up-righting the deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Jun 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

napaea	25 Jun 2002
Ok, gurus, here's a question. A few years ago I read in some book that you should always go through your deck after readings and make all the cards upright again. The author made it seem as though you should do this after EVERY reading, and then also said if you weren' t going to use the deck for a while (obviously he wasn't intending anyone here to read his book) that you should put all the cards in order of their suits. Does anyone here actually do this? Am I supposed to do this? help napaea :THP jr.

cricket	25 Jun 2002
I've personally never put a deck back in order, unless it was going out in trade or going through a smudging. With the trades it's only done by request. Since I don't use physical reversals I can't honestly answer that from experience, but would probably lean toward not bothering with it. After a deck gets used to a person it does what needs done to make a reading 'right' anyway. It doesn't need the extra help, imo.

Liliana	25 Jun 2002
It takes me a long time to get my deck thouroughly shuffled, theres no way in heck im going to unshuffle it between uses hehe. The only time I do is when im going to trade it or i know my kids had it and i have to check and make sure all the cards are still there. And im not using reversals either, so i wouldnt know about that. :THP

Dark Inquisitor	25 Jun 2002
I will put a deck back in order if I'm going to store it for a while, and also band it to something stiff, because some cards can get bowed while they sit. I will also put a deck back in order is if there is lingering bad energy after a reading, or someone has handled the cards when I didn't want them to. I also do it if I buy a used deck - I have to make sure all the cards are there anyway. Tarotphelia

Marion	25 Jun 2002
I keep a couple of decks in order all the time. I use them like reference decks, and that way if I want to look at a card it is right there. Otherwise, I only put them in order for some reason, like study.

Starfish	25 Jun 2002
I never put them back into order. I agree with those that said it takes a while just to get them well shuffled! ;) I do have two decks, that I haven't worked with yet, that I have in order, for studying purposes. :TSUN Starfish

Emily	25 Jun 2002
I don't usually put my decks back into order unless I have a problem - like I did the other day, I was shuffling my Spiral and for some reason I decided to count the cards, I found I was one short - I looked through and couldn't see which one was missing so I put them all in order, took me a while, and I found it was The Empress. I was just about to turn the house upside down looking for this card when I happened to look at the table where the deck was sitting and there was The Empress on top of my copy of 'Tarot for yourself' lol I don't remember taking this card out but I'm glad I found it again :)

Violet Gargoyle	25 Jun 2002
I will put them up right and in order when I feel like it here and there, more for a meditative thing than an actual practice, kinda feels like solitaire (with a better chance of winning). Of course when I use those cards again, I have to shuffle them extra long, another meditative practice......

MeeWah	25 Jun 2002
As Marion does, I keep some decks in order for reference or study purposes. I also order decks to clear them in lieu of shuffling; & especially if I plan on exposing them to the light of the Sun & the Moon. It is a good method to make sure I have all the cards in a deck. It is how I discovered I was missing a few cards from my Robin Wood (which she kindly replaced after I emailed her).

mondk	26 Jun 2002
I don't usually do this either especially since I do use card reversals. If I put them all upright and then shuffled, I would never get reversed cards and they are important to me in general readings. I probably should eventually buy a deck to use strictly for reference and keep it in order as others here have suggested (excellent suggestion by the way) but for now, I read off of all of mine, so I just put them back in their respective bags/boxes when through with them and shuffle them next reading. Many blessings, Michelle

Zhritza	26 Jun 2002
You know, I read this idea for the first time when I bought the Victoria Regina. There was a card or something inside the outer box, which looked like a general thing that Llewellyn might put in any deck/book set, sort of like the cards you get with Lo Scarabeo decks that list all the decks they carry. It said that one should upright them all and put them in order, and also, that they should be kept in a box with protective markings on it (a flimsy white cardboard box was provided to this end). I'm fond of Llewellyn, but gimme a break! Why would they imply that there's only one right method for storage and shuffling? I keep a deck in order while still in the first phase of studying it. When I get a new deck, I go through it thoroughly at least a few times, reading the divinatory meanings given for each card -- even if I only have a LWB. Lately I have begun doing the minor arcana first and then the majors. Decks that I never end up using generally stay in order. Anyway, I agree that it's too time-consuming to do that every time. I think that thoroughly shuffling the deck gets it neutralized sufficiently, and I'd hate to have to re-order it and then do a full shuffling job.

Liliana	26 Jun 2002
Well if i want to reference a card I use my Rohrig Tarot book since it has full color glossy pictures of all the cards, that way my deck can stay shuffled. :THP

All Is One	26 Jun 2002
I don't think I've ever read that you should put them into exact order, except some exercises for learning tarot that sggest you go suite by suite and try to read the 'story' in each one, going from ace to ten. It is helpful . . . . . I learned to "clear" the deck by: Shuffling after one or several readings, three or more times... dealing it out into seven piles- as if dealing them to seven players. Pick them up ( I think it was Crowley 's idea) pile one to pile seven...then shuffle as usual. This works.

napaea	26 Jun 2002
Thanks for all the input you guys! I know that I don't re-order them all, or even re-right them all when I have reversals. I, too, feel that you will just know what to do from your deck or your conscious telling you, but I guess I got worried I was doing something bad!! (i was a nun in a past life, what can i say :) ) Anyway, great ideas/suggestions all. I can always count on you guys at AT!!! lovingly...napaea :THP jr.

Geenius at Wrok	26 Jun 2002
This is bonkers. Ordering and "uprighting" the deck is going to detract from the randomness of the shuffle. In my view, you have to let the Forces of the Universe act on the deck however they see fit. To that end, I always shuffle the deck three times after every reading as well as before. Putting them back in order . . . that would be both counterproductive and mind-blowingly anal-retentive.

MeeWah	26 Jun 2002
Geenius: I think most of us who "order" decks are not using it as a prep for reading decks, but for other purposes such as for study or ritual. I still shuffle before & after a reading.

mondk	26 Jun 2002
Geenius: I loved your adjective: mind-blowingly anal-retentive. I have decided it is going to be my new word for the week, LOL!!! (Seriously) I know far too many people who fit that description perfectly, even my 5 y.o. son who is an obsessive-compulsive neat freak as well!!! Blessings all, Michelle

All Is One	26 Jun 2002
Jeepers, it is so sad that Geenius won't come right out and tell us whay he really thinks! (What a way with words- GAW!)

MichaelS	26 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by mondk I don't usually do this either especially since I do use card reversals. If I put them all upright and then shuffled, I would never get reversed cards and they are important to me in general readings. OK, this is off the current topic ... and is probably going to get me reamed out as well. I'm asking to learn however, not to challenge anything. What was said here was the main reason I stopped reading reversals. Many - possibly most - people shuffle in a manner that does not produce reversed cards. I know my normal shuffle is that way. Because of this, the only reversed cards in the deck are *USUALLY* going to be those reversed going into the reading. As a result, these cards have as much a static meaning as if the reversals weren't being read at all (I know, the meaning is different from if they weren't reversed, but the meaning isn't changing dynamically between readings). The reversals didn't seem to be adding new dynamics, they were simply a diminished meaning that was static between readings. Would any of the experts here mind addressing this for me?

Umbrae	26 Jun 2002
I do not know it this truly answers your question, but I think it will help. Or it may confuse you more… http://www.tarotforum.net/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=9555&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

napaea	26 Jun 2002
Umbrae...WOW! Your avatar is... WOW! I'm in love! Michael S: everyone seems to do reversals to their own liking. Sometimes I don't reverse cards at all. Sometimes while I shuffle, I reverse one here and one there, etc. Sometimes I take a hunk of cards and reverse them together, then shuffle until they are integrated. Sometimes I throw them (lovingly) on the floor and smush 'em all around and then go from there. But after I've read with reversals, I do try to either put them all upright again (so my deck isn't dizzy) or at least remember to shuflle/straighten or something for the next reading. Cause I do agree, the same old cards upside down just isn't right to me. :THP jr.

Phoenix	26 Jun 2002
I only re-order the cards when they need a cleansing, which I do once every 4 months. I never do this in between readings. Then I give them a good shuffling, which removes any lingering 'bad-vibes."

tigerlily	27 Jun 2002
It's really easy to produce reversed cards, you just shuffle, cut, turn one of the stacks around and shuffle again. Voilà! I don't re-order and/or upright my deck unless I have the strong impression that it doesn't "respond" to my shuffling. Does this make sense? Sometimes the energy of a previous reading is so strong that its pattern shows up in the next reading, too; and since I don't need mixed messages, I'll reorder it to clear it of this lingering energy. And I also reorder my decks before smudging them or putting them out in the Sunlight.

emily2otters	27 Jun 2002
i've started "righting" my cards before every reading so that the shuffle will produce new reversals... otherwise certain cards will tend to remain reversed in relation to others. i shuffle thoroughly, but shuffling isn't as random as it's cracked up to be. (or maybe random isn't as random as it's cracked up to be...?) and i don't think anyone's pre- or post- reading rituals are bonkers, however tedious they may seem to others.

napaea	27 Jun 2002
I totally agree with you emily2otters ( i luvvvv otters!!!) :D you do what you've got to do tigerlily: i know what you mean about energy being left over. last week i had done a reading about a question i had, shuffled after i was done. the next day, after shuffling thoroughly, i tried to do a reading for someone. many of the same cards came up from the day before, and into the 3rd card i'm like "this reading is for ME!!" so i had to do the reading for myself, and do a totally new spread for the person. (which turned out right on) stubborn cards! they gotta get their message through!! :THP jr.

Major Tom	28 Jun 2002
For many years I read with the major arcana only and used reversals. After every reading I would go through the 22 cards and turn the reversed cards upright before performing another reading. It just didn't feel right to leave them reversed - perhaps for the very reasons others have mentioned. :) Now that I read with the whole deck I don't use reversals - but if I did I think I would probably still go through and turn reversed cards upright after every reading... Guess maybe I'm mind-blowingly anal rententive... lol ...and there I was thinking oral fixation was my problem. lol I think this is another of those tarot questions where the real answer is: do what feels right for you. })

The up-righting the deck thread was originally posted on 25 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.