shuffling

I think my shuffling style is a variant of lacing. I hold the deck in my right hand, vertically and with the back of the cards facing inside, so I can't see the ilustrations. Then with the left hand I grab a small amount, never more than half the deck, and then mix softly this pack into the main one in my right hand. This is repeated as many times as needed.

There's another way of shuffling: hold the deck in your left hand, face down and horizontally, and with your thumb finger pass some cards to your right hand. Then repeat the operation, passing an arbitrary amount of cards this way, to the top or the bottom of the "new" deck in your right hand, alternating at random or evenly (one time to the top, the other to the bottom, etc). I don't remember where I found this method, but it was said to be the one that best preserves the integrity of the deck. Finally the deck can be cut in two or more packs, rearrange it and repeat the operation.

Besides, some decks are easier to shuffle with one method and harder with another. For instance, my Morgan-Greer deck is very difficult to shuffle with my first method. The cards are made of some kind of plastic I think, they're very slippery with each other, and when you hold the deck vertically, it lay very evenly (the border of the deck feels so even and plain), so it's like trying to insert something into a wall, if you know what I mean (please forget my poor English...). Other decks like Robin Wood's, are very easy to shuffle with this method, for some reason the cards insert over each other very easily. So I think the method of shuffling depends on the physical characteristics of the deck itself too...

Ricardo.-

'Lo all,

If I were using a regular deck of playing cards I'd riffle them. Looks neat.

But, tarot decks tend to be a little larger, and one tends to treat them a little kinder. Playing decks just plain wear out. Maybe tarotbear could tell us how often they are replaced in a casino.

So, I guess you'd call what I do lacing. Hold deck in left hand and transfer the cards, one at a time, to right hand. First card top of the pile. Next card, bottom of the pile. Top, bottom, top etc. Peeling 'em off with my thumb.

Like nexyjo, I just play around with a new deck this way. nexyjo is filling them with energy. Hell, I'm probably watching a football game on television, and what kinda energy is that?

But, to me, new decks (well, I've really only had two decks that stuck) feel cold and slippery and alien. But if you just shuffle them -- even if absent-mindly while watching television or something -- they develop a warm, soft, comfortable feel.

I've read about people wearing a favorite deck out and having to replace it with a new one. I don't want to do this. My decks and I have been through the wars together. A new deck would never be the same.

At the same time, I'm careful so they don't get bent and dog-eared and crumpled. The edges, when the deck is together, are sort of a dirt color from age and handling, and with the individual cards the white on the oldest deck has turned an old ivory color, but other than that they look okay. They just feel worn, to fit me. Like a favorite pair of old boots, or a hiking staff that's been your partner over hundreds of miles of trail and fits your hand and mood just so.

Anyway, great topic.

Talisman
"I never met anybody who learned by talking." -- Elvis Presley

the first 10 years i read tarot i was definitely a riffler. after 10 years of that kind of abuse, my poor hoi polloi deck was in bad shape. since then, i avoid riffling. i kind of lace or shuffle gently or distribute them all over the floor or my bed then gather them up in random order. from caitlin matthews(celtic wisdom) i learning a new method of shuffling that i enjoy and find more respectful to the cards. i believe she calls it something like shuffling by the 7 candles of life. you put down 7 cards and then add cards over the 7 cards until you use up the deck. then i put stack over stack, gentle shuffle and do 7 candles again. something about it feels very meditative and relaxing. sometimes i turn the cards face up as i shuffle just to see how well the cards are mixing. it really does a good job plus i feel like i'm doing some kind of sacred ceremony b/c the shuffle has a special name for it.

the first 10 years i read tarot i was definitely a riffler. after 10 years of that kind of abuse, my poor hoi polloi deck was in bad shape. since then, i avoid riffling. i kind of lace or shuffle gently or distribute them all over the floor or my bed then gather them up in random order. from caitlin matthews(celtic wisdom) i learning a new method of shuffling that i enjoy and find more respectful to the cards. i believe she calls it something like shuffling by the 7 candles of life. you put down 7 cards and then add cards over the 7 cards until you use up the deck. then i put stack over stack, gentle shuffle and do 7 candles again. something about it feels very meditative and relaxing. sometimes i turn the cards face up as i shuffle just to see how well the cards are mixing. it really does a good job plus i feel like i'm doing some kind of sacred ceremony b/c the shuffle has a special name for it.

There are some complains about lacing.
That you end up with a lot of unshuffeld cards.
Has that nothing to do with the way you choose your cards?

After i'm done with lacing my deck , i spread them out on the table and then pick them out one by one.
(Doing this gives me the feeling that my unconscious mind influences the cards i get.)

What i'm trying to say is that only when you deal the cards from the top you have a problem with unshuffeld cards.

Maan

I used to be an avid card magician, can riffle and lace blindly, and *cheat* while I'm at it.

My shuffling experience summed up:
Riffling:

Riffling is not so horrible but I'd suggest that people practice, practice, practice with a deck of playing cards until the do it fluidly every time without putting much strain on the cards much to do it. It is possible to riffle without much bending. But it's still much more wear on the cards than lacing.

Do *not* do the waterfall (The flourishy gathering of the cards after riffling) with cards that are not plastic through and through. It put's much too much strain on the outer ends of the cards.
I have never seen a tarot deck that is plastic through and through.
Paper cards (coated or not) will show wear after around 5 hours of shuffling.

Lacing:
This will always go well on your cards. I suggest that you do alternate dropping of big chunks, small chunks and single cards. Will give a much better shuffling. You can vary the number of cards dropped in each movement by varying the pressure of your dominant hand on the cards. Single cards you do by holding them very tight and use the thumb of your other hand to slide them onto the half in that hand.
Try to keep the the two half parallel so that the thumb won't bend the card as you slide it.

Hope this makes sense.

i couldnt bring myself the reck the cards with riffling.. so i lace,. but sometimes when i do excessive reading (just for practice) i find certain cards keep comming up in the order it was found in the reading before so i just put it on the floor/bed/table... and give them a mix =)

so i'm a full time - lacer
and casual - mixer
never a riffler/ =D

Kiama said:

I'm a lacer. Jeez, it sounds like a 'secret society' doesn't it? We'll all go around saying to each other on meeting: "So, are you a lacer, or a riffler?" He he.

Click to expand...

oh thats great kiama, i havent laughed that hard in a while. ty!

I am a lacer and a riffler. I riffle one time to clear the deck, and get them good and mixed up. (very easy though it is tough on the deck) then lace and ask my question till its in the cards!

yep im a lacer, thats the only way id like to be shuffled if i was a tarot deck lol!!

I'm a riffler... I used to shuffle them by taking two stacks and sort of pushing them into each other, but I found it kind of awkward, and my cards were starting to get kind of scuffed up along the edges from my shuffling... I was afraid that shuffling them the way you would shuffle normal playing cards would damage them, but it seems to be a lot easier on them than my previous method - I haven't noticed any damage at all so far, in contrast to what was happening to them when I used my other method. Besides, the cards get mixed up better, and it seems to be a good way to gauge the responsiveness of the cards - often, when I ask a vague question or one that for whatever reason they don't really want to answer, they're a lot harder to shuffle.

I've never heard of the lacing method before, but I'll have to try it.

Edited to add: I think I use the riffling method more gently than it's often used... when I shuffle the cards, they barely bend at all. Mainly, I just let them fall together.