So what are your particular methods for using the cards? - what rituals?

FadeToWhite

My "rituals" are pretty simple.

Before reading: I lay out my reading cloth. (This is actually an old head scarf I bought at a junk shop in Pennsylvania.) I take the cards out of their case (I hand-sew felt cases for all my decks - daunting since I am a collector!) and begin shuffling. At first I shuffle like a poker dealer. I do a few shuffles like that, then begin shuffling hand over hand. While shuffling like this, I concentrate on the question and the querent (if there is one).

Choosing cards: I continue to loosely shuffle hand over hand, getting looser and more "messy" (can you tell I'm not into traditional ritual? LOL!) until cards start to "jump out." That's how I pick what cards to lay out. It can take a while to get all the cards, but I have found that this method works VERY well for me.

After reading: I collect all the cards, hold them, say quietly (or in my head) "Thank you for your wisdom, your insight, and your guidance" (this is both to the cards themselves and to the Powers That Be), shuffle them a few times, and put them back into their case.
 

nisaba

For myself (rare) - I pull out a deck, shuffle briefly, cut once, pull cards from the top and read. At the end I shuffle briefly.

others alone I hand them a deck, get them to shuffle, get them to cut into four piles, get them to put the piles back together in a different order, then I peel cards off the top and read. At the end I shuffle briefly.

reading in a venue A cover the table first in either my rainbow sarong or my dark-blue sarong, then over whichever sarong I have with me, I lay my translucent white cloth with the little silver stars on it. On my right I put out my hourglass, my pendulum, and my Australian Animals oracle. I might also have a candle in an enclosed jar occasionally. Facing the client I lay out between four and eight decks, each with the same Major Arcana card showing. When they sit, I ask them to choose the deck whose image appeals most to them. They tend to indicate without touching, so I pick it up, insert the display-card in the middle somewhere, and ask them to shuffle until the cards feel done. Whole they do this, I reposition the other decks to one side so that they don 't form an energetic barrier between them, and ask if they have a particular issue in mind, or if they are after a general reading. When they stop shuffling, I ask them to break the deck into four piles and put the piles back together in a different order. Then I peel cards off for the reading one by one. At the end, I'll shuffle briefly and pull out not the same Major Arcana card, but the next one in numerical sequence, as that will be the image that I use next time, and put the deck aside, lining the others up for the next person. If it's going to be a busy day and I'll be re-using decks, I'll replace the same card, but I won't use a given deck more than about four times in a brief period- they get "hot". At the end of the shift, I'll pack everything up into my wheelie bag and go away.