How do you draw cards in a reading?

[Morwenna]

Interesting take on the Eastern European ideas!

 

Well, I shuffle a lot (hand over hand), and riffle at intervals; I do riffle lightly though so as not to damage the cards. If I'm reading for another, I have them shuffle as well, then I draw from the top. If I have a jumper, I make note of it, mention it to the client, then put it back and keep going. The jumper acts sort of like a bonus one-card reading. 

 

Rifflers: how do you do it? I do the standard (what I assume is the standard) end-riffle, which I learned on playing cards from a friend long ago. But my mother, when shuffling playing cards for games, would corner-riffle, a trick I could never master; it took a friend to show my another way, as I said.   

[Laura Borealis]

I shuffle at least seven times, usually more; I nearly always cut three times; I deal out my cards from the top, face-up. I don't read jumpers.

 

I corner-riffle as that's what I learned as a kid. I don't overhand because the cards fly everywhere, unless I literally cradle them against my body (and some still scatter). I honestly don't understand how people overhand-shuffle anything bigger than a poker deck. I've seen people do it so neatly and fast and it always amazes me.

 

Dealing them into random piles sounds like a good method (as Barleywine described). I'll have to try that.

Edited June 17, 2024 by Laura Borealis

[Chariot]

I recently picked up a tip from one of my favourite 'professional' tarot book authors, Teresa Reed.  She suggests checking the card at the bottom of the deck, after you've dealt the spread from the top of the deck (the face-down cards.)  She said the bottom card will often tell you something extra about the reading.  This actually works for me.

 

....................

I'm clumsy with the hand-to-hand shuffle technique, and only use it for decks that are large and/or made of stiff card.  I'm a smearer/riffler!  🙂

 

1) First, I formulate my question and write it down.  Then I decide on the spread and write that down as well.  I think this pre-organisation is important if I want a focused reading.

2) I always begin handling the cards by saying I will NOT pay any attention to any jumpers.  I don't want to confuse the issue because I've got clumsy hands or slippery cards.  I just put them straight back in the deck and carry on. 

3) My cards are always in the original order when I start, because I always cleanse them by re-setting them before I put them away.

 

4) I do reversals (and consider them just as important as the upright cards) so I first put the deck face down on my tarot cloth and swirl the cards around for a while, spreading them out, bringing some from the bottom up to the top, etc.  Then I pull them together and decide which way is 'up.'  If I'm reading for somebody else, I let them do this smearing part of the shuffle.

5) Next, I deal the cards out, face down, into piles of 6 or 8 cards. Then I gather the piles together in random order, but retaining their upright/reversed orientation. This helps mix the deck even more, and separates major/minor arcana and breaks up the suits.

6) Then I start a riffle shuffle, careful not to bend the cards.  I do at least one riffle for each card position in my chosen spread (I would riffle at least 10 times for a Celtic Cross.)  If the spread will be smaller, I riffle several times for each position.  I concentrate on the question and the positions I'll be using in the spread as I'm shuffing.  I always pull a few cards from the bottom of the deck and put them at the front, between each riffle. That way the bottom cards and the top cards get mixed more thoroughly.

 

7) When I feel ready, I deal the cards out into the spread, face down.   Before putting the remainder of the deck aside, I take note of the bottom card.  Then I turn the spread over so all the cards are visible at once, and begin....

6) If I find I need to pinpoint a meaning, I pull a clarifier from the top of the deck without reshuffling.  I never use more than one clarifier per spread position, although I sometimes use more than one clarifier in a spread.  Two cards are more specific than one, when it comes to nailing a meaning. I certainly don't shy away from using clarifiers, if a position in the original reading isn't clear.  I want my results to be as specific as possible.