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

Junia

Hi T-Bear,

I read the other link but was confused as to which one to reply to--so here it is. Most of the time I put the cards in a big spread out pile and wash them with my non-dominant hand until it feels right to pull one (or I get irritated which tells me to stop). I have a friend who actually gets a tingling sensation in his hand when he finds the right card during the washing. But, he is a mystic and I'm a garden variety realist.

The interesting thing is that I have one deck that I separated for a two card read with major arcana in one pile and minor arcana in the other. They were separated that way for several months. Then, I tried to recombine the two. I shuffled and swore and shuffled and swore and do you know the darned major arcana still wanted to stay together in little clumps. Explain that one to me someone? Weirdest thing I've ever seen. Well other than when I accidently get a glimpse of myself in old age in the mirror on the way out of the shower. Oh, you guys know what a kook I am. LOL

Oh and if I have a card or two jump out at me, I read those too as extra insight. Also if something doesn't quite jell, looking at the bottom card might be an extra answer. I go by intuitive feel on most things.
 

mudweed

Every which-way

My shuffle is... whatever I feel like doing on any given day. Sometimes I follow a very rigid pattern, but no I can't tell you what that is, since The Virgo dictates that, and she's not in today. :p

Usually I just fiddle with them for a while until I'm relaxed and feel ready to read: I don't know shuffle names, but normal, hand to hand, cutting, etc. at random. Sometimes I spread them out on the floor and sort of swoosh them around, but then I have to spend the next three hours picking cat and dog fur off of the cards, so I save that for special occasions. (I would use the table, but I get overenthusiastic and half of them wind up on the floor anyway.) And every once in a while I set every deck in order and let it rest for a while. No particular reason, just one of those superstitions of mine.
 

tarotbear

TB's method

Once again - another snip from my book (good thing I have the entire book electronically stored - helps from having to type stuff over and over again!) LOL!!!

*****

Shuffling:
Before we get into anything else let us talk about the most basic aspect of Tarot cards - shuffling. Everyone knows how to shuffle–right? Wrong!

People who are used to shuffling standard playing cards each have their own variation–some lay them out flat on the table and move them around like in “Concentration.” Some do the “casino shuffle,” where they split the pack in half and riffle the long edges or two corners together and mix the cards. Some flex the two halves and snap them together. All of these techniques do shuffle the cards together.

The most-heard comment from Querents when you ask them to shuffle is “Wow! These cards are big!” Tell them to shuffle in whatever way is most comfortable to them.

Used to standard playing cards that have no upright or reversed position, people unwittingly flip part of the deck around—and this is where reversals come from. Some readers lay out the cards and then flip the reversals so that the cards are all upright. I get no reversed cards with my particular shuffling technique, but since Querents do, it is best to understand reversed meanings. This is how to get no reversals:

Go through your whole deck and make sure the cards are all upright. Place the deck in front of you so that the tops of the cards are away from you. Pick up the deck with your left hand so that the tops are at your index finger and the bottoms are at your thumb. Lay the deck on its left long edge.

With your right hand take approximately half the deck and separate it by sliding the cards along the table – similar to closing a sliding door; the tops of this half of the deck will be at your right thumb and the bottoms at your right index finger. Do not spin this half of the deck around! Flex the deck, and riffle the “thumb” ends together. Push the two halves together. Congratulations! You now have shuffled the deck without turning half the deck over to be reversed! Do this as many times as feels comfortable. No matter how many times you do it, the tops are at your left index finger and the bottoms will be at your left thumb. When you are through, place the deck in front of you.

This is where the next mistake is usually made--card orientation. Do you flip the cards over side-to-side as though you are turning pages in a book, or do you flip them over top-to-bottom? When you shuffle my way, always turn over the cards side-to-side to preserve their upright positions. If you flip them over end-to-end, you will reverse all the cards. In fact, try this both ways right now and see what happens.

Think about this: if the Querent hands you back the deck and you flip them end to end, you are reversing all the cards including the reversed ones: is this what you want to do? Reason says do whatever you have been doing all along, since it is what works for you. That may be true if you are reading for yourself-- the cards will give you the answer you need. However, since the shuffling of Querents can vary widely, you may be better off telling them “hand me the cards with what you consider the top to be facing me.” This way you will have the deck in correct orientation. (Some readers will tell you to turn the entire deck around if the first card comes up reversed, and give it an upright position. Some readers refuse to read a reversed first card.) You may or may not cut the deck; it is a personal preference. If you do, tradition suggests you cut the deck with your left hand to the left; the number of piles is irrelevant. You or the Querent can take the piles to reassemble the deck.

*****

excerpted from 'It's All in the Cards:Tarot Reading Made Easy' ISBN 1-4027-0986-2
 

Junia

T-Bear,

That is a lot in words. I am more of a right brainer and have a hard time with long instructions-visualizing what you are saying. One thing that troubles me is that if you allow the Querent to shuffle "poker style" and the cards are not very sturdy (such as The Mythic Tarot or my Art Nouveau) they wind up creasing and destroying the deck. I do like your ideas very much about making sure all of the cards are upright to begin with. It seems to me, logically, that this would be a good idea when I read for myself because sometimes I draw the same durn card always upside down.

Is there a real-time feature that you could post on a link to show your shuffing method?

Thanks and Cups of Nine (full of whatever you like best),

Junia
 

tarotbear

Junia said:
T-Bear,

One thing that troubles me is that if you allow the Querent to shuffle "poker style" and the cards are not very sturdy (such as The Mythic Tarot or my Art Nouveau) they wind up creasing and destroying the deck.

This is why I have a deck especially for the public to use; once it gets dog-eared, I can get another one for them to mangle. (NO! I will not burn an old Tarot deck! LOL!)

As far as 'too many words' - the actual explanation for the shuffling is only one paragraph...

I like the video idea ... would that work here on AT?
 

Junia

Hey T-Bear,

Sorry, it isn't you it is my learning style. Here is what I read (laughing at me), "You put your right foot in you put your right foot out . . . Do the hokey pokey." You know. I never could get those word problems in algebra. I found a copy of your book by the way at Barnes & Noble today. Was hoping for a few pictures to enlighten me (usually a good ball pin hammer works just fun) but there weren't any.

Don't know the rules on Aecletic for reel time or real time (or even relativity or quantum physics), but I thought maybe, for some reason that you had your own web page--would that work?

Love and Cups of Nine,

Junia
 

Alta

I think most of what I do has been covered, but I wanted to add a bit. I do riffle shuffle, because I keep thinking the cards are not randomized enough in hand over hand shuffling. Slightly anal on my part, I know. And then sometimes on top of that I still fan the cards and select. I don't do the same thing every time. And, after those comments about randomizing, sometimes I don't even shuffle, just cut the deck as it lies from some previous reading. duh.

About shuffling for reversals. We had a most lovely and humourous thread here about shuffling to get reversals, and a goood many points of view came out. One poster commented, "I do reversals, but in moderation". I thought about this for a while.

Now when I want reversals I shuffle a bit. Then I slide out up to one quarter of the deck, sometimes just a few cards and reverse them. Still holding the deck backs-up, I manually insert the individual cards from the reversed section into the upright cards one at a time. Then I shuffle the whole deck again several times and lay them. After the reading I right those cards so I don't get the same reversals every time I use that deck.

Works for me. :)

Marion
 

Junia

Marion said:
About shuffling for reversals. We had a most lovely and humourous thread here about shuffling to get reversals, and a goood many points of view came out. One poster commented, "I do reversals, but in moderation". I thought about this for a while.

After the reading I right those cards so I don't get the same reversals every time I use that deck.
Works for me. :)
Marion

Good advice here, Marion. Could you PM or post the link for us newbies? Especially if it was humorous. You know me, I'm here for the laughter-- what a card. ;0
 

mysticmonkey

I've always preferred the riffle shuffle when playing cards as it mixes up the deck nicely.
What I do currently with the tarot (and I am new to this so my method is likely to change) is riffle a couple of times and then the overhand shuffle a couple of times to make sure that the cards at the top and botton of the deck aren't always at the top and bottom. This last shuffle is a bit clumsy though as the cards are so big and my hands are pretty small. I get way too many escaping cards. I know some people say they are looking for attention but they can't all join the party. lol

With all of the threads on shuffling on the forums I decided to do a search online as one of the links given on here for a video crashed my browser.
http://www.pokerology.com/articles/howtoshuffle.htm Has good pictures, videos and instructions on how to do a couple of different shuffles.
The Hindu shuffle looks like a good alternative to the overhand shuffle but whether I can handle the cards I'll have to practise and see.

The weave shuffle as they call it sounds like the preferred method of some people on here but personally I think that would cause more damage that a riffle shuffle. But maybe that's because I just can't get the hang of the weave. ;)

Anyway I hope some of you find the link useful. :)
 

cerwinrhiannon

I shuffle until I get the urge to pull out a card.
I put it down randomly in the spread, and repeat
until the spread is complete. It takes longer, but I
feel I get a more accurate reading. I just find it hard
to believe that the 10 or whatever number of cards
in the spread you are using would all line up together,
one right after the other.