Fanning Cards - Traditional but Necessary?

I'm curious... I've been reading about a month, mainly for me and a few times for my best friend and close family members. I'm all for having the querent shuffle and cut, but I don't fan the cards and pick either for myself or have others pick. When the cards are cut and restacked, I draw from the top of the deck. So far the the results have been very spot-on. I tried fanning the deck once and picking cards, but it didn't *feel* right at all. I never read the cards I picked. I put them back, reshfuffled, cut, and dealt from the top. The energy just felt totally off when I was picking from the fanned cards. It's hard to explain other than it almost made me feel ill. Why I had that reaction I don't know. If someone requested to pick from a fanned deck I would certainly let them, but so far no one has objected to my technique. Am I alone in this? Does anyone else lay cards from the top of the cut deck?

I always lay cards from the top of the shuffled deck, and they come out "right", that is, speaking to the question. After all, the point of shuffling while focusing on the question, was to order the cards to come out answering the question, wasn't it? Fanning and picking doesn't work for me, I just get a jumble of cards, not a reading. Though I can't say I feel ill while doing it.

I tried fanning the cards once when I was first learning, because the book I had said that was the way to do it. It didn't feel right to me, either, so I stopped.

Personally, I draw my first two cards from the top, the third from the bottom of the deck, and I make a separate cut for each card thereafter. My way is definitely not traditional. I never read it in a book, and I have never met anyone else who does it this way. I started doing it this way because my intuition me to, just as your intuition has told you that fanning isn't right for you.

Your way is just fine, and there is absolutely no need to change it just because that's how someone else does it.

For one thing - 'fanning' the cards - where you use your elbow as a pivot and swing the hand holding the deck in a perfect arc that perfectly fans out the cards? Looks really good when a Magician does it - after lots and lots of practice and a can of fanning powder!

I doubt that 'fanning' in that manner is 'traditional' at all - it's done to impress the client (Querent) by showing off your hand skills and what a 'smooth operator' you are! LOL!

Shuffle and cut the cards however you want; flip the cards off the top or the bottom - whatever feels most comfortable for you - and remember that reading Tarot cards is not a parlor trick; do what is best for YOU.

Probably NOT traditional and HARDLY necessary .... just my two cents ....

I have always hated fanning or rummaging around in a swirled-on-the-table pack of cards. I shuffle, cut into three, read the top and bottom card of each pack. If I am doing a longer spread than that, I just put the three cut packs back together, then I read the one bottom card, and the deal/create the spread from the top.

I agree with what others have said - do it your own way, because what *feels* right usually IS right for you and your deck.

Do it the way that works for you. Never mind fanning, it's a magicians trick, spiffy but unnecessary.

I'd always been a shuffle and take the cards off the top reader but when I started to use I Ching and Rune Cards that way just didn't feel right so I started fanning them out over the table after the shuffle and picking my cards that way.

I decided to use that fanning method with my tarot cards too - so I shuffled, then fanned and took the cards that I was drawn to - it seemed to work out fine but after so long of taking the first cards off the top of the deck for the reading, I still wasn't sure if I should be changing my methods. So I gave the deck a good shuffle and took the cards from the top of the deck. They were the same three cards that I'd picked from the fan, that has never happened to me before but it did reassure me that whatever method I use, I get the cards I'm supposed to get.

Just use whichever method feels right to you.

In the old books I first learned from there was no mention of fanning, just shuffling, cutting and restacking, then drawing from the top of the deck. There wasn't even any mention of looking at the bottom card(s) in addition to the ones drawn from the top. A lot of what is considered normal practice now was added on in the last couple of decades.

I can see that fanning them out (I would do it on a table, not in hand) and then randomly picking the cards would be a reasonable way to randomize the draw. But it's certainly not traditional as I've ever encountered the tradition. I've never done it (well, to be honest, I did try it once and didn't notice any difference in the effectiveness - after all, "random is random," however you get there.) However, I do prefer the querent to shuffle and cut the cards, introducing that randomness with their own hands. It's also a good way to engage them in the process, becoming more a participant than merely an observer.

*Gets in the row of tricky, spiffy, unnecessary magicians*
I fan!

First, that way you don't need to shuffle that long. Especially if the deck was all in order.

And second, it's like letting your intuition guide you to the cards. Most people wait for a tickling feeling in the finger, me as visual type actually sees the correct cats. Cards. [emoji15]

Aaaand third, what's tradition? Thinking back to all I know about Tarot and it's history, Tarot meanings, usage, attributions and cross references have all been changed all the time.

Lycanthropos said:

Am I alone in this? Does anyone else lay cards from the top of the cut deck?

Click to expand...

Probably 99% of readers do this.

Fancy-schmancy handing of the cards - hand fans, wrist-rolling, accordian-flipping the deck - all of that is ARTIFICE - 'an hour of Pomp & Show'. The important part of reading Tarot is Card Interpretation - not making the Page of Cups pop up out of the pack and squirt apple cider in the Querent's eye.

If, perchance, what you want to do is make the Page of Cups pop up out of the pack and squirt apple cider in the Querent's eye - you'll find it gets really tiring when you have to do it for 8-10 readings at a party.