Whats your shuffling method, why does it work for you?

I first riffle the cards from my right hand into my left hand several times, holding them close to my face and focusing on the design on the back of the cards like a mandala. I do this until the I feel sufficiently in tune, both with the deck and with my self.

Then I shuffle the cards 10 times, mentally walking down the Tree of Life through the 10 sephiroth, from Kether (1) to Malkuth (10). Once I reach Malkuth, I feel grounded and inspired, and ready to Work.

first i let the deck cut itself: i hold the deck about an inch off of the table and let my fingers loosen slightly. the cards will separate and thus designate the two halves to be separated.

when shuffling, the half that was at the top of the deck goes into my right hand, the lower half goes to my left. i shuffle them while thinking about my question/situation, and during the second half of the shuffle (when the cards are mixed but not pushed all together), i "bridge" them (flex the center upwards and push inwards to push the cards closer together). the bridging helps the cards become more flexible and keeps them from curving too much.

i keep shuffling until the cards start to catch on each other; i figure this is the deck's way of telling me to stop.

then, i let the cards cut themselves into three piles. if there's a pile where the top few cards seem to slide more than others, that pile goes on top, the one to the right of it goes in the middle, and the remaining one goes on the bottom.


magpie

I am righthanded, I take the pile in my righr hand and shuffle them to my left, until they don't want to be shuffled anymore. Feels like they get a bit "sticky", the amount of shuffles varies.
What I never never never do is shuffle them like I do with normal playing cards. Which is I cut the deck in two piles and put them next to each other on the table, get the corners of the piles and like fast flipping through pages shuffle them. Maybe a bad explanation, hope you get the idea.

Kaz

Bump!

9ofcups said:

And is it totally necessary that all cards to be read come from the top of the deck? I feel more comfortable picking random cards from throughout, but all the guides indicate that the cards must indeed come from the top.

Is this definitely the case?

Click to expand...

Oh dear, noone ever answered this poor guy (I can't be blamed, I was not a member in 2001)
I also pick cards from throughout the deck, as a consequence I don't need to shuffle much. I shuffle to prepare myself for the reading.

I wonder if 9ofCups is still around?

I just shuffle & bridge like I would with anything else. I don't rotate the left hand stack if I'm keeping all uprights, but I do if I'm shuffling for reversals. Unless I feel like doing otherwise, I simply shuffle five times and then draw off the top. If I cut, it's once thru the middle of the stack, and then I'll draw from that. I rarely shuffle after a reading, though, unless I'm using that deck again immediately.

Illy

With a new deck, the first time I shuffle it I will lay all the cards face down on the table and mix them around thoroughly. It does not matter to me if some cards get turned upside down in the process. Then, I re-assemble the deck (keeping all the cards face down). Then, holding the deck in one hand (either my left or right), I pull some cards out of the deck with my other hand, then sift them to the front and back of the deck. And I repeat this process of sifting cards from hand to hand, putting them back in different places in the deck, until I feel satisified that the deck is well mixed. It make take only a few minutes, or it may take 10 minutes...it just varies.

After I've used a deck a few times and know that the cards are sufficiently randomized already, then I don't always lay them down and mix them first (sometimes I will, if I feel like it, but not always). Often, I'll just go through the process of sifting cards (I don't know, but I think some people call this hand over hand shuffling) for a few minutes. By the way, I never put a deck back in order unless I'm planning to study it.

I do not deliberately turn or flip cards in order to achieve reversals. When I lay out the spread, some cards will turn up reversed, but if they do, I just turn them back around upright.

Questions of which way to turn the cards, or whether or not the querent shuffles the deck do not come up for me, as I am not doing face-to-face readings right now...I'm only reading online, with a few exceptions. But generally speaking, if it ever came up, I would not let the querent shuffle. I would, however, allow them to pick the cards up to examine them during the reading, or to look through the deck after the reading if they were curious.

I never riffle shuffle. Tried it once...and creased a card. Felt sick about it for days. And so I don't riffle shuffle anymore.

My reasoning for how I shuffle and handle the cards is simply that it works for me...and it is gentle on the cards. Keeping my cards in good condition is important to me. Keep in mind that I'm not a professional reader, and I'm not out there reading for live querents...so right now, having a "well-worn" deck for purposes of looking like I know what I'm doing does not matter to me.

I do not have any special or spiritual rituals that I follow when shuffling a deck. I do usually cut the deck before drawing the cards, but I do not pay attention to which hand I am using to hold and cut the deck, nor do I have a certain number of times that I always cut it. Nor do I care which pile goes back on top, or which pile I draw from. Sometimes I draw cards straight off the top, in order. Other times I draw randomly from the deck. I just do whatever strikes me at the moment.

Am I the only one that doesn't have a consistant shuffle, cut and spread routine?

I find it depends on the deck and my mood. Sometimes I shuffle, cut into three and pull the top cards. Sometimes I do the same and use the cards on the bottom of the three piles and sometimes I spread in a fan and let reiki or intuition guide me to choose cards. Infact sometimes, I don't shuffle at all and will pick from the middle or bottom of the deck (especially if just one card is needed).

It's a girls prerogative to change her mind you know.

I seem to do it differently all the time. I have worried that I shouldn't but found out in these forums that it's ok. Good thing Most of the time I will concentrate on the questions and the person/s face if it is about them. I shuffle like you would regular cards [if you get what I am saying]. I have wanted to try holding them in my left hand and mixing them with my right but I am unexperienced to this and they always fall out. lol I know one day I will get it right. I Cut the deck into 3 or however many I feel [usually a number will pop into my head out of no where... I go with that number], I then either pick right from the top of the deck or rarely, I will spread them out and choose.

I hold the deck in my right hand, and with my right thumb, push the top card into my left hand. Then the next card is pushed on top of that. The third card from the top of the deck in my right hand goes to the bottom of the stack in my left. And I keep alternating top and bottom until I’m done. Occasionally I’ll cut the cards to keep some from languishing too long in the bottom third of the deck.

The advantages for me in this system are: I avoid launching the cards into flight. (I’m no good at normal riffle shuffling.) This way is easy on the cards, and gives me a quick check on whether I have an even or odd number of cards in my hands. (End with a top card, it’s even; bottom card, it’s odd.) And especially if I have a new deck I’m shuffling to break in, rather than for a reading; I’ll shuffle like this with the cards face up, to watch the pictures going by.

For an actual reading with a 72-card deck, I’ll shuffle several times, and end with a final cut, and deal the cards from the top of the resulting pack. For an all-majors reading, I shuffle once, pro forma. Then I fan the cards and draw individual cards for the spread.