magpie9
Everything varies. But random finds it's way.
Fanning Cards - Traditional but Necessary?
Barleywine
Probably the most profound thing that's been said in this thread; certainly in the fewest words. The only time I can see random selection failing (or at least being questionable) would be in using a brand-new deck without shuffling it. But I don't think anyone does that, even the "fanners" who at least theoretically could.
Michael Sternbach
I confess: I am a fan fan. 
I shuffle the cards, fan them out, then I move my left hand (that is, the one on the heart side or, in more modern terms, the one linked with the intuitive right cerebral hemisphere) over the fan until I get kind of a tickling sensation in my middle finger. It's an aura thing. (It only doesn't work when I'm very tired, but then I should go to bed anyway.)
I have also met people who are rather using their eyes to select the cards. With me, it's in fact sometimes a combination of the two methods. Subconscious auric vision getting involved, here, I would say.
Simply shuffling, cutting, restacking and dealing one or several cards from the bottom works for me, too, but other than for quick one-card draws, I only resort to this method when I do a reading in a really tight place where I don't have enough space for making a nice fan (did that a few times in a train).
I shuffle the cards, fan them out, then I move my left hand (that is, the one on the heart side or, in more modern terms, the one linked with the intuitive right cerebral hemisphere) over the fan until I get kind of a tickling sensation in my middle finger. It's an aura thing. (It only doesn't work when I'm very tired, but then I should go to bed anyway.)I have also met people who are rather using their eyes to select the cards. With me, it's in fact sometimes a combination of the two methods. Subconscious auric vision getting involved, here, I would say.
Simply shuffling, cutting, restacking and dealing one or several cards from the bottom works for me, too, but other than for quick one-card draws, I only resort to this method when I do a reading in a really tight place where I don't have enough space for making a nice fan (did that a few times in a train).
tarotbear
Not to go 'meta' here - but reading this thread it did occur to me that if you have a very important question that needs an answer and you do the usual 'ask the question while you shuffle' routine - why would you then fan out the cards and then 'randomly' chose a few? Wouldn't it make sense that the cards that answer your question should come to the top of the pack for your convenience? (This is the theory that shuffling is not as much a 'dispersing mechanism' as it is an 'ordering mechanism'.)
I can see where fanning the cards out for a Querent to do the "The Card You Chose Will Reveal Your Fate" type stuff, but shuffling them to mix them up and then fan and pick randomly doesn't seem to be a sound way to get the answer when you have a definite question...
Just random thoughts before I have my morning coffee ...
AJ
I fan because I love the look and feel of the cards, because I love the random randomness of the drawing, but mostly because of the eleventy-seven threads that all start
I'm being stalked by the yadayada, why have I done 42 readings and the yadayada card is in every one of them...
Poor shuffling and dealing off the top = stalkers
I'm being stalked by the yadayada, why have I done 42 readings and the yadayada card is in every one of them...
Poor shuffling and dealing off the top = stalkers
Barleywine
I agree that the outcome of shuffling-and-cutting is a subconscious "ordering" of the cards in a way that delivers just the right ones (or at least a relevant cross-section of such) to the scrutiny of the reader. But I would get mighty suspicious of the integrity (but not the sense of humor!) of the "Cosmic Pattern-Maker" if the same cards happened to come up every time due to indifferent pre-conditioning. I was supposing that you really wouldn't have to shuffle at all if you choose the cards randomly from a "fan." The card-by-card selection process itself provides the "ordering."
tarotbear
I agree - if you're going to fan them out there seems to be little 'need' to shuffle them first.
Farzon
I see the shuffling process as building up a connection to the cards and then choosing the right ones. I don't think I could shuffle that good to completely redo the order from last time. Picking cards at random gives a better mix, I think.
I know the question of shuffling has been discussed already and that more than once but to the no-fanners: how often or how long do you shuffle to get a completely different order?
tarotbear
Mathematically I believe it is seven riffle shuffles; I usually riffle shuffle 5 or 6 times, cut the deck into 2 or 3, the riffle shuffle a couple of more times - especially when reading at an event with many Querents and you need to 'break up' the energy from the last reading.
Barleywine
That's a valid question. The stock answer is "until it feels right," really no different than feeling a "tingle" in the cards when you select from a fan (which, by the way, seems a bit fanciful to me, but some may very well have that sensitivity).
Personally, I don't worry about it a whole lot. The same cards can (and usually do) mean entirely different things in different readings. I "clear the slate" mentally each time I approach a reading and don't carry over any prior associations if I can help it. It's all part of consciously intending to learn something new every time I read. Also, I'm constantly "randomizing" my working deck. It stays on my desk for reference purposes, and I'm apt to shuffle it just to "refresh" it. When I read, the querent shuffles and puts another, personal "iteration" on it.
