How do YOU draw cards for a reading?

Isarma

Usually I shuffle, shuffle, and shuffle, shuffle lol the querent cuts. I join the deck toghether again and the ones on the top have the answer. This works for me, when the querent asks he same question again, (but in differnt words) I let him/her choose the cards. (horseshoe) but it depends as well of the spreads as games, with some It's olny possible to use the horseshoe techinc
 

lilangel09

I usually shuffle, don't cut, and take cards off the top. I note the bottom after reading all the cards. If the Querent doesn't want to shuffle, I just have them cut, put the top on the bottom, and then take the cards off the top from there.
 

Ahria

Depends on my mood, mostly shuffle, cut with left hand.

Yesterday I was having a tantrum, nothing was going smoothly and while I was shuffling the deck slipped the cards sprayed all over the bed and the 5 that turned the other way is what I did a reading with. Which was rather accurate.
 

elvenstar

When using predetermined spreads (usually when reading for others) I do something similar to the responses so far. When the reading is more 'free form', starting with one or two cards for a question, based on that ask another question etc. and build the 'spread' like that on the fly, I don't pull cards from the top. Instead I hold the deck in my right hand, and fan it out (still in my hand). It will 'split' at a couple of places, then with my left hand I'll feel the cards and pull the right one, often it's one revealed at one the splits, but it doesn't have to be. If I can't seem to feel which one I should pull, I reconsider my question and if it's well formed. More often than not I'll find that it's not ;) I do the same when pulling extra cards to expand on a predetermined spread.
 

wytchwood

I shuffle, cut and spread em out, the I pick the cards with the spread positions in mind, almost like mini questions. I'm still exploring different ways to do things, though, and would not say this is a fixed 'way' that I do things just because I have been doing it for a few months... Still a scholar!

Zoe
 

Al Si'ra

So far in responses i have read that you guys actually mostly pull your cards from the top after you cut the deck..am i the only one to cut the deck in two and pull the cards at the bottom of the deck lol?..

I pull the cards at the bottom and continue to do so unless the story ends..meaning,at least 3 and at most 6 cards will be pulled..

:love:
xx
 

Nocturnal Lure

I shuffle while I talk to the querrant...

I give them my views on Tarot and explain them the basics, then I ask them if they have a question in mind and hand them the deck... usually I simply watch what happens, they decide to cut or just shuffle a bit, sometimes out of nowhere they mix the cards up on the table and stack them together again.

After that I pick the cards from the top, always looking at the bottom one, to see if the cards are the right side up, cause I don't do reversals but mainly to see which card was at the bottom, so I can take that into acount when I do the reading itself. I sometimes, especially when it's a strong card or intuïtion tells me so even put the card on the table as a reminder.

When reading for myself I shuffle untill it feels right and draw the cards in the same fashion as described above.
 

Skydancer

In the beginning, many years ago, I would use the top 10 cards, after shuffling, for a celtic cross. Never liked it - couldn't read with it, etc. Gave up reading for years - just read books about it.

Now I shuffle lightly, hand over hand, think about the question or position, and when I feel drawn to a certain area in the deck, I feel for the right card and take that one. Quite often a card will jump from the deck and of course that's the one demanding attention!!

I keep going this way until all are drawn, or the cards stop calling me, then "read" them and wait for the story to emerge.
Works every time!

*S*
 

moderndayruth

"My way makes me CRAZY for personal readings (I agonise over it, and it takes me forever to pick my cards!) but I just can't imagine doing it any other way. "
agony is the right word for what i am going through when reading formyself lol
I found the "method" when reading for others: shuffle the cards, cut from left to right and than read both, the top card and the bottom card of each pile (where bottom one is more like additional card), it feels right; than when i read for myself i hold the whole deck with the the cards face down and try to "feel" which card goes to which position (i am not ok with the reading when i just pick the top cards either)... which is confusing, especially if i don't like the card that came up, than i go like, noooo, it should have been the other one, i didn't actually want to draw this one... :(
Thanks for the great thread, i'll keep watching it, hope to find some better solutions for this one.
Love&Light
mdr
 

elvenstar

moderndayruth said:
... when i read for myself i hold the whole deck with the the cards face down and try to "feel" which card goes to which position (i am not ok with the reading when i just pick the top cards either)... which is confusing, especially if i don't like the card that came up, than i go like, noooo, it should have been the other one, i didn't actually want to draw this one... :(
We seem to be doing something similar :) I sometimes get what you say, but I've resolved to not question my self or my choice of card. If I pulled it, it was the right one and I have to trust my self and the universe that this is so. But sometimes it happens anyway, I think this is an indication that it's not a good moment to be doing this reading, maybe because I'm not in the right state of mind. It's a matter of trust, just let go of doubt and it will all be fine ;)
elv :love: