HOW TO SHUFLE TAROT CARDS
Imagine this scene: Your pre-ordered Tarot deck arrives and you are eager to take your cards home. They won’t fit you unless you do. Damn. It’s a loss of joy. They can be too big for your hands, and if you try to move them around, they fly all over the place! What are you supposed to do? How do you shuffle these large or oddly shaped cards?
Let’s take a look at what options you have.
CARD SHUFFLING VARIATIONS
This article assumes that you are right-handed. If you’re left-handed, please make any necessary adjustments.
Experienced tarot and oracle card readers will know their preferred way of shuffling cards. After trying many different methods, they will settle on one or two. These methods are applicable to regular-sized cards.
THE OVERHAND SHUFLE
Image Attribution: Essie. CC-by-SA3.0
Depending on your hand size and the dimensions of the deck, you can hold it vertically or horizontally. Next, hold the front half with your left hand and then lift the rear part of the deck up with your right.
You can do this once per round, or multiple times. Each time you overlap the back cards and front cards, you move a smaller amount of cards. This overlap can be done several times per shuffle for a more thorough shuffle.
It doesn’t matter how many times you do multiple shuffles, but it is up to you. As with many other things in life the more the merrier. Keep in mind that the more you use your cards, the more wear will occur. Care for your Tarot Cards offers tried-and-true methods to counter this.
It is up to how many times you do multiple shuffles. However, as with many other things in life the more the merrier. #tarot Click to Tweet
HOW TO STOP SHUFFLING
This is just as important as the shuffle. How do you know when to stop shuffle and begin dealing the cards for your tarot card reading?
I tend to keep going with an overhand shuffle until I feel ready or prompted.
A WORD REGARDING JUMPING TAROT CHARTS
There are two camps to this situation: either you revere the jumping cards or you just shuffle on.
I am in the former group. Every jumping tarot card I have seen fly out of any of my tarot cards has always been spot on and makes me pause to consider their accuracy and relevance.
If I decide to do a large tarot read, such as the Celtic Cross for example, and one or more cards jump out while I am shuffling, I immediately assess them to see if my question is answered without having to go back to a larger reading. They should answer my question if they do. If they do, great! This tarot technique can be used with any spread.
The Motherpeace Tarot may be too large for your hands or have an unusual shape. In this case, you might want to “cut” the deck in addition to the overhand Shuffle or as a separate method. The Pile Shuffle is generally known as the Half Cut or the Triple Cut.
HALF CUT
Tarot deck: Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot (larger size) Published by US Games Inc
The Half Cut pile shuffle can be explained in a few words: Take the stack and take out the top half. Next, place the other half on the side. Finally, add the rest to the pile. The result is a single stack, but it effectively splits the cards. The half-cut can be done as many times as necessary and you don’t need to be exact about the size of each half that you take from your stack. The ‘half’ can be any number of cards, from one card to 77. You can do whatever you are drawn to.
THE TRIPLE CUTS
Tarot deck: Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot (larger size) Published by US Games Inc
Triple Cut pile shuffle is similar to the Half Cut, except that instead of splitting the deck into two piles you divide them into three. Take a few cards from the top of your deck and place them on one side of the stack. Next, take another section of the deck and place it on the opposite side. Now you will have three piles. The deck can be reassembled by simply placing the three piles together. However, you should not put them in the same order as when you cut it.
You can easily ensure that you have split the deck by simply placing the cuts side-by-side and restacking them by placing the last pile on top and the middle pile on the top.
SHUFFLING DECK IN BETWEEN CUT
The Sun and Moon Tarot by Vanessa Decort can help you mix up your tarot deck into an orderly fashion if it is too large or if the card stock is too thick. How to Get Great Tarot readings straight away. You can make a new or re-ordered tarot deck by randomly creating many smaller piles, shuffling them, and then bringing them all together.
If all of that seems like too much work or a bit too technical, there are some other non-shuffling methods to help you draw your individual tarot card for your tarot reading. These are the Corgi Shuffle, Linear Draw, and Fan.
THE FAN
Tarot deck: The Good Tarot, Colette Baron Reid published at Hay House Inc
The shape of the fan that Spanish women use in the summer heat is well-known to all. This shape is called an arc or a curve. To create the fan shape, hold the deck in either one or both of your hands and spread them out. Although it is messy and does not separate cards well, this works well when space is limited and cards cannot be laid in straight lines like the Linear Draw.
THE LINEAR DRAFT
Tarot deck: The Good Tarot, Colette Baron Reid published at Hay House Inc
You can take your deck, a table, a floor, a (made) bed, or any other surface and simply tease it. This creates a long line, which I call the Linear Draw. This line of cards is often seen on free reading apps and websites. Your line will not be as straight as a digital one. But that’s okay. The goal of the linear draw is to feel for each card so you can choose them for your tarot interpretation. The interactive nature of this method can make your reading more engaging and give you a sense of credibility due to the way you selected your cards.
THE CORGI SCHMUFFLE
Tarot: Cosmic Tarot, by Norbert Losche published at AGMuller
The Corgi Shuffle is a fun and easy way to shuffle your tarot cards. The Corgi shuffle is a simple way to mix up the cards and randomly arrange them in front of your eyes. If you want to mix the cards properly, you will need a large surface. Once you are satisfied that all your cards have been thoroughly mixed, spread them as evenly as possible and then choose your individual tarot card for your reading.
The Corgi Shuffle creates a tarot card deck with reversed cards. If you prefer your cards standing up, this method might not work for you.
It’s always impressive to see someone play a set of cards. It’s always impressive to see someone riffle a set of playing cards.
THE ONE YOU SHOULD AVOID – THE RIFFLE
It’s always impressive to see someone play a set of cards in a casino setting. However, I urge you to not riffle your tarot card decks! Casinos are constantly using new decks because they quickly wear out and the riffle can cause irreparable damage to your beloved deck. This is what I have seen tarot readers do and it makes my skin squirm. Poor deck! If it hadn’t been riffled frequently, my 1971 vintage Rider would not be in its current excellent condition. Do not try to impress anyone by your riffling skills or your tarot deck. Instead, save it for card night with a 52-card playing deck.
MODIFYING A TAROT DECK TO FIT YOUR HAND
A tarot card deck can be modified to suit your needs by removing an excessively large border. This has been done with several of my tarot cards, and it was mostly successful. Although it may sound scary, trimming a deck of tarot cards to fit your hands is an enjoyable task. You will need to be precise and take your time to trim the 78 cards. A guillotine or rotary trimmer works better than scissors. Also, a cornerrounder is crucial – it can cut any size corner.
Because trimming the borders of those cards was difficult, I destroyed the Tarot Of The Sidhe as well as the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot. The DruidCraft Trot, and the Medieval Enchantment were easy to trim. After trimming, both of these decks were much more usable and are now in my top five tarot decks.
Are you a fan of a different way to shuffle your tarot cards? Do you prefer to use a specific ritual before reading your tarot card? Please leave your comments below.