and the books I have were all written originally in English. I flip the cards. I've seen a couple people fan the cards on TV, but my only Tarot friends are on the internet.

emily2otters	12 Oct 2002
i'm from the united states, i flip, and everyone i know flips, too. the books i've studied have all been american or british in origin. :)

Myrrha	12 Oct 2002
I am from the US and learned from Tarot for Yourself and 78DW. I almost always put all the cards on the carpet in front of me and stir them around in a big mass, slowly picking card after card. I learned this from a friend who used the Motherpeace deck. Sometimes I fan and once in a while I will flip. I have only read for other people a couple of times and both times I had *them* pick the cards from the big muddle. I have only known a few people who read tarot over the years, most of them fip the cards. Myrrha

lawguy51	12 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? UNQUOTE [/b][/quote] 1. Canada 2. The book was English, printed in the USA. 3. I fan and flip. Always fan for others, sometimes flip for myself, especially on 3 to 5 card spreads. 4. All of my Tarot friends and associates happen to be clairvoyant and all but one fan. Don't know if there is a connection there!

bellaluna	13 Oct 2002
1. USA 2.English 3.Flip 4.Most of my friends flip Dawn

Moongold	13 Oct 2002
I'm Australian. The books I read about Tarot are in English I do a sort of fanning because it is easier. I am teaching myself and would love a real life teacher or study group! I don't know other people interested in Tarot except in this forum. Moongold

Sinta	13 Oct 2002
Hrm, a very hard question to answer. My first experience with tarot was in England, and he who informed about it spoke to me in english. He flips the cards and the only other person i know who does this flips the cards. He is also in England. I learned in Switzerland, and the book that i was reading is in German. I, like my "teacher" flip the cards ;)

napaea	13 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? America. 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? I think most are English, but I don't know for certain the origin. 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? ok, if i am reading for someone else, i fan. i select the cards that way, or have them choose. then i lay them out and turn them over like a page. if i'm doing a reading for myself that uses the whole deck (tarotphelia's! :* ) then i flip them upside down from the deck. if i'm doing a plain old reading for myself, i fan & choose, then turn over like a page. is this what you mean? the flipping...do you mean from off the top of the deck into it's position? cause i rarely do that. i like to see the whole spread layed out and then i turn them over. 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? i don't know. the reader i went to flipped them off the deck and into position. another friend layed them out and flipped them over in position. but i don't really know anyone else...

Alex	14 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? US 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? English 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? Flip 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country -flip or fan? I don't have friends that read Tarot.

wavebreaker	14 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? In the Netherlands. 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? All my books are in English, as are the websites I use(d). 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? I flip them. 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? I've only met a few, and it seems like fanning is slightly more popular than flipping.

Sulis	14 Oct 2002
1. learned in the UK 2. All of my books are in english 3. I flip 4. Don`t have any friends who read tarot. Crystalmynx xx

rostie	14 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? -in belgium 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? -mostly in dutch and english, i've learned french on school but i find it difficult to read... 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? -flip 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? i also don't have friends who read tarot...so, can't say :( with love, sara...

aeonx	14 Oct 2002
Wow, howcome I didn't see this thread before?? Well, here are my answers: 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? Norway. Although I have learned more here. ;) 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? First I started out reading some on Norwegian (originally written by English authors), but they were not any good, so I started ordering from Amazon. Almost all my books are written by British/American authors. 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? Flip flip flip. 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? Everybody I know flip them, never actually seen anybody fan them. But then, I don't have a lot of friends doing tarot. I've kept most to myself. Hope this helps! ~aeonx~

Trogon	14 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana 1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? 1) I learned in the United States 2) The Tarot books I use were (to the best of my knowledge)originally written in English. In fact, I believe the author of my first Tarot book (Eden Gray) is American. 3) I shuffle, then flip the cards, one at a time. 4) My best answer is to say that the woman who taught me, was originally from England. However she's lived here for about 20 years now. She also flips the cards.

Laurel	14 Oct 2002
1) I learned tarot in the US. 2) The tarot books I started with were American; later I started reading International authors and translated works. 3) Flip them now- but I fanned when I started 4) Most of my friends flip. :)

Kyrielle	14 Oct 2002
I learned in the USA from books in English. I flip, and all of the people I've observed also flip. Although now maybe I'll try fanning, now that you have piqued my curiosity. -- Kyrielle

Teal	14 Oct 2002
I learned tarot here in the United States. I learned in English, largely through posts on this forum I flip cards, but I call it "dealing" and I put them face down, then turn them over as I go. My daughter is the only other tarot reader I know, and I think she fans the cards, she said.

Kazz	14 Oct 2002
I am Australian I learnt in Australia The books I have are in English I flip and I fan (it depends on the spread) People I know mostly flip, but in my Tarot study group there are quite a few of us that fan as well. Cheers Kazz :TQC

tigerlily	15 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? 1) Germany 2) For years I had only Rachel Pollack's 78Degrees, but all my later books were by American authors, too. Can't remember that they specified how to deal the cards, though. 3) I flip them - I actually don't have a preference, I just can't fan 78 cards, just too much cards for my little hands ;) if anyone has tips for me how to learn it, I'd be grateful. 4) My Tarot friends are all on Aeclectic :)

DarkElectric	15 Oct 2002
I learned Tarot in the USA. All of my books are in English. I flip. Everyone I know who reads, flips. (I've never fanned, and I don't recall ever seeing it being done that way!)

ChrisTheObscure	15 Oct 2002
1. I learned Tarot in the USA. 2. For the most part, I didn't learn from books, but the books I have are in English. 3. I flip the cards. 4. My tarot friends flip the cards as well. C.

Woof	15 Oct 2002
1) USA 2) English 3) flip (not bottom to top but left to right) 4) flip (bottom to top) Hope this helps. Woof

Demonesse	17 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? In reply to 2), I think the first question is irrelevant for me because I learned from books and net resources written in English which were non-local. I fan the cards (not in my hands but on a flat surface) because I always do when playing any card game or practicing any form of card-based divination; it just feels nicer that way. Flipping takes too long! As far as Tarot friends go, most of us just collect for artistic pleasure.

MeeWah	17 Oct 2002
Diana: I do not recall responding to this thread yet so here is my input: 1. I learned Tarot in the U.S. 2. The books I used were published in English or originally in French & translated to English. 3. I turn my cards like the pages in a book. 4. Not sure as I have seen few Tarot readers but 2 acquaintances fan their cards.

blue_fusion	17 Oct 2002
1. I learned Tarot in the Philippines 2. Most books here are published in english, and a lot are imported from the U.S., plus, like Demonesse, there's always the internet... 3. Fan 4. Not sure :)

pixienyc	18 Oct 2002
1) In which country did you learn Tarot? USA 2) Were the Tarot books you learned from in English or books written originally in another language? BOOKS ORIGINALLY IN ENGLISH, AND READ IN ENGLISH. 3) Do you fan the cards or flip them? FLIP (upside down, NOT like pages in a book). 4) What do most of your Tarot friends do that live in your country - flip or fan? N/A (no tarot friends "in real life"). Great question. Looking forward to the results. pixie

cyan	19 Oct 2002
America English For my daily 3 card reading i let the cards fan slowly out across my palms as I run my left thumb across their backs until I know I am touching a card I am supposed to draw. No one tought me this, it just seems right for me. I have two friends I have introduced to tarot and they are still finding their own style.

The Input needed from lots of you please for statistics thread was originally posted on 15 Mar 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.