a few questions.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

colusaskye	17 Mar 2004
I was between classes today and thought I'd take my cards out. A good friend called me over and I let him shuffle my cards and whatnot. He asked me, "which way do you cut your cards?" um, what?! He claims that it matters if I cut to the left or to the right. I don't think so. I go with what feels good at the moment. Also - I started sitting in a certain room and listening to a certain cd (Native American drumming and etc.) when I use Tarot. Now, I have a hard time even shuffling the cards when I'm not in the room and not listening to the cd. Is there any way to break out of this? The room I do this in isn't even in my house! I've tried clearing my mind and etc., but it's not working so far. Maybe I'm not doing it correctly. Any suggestions to help me with my concentration when I can't be in that room?

Red Emma	17 Mar 2004
The prevailing thinking at ATF is that a reader do what "feels right" to her or him. I think it was Joan Bunning who suggested that cutting the cards with the left hand might be helpful. The left hand is aligned with the right brain area where the emotions are more prevalent. The left brain is, I gather, where the intellectual activity takes place. Your room situation could be a bit of a problem if someone wants to whip out the cards whenever and wherever one wants. Do you think it would help if you could find a CD of similar music and transfer your comfort zone to another area through its sound? There are ATF members who have more experience in this field than I do. Probably someone will speak up. Best wishes.

Alissa	17 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Red Emma There are ATF members who have more experience in this field than I do. Probably someone will speak up. BAM~! BAM~! BAM~! Open Up~! This is the ATF! No, not the Alcohol-Tabacco-and Firearms agents... this is far worse. WE've got Tarot cards..... To answer your question colusasky, I shuffle and cut and do whatever I want with my decks, and never give it a second thought. Life is full of enough rules. I figure, why should Tarot have any more rules attached to it than it needs?

zorya	17 Mar 2004
native american drumming can help put you into an slightly altered state of mind, that may be helping you relax and become more open and receptive. by learning to ground, center and connect, you can probably achieve the same state without the outside stimulus. the way i do this is to take a couple of deep relaxing breaths, then i imagine my feet becomming one with the earth, like the roots of a tree. i feel the earth's energy rise up through my legs, through my body and out of the top of my head. at the same time i feel the sky energy enter through my head, down my body and into the earth. always keeping the energy flowing through me. this is a type of ritual that you can do anywhere, with no extra props.

MeeWah	17 Mar 2004
Colusaskye: Welcome to the Aeclectic Tarot Forums! There are no hard & fast rules whence it comes to Tarot. Experimenting to find what is the most comfortable is something to consider or as the need arises. Perhaps with time & practice, the comfort level will develop & not be an issue regardless of location or surroundings. I do readings from my home & on occasion, outside of my home--such as at someone else's house; at workplace breakroom. Also have worked as a reader at psychic faires. As long as I can block out the extraneous & maintain a focus, there is not a problem. Edited to add: Perhaps carrying a small tape recorder with a headset to listen to the preferred music would help.

Shannah	19 Mar 2004
I think there are a lot of "superstitions" that have been attached to tarot, such as cutting the cards the certain way. However, I think many of these things have been brough about so as to make tarot appear more "mystical" to observers. In my opinion, I as long as you hold your cards sacred and have respect for other and yourself nothing else really matters. What works for person A may not work for person B. You have to listen to yourself (just be still and listen) and see what "feels" right.

Phoenyx*	19 Mar 2004
*thinks about it* You know, I don't even know which way I cut my cards, I just do. Whatever is most comfortable for me. I honestly don't think it matters. The cards are still ging to come up and start telling you what they want to tell you.

colusaskye	19 Mar 2004
thanks everyone. yeah, i'm sticking with the 'cut it the way i feel comfortable doing it' thing...i mean,if I suddenly feel inclined to cut it to the top or the bottom, who's gonna come and tell me that i'm doing it wrong? i felt that it was the right way, maybe my cards wanted me to do it that way, you know? as for the music and whatnot, i've gotten out my cd player and I'm trying to find a personal space somewhere in the house I actually live in (i share with a bunch of other people). I guess I'm very...private about tarot right now. I don't feel comfortable just pulling my cards out in any old place with a bunch of people around. grounding! yes. i used to do it a lot but have fallen out of the habit. i suppose it's time to start up again, huh? :)

thanatos	20 Mar 2004
this might help with the card cutting question but it might not ... you descide I dont know about tarot cards but I do know with crystals ... if you hold them in your right hand you "drain" the charge out of them if you hold them in your left hand you "charge " them now I dont know if this will transfer over to tarot card cutting or not but as coincedance will have it I cut with my left hand ..... that could just be couse i am left handed as to the "comfort zone"...... try bringing to ming the sound of the native drumming that you hear in the room you have grown acoustom to

closrapexa	20 Mar 2004
Myself, I don't cut them. I just shuffle them. Good results

Ani	20 Mar 2004
The left hand is more receptive, unless you are a lefty. When I am doing a spread for myself I will sometimes spread the remainder of the deck out in a straight line and pick out extra cards to give more detail on a particular place in the spread. If I move my left hand over the line of cards I will sense a pulling feeling in the palm, I can go over them many times but still feel the energy in the same spot. Try it. A good I dea would be to have some other ritual to use with your readings like holding a particular crystal, use an inscence, or do a quick visual meditation before you do the reading, something you can do anywhere, anytime.

colusaskye	20 Mar 2004
oh, i always hold/pick the cards with my left hand. a habit, i guess. my friend was talking about which direction i cut them in. Ani - that's how I usually pick all of my cards :) If I'm doing a 3 card: I cut the deck 3 times, spread each row out, close my eyes, focus on what the first card means and find the card that majorly drags in the first row. I move to another row for the 2nd card. amd them the 3rd. My readings don't seem to make sense otherwise.

The a few questions. thread was originally posted on 17 Mar 2004 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.