basic question

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Jun 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ametrin	02 Jun 2002
As some of you may have noticed, I am completely new to tarot. And I have a very basic question. After shuffleing the cards- making it ready for a spread, shuould I pull out the cards for the spread from the top of the deck- or should I pick the cards (without looking, of course) randomly from anywhere in the pile. I guess some of you may answer that I should do "hatever feels right to you" - but I can't seem to figure this one out. There are advantages and disadvantages with both methods. None of them feel exactly right to me...nor do any of the methods feel wrong. So far I have (mostly) been picking the cards one by one off the top of the deck. Why? -It's easy and fast . ... (ehhhrrr... ) How do YOU do it, and why? love and light from ametrin

Aerin	02 Jun 2002
You already know the answer then ;) People do different things. Personally, I like to fan the cards out on the table and then hover my left index finger over the cards while holding the position in the spread and the question in my mind. My finger generally feels tingly at some point so I drop it down and pick the card where it has landed. I've also been known to use a pendulum to pick, and also to shuffle until it feels right and then just turn over the top card. I often do this last if it is a one card pick e.g. if I have cut the deck into three for a mind/ body/ spirit or other three card reading. I do this because it gives me the feeling that I'm picking the card that is just right for this part of the spread by concentrating on the card's position. There isn't a should, keep experimenting with different methods. And if one works fine for you, and you don't have any particular bias for one method than another, just go with it and trust yourself that is is right for you at the moment. Aerin

Sam	02 Jun 2002
i agree w/ aerin... but personally i draw from the top of the deck after shuffeling.

wavebreaker	02 Jun 2002
My method: after shuffling the cards I always cut them. To cut them, I let my fingers slide along the side of the deck until I feel a pile "come loose", that's when I take off that pile and put it to the left, and then I put the remaining pile on top of the first pile. Then I pick the cards from the top. I feel like, when I'm cutting the cards like this, my fingers are "guiding" me to the right cards.

Maan	02 Jun 2002
I'm with Aerin! I learned this method from the medicine cards, that was my first oracle so i just kept on doing it when i moved to the tarot

Kiama	02 Jun 2002
I shuffle, cut the pack twice, then deal from the top... I have never tried it any other way, except when I am doing a reading which involves fanning the cards or something... I guess I find taking them off the top easier, quicker.... (Call me lazy!) Kiama

zorya	02 Jun 2002
i shuffle, then with my left hand, going left, cut the deck into 3 piles. then pick them up still with left hand, going from the right to the left again. (so the furthest right pile ends up on top.) then i draw from the top.

SharonElizabeth	02 Jun 2002
I fan the cards and pick cards randomly with out thinking about it. I've tried other methods, and just find that this works best for me. When I try other methods and they don't work, I generally find it's reflected in the reading as just a muddy reading. It's also the way I'm most confortable doing it. So my advice would be to just try everything, and use what you like best and what works best for you.

Umbrae	02 Jun 2002
Is the querent there or not? Ultimately, once the deck has been shuffled and cut, the deck should ‘tell you’ what methods to use; flip from the top, or have the querent pull from a fan. If you are new, and ‘cannot tell”, just keep with it, you cannot force it. It takes time.

Maalin	03 Jun 2002
After shuffling for a while I find that there is something like a magnetic effect, which makes some blocks of cards stick together quite tightly while other are almost pushing apart. If I'm reading for myself, I hold the deck losely in my hand a little over the table at that point and just let them fall open were they do naturally. For a single card or a simple three-card spread i shuffle once and cut as many times as needed, but for bigger spreads i select each card individually with a quick shuffle in between - which means a celtic cross can take quite some time... :D If I'm reading for others, I spread the cards out in a row and let them pick cards - it's like presenting them with all the options... Also, I like to keep to keep me private and 'public' rituals separate... ;)

fairyhedgehog	03 Jun 2002
I shuffle till it feels right, often telling the cards mentally 'you go where you need to go' (that doesn't fit in with my atheist viewpoint, but I'm human, OK? ;) ) Then I cut the pack into three and pick up the cards that were in the middle of the deck to go on top, and simply deal off the top. I reckon that it is completely arbitrary anyway, so it doesn't matter. Of course, if there is synchronicity involved then the cards know what I'm going to do so they know where they need to go ... :) It works for me. FH

Logiatrix	04 Jun 2002
ametrin, don't be mad at me, but... you should do what feels right to you... *wince, cower* i say this because, once i thought about it, i realized that i do all those different ways, depending on the deck. with my i-ching cards, it's the fanning method; with the angel cards, it's off the top; with the tarot, depending on the spread, it's any of those mentioned, or i let the querent do what he/she wants--those also being some pretty creative methods! :)

Zhritza	05 Jun 2002
Hey! No cowering in here, missy! :) ametrin, I honestly think I've had the most success at readings when I've been as in touch with my guts as possible. Let your innards lead you. Try to let go of rational thought when shuffling and selecting cards. Sorry if this is a reiteration of what my compadres have said...

ametrin	05 Jun 2002
....for the replies on this.... I did know that you would all answer different things, and that most of you would say that I should do whatever feeels right to me - but it has still been nice to get all this different input from you :-)

The basic question thread was originally posted on 02 Jun 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.